Advice: Kitchener-Waterloo area

[ak45]

I wrote this post a while ago, weighing the pros and cons, but I think it is still very relevant:

People in the Waterloo Region

Here’s my take on the area: Pros: Affordable - You can find spacious rentals in safe neighborhoods for a reasonable price compared to big cities like Toronto. No surprise that a lot of families and retires choosing this region as their home. Booming tech sector - Big names like Shopify, Google, Blackberry have offices here, and one of the country’s top engineering schools at the University of Waterloo is located here. There is a lot of entrepreneurial activity and a few tech meetups. This is …

I cannot stress enough how hot the real estate market is - whether you’re looking to rent or buy. The good listings don’t last long (unfortunately for buyers/tenants). So please bare that in mind while apartment hunting.

For rentals I’ve never found a realtor to be necessary - you’ve pretty much listed all the useful websites for hunting (beware of scams though, especially on Kijiji).

When I was new to the area I found Reddit to be a good source of recommendations for apartments, shops, services, etc.
https://www.reddit.com/r/waterloo
https://www.reddit.com/r/kitchener

Here’s an apartment review thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/waterloo/comments/ofoc0c/apartment_building_reviews_master_list/

Good luck!