Rent is pretty pricey close to campus (I'm assuming you plan on attending the st george campus) unless you room with other people.
I've never lived close to u of t besides when I lived on residence, but from when I was apartment-searching I remember most places being around $2000 a month split between 4 or 5 people (on average) not includint internet and a/c and such.
On the other hand, I live about half an hour away from campus by TTC, and I pay $750 a month for an apartment to myself with all utilities (including cable, internet, laundry machines, air conditioning) included, which is pretty good for Toronto prices, but is much further away.
Pricing really depends on how close you want to be to campus, who you want to live withh, and whether or not you get lucky and find a good deal. I don't really know anything about residence options for grad students, but they do exist at U of T, so you may consider looking into that.
Food isn't extremely expensive, there's a ton of food around U of T, and Chinatown is right around the corner, which (for the most part) is very affordable.
The smash communities are definitely growing, especially since A&C world just opened a few months ago. I don't know how it is compared to other cities personally, but most of my friends from elsewhere in Canada and around the world always tell me how much they wish they had something like this where they live.
I've gone to U of T for 3 years and have lived here a while, so feel free to ask me anything else if you want.
