Recommendation for apartment near metro in English speaking area

[california guy]

Can you recommend a good quiet safe apartment in Montreal for a single retired guy like myself that allows smoking in apartment? Also,places and things to do during non pooning hours-Pubs,bookstores,fitness clubs,libraries,restaurants and other places of interest?

 

[Skyeyes]

http://www.lacite.ca/

There is gym, food market, movie theater downstairs.
Walking distance from St-Catherine and ST-Laurent streets.
Subway is a 5min walk downhill.
Lots of restorants nearby.
Near the Mount-Royal.
Furnished or not....Pool

Check it out.

 

[FaceMaster]

What's with this belief that Quebecers smoke “Gauloises” or “Gitanes” (most Quebec smokers I know smoke Player's, DuMaurier, or Export A), or put mayonnaise on everything for that matter? We're French Canadians, not bread-under-the-armpit French!

 

[california guy]

Thanks guys for your input-La Cite sounds good.But keep any suggestions coming for places and things to do for a fifty two old pooner who is not working anymore. Any good places for playing chess,sports clubs,bookstores or restaurants?

 

[FaceMaster]

ElfGoneBad,

Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. It's just that these assumptions (not yours, just in general) drive me insane. For instance, the Montreal-based Bruce Willis movie The Whole Nine Yards made some of these jokes; couldn't they bother to check if it was true? Anyway, I'm just venting...

By the way, O'Keefe is pretty much the only beer I can't stand to drink! I may be French but I like my Heineken. Oh well, it could be worse, I could be forced to drink American beer!!!

 

[FaceMaster]

ElfGoneBad,

You know that old Eric Idle joke?

What's the difference between American beer and making love in a canoe? There's no difference, they're both fucking close to water!

 

[california guy]

Thanks again for your input guys.

How about an apartment recommendation that is like real close to the Metro or close to underground Montreal-or is that anything to write home about?

 

[dunderhead]

Apartments

Westmount Square and 3500 de Maisonneuve West are connected to the Atwater Metro station...there are countless apartment complexes along de Maisonneuve and Sherbrooke, i.e. Le Cartier at Sherbooke/Peel, 1 block north of the Peel Station... that are within an easy 5 minute walk to stations on the Green Line/Line 1

 

[HornyBoy007]

I wouldn't recommend apartments near Guy and Sherbrooke area. I was living there recently and had to move. A lot of foreign students are living there now, so the buildings are really getting fealthy and noisy and very expensive if you consider the services offered. Unless, you are looking for an exotic neighberhood that reminds you Kaboul, Islamabad, new-delhi.. don't go there.

 

[Peeping Tom]

I'll second that and add the same for the McGill ghetto - I lived in it while doing my undergrad degree. Heh, funny post HornyBoy, you really describe it as it is

Originally posted by HornyBoy007
I wouldn't recommend apartments near Guy and Sherbrooke area. I was living there recently and had to move. A lot of foreign students are living there now, so the buildings are really getting fealthy and noisy and very expensive if you consider the services offered. Unless, you are looking for an exotic neighberhood that reminds you Kaboul, Islamabad, new-delhi.. don't go there.

 

[HornyBoy007]

I agree with that Elf. Once I invited my girlfriend for a latte at that Tim Horton's. when we stepped in, everybody was looking at us. All the customers there were arabs, or at least looked like Arabs. The area was nicer a fewer years ago. Now, it is over. I was living in the building , on the corner of Cote des neiges and Sherbrooke. Very nice from the outside. But as you get in you will notice that some dear tenants spat in the elevator. In the hallways, you might smell all sorts of funny stuff, ranging from cigarettes and food to dirty socks. Just disgusting.

 

[california guy]

HornyBoy007 -thanks for clarifying the Guy and Sherbrooke area!
In San Jose here we're being overrun with Kaboul,Islamabad,new delhi & Mexico refugees-I either have to buy a camel or move!!!LOL

 

[Doc Holliday]

Mtl becoming Toronto?

These last few posts kind of remind me of Toronto.....is Mtl slowly becoming what Toronto has become in the last 10 years or so?

Hope not.....wouldn't want my beloved Mtl to lose it's charm.

Oh well...blame the Liberals and their goddamn lousy immigration policy! Policy? What policy? What a joke!!

 

[HornyBoy007]

I agree with that too Elf. I also know arabs that are successful. Eventhough, their way of thinking remains different. They generally lack respect to others. The good ones are rather the exceptions not the rule.

 

[california guy]

Condo recommendation in English speaking area

Now that we have resolved the beer issue(by the way,I agree most US beer is bad) and had our beers-how about enlightening me about the following:

Thanks guys for your input-especially since spending some time on Perb-people here seem nicer to each other than in Victoria.

Anyway,I really need to buy a condo rather than rent(need tax write-off).I would prefer to avoid Arabs and students since I am a quiet 52 year old retiree.

I would appreciate your recommendations for condos that are quiet,near metro and are mostly English speaking areas.

 

[Neptune]

Re: Agreed

Originally posted by EagerBeaver
The Canadian beers are as crappy as American mainstream beers, or close. I agree with CCF, German lagers and American micro brews rule.

mainstream beers suck in general, no matter what country. Everyone is equally capable of producing high-volume crap for the export market, even the Belgians. No one drinks Stella Artois in belgium and yet it is regarded as an upmarket lager everywhere else.

 

[varia]

Price are rising fast

Prices are getting higher really fast right now, condo or appartments. There is something like a 1.5% vacancy for appartements and a normal situation should be 3%. So because the renting is more difficult right now, condonimiums are built everywhere. But because they know that people are shifting from renting to buying because of rarity, the price for condos are getting higher every day. Be prepared to pay around 100 000$CA for a normal condo (but usually new ) with maybe 2 bedrooms. This is a normal price, but they are getting higher every day.

About the english factor. I'm a french speaker myself and I'm OK in english (not perfect as you probably see here). If one day you have to choose between a perfect condo in a french sector and a not too good spot in a more english sector, don't worry too much in my opinion and choose the best condo. One of the wonders of this city is it's bilinguism. Sure there is some law preventing some stuff to be done in english only, sure there is some people speaking french only, but in no way this is going to hinder your life in Montreal. About every job here ask you to be able to speak english. Not to be fluent, but enough to understand and serve you. I understand your preferences and they are legitimate. I'm just want to be sure that you know that most people you will meet in your "public" life will be speaking english and won't have a problem with it. Another more secret wonders of Montreal, is that this is a really nice place to learn a new language at your pace...without stress ! To me, it should not be a major concern. Just find what you like and go for it. Don't wait too much or the price will rise...

Varia

PS : And half of the people working in independant 7/11 or little groceries aren't speaking english or french anyway ! Just check to register to know how much you have to pay for that Unibroue beer and smile !

 

[Happydan]

Re: Condos and prices

Originally posted by Lawless
Varia,

Condos are still affordable in Montreal, compare to Totonto and Vancouver; it's still time to buy!!

Lawless

It's affordable if you have just sold your home in Toronto or Vancouver but if your from here it certainly cannot be considered an affordable time to buy, it is a sellors market.

2 years ago you could find something half decent at around 130, now forget aboutit, 160$ and up.

PS check the Montreal MLS listings this should help you out

 

[varia]

Re: Condos and prices

What can I say ! After a really short thinking, you are right. We cannot really define the city this way. The old west=english and east=french from Saint-Laurent street is too big to be true. It was maybe the case in the past, but not anymore. Sure, the Plateau have more french speakers compare to westmount. Anyway, sociodemographics still can show some differences. No link, sorry, but anyway, my main thing was simply to say we shouldn't, as you seem to say too, stick to the language as a factor to choose a place to live here...

About the price index, I'm just saying that after, let's say, visiting a few condos you find that the sourroundings in the Plateau answers your needs (the location services), buy it! Don't buy the one in Westmount because a slightly more percentage of people speaks english as their primary language if all other aspects don't fit your needs (change that for every "sector" you may think of). Just that and be sure I don't want to put a political spin to it.
I love almost every aspect of this city, including specifically is bilinguism (spelling ?).

I will not look good, but I will pass over my ego and add that yeah, it's more like a 1 bedroom for 100 000$ca...

Sometimes I should just open my TV and watch hockey with a beer instead of having to retract about everything I said on a quick post !

Regards,

Varia

Originally posted by Lawless
Varia,

What do you define as French and English sectors (I don't believe you can caracterize the city as such) and how do you compare the price index between the two.

Location, location and location is the prime factor when buying a piece real estate, be careful and discuss the matter with local friends before buying!!

Varia, let me know where you can get a two bedrooms condo in Montrreal in a nice area for $100,000? Certainly not in the western part of the city!!

Condos are still affordable in Montreal, compare to Totonto and Vancouver; it's still time to buy!!

Lawless

 

[HornyBoy007]

More and more people are buying condos. If you are planning to get your condo this summer, you'd better buy it right after Xmas holidays. It is mission impossible to get a condo for a 100000$ today in montreal (a decent condo I mean). I was hunting for a condo last year in march, for summer 2003, but it was too late, so I finally bought the condo for summer 2004 (a year prior). You should at least expect to pay 150$. If you're looking for areas like westmount, downtown or plateau, it is very common to have condos for 250$ to 300 $ (for just a 3 1/2) and with generally higher condo monthly fees and taxes.

You don't have to fear students when buying a condo, though you might have a neighborhood of young professionals who would like to party from time to time.

Personally I prefer areas like plateau where you have plenty of restaurants and boutiques nearby to areas like westmount which are a bit boring. But all depends on what you're looking for. Old montreal is now very popular among americans and french, but the prices are very high there. Though, you will have the feeling of living in a european city while still in north america.

Good hunting.