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I think there are usually a lot of people waiting at that stop, so you could just wait until you can get on and get a seat. Depends where on Hastings you are. If you're on the DTES (which is generally confined to this area) then you probably won't want to be kicking around there, though it's not really violent crime you're going to be worried about, but property crime. But East Hastings in Burnaby isn't too bad, from what I understand. There's really a whole lot of noise made about Hastings by pearl clutchers who make it sound as though the whole area is a mess.

Not an engineer but have lived in both cities (currently live in Vancouver). Vancouver is definitely more expensive than Montreal but commuting is easier if you live further away (generally good transit and--more importantly--milder weather, if you are ok with rain). There are ways to cut your COL like cooking at home, commuting by bus or bike, etc. Heat is typically included in most rents, and hydro is fairly cheap (but it's also cheap in Quebec). Good choice for outdoorsy people, bad choice if you are big into clubbing and bar hopping. Montreal rents were cheaper but weather was much more extreme. When we lived there, it was either -20C or 35C (with humidex). I didn't mind the snow but the heat was unbearable. Great clubs and bars, great nightlife in general, but we aren't nightlife people and so it wasn't super attractive to us. We were able to make it ok in Montreal but as an anglophone, I had a very difficult time finding a job while my partner did his Master's, and we whittled through our savings during this time. Things were much cheaper in Montrela, including and especially alcohol! Moving west was much better for our bank account. I felt very sad and isolated in Montreal, but that was due to a variety of reasons; some people just do better in one place over another. We had an ok time in Montreal, and we'd do it again if it were only for 1-2 years. We prefer Vancouver. Obviously it's much easier for anglos to find work, the weather is less extreme, and we prefer the outdoor spaces here. I usually go for walks along the beach, and in the summers especially we like to hang out near the water and BBQ and just spend time with friends/family. I couldn't tolerate the heat in Montreal so we spent most of our time indoors.

If you can swing it, Commercial is a good option since your partner can take the Skytrain and you can just hop on the 99 or 84. Be aware that the 99 is incredibly congested. If you travel during the morning rush hour, you will more than likely be passed up by several buses before you can get on. Main St wouldn't be a bad compromise, because you can just grab one of the buses to UBC while your partner heads downtown and catches the bus up to SFU. I'm not sure how congested the SFU bus gets but my feeling is that it can't be worse than the congestion to UBC, so it might be a wash. Rents are likely higher in this area since, like Commercial, it has a lot of great bars and restaurants, and even some breweries. You can always move to Burnaby where rents will be cheaper. It will be a longer commute for you but be potentially easier for him, depending on where you find a place. You can probably just get on a bus and nap until you reach campus, since the bus shouldn't be too congested where you get on. New West is a nice area, cheaper rents, and will be closer for your partner. 35-ish minute commute for him but 1.25 hour commute for you; however, you'll only have one transfer, and you will be on the Skytrain half the time, and the other half will be on a bus heading straight to campus. This isn't bad if you only have to be on campus once or twice a week.

Have you looked at the university's cost of living calculator? It's reasonably accurate, based on my own living expenses. Try Facebook groups for finding roommates. There's also the AMS Rentsline but I really don't know if that's well-used anymore. Check Craigslist often, but be wary of scams, and if something seems too good to be true or if something doesn't sit well with you, be prepared to walk away. Regarding food, Vancouver has lots of great restaurants, but I wouldn't classify most of them as being very cheap (that is, everything seemed so much more reasonable when I was in undergrad). For groceries, No Frills is the cheapest by far, and there's one near campus, but that location on 4th often has supply issues and isn't tremendously reliable. Persia Foods and Young Brothers, both on Broadway west of Macdonald street, have fantastic deals on produce year-round. I always just check out flipp and buy food on sale. Best place to stay depends on what you want to do. The closer to campus or the beach, the more you should expect to pay. I live 10 minutes away from campus but probably would struggle to pay rent if I were charged the market rate. Kitsilano is often dead but has a few okay bars and things to do, especially if you like living by the water. Lots of activity downtown. Commercial and Main are both fun, but a bit of a commute. Burnaby is a nice suburb but 1+ hours on the bus.

Congratulations! SFU is a fairly isolated campus. It's difficult to get up the mountain in inclement weather. This winter was a particularly difficult one in Vancouver, with lots of snowfall that often resulted in classes at SFU getting cancelled (cars and buses had a difficult time, or just couldn't, get up the mountain). We don't often get a lot of snowfall, but when it happens, the city shuts down--something to keep in mind if you're commuting from afar. You mentioned downtown Vancouver, though, so I'm unclear about which campus you were accepted to. Are you going to Beedie? I can't speak to housing in SFU since I live/work near UBC, but I can speak to housing in general in the city. Real estate in Metro Vancouver (Vancouver and outlying suburbs, including Burnaby, where SFU is situated) is a hot button issue and it's reaching a fever pitch thanks to the upcoming provincial election on Tuesday. Lots of people getting priced out of the city thanks to high rents and high real estate prices (looking at 2+ million in some areas). We pay $1175 for a 1.5 BR near Jericho Beach but this is unusual and we only got it so low thanks to a friend. You can look at Craigslist for an idea of how much rent you should expect to pay. Lots of apartment buildings in Vancouver, at least, have heat and hot water included in the rent, so you're responsible only for hydro, internet, and whichever other utilities you want to sign up for. Food is good. Lots of cheap asian restaurants to eat at. Vancouver is known for lots of good places to eat. Depending on where you're coming from, the range of cuisine will be different--for instance, we don't have very many Mexican restaurants compared to Seattle. Grocery stores run from the very, very cheap (e.g. No Frills) to the horrendously expensive (Whole Foods, Meinhardt's, etc). I believe SFU participates in the UPass program, so you will receive a partially subsidized bus pass which costs you ~$30. It's good for unlimited travel around Metro Vancouver and significantly reduces your transit costs. Insurance, parking, gas, etc., are all very expensive in this city. The downside is that certain transit routes are overfull during the morning rush--and commuting in such conditions during miserable weather just compounds the misery. Vancouver is very much an outdoorsy city. I live near the beach so we go for long walks along the sea side or BBQ and laze about in the summer. I'm more of a homebody so I think googling will be of more use than I can be! What should you do first? Definitely try to secure housing. It's a madhouse here, and I couldn't imagine having to find a rental in this market. If you aren't going to get housing through SFU, you must absolutely start this process now. Most leases are for 1 year and either expire (i.e. you have to renew or move out) or lapse into a month-to-month tenancy agreement. Most people give notice the month before moving out, so if I wanted to move out on June 30 I'd have to give notice by the end of May. Also, keep in mind that it is illegal for landlords to ask for more than 1/2 month's rent for a security deposit--familiarize yourself with the Residential Tenancy Act, again due to the market.

Thank you! I applied to a PhD in History. Hang in there. What I've learned from this process is that Canadian universities are extremely reticent. I was rejected from the 3 American schools I applied to, and those rejections came well before Toronto's acceptance.

Thanks! U of T's deadline is April 15, UBC is April 4. This is for Humanities, though; I imagine it varies by department.

It seems all over the place. U of T gave me an acceptance decision by February 28, and UBC only on March 22. I heard that some UBC programs are really behind on their application review. You should follow up with a polite email and find out your status.