I'm not sure if anyone will feel sympathy for my friend, but here it is:
My friend is an IRCC immigration officer. Two years ago, he rented out his basement to a guy. The tenant stopped paying after a few months. Guess how long he stayed there rent-free. Ready? A YEAR AND A HALF! My friend finally got a judgement against the guy and had him removed from his property, but my friend didn't get a dime from the tenant. My friend said that the previous tenant was an Indian lady who had a steady job and always paid her rent on time for 3 years. That had given my friend a false sense of security, and he was not as diligent as he could have been with the new deadbeat. This is not the only horror story that I have heard, so yeah... I understand where the landlords are coming from. Full disclosure: As a new immigrant, I also couldn't find a place because I didn't have anything (credit score, previous landlord's reference, pay stubs etc.). It was a terrible experience. My friend who is a professor at the University of Toronto co-signed the rental agreement with me and I was finally able to rent a place.
On a happier note: I didn't really do a serious job hunt for the first couple of weeks... Just browsed through some websites. You see, I am an IELTS examiner and I got myself transferred to the Toronto office, so I was not in a rush to look for a new job. However, after a few weeks, I realized there was not going to be as much IELTS work as I expected, so I turned on my computer one day and decided to do a serious job-hunt. Less than 24 hours later, I had signed a contract for a new job. Sure, it is just a part-time job, but between my IELTS work and this other one, I can survive for now without having to touch my savings. I have one or two other applications going that I have a very good feeling about, so things are looking rosy for me. Moral of the story (repeated here a thousand times, but worth repeating once more): Moving to a new country has its challenges, and there will be some tough times, but it is possible to make a good life for yourself here.