Guest Tousie Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hey there! I was wondering if anyone had any insights on finding a place in Vancouver near UBC? As I will only be there for 4 months I am not really picky as to what I get (as I have heard you can't be in Vancouver;) ) but any advice/hints would be much appreciated! Tousie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ollie Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hey Tousie, You will likely not have a problem finding a place to rent as the vacancy rate is really high right now, and therefore rents have gone down a bit. You can check out the classifieds at canada.com, and also http://www.amsrentsline.com is a good resource (it's UBC's off-campus housing advertisements). If you are going to be in town, you can just take a cruise around the area you're interested in, and look for vacancy signs. I walk to work everyday through the area around VGH where it's all apartment buildings, and literally every building has a vacancy sign. You don't need to restrict yourself to the immediate area around UBC either. As you go a little further east, the rents are cheaper. The bus trip to campus is pretty fast, and you get good use of your U-pass! As well, I'm not sure if you would have classes at VGH, but if so, it might be better to be somewhere in the middle. Happy hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tousie Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hi Ollie! Thanks for the advice and the useful links! Tousie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest grins Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 I emailed Thunderbird residence (UBC's resident for mature students) and although the gentleman that emailed me back basically said there was no hope for September, he did provide me with these helpful links for off-campus housing. I hope they're helpful. http://www.facultyassoc.ubc.ca http://www.u-swap.com http://www.rentbc.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hi there, Other on-campus housing options include: Fairview: (a pretty quiet residence just south of the Village on UBC's campus). It's a 3 minute walk to class, and most people living in Fairview are either senior undergrads, grad students, or professional students. It's pretty analogous to Thunderbird, but has a smaller community feeling to it. Thunderbird: (another student residence, sort of on the south-west edge of the UBC campus). 5-6 minute walk to class. Again, mostly senior undergrads, grad students, or professional students. T-bird offers quads, 1 bedrooms, and 2 bedrooms I believe. There's a big waitlist for all of them, with quads being the shortest and the 1-2 BR's the longest. Gage Towers: (another student residence, located by the Birdcoop gym and Student Union Building). 3 minute walk to class. This one's populated mainly by undergrads, although most are in second year or beyond; first years are all off on their own residences at Totem or Vanier. Big con to Gage is the fact that you share a floor with 5 other people, so if you don't like your roommates, or the idea of splitting a single bathroom/kitchen with 5 others isn't exciting to you, stay away. Gage also has some single apartments, but I'm not sure if they are available for you to rent. Ritsumeikan: (another student residence, located right around T-bird). This is a Japanese exchange residence, and pairs you up with 3 other roommates in a quad (?), two of whom will be Japanese exchange students here for studies. Supposed to be pretty quiet, and a nice place to live. St. Johns College, Green College: These are two graduate student residences on campus, both of which are a 5-7 minute walk to class. These two places also provide you with breakfast and dinner, and have studio/1 BR housing, so you don't have a roommate/flat mate. Very quiet. Undoubtedly the quietest and cleanest of all of the above options. St. Johns College in particular was recently renovated/constructed. Acadia: (family housing for UBC students). This is the family housing available at UBC. Essentially, it gets you a townhouse in a complex of other townhouses. It's located right behind Fairview, and is therefore just a 5-6 minute walk to class. Everyone else living there has a family, and it is therefore a pretty quiet place if you discount all the young children running around (probably still better than having a lot of older, drunker, frat-boy children running around). Subjectively, from what I've heard, here's how I'd rank them, if you were looking for a quieter, more mature living situation. From best to worst, it would be: St. Johns College/Green College (best) Fairview Ritsumeikan Thunderbird Gage (worst) Anyway, here are all the links you should check out, regarding housing at UBC: UBC Housing, with links to all UBC student residences: Listing of on-campus housing: www.housing.ubc.ca/other_housing/oncampus.htm Listing of off-campus housing: www.housing.ubc.ca/other_housing/offcampus.htm List of housing rental notice boards on the UBC campus: www.housing.ubc.ca/other_housing/board.htm List of Fraternity Houses: www.housing.ubc.ca/other_housing/fraternity.htm The final and most important thing I can recommend is: Apply early and to multiple places! People in my class stayed at each and every one of the above listed places during med school, and many of them were able to find spots at these places even in Med 1. By applying early, you put yourself on a waiting list, which may allow you to get one of these positions mid-year, if not at the beginning of the academic year. Also, there's a couple apartment complexes on the UBC grounds which you can apply for (I wish I knew their names, but maybe you can Google it), as well as numerous rental basement suites in people's homes in the Point Grey area (just 2-3 km outside of the UBC campus itself. If you're really on the ball, you can even rent an entire house and fill it with other medical/dental students. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tousie Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 thanks for the inside scoop guys! I must admit I was a little discouraged to be told there were 3000+ people on the waitlist for on-campus housing... If worse comes to worse I can always commute from Langley (my parent's live there) but that will mean some EARLY mornings!|I Since I am just looking for a place for 4 months, and since we are already established in Victoria (dog, etc...) the thought of paying for a place in both Van and Vic is getting more and more discouraging... Anyone know how bad radar is in the early hours of the morning?!?!:lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest physiology Posted May 27, 2004 Report Share Posted May 27, 2004 Hey Michelle, "Anyone know how bad radar is in the early hours of the morning?!?!" Do you mean the radar guns that the police use? Hey, when you commute in from Langley (to Van) do you use Highway 10, then highway 99 (Massey Tunnel), and then the Oak Bridge? Or do you use Highway 1, the god-awful Port Mann and then through Vancouver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kellyl20 Posted May 30, 2004 Report Share Posted May 30, 2004 Tousie: I know of a place for rent @ $330/month Vancouver East. If you are interested, let me know. 4 months shouldn't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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