I am coming to calgary on 20th Nov. and my husband and 4 year daughter will come n january end.I need help from you people on following points
which is the best place to live in calgary
I have following requirement
it should be near to a good daycare,school
it should be near to my office which is in SW 7st Avenue area
tips to keep in mind before renting apartement
Rental cost for 1 bedroom apartement
should i take help from professional rental agencies/brokers or classifieds
what is usual security deposit
what should i look in lease agreement
what are basic amenities included in rental cost

I am looking forward for help from CD

7th Avenue SW is downtown area. You can try living anywhere around 11th Avenue to 17th Avenue. Rents range from $600 per month to $1000 per month. There are apartments in downtown also.

Usually you have to give 1 month rent as security deposit. Generally, electricity, phone & cable are not included in rent (some apartments might provide).

It is difficult to say which is best place to live in Calgary. Indian grocery store & majority Indian population is in North-east area. If you are looking to get an apartment before coming to Canada, take help of professional agencies. Otherwise after coming here, you can refer to local newspapers, websites, etc. & find out house. There will be displays outside the apartments regarding the rental availability.

Lease agreements are standard.

If you will be having a vehicle right from the beginning, you can look at areas like the North-east, NOrth-West, etc. too.

Thanks & rgds.

Rajan.

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thank you rajand for your reply.

pls . tell me what is the distance between NE area and SW and how much time it will take if I use public transport.How much is rental cost in NE area.

What is the distance btw 11-17th avenue and how much time it will take

regards

Welcome to Calgary to you and your family. I am providing below some information about rental apartments in Calgary which I hope you would find useful.

Your office is on 7th Ave SW (you havent mentioned the cross street), so its in the downtown section. The C-Train runs on 7th Ave SW (7th Ave is closed to vehicle traffic) so your office is likely right next to a C-Train station - that will make commuting a whole lot easier!

There are some excellent rental properties available downtown - but typically rents in downtown are higher than in suburbs. One good advantage is that within the core downtown area C-Train is free: you can just hop on and hop off and you dont need a ticket. So if you are renting downtown and are close to a C-Train station, you can commute very easily to work.

You will find daycare all over the city and most of them offer the same set of services. I am not sure about schools in the downtown area though.

Rents in Calgary are pretty low (downtown is the exception). You can check out rental info and other info about Calgary at http://www.relocatecanada.com." rel="nofollow">LINK Typical rent period is one year - and if you vacate early you are responsible for the remainder of your lease period. So, if you are not sure whether you will be in Calgary for one year, its best to look for short term rentals. Short term rentals (limited) are available for 3month and 6 month periods and some properties rent on a month-to-month basis. You options will be much less when you go in for short term/ month to month rentals though. Also, these will be a little more expensive than long term rentals.

Most apartments come with three (oven, range, and fridge) or four (dishwasher) appliances. If you get an apartment with laundry facilities its much more convenient. You can check out rental classifieds from private owners at calgaryherald.com and other sites like craigslist.com

Security deposit depends upon your rental history - if you do not have previous rental history in Canada, you may have to pay higher sec deposit. Typical deposits for good rental history are $100-$300 although some properties charge a full one-months deposit.

Hope the above info helps, if you have any questions, please post and I will do my best to answer!

Sashu,

Distance between NE area & downtown again depends on how far you would be staying from a C-train station in NE. The train journey itself might not take more than 20-25 minutes even if you stay near Whitehorn which is the last C-train station in NE. Bus frequency depends on the area & the time of the day. So your transit time would depend accordingly. e.g. I used to take about 1 hr. & 15 minutes for 1 time commute to my office when I used to take bus & train & then walk. By car it is around 20-25 minutes. Even if you have your own vehicle, parking in downtown would be expensive unless your office provides you parking facility. I would recommend buying your own vehicle at the earliest if you can afford it.

Rental cost in NE area would be around $400 to $1000 depending on whether it is basement, apartment, house, etc.

Again distance between 11th Avenue & 17th Avenue depends on what street you stay on. 17th Avenue is a major avenue which runs thro' many streets & areas. Should not take you more than 30 minutes to downtown near your office.

Just curious to know, if you are outside Canada how did you manage a job in Canada before coming here?

As Canadian Dream has rightly mentioned, the facilities are as he mentioned. Some apartments provide laundry machines which you can use by inserting money. I do not have a dishwasher in my apartment. I don't know of schools in the downtown area although there are some day-care centres in the downtown area but admission is difficult in those.

Thanks & rgds.

Rajan.

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