Where to Live in Downtown Toronto (on a budget)

So you got a job in downtown Toronto and can’t wait for that 24 hour vibe, the liveliness of the city and oh wait, dammit, where are you going to live downtown that won’t cost you next terms tuition? Not to worry my downtown-bound students, there are many awesome student housing options available to non-UofT or Ryerson students that won’t break the bank.

Tartu College
Description: Older furnished single-gender-suite student highrise at Spadina Subway Station. I lived here in Winter 2009 and it really grew on me. The bedrooms are tiny, but really efficiently organised and the exterior bedroom wall is mostly window so it helps make the space feel bigger. I lived in a 6-bedroom unit on the top floor so the view was amazing! There are 2 washrooms in each unit and 1 shared kitchen. The unique part about the kitchen is that each person has their own lockable pantry with a mini fridge in it. While most of us didn’t lock our pantry, it’s a nice feature to have if your roommates are sketchy or you are leaving town for the weekend and don’t want to come back to somebody having dirtied your dishes and eaten your food. Also, lots of UK and Australian exchange students live here so it’s a great way to meet new people.

Price: Standard Single is all that will be left and is $560/month, utilities, internet and weekly common area cleaning included, coin laundry extra
Website: www.tartucollege.ca

Neill Wycik
Description: Older furnished co-ed-suite student highrise 5 minutes walking South-East of College Subway Station. I have never personally lived here but have had friends who have and said it was awesome. It’s a co-op so the price is great, but you have to do contribute 2 hour of your time per month to some activity supporting the facility or its tenants.  Most of the bigger rooms are taken, so you’d likely just be getting a standard smaller one. Contact them to have them mail you a paper application, email applications are not accepted.
Price: Single from $463/month, utilities included.
Website: www.neill-wycik.com

Campus Coop
Description: Older co-ed furnished houses around the North-West area of the UofT campus. This group owns >20 full houses around UofT which are completely occupied by students. They have houses in which residents split on groceries and cook communal meals as well as houses where there is no meal plan. It is a coop so the prices are great, but you do have to contribute time to the coop each month. There are very few rooms left for the winter term, so contact them to find out what is available and fill in an application.
Price: Single from $400/month depending on the house and meal plan, utilities and internet included.
Website: www.campus.coop

The following few places are locations I have looked into, but have never actually contacted or known anybody who has lived here.

Campus Common
Description: Private 1-3 bedroom student apartments at 50 Gerrard Street. Your best bet for getting 4 months here is to join their Facebook group and look for a sublet. I did this twice and both times was contacted by people asap asking full-price, but you can talk them down quite a bit.
Price: I negotiated $500/month utilities in for a summer sublet (which I subsequently didn’t take). Website lists $747 for a single room in a triple apartment.
Website: www.campuscommon.ca

New Horizons
Description: Former hotel at Dufferin Subway Station. Varying types of room, check website.
Price: Fairly expensive during school year, rate depends on room type.
Website: www.studentresidencenht.com

Primrose Student Residence
Description: Section of the Best Western Primrose Hotel used as a student residence 5 minutes walking West of College Subway Station. Typical hotel style rooms and mandatory meal plan.
Price: Really expensive.
Website: www.torontostudentresidence.com

You can also try to live at one of UofT’s residences. They typical don’t admit non-UofT student during school months, but it is worth a try. I’ve lived at Grad House and Victoria University’s Rowell Jackman Hall in summer terms and they were amazing! It’s worth checking out the UofT website to see if you can get residence in the Winter Term, though it may be expensive.

Congrats on getting a coop in downtown Toronto and happy house hunting! Feel free to chat with me if you are looking for additional resources on student housing in downtown Toronto (I can be found in Novelties Tues and Thurs at 12:30pm).