We’re here to help you find a place you can call home.
Are you about to fulfill your dream of living in Canada? Awesome! Now comes the moment—dreaded by some and eagerly awaited by many—of deciding where you’ll stay during your time in Canada.
The best parts:
The downsides:
The best parts:
The downsides:
The best parts:
The downsides:
The best parts:
The downsides:
If you want to know in detail which type of accommodation suits you best among all the options this country offers, keep reading or fill out the following form to receive personalized guidance.
Contact us and a Dingoos guide will get in touch with you as soon as possible :)
As soon as you arrive in Canada, we recommend staying at a backpacker so that, once you’re settled and relaxed, you can start your housing search. It will be much easier to decide where to live in Canada this way.
A backpacker is a hostel. They are known for their friendly and social atmosphere, low prices, and shared rooms—perfect for making your first international friends in Canada.
The kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry facilities are in shared common areas. Some backpackers include breakfast, others have more amenities, and in some you’ll need to book in advance… the point is to look around and choose the one that best suits your needs.
Almost all travelers who now live in Canada started their adventure in a backpacker, so we recommend you consider this option before arriving in Canada.
The benefits of staying in a backpacker when you arrive in Canada are many:
Although there are also some drawbacks:
Sleeping in a backpacker in Canada can cost between $15 CAD and $25 CAD per night.
Prices vary depending on the number of beds in the room, the services the hostel offers, and the length of your stay.
If what you want is to live in Canada while enjoying a truly Canadian experience, sharing a house will be your best option.
We love it because it lets you organize your day-to-day life and handle everyday tasks on your own, which will help you get to know Canada and its customs much better.
To this freedom and flexibility, we can add that it’s also the most affordable option. And that’s important if you want to save as much money as possible to travel and discover all that Canada has to offer.
Depending on your budget, you can choose to share a room or have one just for yourself. If you choose to share a house, you can decide the area you want to live in, whether it’s because of what the neighborhood offers or its proximity to your job, college, or public transport.
Plus, sharing a house in Canada is also a great way to meet people from all over the world and open your mind to new cuisines or ways of understanding life, making your experience in Canada much richer.
As with everything in life, sharing a house in Canada can also have its downsides:
Living in Canada in a room in a shared house in the city center will cost between $600 CAD and $1000 CAD.
Prices vary greatly depending on the area you live in or the size of the house. If you want to save money, living in the suburbs is considerably cheaper and these areas are usually well connected by public transportation. You can be in the city center in less than half an hour.
Living the true university dream in Canada is possible. Student residences are a classic of college life and their main advantage is that they are located very close to the study center, often within it. That’s why it is a perfect option for those who want to dive straight into campus life without worrying about finding their way around the city or dealing with public transportation.
In student residences, many events and activities are held for students, making it the ideal place to meet students from all over the world with whom you will build friendships that could last a lifetime.
In student residences, rooms are either shared or individual and are furnished with a bed, a wardrobe, and a study desk for each student. Usually, bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room, and the laundry area are located in common areas and are shared among all residents.
Choosing a student residence to live in Canada has many advantages, including:
On the other hand, a student residence also has its disadvantages.
Living in a student residence in Canada costs between CAD $500 and CAD $1000 per month, depending on the room you choose, the size of the residence, the number of rooms it has, and the services included, such as meals and a private bathroom.
Living in Canada with a host family is a good option to fully experience Canadian life. Host homes are usually located in residential neighborhoods on the outskirts of cities and, depending on the size of the house, they may rent more than one room to students.
As you may know, Canada is a country where a large part of the population are second- or third-generation immigrants, so it’s likely that your Canadian family has Indian or Asian roots, which means their accent and lifestyle might be quite interesting.
The main advantages of living in Canada with a host family are:
Living in a host family in Canada also has its drawbacks. Some of them are:
Living in a Canadian homestay costs between CAD $750 and CAD $1000, and this includes bills and meals.
As always, prices will vary depending on the location of the host home and the size of your room.
If you’re thinking about living in Canada on your own, there are two options you can consider.
These are apartment buildings that share a series of services and amenities. These usually include a gym, library, swimming pool, laundry facilities, and sometimes a small store. Depending on the services and how new the condo is, prices will vary. Also, to rent a unit in a condo, they often require your credit score.
And be careful! The cheaper options tend to be older condos, where problems with plumbing, heating, and maintenance are very common. So before you pay anything, make sure to carefully inspect the apartment and facilities to avoid unpleasant surprises.
You could live in your own one-bedroom apartment in an old condo for around CAD $1400 per month and in a new one for around CAD $1900 per month.
Few things are more bohemian than living in a basement. If that’s your dream, or you simply want to live alone or with someone else without spending too much money, it’s common in Canada for basements to be renovated as living spaces. They’re usually studios or one-bedroom units. As they’ve been recently renovated, many are in good condition and within city limits, but windows are scarce, and they are typically colder and more humid than regular homes.
Living in a basement in Canada can cost between CAD $800 and CAD $1100 per month.
Time to look for your home in Canada! You’re probably wondering how people go about finding accommodation in this part of the world.
As in any country, the best thing you can do before starting your house hunt is to walk around the city and get to know the different neighborhoods to see where you would like to live.
We also recommend that you consider the area where your school or workplace is located.
Lastly, it’s important to choose a neighborhood with easy access to supermarkets, shops, and public transportation.
There are two ways to look for accommodation in Canada. You can walk around the neighborhoods you’re interested in and look for “For Rent” signs. You might also find these kinds of notices on bulletin boards at your school.
The other way is to browse the internet and check out various websites that list homes and rooms for rent. To make your life easier, here’s a list of the main websites you can start with:
To rent a home or a room in Canada, you’ll need to present certain documents, whether you rent through an agency or directly from a landlord.
If you rent through an agency, the process involves a bit more paperwork, which might be more complicated if you’ve just arrived in Canada.
You’ll need to provide proof of employment, income, and references from previous roommates or landlords.
Additionally, the minimum stay is usually one year.
If you rent directly from a landlord, the process will be much simpler and will depend greatly on the impression you make on the landlord and your future roommates. They are usually more flexible with the length of your stay. The process will include filling out an application and providing some documents.
In both cases, you’ll need to pay what Canadians call “first and last”, which means paying the first month’s rent and one additional month as a deposit
To help you be better prepared and catch everything on the fly, here’s a list of words that will be very useful when looking for accommodation in Canada.
Canadians love abbreviations when writing their ads. Ready to decode them all?
appl: appliances – Accessories and household appliances in the home.
If you need more information or a bit of help after reading all this, get in touch with us. At Dingoos, we’ll help you for free with all the procedures you need to start your adventure of living in Canada, including finding accommodation.
Contact us and a Dingoos guide will get in touch with you as soon as possible :)
The sooner the better, so you won’t be surprised if prices go up later. Let our Integrations Coordinator advise you and give you a hand: they’ll help you through the whole process and book the backpacker for you on the dates you choose. It’s a free service made by Dingoos!
Who said weeks? 7 to 10 days should be more than enough. While you’re staying at the backpacker, Dingoos will give you the tips you need to find your accommodation as soon as possible. Plus, our Student Support department will be available for any questions you may have.
You can, but we always recommend looking for shared accommodation once you’re already here, so you can get a better understanding of how things work in Canada.
Actually, more than the place itself, it depends on the people you live with: if from day one you live with people who make you speak English, you’ll learn much faster than if you live in a house where everyone speaks Spanish.
Amanda De Mingo, Events Manager at Dingoos, shares how every activity she organizes turns your international adventure into a unique experience filled with fun, learning, and friendships that last forever.
