Canada

First off, welcome in advance, enjoy your trip!

Bad news: Toronto traffic is nuts, and accoms are expensive. Good news: transit is good. Assuming you're landing at pearson, the UP Express train takes you straight into downtown & it's like $10. Anywhere you could want to go in the city centre is walkable or easy to get to on transit, no reason to drive, really. In certain spots during rush hour, it's actually faster to walk than drive. But, that's a good thing for exploring.

Don't be afraid to ask people for help or directions while you're here. People in Toronto and Vancouver have a lot of pride in their cities, and want visitors to have a good time, especially if they're coming from overseas. Canadians are typically kind, and helpful!

Ah shit, I woulda totally had you over in Vancouver, if I wasn't away on a trip myself around when you arrive. Maybe after Aug 5th I could, if you haven't moved to another city.

1. hostels in Canada are generally fine, not luxury but social. Vancouver's Chinatown is cheap, downtown and well connected. However the downside with the cheap area there is the street can smell and there are plenty of homeless people, minding their own business. Otherwise you'll be on the outskirts.

2. if you're getting to know people my age, instagram is pretty popular (i dont have it)

3. people are generally nice all over Canada, hospitality will vary by area and person. Go to nightclubs Fri and Sat mostly if you're into that. Social spots are cafes bars and beaches.

Vancouver people aren't as friendly and open as in other parts of Canada. Of course there will be people, but as a rule there is the Seattle/Vancouver freeze, where they are just cold shoulder types.

The island, or up Sechelt coast is much friendlier.

It was a culture shift coming from Ontario where people were quite welcoming. You can sat hello directly to a Vancouverites face and they will look through you.

A friend of mine lived in a Vancouver apartment for years, and people were super cold. He lost his shit after a few years, when he's walking to the elevator and the person sees him a few steps away and hits the close button. Probably not a great response but went off like " I see you everyday, you know me, and you know I live here and your just going to close the door and make me wait 5 more minutes while elevator hits all the other floors. Wtf is wrong with you."

My wife and I play a game when we go for a walk, we take in turns saying hello to those passing on the sidewalk in a suburb...and see who gets snubbed the most.

I can't help with find a place to stay but if you're hitting up Vancouver I'd recommend renting a bike near Stanley Park/aka weed island and go bike around. I found it easy to meet people and make new friends there plus the oceanic beach view and super fresh air is soooo nice💖

If nothing else pans out in Vancouver, the YWCA isn’t bad.

So I am a full-fledged Canadian, lol, but this is not stuff I know a lot about. Reddit might be a good way to find more suggestions for local things like inexpensive places to stay or fun things to do. AirBNB is a place to find short-term rentals. Hostels are a thing. How East of Toronto do you plan to go? I think you'll find Canadians quite welcoming. Check out the things that are up your alley and I'm sure you'll strike up some friends in those spaces. A solo vacation is really cool, good on you. I haven't done it, but I hope to in the next couple years

If you're going to be in the West for 3 weeks, make sure you get over to Vancouver Island for a few days. The ferry with a car is pretty expensive, around $100 each way, but the ferry ride itself is beautiful and then island has lots of wonderful places to visit from the City of Victoria at the south end with the BC Legislature, Empress Hotel, Butchart Gardens, etc. then you can take a trip up to some pretty spectacular locations in the mid-island like Cathedral Grove (Giant Douglas Fir Trees) and Coombs Market, and then maybe into Tofino (Expensive accommodations but amazing surfing and ocean beaches)

I can't help for places to stay, but I can apologize for the beer in advance. Try to relax and have a good time, if you quit worrying about meeting people, you will meet people. Go see and do the things that look good to you, everything else will just happen. Enjoy your stay.

I've enjoyed hostelling in Vancouver as an accommodation option that allows for meeting other travellers and sharing information.

Just stop a lot if you want to meet people. Make small talk, be open about your travels, ask locals where the cool spots are. Since it's summer, you could make a point to check out some public trails, lakes, and national or provincial parks. You'll definitely find people there.

For accommodations, unfortunately summer tourism is big business in "cottage country" and the cheap spots, even for a few days, were likely booked months ago. You may be able to park overnight at a campground for a decent price, though. But I suggest you still keep looking at B&Bs and motels just in case something pops up last minute.

Here's a tip I heard from a person living in their car: if you can't find a place to stay, try looking for a large parking lot (like a Walmart or something) with a big transport truck parked at the front somewhere; that often means it's okay/low-risk to park overnight.