Finally! We’re in Calgary and we’ve accomplished number one on our short list of things we need to fix to be able to live here (1. Finding an apartment in Calgary, 2. Finding jobs in Calgary) – we’ve got an apartment! It went much easier than we thought and we’ve already moved in. And it’s beautiful! Not that I care too much since we basically just want to live cheap and save money for travelling, but it’s actually way more comfortable to come home to a nice, clean and convenient place than just staying in a room with nothing but a tiny bed. (Trust me, I’ve done that – even without the bed.)
So how did we find our apartment? We looked on different sites such as RentFaster and Kijiji, but also in various Facebook groups.
RentFaster is specialised on exactly what it sounds like, renting. There are a lot of different housing options and basically something for everyone!
On Kijiji on the other hand, you can find a little bit of everything. Rooms to rent, cars to buy or jobs to apply for.
If you want to go through Facebook, just search for “Calgary Rent”. As a result, you will find various groups for this purpose.
There are definitely a possibility to find a decent place to stay going by either of these three options. Although, we actually ended up going a different way – we’re renting through airbnb! If you’re going to choose this option, there are some things you need to know:
- Finding an apartment in Calgary, or anywhere really, through airbnb does have it pros and cons. If you book with a superhost or someone with a lot of reviews, you can assume it’s safe and not a scam. However, you will have to pay extra for that safety – airbnb charges you for booking with them and it can be a rather high fee.
- On the other hand, if you book long-term, your host is most likely to give you a discount! That’s what happened to us and we ended up getting the place for 30% less than the listing price. We’re starting with a a contract for a month just to see if we will get jobs here, and if it works out we will extend it!
I wouldn’t say finding an apartment in Calgary or any other city through airbnb is a good way to go if you want something permanent, but for our situation it is just perfect. It’s also a great way to get to know the city and to discover different areas before you decide where to settle down!