Living In HamiltonCongratulations on all who have been accepted to McMaster Physician Assistant Program and welcome to those who are just looking. Hamilton is a wonderful city that boasts being the Waterfall Capital of Canada. Hamilton is home to 21,025 full-time undergraduate student and 3,436 full-time graduate students. Therefore, it has a plethora of housing options to fit every person's budget and everyone's personality.
It is important to note that Physician Assistant students do not have the option of living in McMaster residence buildings, you will have to find off-campus living arrangements in the Hamilton area. |
To help everyone find appropriate housing, McMaster has developed an off-campus housing website and resource centre. It is fairly easy to navigate and a great resource for incoming students. Additionally, this website has a zoning map which can help students better understand where each house is located and how far it is from the campus. Zone 1 is the most preferable as it is closest to campus and offers a wide variety of amenities.
Apart from the McMaster website other people have found some of the following websites useful:
- McMaster Off Campus Housing Website
- McMaster Off Campus Housing Website - Student Rentals Listings
- McMaster Off Campus Resource Centre Twitter
- McMaster Off Campus Resource Centre Facebook
Apart from the McMaster website other people have found some of the following websites useful:
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What are some recommended areas around Hamilton?
There is an area called "Westdale" (just on King Street down from the University). Westdale is home to both students and families which provides a nice, friendly atmosphere. Additionally, Westdale has restaurants, grocery stores, clothing stores, an amazing cupcake store, and has easy access to transit. Most areas in Westdale are about a 15 minute walk to campus. A can't miss in Westdale is the restaurant Bean Bar which has something for everyone's taste buds!
Another great area in Hamilton is Locke Street. This street is just like something out of the movies. It has amazing restaurants, pubs, stores, bakeries, and flower shops. It is about 5 minutes from the heart of downtown Hamilton and about a 10-20 minute BUS ride to campus. It has both apartments and houses for rent. If you go here we highly suggest going to the restaurants Bread Bar and Chuck's burgers.
Another great area which is more family oriented and less student like is Dundas. It has awesome restaurants, nature paths, waterfalls, and a great main strip! Dundas offers both apartments and houses alike. It is accessible to campus by the BUS or a 20 minutes bike ride (up a major hill!). A can't miss in Dundas is the Thirsty Cactus which has live music most days of the week and cheap Fajitas on Tuesday nights!
Click on the map below to familiarize yourself with the areas of Hamilton, they have been zoned to explain how close you are to McMaster University (the legend of what the colours mean will show up when you click on the map)
There is an area called "Westdale" (just on King Street down from the University). Westdale is home to both students and families which provides a nice, friendly atmosphere. Additionally, Westdale has restaurants, grocery stores, clothing stores, an amazing cupcake store, and has easy access to transit. Most areas in Westdale are about a 15 minute walk to campus. A can't miss in Westdale is the restaurant Bean Bar which has something for everyone's taste buds!
Another great area in Hamilton is Locke Street. This street is just like something out of the movies. It has amazing restaurants, pubs, stores, bakeries, and flower shops. It is about 5 minutes from the heart of downtown Hamilton and about a 10-20 minute BUS ride to campus. It has both apartments and houses for rent. If you go here we highly suggest going to the restaurants Bread Bar and Chuck's burgers.
Another great area which is more family oriented and less student like is Dundas. It has awesome restaurants, nature paths, waterfalls, and a great main strip! Dundas offers both apartments and houses alike. It is accessible to campus by the BUS or a 20 minutes bike ride (up a major hill!). A can't miss in Dundas is the Thirsty Cactus which has live music most days of the week and cheap Fajitas on Tuesday nights!
Click on the map below to familiarize yourself with the areas of Hamilton, they have been zoned to explain how close you are to McMaster University (the legend of what the colours mean will show up when you click on the map)
Should I get a roommate(s)?
As far as roommates go - you will be spending A LOT of time with the people in your program. You will see each other everyday whether it be for clinical skills, professional competencies, or tutorial. With that being said, we would recommend that if you want to live with other people consider living with someone outside the PA program or choose your roommate very carefully. The last thing you want is bringing outside problems into school. There are a variety of different programs that run similar to ours and it truthfully isn't that hard to find a roommate. Maybe try to be interprofessional and choose a roommate from PT,OT, MED, etc., they may be able to offer you a unique insight into different health cases that you study or see on placement.
As far as roommates go - you will be spending A LOT of time with the people in your program. You will see each other everyday whether it be for clinical skills, professional competencies, or tutorial. With that being said, we would recommend that if you want to live with other people consider living with someone outside the PA program or choose your roommate very carefully. The last thing you want is bringing outside problems into school. There are a variety of different programs that run similar to ours and it truthfully isn't that hard to find a roommate. Maybe try to be interprofessional and choose a roommate from PT,OT, MED, etc., they may be able to offer you a unique insight into different health cases that you study or see on placement.
