LIVING IN HAMILTON
McMaster University is located in West Hamilton on an attractive
campus measuring 296 acres beside the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Outdoor Recreation
Lovely natural parks can be found just a few kilometers from the
McMaster Campus and downtown Hamilton. The Royal Botanical Gardens
in Hamilton offer many scenic footpaths through forested regions
and along the Cootes Paradise inlet, to the downtown waterfront
walkway on Hamilton Harbour. Sail on the harbour in summertime,
skate on Cootes inlet in winter, and admire the specatular autumn
leaves in autumn!
A few kilometers away you'll find the Dundas Conservation Area,
the impressive Webster's Falls and park in Flamborough, and the
Bruce Trail. Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake
are about an hour's drive and make a wonderful daytrip in any season.
The Niagara peninsula is also home to Ontario's wineries, and the
Wine Route
offers a pleasant and tasty excursion. Algonquin Park, which offers
canoe routes and hiking trails, campgrounds, and wilderness outfitters,
is just a few hours' drive up north.
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Cootes
Paradise, a pleasant walk from campus along the forested trails of
the Royal Botanical Garden.
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Hamilton's climate is typical of the lower Great Lakes region. The most
pleasant season is usually the Fall, mostly dry with mild temperatures.
January brings some snow and temperatures averaging -5 C. (Hamilton has
less snow than nearby Buffalo or Waterloo since it is on the western point
of Lake Ontario and there is no "lake effect" snow.) Summer
is pleasant with normal daily highs of 23-28 C.
Housing.
Hamilton has an abundance of rental housing, particularly in the summer
months. Some choice accommodations can be found for around $300 a month,
but these become rather scarce by the end of August. The Off-Campus
Resource Centre, located in Room B112, McMaster University Student
Centre, has an extensive up-to-date listing of available off-campus housing.
Most single students in the Department share a house or apartment with
graduate students in other departments. If you apply early enough you
may obtain a place in the Bates Residence on campus.
As a rough indication of rental prices, a room in a house near the University
shared with 3 to 4 other people rents for $290 - $340 per month, which
may or may not include utilities. Studio apartments are more expensive
($400 - $450 per month), scarcer, and often require one or more guarantors.
Apartments or rooms in houses further away from the University may be
cheaper at first sight, but, with transportation and utility costs factored
in, may actually cost more.
Summer sublets (April to August) are available at lower prices, e.g.
$150 - $200 for a room in a house.
Health Insurance.
All Ontario residents are covered by OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan).
Residents of another province acquire Ontario residency in 6 months, during
which inter-provincial coverage applies. Visa students must obtain health
insurance from the private sector. The estimated annual costs are $546.39
for single students, $1,092.79 for married couples, and $1,729.51 for
families.
Cultural Activities.
In Hamilton, the Hamilton
Philharmonic and Opera
Hamilton both have busy seasons featuring internationally known artists.
Theatre Aquarius puts on a wide range of successful plays. The University
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also has a number of music groups and artists-in-residence who perform
quite regularly on campus.
The Art
Gallery of Hamilton, located near Hamilton Place, is the third largest
gallery in Ontario and has a prestigious collection of works by national
and international artists. The McMaster Art Gallery, located in the recently
expanded Mills Library, is one of the most extensive university art collections
in Canada. Nearby Brantford is the location of the Six Nations Reserve,
where one can visit several museums and displays of native art and culture.
In Niagara-on-the-Lake,
called by many the most beautiful town in Canada, the Shaw
Festival runs from April to November, presenting outstanding reperatory
theater including the works of George Bernard Shaw, but also works by
classical and contemporary writers.
Each year, the Stratford
Festival presents Shakespeare and contemporary theater with their
world-renown companies, from April through November.
And Canada's largest city Toronto
is a great source of cultural events, just around the corner. Use GO
Transit's buses or trains from downtown Hamilton (or from limited
direct service from the McMaster Campus) to arrive in Toronto in an hour
or less.
Sports Activities.
On campus, the Department
of Athletics and Recreation offers a wide variety of activities including
aerobics, weight-training, dancing, scuba-diving, yoga, fencing, to name
just a few. The Ivor Wynne Centre has a 50 meter swimming pool, squash
courts, weight-rooms, indoor basketball courts, and many other facilities.
Included in the incidental fees of the university is an athletic fee and
so all registered graduate students have access to the facilities above.
Weather permitting, ice-skating on Cootes Paradise, cross-country skiing
in the Dundas conservation area, and downhill skiing at Chedoke golf course
are popular winter sports.
Hamilton is the home of the Hamilton Tiger Cats. The Copps
Coliseum is a modern sporting and entertainment complex which hosts
hockey games, popular concerts, and sports competitions.
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