if you can, get here before december.
if you're 4 twenty-something dudes, stick a horseshoe up your ass and offer oral services to your potential landlords.
but seriously, october/early november is when it starts to get tough, so get here as early as you can. get ready for 1/2 month rent damage deposit, if you want to share 2 bedrooms, expect around $1400-1800 a month plus utilities. if you want a 4 bedroom, your looking more at around $3000. and check the classifieds on the pique newsmagazine.
and landlords here (everywhere) dig stability. so if you're 4 unemployed, temporary, twenty-something guys who are here to party and ski for 6 months, typically that is the worst type of tenant. all that said, good luck and pray for a return of la nina.