The level of the rent is linked with the exact location, and how pleasant and convenient it is to live there. The first task is to establish your budget, and work out the cost of renting property near your place of work, compared with the cost of travelling from a cheaper location.
About a third of workers commute to the city centre, instead of living there.
Rental prices normally fall with distance from Edinburgh's centre - although there are some exceptions - where popular areas are more costly than might be expected.
Property to rent in Edinburgh in or near to the city centre can be found in the West End, New Town and Old Town. Rents tend to be high in these popular locations - where properties include striking Georgian townhouses.
Much of the New Town is actually over 200 years old.
Many of its neoclassical buildings date from Edwardian and Victorian times.The Old Town area of Edinburgh includes the Royal Mile. Its 18th-century appearance has been carefully preserved. Many small and interesting independent shops are to be found here, providing a contrast to the big retailers to be found on the famous shopping street called Princes Street.
Many magnificent buildings - including the very prominent Edinburgh Castle - create a pleasant and appealing environment. The castle is separated from Princes Street by gardens, which occupy one side of the street, and enable the castle to be viewed from it.
An attraction in Princes Street and the West End is the number of stylish and contemporary bars, along with plenty of nightlife. Each year 1.7 million people arrive in this area in the summer, to enjoy the Edinburgh Festival; this is a series of fascinating cultural events.
Renting a property nearby will give you easy access to the Festival, and to the largest New Year's Eve street party in Europe. This is Hogmanay, when a week-long variety of events attracts 100,000 people.
Edinburgh's waterfront provides townhouses, penthouse apartments and flats to rent - many of them with good views over the water. This area stretches from Granton Harbour to Leith, and is close to a good variety of restaurants, shops and leisure facilities.
Leith is an area undergoing substantial improvement, and the more recent developments are particularly worth considering if rental properties are advertised there. Ocean Terminal, on Leith's waterfront, provides a good range of shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment.
In the Southside of Edinburgh, Morningside, Newington, Marchmont and Bruntsfield are further away from the busy city centre, and include a variety of properties to rent - some of which will suit most budgets. Marchmont and Newington have many properties, rented by large numbers of students.
Many websites provide details of property to rent in Edinburgh. On some, it's also possible to post wanted advertisements.
Finding property to rent in Edinburgh