Google temporary housing in Toronto and you will come up with the usual suspects, airbnb, Kijiji, Craigslist. There were a few other options that I considered too, so I thought I would point out some pros and cons of choosing each option for the first few weeks in Toronto. For this, I compared one week near the downtown hub for each of these resources.

It will be different for everyone, but I had a few set criteria: I don't want to share a room, preference of not sharing a bathroom, good reviews, safe,

#1 Airbnb
To share a condo/apartment with the owner for $429- $600/ week. Self contained basement walkouts approximately $755/ week. One bedroom condo with facilities for $900/ week. The pros of this approach is that there are reviews, the prices are relatively affordable, you can write a bad review if you don't like the experience, living in a real home can give you a great city experience. The cons is that it's a little unclear whether this is a legal approach, and you can't tell exactly what the spaces are like from the pictures.

#2 Budget hotels
Alexandra Hotel - $1000/ week for single/double. Chelsea hotel- $1042/ week for King/ Queen. Holiday Inn- $1480/ week for Queen room. Pros- own bathroom and room, often comes with flat screen tv, free wifi, cable, daily housekeeping, all linens, (vip points for relevant hotels). Cons- obviously the cost will be a little different to sharing options.

#3 Hostels
Planet traveller, $245/ week in 8 bed dorm. Canadiana Backpackers, $220/week for 4 bed dorm (free breakfast) $560/week (double private), The pros are obvious, meet like-minded travellers, free wifi, communal kitchen, great help with finding accommodation and work. Cons, having to say in a room with others- aka catch a cold easily or deal with snorers (unless you are the snorer) seems to attract younger hipper drinking travellers which might make sleeping or catching up with Jetlag difficult.

#4 Bed and Breakfasts
Annex Quest house approximately $500/week. Burwash Guest Rooms are approximately $522/ week. The pros of this approach is that they are legit accommodation houses that may house those who can afford more than a hostel, they have great reviews on Trip Advisor and on their own website, and they provide breakfast/internet/linen. Cons is that there is limited facilities on site for your own cooking.

#5 Homestays
Experience life in a family home for $294/ week. The pros is that it includes an authentic Toronto experience, has good reviews and is relatively safe. Cons is that these are usually out of the way, no food is included, internet/laundry is usually at an additional cost.

#6 Private rentals
Via Kijiji.ca, sublet.ca and Craiglist
Prices range from approximately $200/ week to $800/ week. Pros- There is a lot of variety and on the books, there are a lot of deals to be found. Cons- there is very little security as using this as temporary accommodation when you first arrive.

#7 Listed private rentals
Via tripadvisor, flipkey
$412- $2800/week. Pros- there is price protection, includes own kitchen, bathroom, most have reviews, may not be in the best locations. Cons - No guarantee that there won't be bedbugs.

#8 Serviced apartments
I excluded this from comparison because most options required a minimum of one month.

Summary
There are an overwhelming number of options for a single female traveller in Toronto to get settled. If money was no option, I'd obviously stay at a hotel. For real travellers, a hostel would be a  perfect platform. For the budget savy and if travelling in numbers, probably private rentals would be worth the risk. For me? The bed and breakfast appears to the safest option at the moment, but I might start looking on social media to hunt down long lost friends and family for accommodation options.