finding housing

[Guest Blackbird15]

Hey there,

I was wondering if any of the moderators (or current med students) could discuss how they went about finding roommates and housing. I'm probably being incredibly presumptious about my chances of getting into Mac by thinking about this before even getting an offer, but it's kinda weighing on my mind... I'm going to be out of the country until late July and won't be able to start looking for housing until then. Is that too late to start looking? For those of you who did not live in or close to Hamilton before med school, how did you go about looking for housing (i.e. meeting roommates, seeing the house, etc.)?

 

Any insight you could give me would be appreciated.

 

thanks,

Blackbird

[Guest jmh2005]

Ok...I'm not too current with what's going on at Mac in terms of housing as I now live in Oakville and commute in daily (but I did do my undergrad and post-grad at Mac as well so I have some ideas...) Here goes....

 

With both waitlist and full-out offers, they send you a Hamilton 'Renters Guide'...like most major cities have so that is a great place to start, especially if you want to live in an apartment and on your own, tonnes of 1 bedroom apts both just West and just East of the university most are on Main Street West. My suggestion would be to get a map of the city so you can see how far the buildings are from the university (there are many in walking distance)...I'm sure many will tell you how far they are on their ad...

 

The Hamilton Spectator housing/classified would also be another suggestion...this for more 'house' type of apartments...i.e., renting the main floor of a house, a bedroom in a house, etc...

 

McMaster also has an "off-campus student housing office" that is run by the student government, the MSU...which is also helpful...I believe they now have an on-line link, but there is also an office (which I believe has moved)..but I bet it is in the new student centre, where all the current listings should be posted...just call the main switchboard # which is 905 525-9140 and ask for it and they will connect you to the extension and they can tell you where to find it...

 

Yet another option...there should be a web site that will begin operation for the class of 2006 on the day the letters go out (this url address will be within the package of things you get if you get if your are waitlisted or offered...) where you can leave messages just like this board...many of my classmates found roommates this way and most groupings have turned out to be great experiences. This also helps on the cost of living, as more expenses are shared as I'm sure you are aware...

 

I also know of people who have just literally driven around an area where they wanted to live, have looked for signs and numbers and been succesful this way...the Aberdeen area has been popular among med students (close to St. Joe's and an all-round nice neighborhood, quieter than Westdale...) with older homes and large 2-3 story type apartments (10-15 bus ride, 20-30 min walk is a rough estimate, biking is probably just as fast as the bus!). I never lived there in my 6 years at Mac, but always wished I had...the other popular areas are Westdale (very undergrad-ish...heavily student populated, but very nice) and just West of Cootes drive (immediately just west of the university) has a nice little pocket of homes to share there are 6 or 7 streets that have a lot of student housing here (4-6 people, 2 floors often)....also just south of Main street across from the university, there are a tonne of houses as well. Dundas is also a nice option, a bit far of a walk, but lots of bus service and a very fast drive to campus.

 

One other hint for those of you who will be commuting or need to drive to school...PARKING!!!!...as soon as you know you are going to Mac, apply for a parking pass...due to the double cohort, parking will be in VERY short supply, some of my classmates did not get parking (but found room in a church parking lot across the street for a very low cost)...they say it is a random draw once your application is in...but those who applied early for their permit early (the deadline is July 31st), seemed to get parking (that may just be a coincidence...)...they only give Meds students parking in Zone 6 which is in the valley on the West side of Cootes Drive, and you need to take this very overcrowded white shuttle bus in everyday...it sucks...but it is better than walking, especially in the winter...once you get to clerkship you can purchase a 'superpass' that gets you into every Hamilton hospital for the low price of about $800.00!! But you'll realize...it's worth it!!

 

PS...July is definately not too late to start looking, this was when many people went out looking and found a nice place then looked for roommates via the web site i told you about...you will find something no matter...many people who got in off the wait list didn't find out until early to mid-July, and they had plenty of time...so don't worry about that!! Enjoy your travels, I wished I done that!!!

 

I hope that helps, please let me know if I can offer anymore assistance!

Take care!

[Guest macdreams]

That's AwEsOmE info! Thanks so much (Hopefully, I'll get to use it next year, or the next year, or the one after that... tee hee hee :b )

 

 

macdreams

[Guest WesternGirl]

Just to repeat what Jess said, the website that should be given to you with your acceptance package is really great for finding roommates. If you live close enough, you can meet with them otherwise, e-mail each other to see if you're compatible.

 

I personally used Renter's Guide and I came to Hamilton a couple of time to look for places in the end of June/beginning of July. However, I know some people didn't find places/look for places until much later than that.

[Guest Blackbird15]

hey jmh2005 and westerngirl,

thanks for the info!

 

edited to add that I'm constantly amazed at how helpful everyone on this forum is!

[Guest DrSahsi]

If you're really stuck looking for a place, or simply don't have a lot of time, there's a service in town that will do the legwork for you...for a fee, of course.

 

They're called SteelCity Homelocators. It's run by a couple, and they keep track of the (mostly rental) real estate listings in the area. They'll interview you, determine what you're looking for in a place (price, configuration, geography), and see if they can find anything that matches.

 

They helped us find a place at the last second when I first matched to Mac for residency. The place we originally had lined up fell through (while I was on vacation in the U.S., no less), and they were able to speed up the legwork. Found a new place in the middle of June for a July 1st move-in date, and left me a couple of days of vacation left to spare.

 

However, the next time we used them to try to find an out-of-town property they weren't much help at all... we fared much better doing it ourselves. I suspect they know only their immediate city all that well. Be aware that any money you put down with them is entirely non-refundable, and they offer no guarantees. Caveat emptor and all that.

 

www.homelocators.ca

 

I'm still a little miffed at our last experience with them (you didn't hear that from me!), but you may have better luck with looking for a more straightforward in-Hamilton rental.

 

- Rupinder

[Guest onionsneakers]

hey guys

 

i'll also be looking for housing from out of the country - i was accepted to mac meds last year but deferred my acceptance until this year, but now i'm in panama and won't be back until aug! i think i'll take jmh2005's advice and wait until the class of 2006 website opens up to look for potential roomates.

 

best of luck to all those who interviewed.