<p>So I'll be attending McGill this September as a first year student. My family has decided that it is most economical for me to find off-campus housing. The problem is, I'm currently living in the United States and I won't be entering Canada until late July. Furthermore, I won't even be visiting Montreal until some time in August. I don't know how to go about the process of finding an apartment long-distance, and I'm mostly worried about availability in August and how that will affect prices. Should I start looking now, or should I just wait until I can actually go there in person in August? Can someone experienced in this give me an estimate of approximately how long it will take to find a decent place, and/or a timeline as to what I should be doing and when?</p>
<p>On a side note, if anyone can give me an estimate of a month's living costs in Montreal - food, utilities, transportation, etc. - I would appreciate it.</p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>As for monthly costs, a Canadian friend of mine told me that living expenses (food, utilities) should total to around $350-500 per month depending on your lifestyle while rent should hover round $500 per month.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.padmapper.com/”>Apartments for Rent from the Trusted Apartment Finder | PadMapper; is a good aggregator too - shows you a map so you can see where apartments are in relation to places (i.e. McGill).</p>
<p>If you can come late July or early August I don’t think it would be a problem. The leases that are available for September won’t start popping up until next month (since tenants have to inform their landlords about two months before their lease expires). Best advice is to look here in person since you’ll get a feel if you really like a place (nothing is worse than signing a lease sight unseen and being stuck with it for the duration of the lease). </p>
<p>Avoid looking for a place during the last week of August though (especially around McGill). Sure, you might get lucky and get a desperate landlord/subletter willing to give you a discount but I’d try not to push my luck. I tried that two years ago (looking at areas that were about 5-minute walking distance to McGill) in late August and practically everyone said they had no availabilities. Of course, you might also be able to find places even that late if you look farther away from that area (like Rosemount, Cotes-de-Nieges or Le Plateau). </p>
<p>The key is just looking for a place that’s either close to a metro (green line would be great since that’s where McGill is at) and/or a bus stop. Montreal is very condensed that when I say “far” from McGill, it’s really not that far (Rosemount is maybe just 20-30 minutes away by bus+metro or about 15 minutes away by metro (if you live close to the metro). </p>
<p>In terms of living expenses, if you live with roommates, it’s going to be cheaper. Going rate I’ve seen around McGill and surrounding areas are around $350-600. If you’re going to live by yourself (studio or 1-bedroom), I’ve seen prices range from $650-$900+.</p>
<p>In terms of budget, this is what my basic budget (minus miscellaneous expenses like occasional entertainment, etc.) has been for the last three years:
- Rent: $725/month (Studio, 20-mintue walk from McGill or 10 minutes by metro)
- Utilities: $25-30/month
- Transportation/STM: $48/month (student monthly pass, unlimited travel)
- Food/Supples: $240/month
- Cell: $15/month
- Internet: $30/month</p>
<p>I live really frugally so I don’t usually spend tons eating out or going out to pricey places (there’s lots of free things to do around here). All in all, I spend around $1100-$1300/month living here. If you go the roommate route, you can probably cut that half. </p>
<p>@rougetardis Wow the cost estimates are really useful! thanks!</p>
<p>go in person, trust me. The apartments in downtown Montreal, particularly the McGill Ghetto range from very nice to rundown hellholes. Last year I took a train up from Toronto for a weekend, stayed at my friends place for 2 days and went to every apartment I could find with an “a louer” (For rent) sign. By the end of the weekend I had found a good place, but not after seeing some truly awful apartments. </p>