Hi all

I'm totally new to this forum but have a question for you all. We're moving to Edmonton in Aug/Sept this year, we really want a furnished vacation rental in Edmonton for a month while we look for a proper rental in an area we like. Can anyone suggest where I can find one? Really need a minimum of 3 bedrooms in a decent area for kids. I have searched and found quite a few 2 bedroom places, 3 rooms seems to be the show stopper!

We have lived there years ago on a working holiday, and lived in an apartment near the West Edmonton Mall (prior to having kids), any good v bad area comments too?

Thanks

Try a Google search for Boardwalk and Midwest properties - they are two biggest rental companies in the city though most rentals will be unfurnished. I was put up for a month on 40 Ave by 114 St, in a nice new building back in 2004 but I can't remember the name of the company which provided it - my employer paid.

Where you work is a big part of which neighbourhood will suit best. The South Side is the growth area for family living - along Ellerslie Road especially. Generally, west of Calgary Trail is best on the South Side though Summerside is nice. Avoid Mill Woods as you would a rabid dog...

The West End is mostly okay but not much better than okay. Riverbend is the traditionally nice area though some find it a little too Chinese. The north and north east can be rough with nice parts.

Otherwise, try the suburbs! St Albert is a nice town and great if you work in the west end. Beaumont and Devon are popular too. Sherwood Park is okay if you work in the east end. Take a good look at where the railway lines are, wherever you are in th Edmonton area. Quite apart from the noise, if you have a railway crossing on the way to work it can take a big chunk out of your day if you have to wait for a 15,000ft long train to pass at 5mph....

Personally, I'd avoid the West End as a place to live, but that's just me.

Not sure if you're gonna find any vacation rentals out here to be honest. We found our rental on Edmonton Rentfaster (easy to find on google), but there's also a site called rentedmonton.

We have two young kids also, so if you have any other questions, feel free to ask....

You could try looking on vrbo.com, which is vacation rental by owner, so they only do short term rentals. We have managed to rent a basement suite through that for a reccie in January.

I did notice that there was at lease one detached 3 bed property on there in Edmonton, there may also have been some Condos that were 3 bed too.

Thanks for the replies everyone, for permanent residence we've been looking in the TwinBooks / Summerside / McGrath Heights areas. Any comments on these?

Cheers

I've not heard of TwinBrooks or McGrath, but I'm assuming they're small sub divisions. I know Summerside- it's a huge residential development on the south side of Edmonton, and is close to the highways and south edmonton common. It's a (man made) lake community, but it is a massive development and there's still loads of building works going on. One of my work colleagues lives on there- he has a detached garage at the back of his house that has been broken in to 3 or 4 times in the last 12 months. Each time, they've left his car but stolen his iPod, change out of the car, camping gear... all kinds of stuff except his car.

I live in Sherwood Park, which is just east of Edmonton, and you'll probbaly find one area is very similar to the next. The West End is very industrial and typically more crime ridden than most parts of the city, but South Edmonton (Terwilliger, Riverbend, Summerside) and Sherwood Park and St Albert are all nice suburbs- relatively crime free, easy commute in to downtown edmonton, and close to all the major highways and amenities.

I've been by Twin Brooks, and moreso Magrath, many times. Magrath in particular gives you a couple of ways out into the city - 23 Ave to Calgary Trail and Riverbend Road up to Whitemud, and also a way out to Anthony Henday Drive. There's a pretty decent mini-mall right by it, with another in Riverbend and another on Ellerslie, as well as all the strip mall shopping and dining of 23 Ave.

Summerside is farther out, useful if you want access to the airport but you do have to cross a railway line to get to Calgary Trail! It has easy access to South Edmonton Common with all the big box stores.

I'd prefer Magrath, but any of them will do - nice areas with, for the most part, nice people.

I always think Twin Brooks seems a bit isolated due to the, er, two brooks that form boundaries.

The fact that Summerside is just across Ellerslie Road from Mill Woods may have something to do with the crimes, though of course there's always the possibility of bored teens anywhere...

It's also a whole lot nicer, and more secure, to have an attached garage! The coldest I've experienced (suffered?) so far is an absolute -39 with windchill of -61. That was in St Albert with a detached garage, though thankfully my truck had a remote starter - well worth the money. Now we're in Dubai, cold is less of an issue.

An Edmonton tip you may not get elsewhere - never leave a can of pop in the car or truck overnight. Round about -20, cans tend to explode, leaving a brown, frozen sludge over the seats, console, headliner, the works. If you then use a remote starter the next morning, the sludge will start melting by the time you get in. Thus, wet bum and wet head from a drippy ceiling. If you happen to have a full-size truck like a Toyota Tundra, and your better half leaves a can in the passenger side pocket, you won't know about it (can't see into that door pocket from the driver's seat) until you notice the dampness.

Hi

I don't think you could go that wrong with any of those areas. I live near Magrath and there are some serious million dollar mansions up there! It is very nice but pricey.

Twin Brooks looks older and more established to me. Summerside like others have said, is a new large subdivision south of Anthony Henday Drive, not unlike Terwillegar. The Hamptons to the west looks the same again.

To me, there's not a lot to chose between a lot of the subdivisions on the south side. All nice, with the same facilities and shops close by.

snow valley has reminded me that having not been in Edmonton since the Henday extended beyond Hwy 2, I'm probably being unfair to Summerside. The railway crossing on Ellerslie is not an issue if you get on the Henday.