Could anyone tell us what sort of accommodation you used for the first few weeks of your arrival in Calgary and the sorts of rental prices you paid for it? We are a family of two adults and three young sons. Also, can anyone advise us about cheap car rentals/leasing too please?

You could use a motel as you can get a suite with a kitchen, or you could have a look at http://www.kijiji.ca/

Hope this helps.

MR79

Have a look on muchmorcanada.com its free to subscribe and a good resource.

Car rentals are all pretty much he same. We stayed in a motel for a month to get our bearings and have time to find a suitable rental in an area we liked. Personally I preferred SW Calgary. When you arrive, rent everything and it gives you time to sort yourselves out.

We arrived on the 16 July this year and bought our mini-van the next day as it saved about $1200 for a weeks hire! There are plenty of Motels along Hwy1/16th Ave (the area around the McMahon stadium is called motel village) that have dinettes, Microwave fridge etc and if you take it for a month the rates are way better that hotels. AVOID the NE, the prices look good for rent but loads of issues drugs hookers etc and the airport. Avoid Panorama Hills and Coventry Hills as they are right at the end of the western runway so very noisy. If you are looking for nice areas for the kids with good schools then look in the NW. Yes you will pay more for rent but nice quiet areas with small parks and green space for them to let off steam. We are paying $1500 for a 3 bed split in Citadel close to 2 parks 3 schools. Normal rentals are for between 6-12 months. Unless you have a job it is hard to go through an agency, we tried 5 and all refused us, try homerent.ca better rates and more flexible about the rental period. We saw the ad on the wed, viewed thurs, was in the friday.

Matt

Thanks very much all Please keep it coming...

I will move this as it doesn't belong in the immigration forum, hopefully then you'll get more answers too.

I dont think you'll get much better than Matts. The lad is pretty well spot on (IMO)

We have just arrived in the Toronto region and stayed in the first week at the Staybridge Suites, they are a chain owned by Choice hotels who also own Holiday Inn etc. They have 2 bedroom suites perfect for families with a kitchen 2 bathrooms, for about £80 a night. The price also includes breakfast each morning and during the weekdays in an evening a small meal. Would very highly recommend staying there. They do have one in Calgary.