Homestay is the most common request by new students.
Living at a homestay is very good for learning about Canadian culture. You can experience Canadian food, Canadian culture, Canadian living, and Canadian people. A homestay can be a wonderful experience. Many homestay families have different family activities, which they do on weekends or evenings. Some families may go to the Rocky Mountains the weekend. It is special activity and not something a family would do every weekend. Other activities may include a trip to the lake, barbecue, or special festival, (there are many festivals in Canada).

Living with a homestay family can improve your English a lot.
This all sounds very wonderful and sometimes it is, but not always. If it rains on your fishing trip, it can be disappointing. Don't worry though, if you take pictures, you can always see your memories and you don't feel the rain.

Be sure to remember that you are in a different country.
Your homestay family may not eat rice every day (or spaghetti) , but don't worry, they may make it tomorrow. As in life, as in homestay. Everything has ups and downs. One day is sunny, one day is not. When you go to a homestay family, you are not going to a fantasy land vacation resort, you are going to a family. A family with different foods, ideas, and traditions. Relax and enjoy. Always remember that nothing is permanent. One day you will be back in your real home, and your time in Canada will only be a memory. Your homestay is not forever, but your memories are. Make your memories good, because they will stay with you always.

All homestays are different.
Some have young children, (sometimes, this is great). Some have older children, (sometimes, this is great too), and some have none. Maybe some homestays eat rice every day, while others eat spaghetti every day. Maybe there is meat every day; maybe never. Maybe pets, maybe not. All homestays are different.

Some schools let you choose your own homestay!
One good school is ELTC, English Language Training College. At this school, you can visit different homestays and choose the one you like best. You can meet the homestay family and see their house before you decide to stay and pay money. You can ask the school to choose a homestay for you, but it is fun and more interesting to meet different families and choose the family yourself. To get your best homestay, you need to choose it yourself.

If the school is arranging your homestay, here are some questions to ask the school:
Is a homestay placement fee?
How many years has the homestay family lived in Canada?
How long have they done homestay for the school?
Will the school allow you to choose your homestay?
How many years old is the school?

A homestay is an excellent way to understand how Canadians live. Apartments are a different situation. Pros and cons: privacy, loneliness; you eat what you like, but you eat alone; you can watch anything you like on TV, you pay for it alone. If you like privacy, you should have an apartment, but remember that there are many expenses having an apartment. Damage deposit, utilities' hookup fees, eating utensils, television, DVD player, etc. The good things about an apartment: freedom and privacy.

Special note: it is important to remember that most accommodations in Canada are month-to-month. This means that if you want to move to another accommodation, you must tell your homestay family, or your apartment manager one month before you move.

Shared accommodations are similar, but you share everything; expenses, television, and privacy.

All accommodations have pros and cons. Choose what you think is best. You can always change your accommodation as your feelings change. You can find some ELTC student pictures are at http://www.ELTC.com/pictures.html