Apartments in Halifax

[miketoronto]

My friend is moving to Halifax in a month for a one year contract job with Dal.

Would any of you be able to direct me to any good buildings you know near the campus which do not charge a huge sum of rent, that are nice and clean? My friend has been looking but it would be nice to have a inside prespective.

[pblaauw]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

My friend is moving to Halifax in a month for a one year contract job with Dal.

Would any of you be able to direct me to any good buildings you know near the campus which do not charge a huge sum of rent, that are nice and clean? My friend has been looking but it would be nice to have a inside prespective.

This is about as central to everything (incl. Dal) as you can get.

[kph06]

Not sure if they've used Rent Donkey or not, but its a great resource to pick an area and see all the rentals that meet the users selected criteria. It beats sifting through all the clutter on Kijiji.

[hokus83]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

My friend is moving to Halifax in a month for a one year contract job with Dal.

Would any of you be able to direct me to any good buildings you know near the campus which do not charge a huge sum of rent, that are nice and clean? My friend has been looking but it would be nice to have a inside prespective.

Avoid all apartment buildings in the city at all cost, the only way to go in this city is renting a space in house divided up for such propose

[miketoronto]

Thanks for the information.

From what he has seen so far, Halifax (at least in the central area) seems pretty expensive.

[eastcoastal]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Thanks for the information.

From what he has seen so far, Halifax (at least in the central area) seems pretty expensive.

It is expensive... typically because of Dal and St. Mary's: they're both close to downtown, and usually students aren't ones to seek out possibilities for living "far" from campus. Halifax CAN be pretty easy to get around if you're in the right area. I think most places on the peninsula can get to Dal fairly easily.

Your friend might want to try near the Hydrostone or in the North End. Fairly quick connections to downtown/Dal via transit on Robie St., or Gottingen/Novalea, biking is 10 mins or less, and Driving is pretty simple. If you look at a map, I'd stick close to
1. Young St., to the north, North St., to the South, Robie to the west, and Gottingen to the east.
2. Anywhere on Agricola St. Anything more than a block or two north of Young St. starts to get inconvenient in terms of getting to Dal.
3. Anything within a couple blocks of the Halifax Common
- There's a building right across the street from the Hydrostone Market called Gardenstone Place (5548 Kaye St.) that is rentals (there are groceries within two or three blocks)
- There are various condos in the area that occasionally have units rented, and there are plenty of houses with flats.


The West End of the city can be pretty decent. Pricewise, I feel like Jubilee road is the boarder between more expensive (but crappier) student housing to the south, and less expensive spaces to the north. This area will almost exclusively be flats in converted houses.
1. Quinpool Rd. is a major artery - not very pedestrian-friendly, but has groceries.

Dartmouth tends to be less expensive - I lived there for a couple years while going to Dal. The ferry ride across the harbour was nice, but I didn't have a car, and groceries and other services are in short supply within the residential areas of Dartmouth. Also tough to get home late night/early morning.

[mcmcclassic]

The apartments on Brunswick St. (that block between Duke and Cogswell) are a fair compromise on quality, price, and location. I was in looking at units last week and 1 bedroom units are going for $900-$1000.

As far as the north end is concerned, the Hydrostone gentrification has driven rent prices way up (I struggled to find anything decent for under $1000).

For those willing to commute over the bridge, there are deals to be had in Downtown Dartmouth. I pay $695 for a 1 bedroom and it's a 5 min walk to the ferry terminal (and has a harbour view as an added bonus). I'm guessing the prices are going to rise soon though because my area is improving rapidly.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by mcmcclassic

For those willing to commute over the bridge, there are deals to be had in Downtown Dartmouth. I pay $695 for a 1 bedroom and it's a 5 min walk to the ferry terminal (and has a harbour view as an added bonus). I'm guessing the prices are going to rise soon though because my area is improving rapidly.

The problem is that the ferry dumps you on Upper Water St and getting from there to anywhere close to the universities is not at all easy thanks to our poorly-designed bus network.

[hokus83]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The problem is that the ferry dumps you on Upper Water St and getting from there to anywhere close to the universities is not at all easy thanks to our poorly-designed bus network.

You have no legs or something?

[mcmcclassic]

Originally Posted by Keith P.

The problem is that the ferry dumps you on Upper Water St and getting from there to anywhere close to the universities is not at all easy thanks to our poorly-designed bus network.

It is unfortunate that the bus terminal isn't on Upper Water, but it's only a 5 min walk up to the Scotia Square Terminal. I'm fortunate that I work in Scotia Square so in my particular case this isn't an issue. Maybe when the Cogswell land is cleared, they can somehow integrate a ferry stop in with a new bus terminal...

[Hali87]

It also depends what part of Dal your friend is working at. Sexton Campus (architecture, planning, engineering) is less than a 10 minute walk from the ferry terminal. The "main" campus (Studley-Carleton) is quite a bit further (in Halifax terms) but there are frequent buses that go there from the Dartmouth Bridge terminal.

Generally, on the peninsula, high-rise apartments are fairly average in terms of quality - neither truly awful nor particularly high-end, barring a few newer towers in the Spring Garden area. A lot of the older walk-ups are kind of run down (although many have been refurbished) and as has been mentioned, many houses have been converted to flats, which are often the preferred option. There are also quite a few newer midrise buildings that seem quite nice and aren't particularly expensive. In all cases, a bachelor or 1-bedroom within walking or easy bus/bike distance from main campus would generally be between 600-1200/month, depending on size and building amenities. The neighbourhoods bounded by Oxford, North, South, and Robie offer basically all of these options, are quite pleasant, urbane, and convenient (pedestrian-oriented retail, 24-hour supermarkets, frequent transit), and centre on Quinpool, which is one of the city's better commercial streets. One potential downside is that it's quite a young (student-heavy) area, so if peace and quiet are major priorities, west of Oxford, south of South, or north of North might be better options.

[Keith P.]

Originally Posted by hokus83

You have no legs or something?

I have a disability that makes walking straight uphill very difficult at the best of times. Not everyone is 20 and running marathons.

[Hali87]

Something else that is important to consider is that many of the older houses are poorly insulated, so heating costs can be quite a bit higher than expected. If possible, look for a unit where rent includes utilities. This tends to be less of a problem in actual apartment buildings.

[Drybrain]

Good point up above--a lot of Halifax's old houses are heated with oil tanks, which are super expensive in the winter. I love the old housing stock, but they're a lot cheaper to heat when outfitted with new windows and insulation. (Monthly rent might be a tad higher, but it pays off in winter.)