How to Find a Place to Live in Toronto (part 1)

2062606_condos.jpgI am apartment hunting.

The backstory is long and verges on the comically catastrophic, but what with one thing and another, I need to find a new place to live.

For the past three years, I've lived in a condo on the Harbourfront, a convenient 30 minute walk to my most constant place of employment, nice view, en suite laundry, parking, right on a streetcar stop - all in all, not a bad deal.

Well, I sold the car, the condo's on the block next, and I'm starting to wonder if I can really get all my stuff in a rental truck. By myself. Really it's only the couch that presents a problem.

I'm not what you'd call an optimist, but I know Toronto is full of hip neighborhoods, replete with good single-person (plus cat) housing. I also know that while TO isn't DC fifteen years ago, there are some dodgy streets, divey corners, and places where I wouldn't feel safe walking at night.

So along with chatting up friends and coworkers, I'm counting on input from you guys to keep me from those unknown scaries and point me towards those hidden gems. If nothing else, you can learn from my mistakes.

First on the agenda, finding places to look at.

I've been checking local apartment websites and classifieds, including:

Craigslist - I find craigslist to be the easiest site to navigate, with the best search options. The downside is a dearth of photos, though you can always email and ask.

Viewit.ca - designed specifically for apartment hunting, is definitely the best for browsing photos, but the search options are very limited - I can't be very specific about area or price, nor things like pets. The information is included in the listing, but not an option in the search string.

The Star - essentially newspaper listings available online, good for volume, but is rubbish for naviagting. I can narrow by price but not really by region ('Toronto' pulls up a lot of stuff in Scarborough, Etobicoke and Mississauga - yes, it's Toronto, but I need downtown).

Now has their newish classified section - clean and easy to navigate, with the same search capabilities as craigslist, but with far fewer listings.

I've also heard that the U of T site has a really good apartment search but, full disclosure, I want something a little different than the usual student living.

My budget is lean, so I'm right on the edge of sharing a house or finding a basement or a bachelor apt. The former appeals because it's indubitably cheaper, and there's something to be said for coming home to something more than an accusatory meow. The latter means I can have free reign of the space, without waiting or chore-sharing.

Next up - visiting the apartments. I may have to get a TTC pass.

Reader Reviews and Comments

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I went through a long apartment search earlier this year. I found craigsist to be the best source but in the end I found a place through http://www.viewitbiz.ca/. The commercial cousin of the viewit.ca site it's worth checking out for small studios and lofts, even if you're not a business.

I was looking for a small loft downtown and the few that were on viewitbiz were a lot cheaper than those advertised on residential sites. For the price of a downtown bachelor pad I ended up with 900 sq ft of wooden flooring, eleven foot high ceiling and six foot windows.

I found a lot of these places are ok renting to you but they don't seem to advertise outside of the commercial outlets.

A little luck is always required, I only found a place after two months of frustration.

Posted by: miles at September 26, 2006 3:29 PM

Yeah, my wife and I are looking to move as well. Funny thing, we love our apartment (Big 2 bedroom above a store, $900/mth + hydro) and neighbourhood (Right on the corner of Bloor/Ossington, 12 second walk from the subway station), and thought we would be there for a long time. It's a 100 yr old apartment that needd some TLC, and has got it. There are some loose tiles, weird plumbing, etc, but for $900/mth, it's still great.

Along comes baby, and almost immediately, we decided that it would just not do to bring up a toddler in the place, with no yard and loose tiles and weird plumbing. So, we're looking too.

Heh, if you want a great apartment for good rent in a cool 'hood, you could come by and see the place. Seriously, lemme know...

Posted by: brokenengine at September 26, 2006 5:48 PM

I should also say, I haven't used Craigslist yet, I guess I should start. Viewit has been pretty good though.

Posted by: brokenengine at September 26, 2006 6:00 PM

I should also say, I haven't used Craigslist yet, I guess I should start. Viewit has been pretty good though.

Posted by: brokenengine at September 26, 2006 6:05 PM

I firmly recommend Parkdale. It's still mildly sketchy, but it's actually pretty safe because Queen is jamming busy all the time.
My girlfriend and have a two bedroom for $850 at Queen and Wilson Park Rd.

Posted by: Chris Dart at September 26, 2006 10:16 PM

Don't forget to check www.viewitbiz.ca as well. I found my loft through there. There's not a lot of places that are suitable as a residence on there but those that are - lofts, studios - tend to be cheaper than those on residential sites.

Look for work/live places. I found a 900+ sq ft loft with hard wood throughout in a brick building near queen/bathurst for not more than a bachelor. I did have to build a kitchen though.

Posted by: miles at September 26, 2006 11:04 PM

Crap, Mississauga is now part of Toronto. When did this happen?


;)

Posted by: Richard at September 27, 2006 10:43 AM

brokenengine - sounds like a sweet deal, but I live alone, so it's a bit out of my price range.

Chris - you're the second person who's recommended Parkdale, I'll definitely look closer

Posted by: Katherine at September 27, 2006 3:38 PM

Gotcha. Still, there's affordable rent up in these parts...

Posted by: brokenengine at September 27, 2006 5:18 PM

Broken,
Stay in the area where you are!! have been living in the same area with my family. Dufferin Grove Park is located in your area and was voted the best park in Toronto by Now for 2005. You only have to check out their newsletter to see the myriad of cool activities for your family.

The park was and still is a godsend for newbie parents, it truly is the best family friendly park in T-Dot. Dovercourt Park is also close by and is a great park. But believe you me, you want to be close to a park for you and your family's sanity.

Trust me, the park is an oasis for young families. If your still looking for accomodation check out the Dufferin Grove Park Newsletter and join the Yahoo Group and post your notice or you can check for rentals.

Check out the Friends of Dufferin Grove Park Newsletter
www.dufferinpark.ca

dufferingrovefriends@yahoogroups.com

Friends of Dovercourt Park
Post message: dovercourtpark@yahoogroups.com
Subscribe: dovercourtpark-subscribe@yahoogroups.com


Good Luck!

Posted by: dyee276750 at September 27, 2006 8:02 PM

apartmentinfo.ca has a large list of sites. Worth checking out.

Posted by: Freddie at October 7, 2006 11:32 AM

An excellent resource is Ontario Tenants Rights.

Posted by: Toronto apartments for rent at December 26, 2006 4:19 PM

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