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Moving back to Toronto...where to look?

S

samsonyuen

Guest
Dear Fellow Forumers,

I am once again about to bask in the wonder of Toronto come October. As I haven't lived here in five years, I need some help with the following:

Where can I look for apartments (on the net?), preferably with pictures?
Where should I live that is: safe, inexpensive, close to transit, good neighbourhood?
 
Where should I live that is: safe, inexpensive, close to transit, good neighbourhood?
Click to expand...

Your guidelines are pretty general. "Inexpensive" is a relative term and the closer to transit you are, the more you can expect to pay. I can't think of many neighbourhoods I wouldn't regard as both "safe" and "good".

Most of us have some specific limitations; for instance, I won't look at anything without a balcony, and I do like to be near the subway, not just a streetcar or bus route. Some people won't consider anything north of Bloor; others won't go north of Eglinton.

Without further info, the only recommendation I can give is to be aware that with the current condo boom, the rental market has become a tenants' market. So don't feel pressured to grab the first or second thing that you see, because there is a lot to choose from and many landlords are desperate to fill their vacancies. There is no reason to currently settle for anything less that what you really want.
 
Re: Moving back to Toronto

^ Agreed, this is probably a different market than when you left. There is no shortage of rental accommodations in virtually any section of town.

There are at least two free advertising magazines which are widely available in street boxes, which you should pick up and leaf through.
 
Re: Moving back to Toronto

Check out viewit.ca for rentals. All places have atleast one image.

Great finds are available there.
 
Re: Moving back to Toronto

The Toronto Star is obvious, but good -- i think we found all our apts through it....maybe try craig's list too.

What the other's said is true, when i moved to TO in 2000 it was terrible, now it's great. see if you can find a temp. place for a week or two or three...then take your time looking for the perfect one...you can wait for "perfect" now, as opposed to "acceptable".

and all of the inner city is fine, mostly - i complain about having to bike to see friends in parkdale, but it's really not that far away.

i'm in san jose right now, for 2 weeks -- so i use TO as a comparrison of everything. we complain about lots of stuff (which is fine) .... but toronto is really the best city in the world.
 
Re: Moving back to Toronto

www.viewit.ca


its where I found my main floor 1 bdrm apartment in a triplex near the danforth subway line for less than 1G/mo.
 
If you can, get a place in downtown east, as once Regent in torn down and partially gentrified, that area will quickly skyrocket in rents and property value.
 
Thanks for the advice. I've heard of Viewit, which is pretty good. This is embarrassing, but what is Craigslist? I've heard the name, but not sure what it actually is? I guess I should go and check it out.
 
Craigslist is just about anything you can imagine. It isn't pretty, but it can be helpful. Use toronto.craigslist.org
 
craigslist is like a flea market in the country, always something for sale that is totally undervalued, just have to wade through a lot of crap to find it.

I went through a period of underemployment and made 4k selling junk I owned in a single week.
 
Most property owners don't know what craigslist is so don't put much stock in it. Viewit.ca is decent but tends towards more expensive units. The star is still by far the best place to look unless you have a specific idea about where you want to rent, in which case the good old "for rent" sign is still a good option.

As for location it depends on what you want and who you are. High-rise versus low-rise, transit versus auto etc., downtown employment versus suburbs, younger set versus mature set etc.
 
When I decided where I wanted to live, I walked around the neighbourhood and jotted down phone numbers from all the "vacancy" signs. Almost all rental buildings have vacancies these days. I went home, made appointments, and then saw a few. I picked one for location, reliable landlord (same as a previous apartment I was happy with), and nicest units.

Interestingly, of the few I looked at, there was an inverse relationship between how nice the outside of the building looked and how nice the hallways and units were inside.
 
I've never rented in Toronto before, so I'm not sure...do estate agents do rentals too? That's how I found where I'm living in London now. IIRC, they don't...
 
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