looking for a house...

[karanips2000]

hello all...
me and my family will be landing in canada in feb 2011.we also don't know much people or have relatives where we can stay temporary for a short time
so can someone guide me where it would be easy for a family of 3 and a pet dog to live

thank you

 

[steaky]

Where would you be landing?

 

[karanips2000]

british columbia...!

 

[steaky]

Where in BC and how much you can afford to rent?

 

[jamesbond]

BC is pretty expensive, especially Vancouver area. Hope you have enough money

 

[thezieglers]

If I were you I'd take a look at the ads in the BC newspapers (choose the city)

http://www.allyoucanread.com/british-columbia-newspapers/

In those ads I'd look at prices and conditions, in particular where they say "no pets allowed"

Also, use a map to check the area and look for some info related to neighborhoods in your city... just to avoid been caught in some gangs shooting!

Good Luck!

 

[NeedleArtist]

I'm an international student in Vancouver. My wife and I moved up here in May of this year from the U.S. I don't know where you're coming from, but ift its the US, a couple of things about rentals/housing in general you should be aware of.

1. Generally speaking, you're going to find that housing/apartment/condo sizes are noticeably smaller here than in the US (square footage-wise).
2. Finding someplace that will accept pets of any kind, and dogs in particular, is going to be extremely problematic. The local want ads and leetr-to-the-editor sections of local papers are FULL of local residents desparate to find places that will accept pets!
3. Likewise, if you smoke, you're also going to have a tough time finding a place.
4. As a point of reference, My wife and I rent a condo in Yaletown roughly 950 sq.ft., 2br, 2ba, 1 parking space in underground garage. Our rent is $2700/month. We have 2 vehicles, so we rent an another garage space from the Strata for an additional $135/month. Water/sewage/trash pickup/heat (baseboard stem radiators)/gas (fireplace) are included in the rent, hydro and cable are extra.
5. We found our place via Craigs List. A great resource for housing info are the MANY local free newpapers, some daily and others weekly or bi-weekly. Every area/subdivision seem to have their own newspaper here, not just municipalities. For example, Burnaby, North Shore (N. and W. Van), False Creek (Van), Coal Harbor (Van), Joyce-Collingwood (Van), etc. all have their own local rags which contain info about and ads for housing and rentals. A GREAT one-stop place to get a bunch of different ones all in one place is inside the public market at Granville Island.
6. In addition to condos/apartmentsin low/mid/high-rise buildings, MANY homeowners here have houses with a second suite that they rent out. Usually the owner lives on one floor and the other floor is rented out. These alsmost aleways have separate entrances, separate meters for utilities, etc. You'll see these listed as upper or lower (or basement) suites. Unfortunately, they raerly include a dedicated parking spot, so street parking is all you'd get. As anyone up here can tell you, street parking is EXTREMELY limited (particularly free street parking), and usually comes with RESTRICTIONS, such as NO PARKING PERMITTED from 6:00AM to 9:00AM and from 3:00pm to 6:00pm on weekdays on many streets (rush hour). But rent can be somewhat lower and roomier.
7. Public transit is excellent so seriouslyt consider more outlying areas such as Richmond to the south, Burnaby/Coquilam/New West/Surrey to the east. No point in heading north or west as all you find is mountains or ocean!

Best of luck and welcome to BC!
Ingo

 

[NeedleArtist]

I forgot to mention that a place roughly equivalent to ours in say, Metrotown (Burnaby) or in New West would be in the ballpark of $1600 - $1750 or so (about $1000/month less). The suburbs, Richmond and Delta to the south and Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Surrey to the east would be cheaper. Public transit here is excellent so these are certainly viable options. Forget about the northern suburbs, as North and West Vancouver are just as (if not more) expensive as Vancouver itself! To the west you've got nothing but ocean.

Further out still (only to the east ast mountains to the north and the US border to the south) you'll find the municipalities of Langley, Aldergrove, Mission, Abbottsford and Chiliwack. Abbottsford has a bit of a gang problem, lots of grow-ops, and is the murder capital of Canada but does have nice areas as well. If you settle in this area a car will be an absolute MUST. Public Transit here is sparse (if it exists at all) and commute times to Vancouver (at NON-peak hours) will be 1 to 1-1/2 hours each way, possible will bridge tolls.

If you absolutely MUST live in Vancouver proper, I suggest you avoid the Downtown core, Kitsilano, the West Side, Kerrisdale, and Point Grey (all very pricy) and look instead to more reasonably priced (but still expensive) Marpole, Killarny, Collingwood, Sunset, Hastings-Sunrise, Kensington or Fraser-View. Unless you can afford nothing better, avoid at ALL COSTS the Downtown Eastside and the Strathcona areas. These areas are really bad!

Again, best of luck!

Ingo

 

[steaky]

4. As a point of reference, My wife and I rent a condo in Yaletown roughly 950 sq.ft., 2br, 2ba, 1 parking space in underground garage. Our rent is $2700/month. We have 2 vehicles, so we rent an another garage space from the Strata for an additional $135/month. Water/sewage/trash pickup/heat (baseboard stem radiators)/gas (fireplace) are included in the rent, hydro and cable are extra.

[/quote]

Ingo,

Are you renting a furnished condo? Non-furnished one doesn't costs that much.

 

[NeedleArtist]

Ingo,
Are you renting a furnished condo? Non-furnished one doesn't costs that much.

steaky,
No, the place we rent isn't furnished. However we have a 28th floor condo directly on False Creek At the marina across from Monk's at Davie and Marinaside ... the same building Urban Fare and Provence Marinaside are located in. Our rent is higher due to the amenities, location and prime waterfront and mountain views. We also have a much larger than average balcony and outdoor deck space (just under 480 sq.ft. combined), half of which is covered and which we are able to use year-round since it is heated (gas radiant heating Unit) and is great fro entertaining and grilling.

We certainly could have found suitable accomodations for a few hundred bucks less, but this place was perfect for us and so we were willing to pay a little extra for the additional benefits!

 

[steaky]

Provence Marinaside is a good restaurant. I have a condo in the resort residence too.

 

[bijuman]

I AM PLANNING TO LAND IN NOVEMBER 28TH 2010. LOOKING FOR A ONE BED ROOM ACCOMODATION FOR ME AND MY FAMILY OF THREE PERSONS INCLUDING MY SAMLL KID. KINDLY ADVISE. I AM PLANNING TO LAND IN TORONTO AND LOOKING FOR ACCOMODATION IN LONDON.