Tips for Moving to Edmonton

[TR_Chick]

This fall I will be a Winnipeg-to-Edmonton transplant for about 7 months for job training. I was born and raised in Winnipeg and have been to Edmonton a grand total of twice in my life time and know very little about the city.

I am definitely an "urbanist" and want to live in a more lively area, while also being close(er) to my work which is about a 15 minute walk to the south of Capillano mall on 49 street. I am thinking Whyte Avenue area (maybe towards the east end closer to Bonnie Doon mall as the prices for apartments seem more acceptable? Though coming from Winnipeg where you can get a NICE 1 bdrm apartment in a nicerish area for under $1000 to seeing kind of gross 1bdrms going for at min $1000, with nicer ones being $1200 is kind of a shocker!) I have noticed that basement/in house suites are a fairly common thing, especially south of the River... but I am tentative about those set ups because I have an inherent distrust of people.

I was hoping to reach out to my fellow SkyscraperPage posters and get some tips on moving out West! Any "must see" things that I should do while I am there in the fall and winter? Any suggestions on things to avoid, or tips for getting around town?

[Coldrsx]

Yeah, I would recommend either East Whyte (99st to 83st) or even downtown if you can find a rental near 100st/jasper as there is a bus that goes directly to Capilano Mall.

[kcantor]

while you note your place of employment "is about a 15 minute walk to the south of capillano mall on 49 street", you didn't actually say whether you were intending to walk/use transit/ or drive to work. if you know your work address, you could look up the route of those buses that provide service and eliminate options not on that route. route 80 as example runs through eastgate industrial as part of it's loop from southgate to capilano so areas like southgate may be a better option for you than whyte ave or downtown and have good "after hours access" to whyte ave and downtown. the city of Edmonton's website should help a lot in doing that:
http://www.edmonton.ca/transportatio...stem-maps.aspx
you might also want to "rethink" your position on basement suites. you don't have to be any more trusting renting a basement suite than an apartment and in some cases you stand a better chance of actually knowing your landlord and who you will be dealing with if they also live in the house than dealing with a rental agent looking after an apartment or condo.

[TR_Chick]

You raise a good point about basement apartments... Ill keep a more open mind when looking. Ill look at Southgate as well. I want to be within a 30 minute bus trip commute time and have walking access to the majority of services which is what attracted me to the whyte area initially. Safety is also something I need to be cognizant of as well because I am a young female, and while I can hold my own (have lived in downtown Winnipeg for the last 6 years so i have seen it all), I obviously prefer safer areas.

I want to either be able to walk, bike, or bus to work. The buses that service my office are the 4 and the 80, 84, 85, 86 routes.

[Landlocked]

Though I don't consider many areas of our city to be 'unsafe', you might find one of the Edmonton Police Service tools useful as you try to scope out areas: http://crimemapping.edmontonpolice.ca/

You can see what sort of crimes have been committed in any Edmonton neighbourhood for a specified range of time.

[kcantor]

Originally Posted by TR_Chick

You raise a good point about basement apartments... Ill keep a more open mind when looking. Ill look at Southgate as well. I want to be within a 30 minute bus trip commute time and have walking access to the majority of services which is what attracted me to the whyte area initially. Safety is also something I need to be cognizant of as well because I am a young female, and while I can hold my own (have lived in downtown Winnipeg for the last 6 years so i have seen it all), I obviously prefer safer areas.

I want to either be able to walk, bike, or bus to work. The buses that service my office are the 4 and the 80, 84, 85, 86 routes.

you didn't mention "which" 7 months of the year you're going to be here. obviously october through april won't be nearly as pleasant as april through october (which would the same in winnipeg as it will be here so you know what i mean) so your walking/biking to work options aren't going to be as viable as you might be hoping depending on the time of year (edmonton doesn't maintain the same kinds of standards as winnipeg).

you did mention that you will be here for "job-training" but not whether that's with an existing or new or proposed employer. regardless, you may want to see if they have a company newsletter or "broadcast e-mail" that they may be able to make available to you to see if there is a co-worker that might be able to assist in providing or securing suitable accommodation.

[Xelebes]

I live in the Argyll area south of Whyte. You can catch the 80 to Capilano or connect to the 4 to Capilano with the 70 or the 81.

Basement suites are great if you are noisy, maybe not as good as a slab apartment or a SFH. I'm not a people person at all but basement suites abide with my personality. Even better is that you get more bang for your buck. Good neighbourhoods in Argyll and Hazeldean. Roads are getting repaved so there might be a hinderance there but eh, neighbourhood will look nice.

[feepa]

transit heat maps might help determine what a 30 minute bus ride away from your destination is

http://www.transitheatmap.com/heat.html?edmonton

[TR_Chick]

I will be there for September through March. Being from Winnipeg, the winter really doesn't bother me. And if the bike ride is less than 30 minutes I am willing to bike in the winter. Also, I am a new employee, but have worked as a student with the company for a number of years so I know some of the people who are out there. Most of them are suburban people though who the thought of living downtown or in an urban area isn't the most appealing I have reached out to the people I know and they helped me narrow it down to the areas I have mentioned so far.

I own a loud blender (I have a high powered Blendtec (like a viatmix) so noise is a concern. Otherwise I am a pretty quiet person! Just noisy appliances. Also when I stopped to think about it... it would be nice having in suite access to laundry

[middeljohn]

Arrived here myself three months ago. I posted an ad on kijiji two months before departing saying I need a short term rental, that I need parking etc, and a surprising number of people got back to me. Ended up living somewhere in the west end for a month before finding a permanent place downtown.

Can't say too much about the transit here as I haven't used it a whole lot. What I have noticed is that every time I've taken the bus or LRT I didn't have to wait very long.

You should also be able to find a place on Whyte or Jasper for less than $1000 depending if you can handle a roomate or not. I can't personally so I got a 2bdrm for myself for 1200. But if it's only 7 months I'd just post an ad and see what roomate offers come back to you.

[Hallsy's Toupee]

never mind, wrong thread