Hi all... Just stumbled on this site and this is my first post.
My wife and I are in the process of applying for a visa to move to/close to Montreal. On the assumption that the relevant entry papers arrive 'stamped approved', can anyone offer advise on which neighborhoods in the City are best to live in? Ideally; good schools, low crime, close to the city for work/fun, not too expensive etc....
I greatly appreciate any recommendations.

Any replies are wecome.

Be patient. It's quite early in the morning here. The Montrealers are probably not around yet.

There are lots of old threads on Montreal, Quebec and more specific subjects. It probably hasn't changed that much:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=montreal
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=montreal
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=montreal
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...light=montreal

Je sais.... I replied because the post had been moved from its original location by the administrator and I sent a reply in an attempt to locate it.
I am new to the site and I apologize if this looked impatient... that wasn't intended.

Thanks for your reply.

Welcome mate and good luck.

I wasn't suggesting that you are impatient. I was merely pointing out that it's a bit early in the day. Some of the Montrealers may also have extended their St Jean Baptiste weekend.

Thanks for this info... Very useful.

Good morning!

I should point you in the direction of the FAQ i mostly wrote. Or Wiki as it is known as these days.

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Montréal

I don't think four in the afternoon really counts as morning but salut anyway.

Thanks for the links and welcome messages... Much appreciated.

Until next time....,

Yes I did think you did a good job. You may have noticed that I added a bit here and there but left the bulk untouched as it was just right.

Well I hope the two of you are reasonably good in French. And I don't mean the basic high school stuff. Your children, if there are any or if there are some planned, are going into the French school system., I hope someone explained the facts of Quebec life to you. if you figured on English schooling well that is not really such a disaster as the kids will grow up speaking the lingo, maybe even more fluent than the both of you.

As for neighbourhoods, well there are the pricey ones (Mount royal, Outremont, Hampstead, Westmount) but my guess is you will be both content on the West Isalnd where there are tons of anglos.

Most neighbourhoods are quite safe although I would avoid settling down in the North End, the St. Michel area specifically. This was once a respectable Italian neighbourhood but now has a few street gangs. Every now and again someone gets bumped off. Doesn't happen that often thank God.

As for being close to the city there are good bus, train and metro (underground) links all over the place. Our metro, 40 years old, just got extended to Laval, a large island just north of the city.

Look at the wiki link neil put together. It is very helpfiul.

Nuns Island mate

www.nunsisland.com

or Iledeseurs in french.

It's a small Island, it's 12 minutes to downtown by bus, and because it is almost one big cul de sac there aint a lot of crime. There is a lot of forest, parkland a riverfront and it's very child friendly.

We pay the equivelent of 800 quid a month for a 4 bed townhouse, with 3 bathrooms , garage and garden.

You will also definitely learn French quickly here, as it's 90 per cent French, the only minus point I can think of are the 2 ways into the island can get very clogged with traffic.

I hope this helps

Jonathan