Thanks for the responses guys. I am single and in my 30s. Initially, I'd be happy to take a room a shared house or apartment, paying around 5-600cad as a rough estimate.
I dont necessarily want lively, noisy, busy, etc. I'd like to live somewhere safe, clean, relatively peaceful and attractive, but affordable. I'm happy not to be in the downtown but would like decent public transport links into downtown - ideally rails rather than bus. Somewhere that has a decent district centre with half decent bars and places to eat, a library, a park with exercise equipment (like pull ups bar) in it. I'd be content with a 30 min train ride into town, prvoiding it isn't stupidly expensive.
I'm not against living in or near down town in principle, providing it isn't insanely expensive and in a grim area. Although I see downtown more as a place to go into and then leave again afterwards, to somewhere that is a bit more relaxing - but maybe with a bit of hip, coolness in its own centre. A supermarket would be nice too. I won't necessarily get a car so being able to walk places (within a couple miles) would be nice.