How to Find a Student Housing in Vancouver, Canada

Deciding to study abroad and live in a new country is one of the most courageous decisions you can make! Before you pack everything and land in a new country, don’t forget to find accommodation! Living in a safe neighbourhood with accessible facilities will greatly improve your life quality. We are here to tell you how to find student housing in Vancouver!

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In this blog, we will talk about the different kinds of accommodations in Canada and provide you with reliable house hunting websites.

  • Do you know that Create Career College also provides students with accommodations? Rooms are limited so contact us for more information.

 

Where do international students live in Canada?

On-Campus Dormitory

Most universities offer on-campus housing and they would usually fulfill the first-year students’ application first. The traditional dormitory consists of double rooms (with 2 beds) and one-bedrooms, and there will be at least one common room on each floor for students to socialize and hold parties. When you are in the 3rd or 4th-year university, you would probably live off-campus in a rented house or apartment with friends or classmates.

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Homestay

For international students who want to practice their English and immerse themselves in the Canadian culture, living with a homestay family would be a good idea. It is especially beneficial for those students who don’t want to cook or don’t know how to cook because the host family will provide you with 2-3 meals per day. Generally speaking, the price of living in a homestay is $1000 per month. 

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For finding a homestay in Vancouver, you may want to explore https://vancouver.homestaybay.com/en

House 

If you want a bigger bedroom and spaceful parking space, renting a house sounds like a good choice for you. In Canada, a house usually consists of 2-3 floors (may also come with a basement) with 4-6 rooms. In some cases, the landlord lives on one floor and he/she will sublet the other floor to renters with/without a separate door entrance. The disadvantage of living in a house is that sometimes the house is not that secure compared to an apartment (Apartment buildings have concierge). Therefore, you may want to install a security camera and lock your valuable goods to prevent the break-in. 

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Apartment

In-building gym, swimming pool, bowling room, community room, those are the common facilities in an apartment building. If you value the living quality and want to access these complementary services for free, you could consider living in an apartment.

Usually, an apartment building is located close to the bus stop or Skytrain station, therefore, it is convenient for those students who commute without a car. On the other hand, renting a 2b2b (two bedrooms, two washrooms) apartment in Vancouver usually costs more than $2400 and some landlords will need you to sign at least a one-year contract. Therefore, if you can commit to the one-year agreement and are not price-sensitive, an apartment could be your number one choice.

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Useful websites to find accommodation in Vancouver,

In Vancouver, the popular housing hunting websites are Craigslist and Kijiji.

When you are signing a BC Tenancies Agreement, be sure to use the official contract template that is provided by the province.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/housing-and-tenancy/residential-tenancies/forms/rtb1_chrome.pdf

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