Niagara Falls (apartment, to rent, casinos)

[ndn666]

I currently live on the south shore of Montreal. Looking to move to the Niagara Region. French and me don't get along so working in the city here is a bit hard. Maybe looking to rent a house/appartment for a while and try out a job at one of the casinos. They have always interested me.

Can I get some background on this area. I have been a few time, but that's been to the "touristy" areas. And never relaly noticed the rest. Anything would be appreciated.

[warm heatherette]

I'm from St. Catharines, which is about a 10 minute drive from the Falls. I have several friends that work at the casinos in various capacities. Some who are dealers work steady brutal night shifts, with rarely any weekends off. The places are open 24 hours, 365 days a year. I know others who work in maintenance, slot repair & in the finance department - these are the day jobs.

Niagara Falls is picking up economically because of the casinos, and there are some nice areas to live in. Certainly there are areas to avoid, as well. The downtown core is a hole. Rents would be in the $750.00 - $950.00 range for a decent apartment in a nice area, depending on how may bedrooms you wanted. St. Catharines would be slightly more expensive. Chippawa & Thorold would be cheaper, but you probably wouldn't want to live there. Niagara-on-the-Lake would be through the roof, but the nicest place to live.

I prefer St. Catharines, but perhaps I'm biased. It's central to everything, has some great restaurants & clubs, & the tourism is a bit more laid back - think wineries rather than Clifton Hill.

If you could be more specific about what you're looking for, perhaps I could give you more info.

[Charmd1]

I've been going back and forth for a while, trying to decide where in Canada I want to move to for a year. I've narrowed it down, finally, to St Catharines, for a number of reasons. Now the problem is what area in St Catharines. I'm moving there for a year, because I've always wanted to live in Canada, and now that my children are grown I don't have to be in the immediate vicinity. My only real criteria is water! I do want to be near water. I'm looking to rent an apartment or small house. Any info you can give would be appreciated.