Renting your own place is, without a doubt, the best accommodation option. It doesn’t matter if you’re an international student, a skilled worker or simply someone who has just arrived in Canada. No other accommodation will be as comfortable as a place where you can live according to your own rules.
That being said, renting an apartment as an international student can be extremely hard, especially in cities like Toronto and Vancouver.
For this reason, I have written an entire post full of tips on how to rent an apartment as an international student in Canada. Make sure to dedicate some time to read it.
Now, back to the original topic.
Here’s a list of accommodation options for international students ranked from best to worst:
- Individual Apartment
- Basement Unit
- Student Residence (Dorm)
- Shared Housing
- Homestay
Individual Apartment
As I have mentioned at the beginning of this post, this is by far the most comfortable option, and this is precisely why I have dedicated an entire article to it.
Individual Apartment Advantages
Freedom
Living in your own apartment will give you the highest degree of freedom. I could only start truly enjoying my life here in Canada after I got my own place.
If you would like to know a little bit more about my personal experience renting a place in Toronto, make sure to read this article.
Being an international student means you will have very irregular studying and working hours. If you live in someone else’s place, you will likely have a lot of trouble whenever you arrive at home late or whenever you have to use the kitchen late at night.
Many foreign students get home extremely late either because their college is far away or simply because they’re working during the night.
Each person is different, but I simply cannot lead a happy life while sharing my space with strangers, especially when that space is small.
Renting your own apartment will allow you to work on your assignments through the night (that will definitely happen to you) and engage in virtual meetings without worrying that you’re keeping everyone else in the apartment awake.
I can only imagine how many people got in trouble because they had to join meetings for group projects during the pandemic while still keeping their voice low for extended periods of time.
Another huge advantage is the fact that you can store whatever you want in your fridge without worrying about other people’s rules or restrictions.
One more particularly important aspect of living by yourself is hygiene.
Sharing the kitchen and the bathroom with people you don’t know can be a nightmare, particularly in a country that receives people from completely different cultures.
Remember, some things that are absolutely normal for you and that should be regarded as common sense may be a completely foreign concept for someone else. Trust me on this. Cultures can be deeply different and sharing an apartment with someone with completely different behaviors is something you do not want to experience.
Individual Apartment Disadvantages
Price
Renting an apartment entirely for yourself will necessarily be more expensive than sharing. This is the number one reason why people end up sharing even though they don’t really want to do it.
Here’s my take on this.
If you can find an individual apartment that is only a few hundred dollars more expensive than a shared one, simply try saving more money in your monthly expenses in order to afford the individual apartment.
In case saving money is not enough, try working a few hours during the weekends to gather more funds to afford your rent.
Only share a place if you know the person you will be living with and if you absolutely cannot afford a place of your own.
Rental Requirements
Even if you have all the necessary cash, renting an apartment is an extremely bureaucratic endeavor.
In case you’re not renting directly from the owner (which is the case 99% of the times), you have to provide a whole bunch of documents that an international student simply does not have upon arrival in Canada.
Among the documents they will ask you for: bank statements (from a Canadian bank), credit score, proof of employment, employer letter, salary, previous landlord phone number, guarantor name and phone number… so on and so forth.
Basement Unit
Some basements are OK, most are not great, and some are horrible.
I have lived in two different basements here in Toronto:
- The first was quite good, but only for short periods of time since it was quite expensive, the ceiling was low, and the family upstairs used to cook very late at night. Since the ventilation system is shared, the whole basement would smell like whatever they were cooking for quite some time.
- The second basement was literally the worst place I’ve ever lived in my life. The ceiling was so low that my head would rub against it as I walked, so I had to always lower my head.
That place was so small that I called it “the hole” or the “box”.
It only took me 3 steps to go from one side of the basement to the other.
The bed was so small that I could not completely stretch my body while in bed, otherwise my head would touch one wall while my feet would touch the other.
If you would like to know more about my living conditions when I first moved to Canada, make sure to read this other post.
Basement Advantages
Price
If you’re planning to live in Toronto or Vancouver and you do not wish to share your place with anyone else, sometimes a basement is the only viable option.
Usually, basement units cost the same you would spend to share a small apartment with someone else. Depending on the basement (I know there are some good ones out there), this could be a great option for someone who absolutely do not wish to live with strangers.
Space
Again, in Toronto and Vancouver properties are tiny, especially when you are on a tight international student budget. If you do your research properly, it’s possible to get a decent-sized basement for a fair price.
This is something you should definitely consider before choosing to share an apartment with someone else.
Renting requirements
Renting an apartment from a real estate company as an international student can be frustrating. As I’ve mentioned before, they will ask you for all kinds of documents that you simply don’t have.
Basements, however, are a different story!
You will usually negotiate directly with the owner of the house, who will most likely live upstairs. These owners are used to having international students in their basement and they understand that you may not have all of those documents that real estate companies require.
More often than not, homeowners (your future landlords) will be satisfied once you present a receipt from the college proving that you’ve paid your first term and after you pay for the first and last month of rent, since this is a standard procedure.
Negotiating directly with the homeowner is much, much easier than trying to do business with a company.
Freedom
This is a controversial topic.
As someone who lives in a basement, you will have more freedom than someone who shares an apartment with strangers, but you still won’t feel entirely free.
Why is that?
Well, you’re still living in someone else’s house.
The owner will still keep an eye on you and will monitor whoever you bring to your place.
When it comes to basements, situations can vary dramatically. Some landlords are more laidback while others are much stricter. The bottom line is, the basement is still their place and they will live right above you. You may feel comfortable, but not as comfortable as if you were renting your own apartment.
Basement Disadvantages
Low ceilings
Not all basements have low ceilings, but most of them do.
Ceilings can vary substantially. My experience with basements and ceilings is the following:
- First basement I lived in: if I tried to take my shirt off, my hands would touch the ceiling.
- Second basement I lived in: I couldn’t even stand straight without having my head rub against the ceiling.
That being said, I’ve also been to a basement that had a normal ceiling and seemed to be a great place to live, although the landlord was super controlling and said that she would like to make an inspection in the unit at least once a week (which is probably illegal).
Tiny windows
Basements usually have very small windows.
If you’re someone who likes to wake up, draw the curtains and take a look outside, just forget about it.
You will not be able to use natural sunlight in a basement, let alone breathe some fresh air once the temperature is nice outside.
Bugs
I still haven’t found a person here in Toronto who lives in a basement and hasn’t had problems with centipedes. If you don’t know what a centipede is, don’t Google it (I’m warning you).
Insects are very common in basements because of the moisture accumulated in the bathrooms.
Since basements usually don’t have regular windows, the steam from the shower accumulates and creates a comfortable environment for small creatures that we despise (especially when they have 100 legs).
Temperature
Basements can be really cold during winters and extremely hot during summers.
The landlord will usually control the temperature of the house, but the settings that work for the rest of house not always work for the basement.
I’ve heard horror stories about people freezing at night due to the extreme cold in some basements.
Again, each house is different, therefore each basement is different.
There are just way too many variables that you need to watch out for.
Student Residence (Dormitory)
Most international students arrive in Canada just a few weeks before classes start, and they mistakenly believe that they will be able to find a place to live within such a short timeframe.
Not only finding a decent place to live is time consuming, but it’s particularly hard when classes are about to begin.
Just think about it.
Most students move to Canada at the same time, and they all start looking for a place within the same cities.
This is a perfect recipe to create a saturated market where students need to fight over overpriced and low-quality housing.
This is why I truly think that living in a college dorm can be a great option during the first term.
Although I wouldn’t recommend living in a dorm for long periods due to strict rules and high prices, this kind of housing allows students to have two key factors that will help them at the very beginning of their journey in Canada: time and stability.
Student Residence (Dormitory) Advantages
Time
Living in a dorm means you will be literally 5 minutes away from the classrooms. This will allow you to save time since you won’t have to worry about the commute.
You will then be able to use all of this spare time to start looking for a better and more affordable housing option.
Like I said before, finding a place to live here in Canada can be extremely time consuming, and if you want a great place, that will probably take you a couple months of researching, negotiating, and waiting (usually, the best properties are not immediately available).
Stability
Being a foreign student can be extremely stressful and it gets even worse when you don’t know if you’re going to have a roof over your head next month.
Living in a student residence is possibly the most stable housing option at the very beginning. Your college have a vested interest in keeping you there and they will usually help you with anything you need.
Colleges in Canada are robust institutions that have everything from job training sites to immigration lawyers.
I wish I had picked this housing option during my first term. My life would have been a whole lot easier, and I would have saved a lot of money.
Structure
Up until now, college residences are still among the cleanest, most modern, and organized housing options I’ve seen in Canada.
You will hardly ever find nice places like that for affordable prices in the regular market. You will definitely find cheaper options, but not necessarily better.
Even when I finally got a nice place to live in downtown Toronto, I still had to spend entire days in the college and while I was struggling to find a place to study in the college’s jampacked library, my friend who lived in the dorm had access to multiple study rooms within his dorm.
The structure was simply amazing.
Comfortable chairs, air conditioner, free Wi-Fi, a gym…so on and so forth.
Student Residence (Dormitory) Disadvantages
Price
Student residences are not the most affordable option. I wouldn’t say they are particularly expensive, but they’re by no means cheap.
That being said, the layer of stability that this housing option offers to a newcomer makes up for its cost.
Let me give you a practical example.
I didn’t want to live in a dorm mainly because I didn’t want to share an apartment with anyone else and, unfortunately, dorms are usually shared between 2 students or more, depending on how much you’re willing to pay.
The thing is, my housing situation became so tough during my first 3 months in Canada, that I was still forced to live with someone else. The difference is that I was living 2 hours away from the college, in someone else’s house and paying more than I would if I had picked the student residence from the beginning.
You may be asking yourself:
“But, Bruno, why didn’t you just move to the student residence then?”
Because at that time, the residence was already full, and I had to join a waiting list.
Not picking the comfortable residence from my college during my first semester was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in Canada.
Living with another student
Student residences’ units are usually shared.
In the college where I studied there was absolutely no individual unit option, and this is exactly why I decided to live elsewhere.
I value my privacy at home I really disliked the idea of sharing my kitchen and bathroom with someone I don’t know.
Looking back, I was foolish.
At that time I could never imagine that the housing options that I would find outside of college would be much, much worse than sharing an apartment with another student.
If you’re coming to Canada alone, you should definitely consider staying in a dorm for at least a semester.
In case you’re moving here with your significant other, this wouldn’t be an option because colleges don’t allow non-students to live in the residences.
Shared Housing
This is by far the most popular option for newcomers in Toronto and Vancouver.
It’s hard to determine if this is a good option for you or not because there are far too many variables.
- Are you sharing an apartment or a house?
- Are you sharing it with a friend or strangers?
- Are you looking for a place only for you or for your significant other as well?
The truth is, sharing a living space is always a bit of a gamble, especially when you’re sharing it with someone you don’t know (which is usually the case).
If you’re lucky to find the right person to share an apartment or a house with, you will possibly live in a nice area of the city and still manage to pay a reasonable price, but if for some reason you get a bad roommate, your life will be a hellish torment.
Shared Housing Advantages
Simple renting requirements
Whenever you try to rent a whole property for yourself, the landlord will ask you for various documents, as I have previously mentioned, like bank statements, credit score, guarantor name and address…
However, when you rend a shared property, the person who you will be sharing the property with has already provided all of those documents, which means you don’t need any of that.
In this case, the rental agreement is much more informal and as long as the person who’s already living in the property likes you, you won’t have to do much more than paying the first and last month of rent in advance (sometimes you don’t even have to pay for the last one).
Location
Most newcomers can’t afford living in the best areas of town at the very beginning by themselves, but by sharing your place with one or more people, the possibilities are endless.
All of a sudden it becomes perfectly possible to live in the very core of Toronto where everything you need is within walking distance.
Price
This is probably the cheapest option; however, prices may vary quite a lot depending on which room you decide to rent within the shared property.
- Will you be living in the largest room of the home?
- Will you have your own individual bathroom?
- Is there a gym in the building?
Many things can affect the final price, but this type of housing is still cheaper than most other alternatives out there.
Shared Housing Disadvantages
Roommates
Roommates can be a blessing or a curse.
If you’re young, moving to Canada by yourself, and don’t know anyone in the country, having roommates will surely make your life much more interesting.
However, if you’re slightly older, need a quiet place to live, don’t like noise and don’t want to live in a place where people come and go all the time, this may not be the best option.
Another thing hat is worth mentioning is, if you find your new roommates on the internet through Facebook, Kijiji or any rental website, there is always a risk that you will end up living with someone who could potentially make your life much harder than it needs to be.
Before moving permanently with someone you don’t even know, try to ask them for a trial period of a month just to make sure that you can live in harmony.
Many people will appreciate that and accept your terms as long as you pay rent in advance.
Lack of control
If your roommate has signed the contract, he/she basically “owns” the property and is responsible for setting the rules.
You are the one who will have to adapt and in case the property has multiple bedrooms, your roommate may rent the other rooms to people you don’t particularly like and there’s nothing you can do to stop them from doing so.
Noise
Roommates tend to be noisy.
They bring people over, they listen to music, and sometimes they simply need to join a group meeting on Microsoft Teams at 2 in the morning.
It is what t is. You need to be prepared for this sort of thing if you truly want to live downtown paying as little as possible.
Hygiene
This is one of the most common complaints I hear from people who rent a room in someone else’s place.
In case you’re organized, like to keep the dishes clean and the bathroom spotless, you may want to reconsider living with a stranger.
More often than not, people are messy, and they will feel comfortable acting like that in case the rental contract is under their name.
Homestay
This is my least favorite option of housing.
Homestay is the same as sharing a home with a stranger, but with the huge downside of you being a guest there.
It doesn’t matter how much you pay; you will never have the same rights of the true owner of the house, and it’s not even close.
The option has the strictest rules of all and not necessarily the lowest price.
Homestay Advantages
Culture and Knowledge
In some cases, you will get to live with the locals, and you will learn details about the city and the culture that you would never have access to elsewhere.
Meals
Sometimes the main meals are included in the package. Even though you may have to pay a little extra for the meals, sometimes it’s still cheaper than buying and preparing everything by yourself.
Homestay Disadvantages
No freedom
You’re only a guest.
You must obey the rules, and, in most cases, you can’t even question them, no matter how unreasonable they may seem.
Having people over is out of question and in case you’re allowed to do so, the visits need to be short and scheduled in advance.
Rules and Responsibilities
Sometimes the person who owns the home may request you to engage in certain activities like going out during the weekends, having all the meals at a very specific time, doing the laundry in a certain day of the week and so on.
Some of the rules and responsibilities will be reasonable, other will not. The point is: you have no choice.
If you’re living in someone else’s house, you either play by the rules of the game or you move out.
Price
Although this is not the most expensive housing option, I wouldn’t consider it cheap, especially if you take into consideration that you will have to give up a huge chunk of the rights you would have if you were living in your own place.
Conclusion
Finding the perfect housing option as a newcomer is the biggest challenge you will face at the beginning of your journey abroad.
I have made all the mistakes in the book, and I see people doing the same thing over and over again.
If I had to give you a simple, easy to follow advice, it would be:
If you’re moving abroad as an international student, stay at your college’s residence (dormitory) during the first term, and, while you’re living there, keep on looking for the best possible apartment you can find.
In case you can’t find a great place during the first few months, simply renew your dorm contract, and keep on looking until you find a place exactly where you want for a price you can afford.
I wish you good luck and I hope to see you soon here in Canada =)
Bruno
