wachtel

Hello to all.

in few weeks i depart to YVR for studies.
I'm supposed to stay there three months.

I never been in Canada so I really do not know where to start about apartment search.
My school is located in Delta.

I am looking for an apartment for me and partner joins, I'd love to hear from you recommendations or ideas where to start?
Are there Canadian housing/motels units? (U.S. style).

Another question about the car, for a period of three months, should I rent a car or buy? Also I would love to hear your opinions and advice.


have a nice weekend!

YVR Cockroach

Delta is way the heck out (for those of us who live/lived in Vancouver) and not exactly concentrated so you might let us know where the school is. There's at least the neighbourhoods of Tsawwassen and Ladner (both considered towns by some people) and the area bordering Surrey.

Renting a car is expensive for the period, and you have insurance issues/costs too. I'm not sure if buying is an option unless it is an old, cheap car that you don't drive out of town (unless money is no relatively object to you). And public transportation (busses) are not that good out in the 'burbs.

As for finding a place, Craigslist and Kijiji are places to look. There are hotels/motels but they're not exactly cheap.

wachtel

hey there
the school is at boundary bay airport...flight school.

YVR Cockroach

Boundary Bay is closest to Ladner with Tsawwassen being further away. Boundary Bay (YDT/CZBB) is a light aviation airport so has little of facilities found at commercial airports.

If you find a place by the airport, I doubt you can buy food to eat or to cook & eat.

Ladner would be the closest town. Looks like there's a bus C76 that loops near the airport heading for Ladner on one side and the Scottsdale mall area of Surrey on the other so there's another option for a place to stay.

I know there are hotels in Tsawwassen but not sure about Ladner.

Tsawwassen is small so you can walk from your hotel to get groceries or something to eat. You might want to contact hotels/motels in these two towns and ask them for long-term rates, especially in rooms with kitchenettes of not full kitchens.

I forgot to mention that Delta is so big and disparate the the north-eastern section is called North Delta and lumped in with Surrey for all intents and purposes.

This map will be helpful for bus routes and schedules are the main site.

http://infomaps.translink.ca/System_...une%202014.pdf

Taiwaned

It is located in the middle of nowhere Delta.

You are going to NEED a car.

If you have a car, then your choice of where to live expands considerably considering on how much of a commute is acceptable.

Try short term LEASE of a vehicle instead of a renting a car. It is cheaper.

As for a place to live, you need FURNISHED apartments right? It's only three months correct? It's hardly worth renting an unfurnished apartment then going to buy basic furniture, hooking up utilities then moving in for only three months.

If that is the case, it would be cheaper in the long run to get a cheap motel monthly rate then actually finding an place to rent.

roastpuff

Look at leasebusters.com and try to take over a lease of a vehicle with 3 or so months left!

mkjr

just my 2 cents but this is rather risky for a visitor to Canada but that is just my opinion.

going through the process to find a lease to bust and then making sure that you get the car and have it checked by the dealer to ensure it's in take back condition BEFORE you agree to assume the lease takes time and effort and most people these days are a bunch of scammers if you ask me.

i looked at 10+ possible options and not ONE of them wanted to get a sign off from the dealer before i took it.

this place seems to have rentals.

http://centuryrentals.ca/ladner/harbourside

decent area just off ladner trunk road. my sister does not live too far from there.

the area is pretty quiet.

also, some people seem to have places on airbnb.

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/3401827?s=nQln

if you end up getting a car then where you stay is easier...[buses are terrible in YVR except if you are close to the one bus you need to be on]

if you have a car, i would look at Richmond since your most likely to find many places for short term rent and furnished. in fact, lots of new places around Steveston so the commute will not be horrible but the tunnel commute is pretty bad.

tentseller

The best "car" solution for you is a longer term rental, 30 days plus.

I know Thrifty, Avis and Budget do it in Ontario. It is just like a rental except the cars are not as new. They are usually from the daily rental fleet.

You can get full insurance as well as not having to worry about repairs and maintainance for one all inclusive payment.

At the end you just return the car, walk away and nothing to worry about unlike try selling a purchased car nor getting a leased car back to take back condition.

mkjr

i agree....and depending on your CC, it could be successive rentals just less than 30 days might allow some level of insurance coverage.

tentseller

A 2-6 month rental all in is much cheaper than a rolling shorter rental just to get CC insurance.

I consult for a firm who do short term international work placements. This is the route for getting usage of a car without large or long term conmitment.

VBRO is also a good source for furnished accomodations.One can usually negotiate a 3 month rental for a lot cheaper than the posted daily/weekly rate.

Taiwaned

"Long term rental" was the term I was looking for, perhaps not "lease" - my apologies.

The last time I went back home and needed a vehicle for 8 weeks. I went to a car rental place that offered me a "Short term lease". He told me it was cheaper than renting a vehicle at the daily rate. Cost ended up being about 250 per month. The car was 10 plus years old, it had bumps and scratches but did the job.

gglave

You might want to start by giving this place a call -

http://www.beachgrovemotel.com/products.html

Map: https://goo.gl/maps/Vji1n

It's not the Waldorf, but it's near(ish) where you need to be, and they offer monthly rates.

If nothing else, you could stay there for a week or two while you get settled and get your bearings.

Enjoy flight school - I'm jealous!

kyden

Did you make it to flight school? I know quite a bit about the area...