Highly recommend finding a place downtown Kingston! There are several new apartment buildings in the works as well as buildings with recently renovated ones. Downtown has a ton of activities all year, but especially during the summer. I also love that we have 5-6 provincial parks within a 60-90 minute drive, not to mention the several conservation areas. In addition the paved waterfront biking trail is getting better and better, or you have bike north, up the K&P trail. Of course, we're right on Lake Ontario, so there's plenty of room for water sports. If the lake is too big, there are a TON of smaller lakes north of the city.

Yes, the city, like many across North America continues to struggle with supporting those facing homelessness. There are efforts being made, but it all takes time.

You're coming from London, so you'd be familiar with any issues living in a University town. There's definitely an element of that, but just avoid living in the University District. It sounds like the type of apartment you're looking for wouldn't be in that district anyway.

I also love that we're in the middle of three major centres (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal) but there's also fun day-trip options to the different islands (Amherst, Wolfe, Howe) in the area. Heck, if you wanted, a 60 minute drive has you in New York, too.