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Previously posted about a possible move to Montreal (for a year + or -)....
Questions: (well, opinions requested may be a better term!)
Our boys are ages 4 1/2 and 3 yrs old - I'd love to have opinions about which type of schooling to enroll them ("English", French immersion, etc). With the assumption that we will move back here at the end of the temp work permit, I'd love for them to learn a new language; but, I also still want them to be "on par" with academics here for our return.
Living: Hubby will be working mostly around the Mirabel area. We *may* be allowed more than one car (company will provide one, not sure yet if a second will be provided), but we may only get one car. So, with that in mind, what might be some good neighborhoods/locations to live (e.g., good schools, low crime, etc)?
I am willing to try to learn as much French as I can, but realistically, there is no way I will become in any way proficient/conversational...will that present a problem in living in a predominantly French area???
At 4 and 3 the kids will be prime candidates for French immersion program in the English school system.
It will start off in Kindegarten at 80% French and drop to 50/50 by the end of elementary school, at least thats the way it worked for my kids who are now in college and if they didnt tell you you couldnt tell whether their mother tongue was English or French.
Plenty of programs for the parents to learn French.(Google)
Not much up in Mirabel, used to be a mega airport up there but it closed down a long time ago,its now a small cargo airport that may host a plane or two a day and a large auto and motorcycle racing school, a few miles away there is a Bell Helicopter plant but other than that its mostly all farms, the whole area is almost totally French speaking...
Living there will be like living in a part of western Europe where quite a few people (but not necessarily everyone) speak English as a second language but the main everyday language is something else.
If you intend to opt for the English school system (which includes French immersion), you should look into where their schools are located before choosing a place to live. There can be a good distance between the schools and it's best to avoid hours on the school bus every day for your kids.
I don't think I/we will be *living* in Mirabel...but, I also don't want hubby to have a 45 to hour commute each way every day! Hubby has stayed in the Laval area on some of his previous trips up there....What kind of area is that for us staying as a family (re: previous questions - schools, low crime, etc)??? Given hubby's work location, we probably would look mostly in the more north and/or west parts of Montreal (rather than actual "downtown" - again due to length of commute).
Would there be other areas that might be better? Which would you tell someone to adamantly avoid?
I don't think I/we will be *living* in Mirabel...but, I also don't want hubby to have a 45 to hour commute each way every day! Hubby has stayed in the Laval area on some of his previous trips up there....What kind of area is that for us staying as a family (re: previous questions - schools, low crime, etc)??? Given hubby's work location, we probably would look mostly in the more north and/or west parts of Montreal (rather than actual "downtown" - again due to length of commute).
Would there be other areas that might be better? Which would you tell someone to adamantly avoid?
Anywhere on Montreal Island will most certainly be a 45 min. to 1 hour commute each way to Mirabel and back. Laval is more like 30 minutes.
There are very few really "bad" areas in Greater Montreal (at least in the American sense of "bad areas").
As for Laval in particular, it's very safe on the whole. Most of it is suburban middle-class.
If hubby is working day shift he will be going the opposite way of most commuters in the morning and evening.
His best option to get to Mirabel every morning would be up the 13 then connect with the 15 to go further north or depending on where in Miabel he's working go through Ste Eustache toward Lachute. as Lachine is at the base of the 13 it might be a neighborhood worth exploring..
If hubby is working day shift he will be going the opposite way of most commuters in the morning and evening.
His best option to get to Mirabel every morning would be up the 13 then connect with the 15 to go further north or depending on where in Miabel he's working go through Ste Eustache toward Lachute. as Lachine is at the base of the 13 it might be a neighborhood worth exploring..
Still a good 45 minutes to an hour. And this is "tiguidou right through" with no traffic at all. There can be traffic on the major highways in the reverse commute directions in Montreal. Not as much as in the peak directions but you can get jammed up just the same sometimes.
I was thinking of the English school options in relation to their home base,while St Jerome and Lachute maybe a more practical place to live if you are working in Mirabel your options of sending the kids to English schools are severely limited..
I was thinking of the English school options in relation to their home base,while St Jerome and Lachute maybe a more practical place to live if you are working in Mirabel your options of sending the kids to English schools are severely limited..
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