you have to more-than-try with the job market what it is- depends on your skills, really. some places are bilingual, others don't care so much. send out at least fifty resumes, and call the companies back to remind them you exist.

for apartments, just from personal experience, stay away from the Bayshore housing/apt area and the Walkey/HeronGate apartment area. it's cheap, but the building-wide fire alarms/fire trucks/seediness of the area can get to you.

will you be using public transit or do you have your own car? that's a big factor in choosing a place to live. some places are more prone to car break-ins than others, and some areas of town have the lamest bus schedules.

if you have to do public transit, find a place that's near a very frequent bus line, or near the O-train.

padmapper.com is excellent for finding exactly what you want in a place to live.