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As for housing... it will be a lot more expensive than you are used to in Montreal, whether you rent or buy.
Also - Moving out here in August/September you will be competing with students for what little rental stock is available (if you are renting). Current rental vacancy rate is around 1%....
A good site for rentals is "Rent Faster", may also find some listings on Kijiji with the usual warning about rental ad scams. Never give a deposit or personal information unless you are certain that the property is actually for rent and you are dealing with the actual property management company or owner.
Try and find accomodation reasonably close to your place of employment - like any major city, the traffic here sucks!
Thanks to both of you, i just have a couple more follow up questions;
1. How much is enough as a pocket money to survive there until I can get a stable job and you think how many months will take me to settle in.
2. In terms of sections of calgary to stay away from or which ate the quiet/safe part of the city. For someone like me who's planning on starting a family there, where is the best place for me to start!
Again i cant stress enough how i appreciate a response from anyone! Thanks!
Pretty much all of Calgary is quiet and safe - but it is spread out over a huge land area. As I mentioned before, you're going to want to live close to where you are working.
For example, It would make for a painful commute if you were to rent or buy a condo/house in Rocky Ridge in the NW and you were working at the new south Calgary hospital in the far SE.
In general there are areas of the NE and central SE that are a little less safe than the rest of the city. I wouldn't want to live in Forest Lawn, Ogden or Whitehorn for example....
Be careful about rentals in Calgary. There are scam artists that will ask you for first month's rent and damage deposit before giving you possession of the property. When you show up, there will be three or four other families that have paid the same amount for the same property.
You should deal directly with the landlord and you should be given the keys when you give the money. Unless you are dealing with an agency, I don't think you will be asked to prove that you have money in the bank. Most landlords want references and some sort of assurance that you are able to pay the rent. For example, students will often have parents ensure that the rent will be covered.
Look in the deep SE Calgary (MacKenzie Towne, New Brighton, Mahogany, Seton, Chaparral, Auburn Bay, Copperfield) as this is very close to the new South hospital and South Health Centre. As well, these are new areas with young families so there's lots of things to do. Houses will range from 400K to 500K for a good family starter home.
I believe you can find rentals in Seton as investors have bought houses there to rent out to people coming to work at the South Hospital.
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