After ten years away, I have decided to move back to Canada. Given that my work comes in by e-mail, I can live anywhere I want that has a reliable Internet connection. So naturally, I chose Montreal.
The question is, where? I went to McGill in the 80s, and lived first in the Ghetto, then the Plateau.
Given that I’m coming back with a wife and two young children, the Plateau seems not quite… family-friendly enough (at least where I used to live in the nearly treeless bit between St.Laurent and St.Denis). Fun definitely, but not quite what I’m looking for these days.
On the other hand, I’m allergic to complete suburbia, where you need a car to go anywhere and do anything. Since I’ll be working from home, I want a neighbourhood where I can go out, shop for food, people-watch, stop in at a cafe, go to a park with the kids, etc.; urban, but not too much so. It’d be great if it was walking distance to an English-language elementary school, too - eldest son is eight years old, and fluently bilingual… but in English and Russian. French will be a challenge for a year or two.
At the moment, I’m mostly thinking NDG or Mile End/Outremont. I’m open to suggestions/comments, though. What’s St.Henri like these days? Verdun? CDN?
I know there’s a good contingent of Montreal Dopers. Give my your honest opinion. Montreal’s a great city, but what’s the best of the best?
I’d move to Lachine in a minute if my wife didn’t work in Laval. Parts of Verdun, TMR, Montreal West and NDG will have what you’re looking for. Outremont and CDN veer more French and finding an English school will be harder.
Don’t worry about Bill 101. If you went to elementary and high school in Canada, your kids can too. But if your only Canadian schooling was at McGill, your children will have to attend a French school (or an English private school…).
I live in TMR a quarter block from Dunrae Gardens, a French immersion school that all three of my kids went to. It is surburbia sure, but there is a good train downtown, as well as a bus that runs every five minutes (unfortunately, pretty much SRO at all times). I just sold my only car, 17 years old with 106,000 km on it and at least half of that long distance. You can walk to a market, although I don’t.
Both Mile End and NDG are fine neighbourhoods if you don’t want to live in a house. Actually, there are many private houses in NDG. Another good possibility is Westmount, but below Sherbrooke St, preferably close to Greene. From there it is an easy walk or Metro or bus ride downtown.
I live in NDG, near the Montreal West border. I love NDG - I grew up there, and a lot of the areas are really family-friendly. Montreal West is much more suburbia than NDG is, but even more family friendly.
If you have any more specific questions (about NDG, Westmount or MoWest, I don’t know the other areas quite as well), feel free to ask.
I used to visit my GF up there and lived there for only a month, so my advice might not be spot on, but the whole shopping for food, cafes, people watching made me think of Jean Talon. There are plenty of cafes, there’s a metro stop, and where better to shop for food (I’m totally drooling thinking of the sausages there, not to mention the produce)? I’m also thinking that there are a couple of good parks right around there, but I might be remembering incorrectly.
The Plateau isn’t just St-Denis to St-Laurent – there’s the entire area east of St-Denis, which is very tree-intensive and, I’m told, nearly as convenient. Lots of families live there.
Thanks to all who responded. Barbarian, I did my elementary and high school in English in Ontario, so my kids are covered, Bill-101-wise. What is it you like about Lachine? I have to admit I can’t remember ever venturing there while a student. Hari Seldon I’ve also considered TMR, partly for sentimental reasons (my mother grew up on Monmouth Ave). As for living in a house, in Moscow you have to be multi-millionaire (seriously) to have a detached home within city limits. Needless to say, I’m used to apartments, so a Montreal triplex will seem like luxury. Be nice to have a backyard, though. matt_mcl, I know there’s a lot more to the Plateau than where I lived as a callow McGill-centric anglo student, but unfortunately (from what I’ve been able to see from the English School Board website) they seem to have neglected to put any conveniently located schools east of St.Denis. There’s one on St Urbain just above Mont Royal, which is fine for Mile End, but a bit of a hike from Papineau or d’Iberville
I’ll be going soon to go househunting, so I think I’ll have to cram in some fast exploring (TMR, Jean Talon, Lachine) before deciding.
thanks again all!
NDG? Westmount? Sure. How much money ya got? Montreal’s not as cheap as it once was, although it looks as though a buyer’s market is finally starting to develop.
Anyway, I lived on the Plateau East (really, really far east – so far east only real estate agents actually had the gall to still refer to it as the Plateau). But I spent quite a lot of time in east end Montreal, and the prices are much lower, and some of the neighborhoods are leafy with nice old houses. Anglos foolishly avoid the area like the plague. As for English schools in the area, I dunno. Are there any at all? I admit that’s a deal-breaker.
Ahuntsic is also nice, and you might get an Anglo school or two, but as I recall, it’s become expensive.
Can’t really argue with Lachine, if you have the money. It’s kind of like TMR shifted west, with a bit of a discount.
After much consultation with Montrealers (and my own travels)…
Mile End- being invaded by hipsters, but still has decent property prices and tons of cute cafes, art shows, etc. (same for Outrement, unless you head to the mansion-y area). i only know one family with kids there, and they get driven to school. The school you mentioned on St Urbain is apparently ‘alternative.’ Not sure what that means.
NDG- huge area with decently priced housing, families with young kids and plenty of English schools. Especially true in ‘Monkland Village,’ which is like St Viateur-meets-Westmount. But you’ll still have to drive to get downtown or to the Plateau (or take the bus/subway).
Montreal West- adorable, amazing schools, tons of kids, but pricey. And very suburban.
St. Henri- some nice new developments by the canal, cheap housing, but still plenty of crack dens and bad areas.
Just a combination of things: it’s close to the river and it’s pretty. It’s close enough to downtown to have decent bus service, and it’s has enough merchants in the neighbourhood, so you don’t have to drive all over to do your shopping.
I’ve lived in St-Henri since 1991. Cat Fight has it right. It is quieter than 5 years ago, now that the biker war has ended (due to lack of live and/or free contestants). It has its pockets of poors and middle class inhabitants. Another place you might want to look into is Cote-St-Paul, in between St-Henri and Verdun, more middle class than either of them.
