Home in Montreal?
April 14, 2010 12:51 PM
Can you recommend a neighbourhood in Montreal for me to live in? I prefer vibrant, lefty, funky, bohemian areas.
I'm likely moving to Montreal in the next year. I've never even been there to visit, hence, I know very little about the city. I do speak decent French (FWIW).
I'm looking for recommendations of funky, vibrant, lefty, progressive, culturally rich neighbourhoods to focus my search for accommodations. I'd prefer middle of the road areas, price wise. I'm no longer a starving student, but I'm not rolling in bling either. I also have a dog, so a neighbourhood with proximity to decent green space would be good.
Which neighbourhood(s) do you recommend and why?
I'm likely moving to Montreal in the next year. I've never even been there to visit, hence, I know very little about the city. I do speak decent French (FWIW).
I'm looking for recommendations of funky, vibrant, lefty, progressive, culturally rich neighbourhoods to focus my search for accommodations. I'd prefer middle of the road areas, price wise. I'm no longer a starving student, but I'm not rolling in bling either. I also have a dog, so a neighbourhood with proximity to decent green space would be good.
Which neighbourhood(s) do you recommend and why?
I'd prefer middle of the road areas, price wise
I don't think the plateau is still in that range. Mile-End would be a great choice, and you're not too far from Mt-Royal.
posted by ddaavviidd at 1:20 PM on April 14, 2010
I don't think the plateau is still in that range. Mile-End would be a great choice, and you're not too far from Mt-Royal.
posted by ddaavviidd at 1:20 PM on April 14, 2010
The plateau, near Parc Lafontaine. Generally expensive these days, but if you look in an area delimited by Parc Lafontaine in the south, St. Laurent to the west, a few blocks above Mont Royal to the North, and a few blocks past Lafontaine to the East, you might find something.
posted by Billegible at 1:41 PM on April 14, 2010
posted by Billegible at 1:41 PM on April 14, 2010
N-thing Plateau, but why in the world are you moving to a city you know nothing about and have never visited? It's not even in another country- why not visit and do your own reconnaissance? I moved sight unseen to Madison WI for grad school but WAS a starving student; would never, ever, ever make that sort of move again as you're considering it. Please re-think this strategy.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 1:53 PM on April 14, 2010
posted by ethnomethodologist at 1:53 PM on April 14, 2010
Yep. Plateau. Although I might push Billegible's boundaries to include just west of St. Laurent.
posted by kch at 1:58 PM on April 14, 2010
posted by kch at 1:58 PM on April 14, 2010
It's not even in another country
True, but BC to Montreal is pretty far and expensive for a weekend trip. Which is unfortunate, because you get the best spots in Montreal by walking around and looking for rent signs in windows. Most places in the Plateau/Mile End are divided houses, not apartment buildings, and few bother to advertise on Craigslist or in newspapers. This (mashup of Craiglist and Google Maps) isn't a bad place to start however.
posted by Anali at 3:01 PM on April 14, 2010
True, but BC to Montreal is pretty far and expensive for a weekend trip. Which is unfortunate, because you get the best spots in Montreal by walking around and looking for rent signs in windows. Most places in the Plateau/Mile End are divided houses, not apartment buildings, and few bother to advertise on Craigslist or in newspapers. This (mashup of Craiglist and Google Maps) isn't a bad place to start however.
posted by Anali at 3:01 PM on April 14, 2010
The Plateau is not at all affordable, and not really that funky since it's been overrun by aging hipsters and "cool" little families. Go west!
I'm currently in a similar situation as the one you describe, and I live in the Guy/Concordia area. Love. It. There are great dog parks around, it's in the middle of everything and there's plenty of funk, but it might be a bit more busy and run down than you're looking for, especially for the price.
If I was looking for a place to move, I would start around Atwater south of Ste Catherine. The area had a bad reputation, but it's cleaning up real nice. Little Burgundy (Notre-Dame/East of Atwater) and some chunks of St-Henri are cool, close to the farmer's market and dirt cheap. NDG is great also. The prices are going up, but it's worth it: green spaces aplenty, super progressive vibe, and all kinds of cool community initiatives and collective gardens that keep the neighbourhood together. And there's always Verdun!
posted by Freyja at 3:41 PM on April 14, 2010
I'm currently in a similar situation as the one you describe, and I live in the Guy/Concordia area. Love. It. There are great dog parks around, it's in the middle of everything and there's plenty of funk, but it might be a bit more busy and run down than you're looking for, especially for the price.
If I was looking for a place to move, I would start around Atwater south of Ste Catherine. The area had a bad reputation, but it's cleaning up real nice. Little Burgundy (Notre-Dame/East of Atwater) and some chunks of St-Henri are cool, close to the farmer's market and dirt cheap. NDG is great also. The prices are going up, but it's worth it: green spaces aplenty, super progressive vibe, and all kinds of cool community initiatives and collective gardens that keep the neighbourhood together. And there's always Verdun!
posted by Freyja at 3:41 PM on April 14, 2010
If you can afford it you might start looking around Saint-Viateur and fan out from there up to the tracks and down to Laurier or Fairmount. That's Mile End, and there will be bagels.
You could go north* of the Plateau into areas where gradually more cool venues are opening up (e.g. Il Motore), hipster hangouts are beginning to exist (e.g. Dépanneur Le Pickup) but apartments are more affordable than the Plateau for the moment. Check listings for Little Italy, Petite-Patrie, even Rosemont; we're talking Rosemont, Beaubien, Jean-Talon metro stations. But these areas can be a bit quiet and if you want more vibe you should probably stay south* of the tracks.
Saint-Henri also has its supporters as a lefty, funky place to live, but with the impending demolition of the Turcot interchange I'd keep away from it. You could just have settled in when the wrecking balls start making a mess.
Craigslist is as good a source as any for apartments, at least to get a sense of the prices and what's available. Don't worry about the ½ business, that's just a convention; most 3½ flats have one distinct bedroom and most 4½ flats have two, but that's not necessarily a given due to the long narrow rooms in many Montreal triplexes (if you look for digs in Mile End you'll see what I mean immediately): often you'll find that what the landlord calls two rooms looks like one long room with an archway in it, which is why some ads will specify e.g. "two closed bedrooms" meaning there's walls and doors, not just an arch with a curtain across it.
*In Montreal the directions are skewed because the original streets were laid out relative to the waterfront of what's now called the Old Port. Our "north" is more or less northwest and you'll get used to the idea that the sun sets in the north and rises in the south.
posted by zadcat at 5:26 PM on April 14, 2010
You could go north* of the Plateau into areas where gradually more cool venues are opening up (e.g. Il Motore), hipster hangouts are beginning to exist (e.g. Dépanneur Le Pickup) but apartments are more affordable than the Plateau for the moment. Check listings for Little Italy, Petite-Patrie, even Rosemont; we're talking Rosemont, Beaubien, Jean-Talon metro stations. But these areas can be a bit quiet and if you want more vibe you should probably stay south* of the tracks.
Saint-Henri also has its supporters as a lefty, funky place to live, but with the impending demolition of the Turcot interchange I'd keep away from it. You could just have settled in when the wrecking balls start making a mess.
Craigslist is as good a source as any for apartments, at least to get a sense of the prices and what's available. Don't worry about the ½ business, that's just a convention; most 3½ flats have one distinct bedroom and most 4½ flats have two, but that's not necessarily a given due to the long narrow rooms in many Montreal triplexes (if you look for digs in Mile End you'll see what I mean immediately): often you'll find that what the landlord calls two rooms looks like one long room with an archway in it, which is why some ads will specify e.g. "two closed bedrooms" meaning there's walls and doors, not just an arch with a curtain across it.
*In Montreal the directions are skewed because the original streets were laid out relative to the waterfront of what's now called the Old Port. Our "north" is more or less northwest and you'll get used to the idea that the sun sets in the north and rises in the south.
posted by zadcat at 5:26 PM on April 14, 2010
Little Italy is a very *livable* neighborhood with more neat places opening up close by and being close to jean Talon Market is worth many things. Besides, Montreal isn't *that* sprawling, if you're close to a Metro and not gonna face any hills you're good.
posted by The Whelk at 6:44 PM on April 14, 2010
posted by The Whelk at 6:44 PM on April 14, 2010
Mile End, or the north-of-the-tracks areas zadcat mentions.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 7:18 PM on April 14, 2010
posted by Felicity Rilke at 7:18 PM on April 14, 2010
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posted by OLechat at 1:04 PM on April 14, 2010