Oh awesome. I'll be living in the W. Edmonton area. I figured it would be better to rent outside the university as that would be 50% cheaper. After all, school is just for 3 days a week, so I don't really need to live in-campus (too expensive for me at 850-1200 CAD a month? Hell, no). But I made sure I found a place that is just a minute walk to the bus stop, LOL. Winnipeg? In Manitoba? Oh my, I almost applied to study at the University of Manitoba, but they didn't have the program that I was eyeing. U of A's M Ed. prospectus totally had me. It was love at first sight. (Dork moment!)
But what do you guys normally do for recreation during wintertime aside from skiing?
It is indeed better to rent outside university (university housing is a rop off), but the west side is a bit far, in my opinion. Well, I guess it depends on how far west. I always think about the west edmonton mall area when someone says they live on the west side. There's a couple direct buses from the west side to university and the commute can be very long and boring depending on how far west you'll be at. If you can still find a place closer to uni, I recommend Garneau, Strathcona, or University areas. I've always lived around these areas and managed to find cheap and good places ($550-700); some rooms were even fully furnished. Download the "My Ualberta" app, lots of posts there from students looking for roommates.
Winters are loooong and can be very boring (snowfall usually starts end of Oct/early Nov and warms up for spring around April/May, but getting snow in June/July is not unheard of). In the city, all you can really do is hang out indoors with friends if it's -15 to -40 outside. Tons of stuff to do on Whyte Avenue (busy street close to university) or Jasper Avenue and nearby areas (downtown) as well - bars, restaurants, coffee shops, board games cafes, escape rooms, etc. Lots of concerts/performances come to the city too (lots of local bands as well playing all over the city). And of course, there's always hockey! Depending on who the oilers play, tickets can be pretty cheap, like $40-60.
Lots of people come here and find Edmonton to be a very boring city. They get depressed. But the city can be fun and charming if you let it (small town feel, people are very nice). It's all about who you know here really. As long as you have friends to hang out with, that's all you need. That's the first thing you need to do as soon as you get here. Find friends!
Well, first get a SIN, open a bank account (CIBC, Scotiabank, and other banks offer student accounts that are free as long as you're a student), then apply for health care (free!). Then go find friends!
