Real Estate in Canada

How do I find a place to live in Canada?

We asked expats how they chose their neighborhood and found a place to live. They answered:

"By location and building amenities (The Richlin) a great building for adults, not a good neighborhood for kids, Everything you can imagine is within 3 1/2 miles from here," added another expat who made the move to Ottawa.

"I bought a house near where my daughter initially wanted to go to school. She changed her mind before we moved in, wanting to attend school in a different town. So we moved 4500 miles together only to live 30 miles apart. She boarded, came home at weekends. Soon as my residency permit came through, I sold the house and bought one in the gulf islands," explained one foreigner living in Vancouver, Canada.

"We are in our 4th home in 8 years, moving from rental to rental until buying 5 years ago. Our neighborhood was really decided upon by the schools available to us with Quebec's language laws. If we could use any schools we would live more downtown rather than in the burbs," said another in Montreal.

"I looked at the Fraser Institute website giving school ratings as they operate a catchment area for entry to schools. This was my criteria and we found a bungalow in this area. Found it in a local newspaper and had to move fast," explained one expat in Edmonton.

"I came here 54 years ago and was married to a Canadian and so the house was chosen for me due to a housing shortage. Subsequently, my husband died and I came to the North West part of this city," explained one person living in Calgary, Canada.

What is a typical expat home or apartment like in Canada?