“Alright mate, I’m Josh and we can teach you to knock a ball about, not for a larf, mind you, but to earn some good wedge doing it for real, like, maybe in the Prem or MLS, who knows mate?”

Josh Bill is a special Successful Brit in Toronto on two counts:

1. He has two first names and we’ve never had that before, and;
2. He will have the honour of holding this coveted spot as the last interview of 2016.

If he looks familiar it’s because we recently featured a job posting from his football academy looking to hire a full-time coach. Great opportunity.

A man of few words, we caught up with Josh to get his tweet-friendly answers to the following questions …

What made you decide to choose Toronto as a city of choice? Did you plan a permanent move, or wanted to “try it for a while and see how it goes” and it turned out to be longer than planned?

When I first moved to Toronto I was only 19-years-old; after my dreams of being a football player came to a halt in the UK I wanted to become a football coach. My passion was always to set up my own academy and I knew this could be possible in Canada.

What steps did you take to land your first Toronto job? Did the infamous “Canadian experience” hinder you in any way?

I was scouted by a Canadian company in the UK, they offered me the job and I couldn’t turn the opportunity down.

What’s the best/worst aspects of living in Toronto?

Leaving family behind was the worse experience. That’s always hard to do. But to pursue your dreams I felt I had to take the plunge.

Do you make an effort to connect with other Brits in the city, or just meet them when chance allows it? Any recommended pubs/eateries/other places for homesick Brits to meet each other and network?

Most of my friends/employees are English and we have met other English people from playing football over here in Toronto or bumping into them in the pubs.

Me and my girlfriend always go to a British store based in downtown Oakville to buy home comfort foods such as Walkers Crisps, Branston Pickle etc!

Open question/comment: feel free to write anything here/advice/tips on a Brit living in, or moving to, Toronto.

It’s the best thing I have done moving to this country — the Canadian people are so friendly and helpful to make you feel comfortable living in their country.

Also it’s given me a great opportunity to run a successful business and employ my fellow Englishmen giving them the same opportunity that I had.

Thanks Josh! If you want to give him a shout, here’s his Twitter account.