Kyoto - good place to stay on a WHV?

Hi! I will be in Japan with a working holiday visa from July 2008. I would like to live and work in Kyoto for a large chunk of that. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice - is Kyoto cheap/expensive to live? Are there plenty of jobs? (probably teaching, but will have some Japanese so maybe bar work or similar. I'm not picky!) Is the accommodation there ok? I've been looking at gaijin houses and they look nice online but you never know . . .

My impression is that Kyoto is a lot cheaper than Tokyo at least. It's also big, but not huge (but hopefully big enough to find work in?) Is this impression more or less correct?

Would anyone recommend anywhere other than Kyoto? And can anyone recommend any gaijin houses or similar?

Thank you :-)

A lot of foreigners want to work in Kyoto and it is a smaller city, so jobs aren't as easy to find as in Tokyo or Osaka for example. A possibility is to live in Kyoto and work in Osaka- it's not too much of a commute.

Accommodation varies wildly and gaijin houses can be noisy, cockroach infested firetraps or quiet, well- maintained pleasant places to live. The atmosphere can also depend on who is living there at the time.

Kyoto is a great place to live if you are interested in Japan's history. The weather is a bit more extreme in both summer and winter than Tokyo or Osaka because of the geography- it's more likely to see snow than either of the two big cities.

I wouldn't say Kyoto is a lot cheaper than Tokyo- probably about 10% cheaper for some things, similar prices for others.

As you seem to know a fair bit: is 43000 the right price for a room in a gaijin house in Kyoto? Cheap but not TOO cheap is what I'm after!

Is there anywhere else you would recommend - I'd like somewhere with a sense of history (that's why I went for Kyoto!) but am happy to be somewhere quite small or out of the way if it improves job opportunities.

And any tips on what I can do to make myself more employable? I will have a degree (in English Literature), a visa, some knowledge of Japanese (though pretty basic) and I have worked in retail and hospitality.