alexbowyer

Hi

My wife and I are emigrating to Montréal in less than a week; we're about as prepared as we can be for such a life changing move but wanted to ask a few practical questions.

Everyone says it's colder than you can imagine - how cold is it really? I assume we'll need to get some really warm clothes when we get there... Anyone have any tips on what sort of warm clothing we'll need to get... are padded jackets the way to go? or do they go as far as having some sort of snowsuit? Also any tips on where to buy would be great too.

We have booked a hotel for our first few days while we find somewhere to live. My wife has a job arranged in West Outremont, I am hoping to find work in the centre or somewhere around there. So we are looking maybe at Westmount or Outremont to live. Are these nice areas to live? We have found the craigslist accommodation pages, what are other good places to look for accommodation? Is there a particular newspaper on a particular day with an accommodation section we should look out for?

Also - what is the best bank to go with?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Alex Bowyer

clynnog

There are other posters on here who live in Mtl who may be able to help you. First question, can you parlez-vous francais?

Westmount and Outremont are very similar in housing stock and rents I would think. Westmount is quite an anglo area, while I believe Outremont is more french and jewish in its demographics. Both have very high end homes and rental apartments in areas.

Here is the weather stats for Montreal airport....

http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec....s=&StnId=5415&

and here is last months statistics

http://www.climate.weatheroffice.ec....&Month=1&Day=1

January is usually the coldest month. Many buildings in downtown Montreal are connected below ground via tunnels etc that have shops in them.

If there is a Mountain Equipment Co-op store in Montreal, they have great warm coats (not the most fashionable or cheapest), but they are durable and you avoid the Wal Mart sweat shop quality of clothing.

Novocastrian

There is indeed... http://www.mec.ca/Main/content_text....=1233694027970

MikeUK

Be selective in Mountain Equipment Co-op,
Read the labels as a significant amount of their stuff is made in those Vietnamese sweats shops, They look just like the other named brand companies gear, but are often made of thinner lighter gauge materials
And if you’re staying and want to be really warm, no matter how bad/cold it gets (not cheap) but not much comes better than Canadian goose
http://www.canada-goose.com/0c_products.htm
http://www.canada-goose.com/authorized.php

clynnog

I wasn't aware of the Vietname sweatshop link.

Regarding canada-goose etc, the fact that one of the authorized dealers in my area is Holt Renfrew does not endear this company to me....plus the fact that I really had to dig on their website to get the prices. Despite that, I've heard great things about the products in the past.

Steve_P

Who told you this?

It would appear your comments are totally opposite to MEC's policy on sourcing.

http://blog.mec.ca/ethical-sourcing.html

http://www.mec.ca/Main/content_text.jsp;jsessionid=hpkyJLDCnprWyY31hYR7XC G306Jhn7pbvq4f7QgNyJyFhQJm4WCy!-944777677?page=sourcing&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408 474396038947&bmLocale=en&bmUID=1233699650776

MikeUK

I ran across it when talking to a local Toronto university student in a climbing shop

They're members of the Fair Labor Association which looks great on paper but as some have said
(I believe they may have recently changed auditors which may be an improvement)

..is a weak code that fails to provide for women's rights, a living wage, and the full public disclosure of factory locations

This group was founded by Nike a company notorious for its use of sweatshops, its considered by many to be just an industry coverup
To quote;“Nike pushed for development of the Fair Labor Association, a group that evolved from the White House Apparel Industry Partnership initiated by President Clinton and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Union and religious (ICCR) representatives initially involved in the partnership left the group after they were presented with a take-it-or-leave-it proposal by corporate members including Nike. The proposal assured industry control of the organization and would allow companies to assert they were "sweatshop free" while monitoring as few as 30% of their manufacturing facilities”

You can talk and profess to have great policies but if you choose organizations who’s credibility is sketchy to police those policies then they don’t count for much

More to the point they admit to using factories with child labour, granted they do more than most to improve conditions in these factories, but that in my definition is a sweat shop (even if you're trying to make it better)
http://www.mec.ca/Main/content_text....34374302883562

montreal mike

Everyone says it's colder than you can imagine - how cold is it really? I assume we'll need to get some really warm clothes when we get there... Anyone have any tips on what sort of warm clothing we'll need to get... are padded jackets the way to go? or do they go as far as having some sort of snowsuit? Also any tips on where to buy would be great too.

an 'Arctic hat' is essential

you MUST get a leather hat, with proper insulation .. it will last ten years .. you will need it at twenty below (celcius) plus a fierce wind




http://www.henrihenri.ca/en/chapeaux/index.htm

Steve_P

Interesting reading thanks.

montreal mike

[I]
We have booked a hotel for our first few days while we find somewhere to live. My wife has a job arranged in West Outremont, I am hoping to find work in the centre or somewhere around there.


Good luck because you might find you will need to go further afield or even commute. We have a good bus and metro network, plus trains, so that helps.

montreal mike

outremont and westmount are pricey ritzy neighbourhoods, especially westmount

just be aware of this

montreal mike

montreal gazette and la presse will list accomodations

kate holt

we were there in february minus 20. to be honest a good coat, hat and gloves, good boots and an extra layer ie a vest and you will be fine.

gembers

Nobody here has given you any sound advice so far on property so i'll have a go.

Westmount is a great place, a sort of anglophone oasis situated just west of downtown. accessible by the green line (atwater on the east) and orange line metro (vendome to the west) as well as the 24 bus which goes straight donw Sherbrooke street. HOWEVER, taxes are HIGH. twice as high as Montreal itself. Dependent on size, a 3 bed home will come with a municipal tax bill of about 4k + 1k for shcools.

75% of the residents claim english is their first language with just 3% of people who are solely francophone. The westmount examiner newspaper will help you get a feel for the neighbourhood.

BUT - lower westmount is investment wise a VERY unsure place right now. Lower westmount (below de maissoneuve and st catherine esp.) are very close to the commuter train tracks and the 720 highway. McGill is also currently building a mega-hospital at the south east extremity of westmount's city limits (in the glen yard area). house prices may well be affected by this as st catherine will be a main ambulance route, more pollution, 10 more years of construction as well as the train.

Many of the buildings date back to circa 1890. a property of this age is expensive to maintain. most have oil heating. in the winter this will cost about 1000 bucks a month to heat. replacing period rooves are also costly....esp. when then the building is a heritage one.

If you are looking in an anglo area, the montreal gazette is better for hunting than la presse as la presse highlights french areas (the east of the city, plateau, downtown, old montreal, rive sud and laval).

Outremount comes with lower taxes but there is rarely a bargain to be found and in my opinion (as a bilingual brit) does not have the amenities or snow clearing prowess of westmount. another are you should look at is the monkland village (around monkland and old orchard street in ndg). a very nice area, close to villa maria metro on the orane line and more affordable, exp with lower taxes. the are is predominantly anglo (i'd say about 60%) and liberal in it's voting. liberal areas in western montreal tend to be anglo.