Hi everyone:

I just had a nice lunch with Baird68 and we want to organize a GTA meeting to discuss issues of Expat tax, FBAR, FATCA and renunciation of citizenship.

We decided first to contact folks on the forum to determine how many people might want to come to such a meeting, and then we would decide when and where to meet.

So this thread is open to see how many would like to have a meeting at a pub, restaurant, hotel or other venue, to discuss issues, share stories, organize. Everything is up in the air (time, place) except the fact of the meeting, because if no one else wants to show up, me and Baird68 will just get together and eat more sushi.

If I lived in the area, I would certainly join you. Hopefully you will report back anything interesting from your get togethers.

I would actually be interested in attending as I have lots of questions! I live downtown btw.

will do my best to make it......u guys are rather north of town, I am central.......where would u like to meet?

What does central mean? St. Clair , 401, Eglington, Avenue/Allen road??

anywhere in the "uptown" area - N of Bloor, S of Eglinton, W of Yonge, E of Dufferin

I've been reading posts on this board for a few months, but just finally joined so I could answer this. I'd be interested in attending a meeting like this. I live in the east end of the city, but can get downtown pretty easily. And I am fond of sushi.

(not so fond of all this personal info I have sent off to the the IRS, and am wavering about whether or not I want to renounce my not-terribly-useful-to-me U.S. citizenship)

And I am not...

Not to worry. The sushi restaurant at Dufferin and Steeles is not the right location. It seems to me that Yorkdale Mall might work better as the most centrally located place, with even access via public transportation. But the question then remains, where can we meet? Is their a restaurant or pub with a semi-private room?

Schubart suggested that we meet at a school (U of T-York), and I have some contacts at Wycliffe College (near Museum exit). But I think we are still a small group at this point. We don't yet need a large conference room but could meet at a pub or restaurant.

It's been decades since I lived in Toronto, but another possibility might be to contact a local chapter of a Civil Liberties Union or the American Friends Services Committee or some other arm of the Quakers. I don't know if either of those organizations have meeting rooms available (the Quakers presumably do) and the latter were always very supportive of US draft-resisters coming to Toronto back in the 60s and 70s. And they're good people and very socially conscious and sympathetic to issues like ours, in my limited experience with them (two very good friends in Ottawa are Quakers and have done sterling and personally very risky work in South Asia, on the ground and in communities, over human rights and conflict resolution issues for several decades). I'm not a Quaker, but I have far more respect for and trust in Quakers than I do for members of almost any other religion I've ever encountered.

For a small group of no more than half a dozen people, another option might be some of the chain coffee shops (not Timmy's though, it's too cramped and croweded) if you can find one with some relatively secluded seating at a time when the place isn't crowded and you don't need to be too worried about being overheard by people you might not want overhearing you. Second Cup, Bridgehead, even Starbucks (gasp) might be options depending on the specific shop's seating layout and traffic patterns.