Let's talk about the weather! (apartments, neighborhood, schools)

[DD78]

I understand that it gets extremely cold in Montreal with lots of snow, but is there a bit of sun at least? I currently live in the North of France where it is miserable, gray and rainy for most of the year. We have about 45 days of full sun, and around 100 days with 2-4 hours of sun. They rest of the days are just complete crap!

I read one statistic that Montreal has an average of 303 mostly sunny days. Does that seem to be somewhat accurate?

And how long does winter last...Oct/Nov - April?

I've looked up stats, but just wanted to get a general idea from someone who lives (or has lived) in Montreal.

Thanks!

P.S. Just to give you an idea as to the area near where I live, see the clip below. It's funny and slightly exaggerated, but only slightly!


Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis - YouTube

[jambo101]

303 sunny days a year in Montreal sounds about right, Montreal definitely doesnt have an abnormal number of dreary days.
Winter can be variable but temps start cooling down in November and get downright cold in Jan. and Feb.Winter is over by April however its not unheard of to get the rare snowfall in Nov. or April.

[DD78]

@Jambo - Good to know! I think I would have a much easier time dealing with the snow and blistering cold, as long as there is a bit of sunshine.

[jambo101]

Some live and work in Montreal's underground city,32 kilometers of offices,shops,food courts, and many highrise apartments whose ground floor exits to the underground city,also has 5-6 subway stations,
Gets one out of the winter but bit pricey though..

[Acajack]

The weather is not really like ch'ti country (funny movie btw).

The dreariest periods are from mid-October to late November, and in April-March. This would resemble the weather in Lille or Brussels.

Summers are generally a lot warmer and hotter and sunnier than in northern France and Belgium/UK.

Montreal is on the same latitude as the Côte-d'Azur so the sun in the summer is about the same intensity as down there.

Even in the late winter (February) the sun can be quite warm even though the air temperature is still very cold.

Probably 4 or 5 out of 7 days in winter have some sun. The typical pattern is a day or two of clouds which usually bring some snow and temperatures just below zero C. Then a high pressure system comes in with colder temperatures and bright sunny skies for a few days.

The day after a big snowstorm is usually colder with bright sunshine and sparkling white fresh snow. Sounds really magical but don't forget to bundle up.

Summers are, as I said, warm to hot and generally sunny. Rain usually falls during evening thunderstorms that come after a really hot day (for a few days it was 35 C with a 45+ C "humidex" feeling last week) that lasts for maybe half an hour.

[DD78]

@Jambo - An underground city? Sounds interesting. Though despite the cold, I think I would rather live above ground.

@Acajack - Very funny movie, indeed! You described the weather really well, thanks! We might be moving to the Montreal area in near future, so I'm trying to find out as much as possible before we go. I think we'll be taking a trip in late October to check everything out before we move. My husband will be working in Montreal, but I'm hoping we'll be able to live in Beaconsfield. From everything I have read so far, it seems like a great neighborhood. Family oriented, large English speaking population, and nice schools (very impressed with Christmas Park Elementary!).

[MexiQuebecois]

Originally Posted by DD78

@Jambo - An underground city? Sounds interesting. Though despite the cold, I think I would rather live above ground.

@Acajack - Very funny movie, indeed! You described the weather really well, thanks! We might be moving to the Montreal area in near future, so I'm trying to find out as much as possible before we go. I think we'll be taking a trip in late October to check everything out before we move. My husband will be working in Montreal, but I'm hoping we'll be able to live in Beaconsfield. From everything I have read so far, it seems like a great neighborhood. Family oriented, large English speaking population, and nice schools (very impressed with Christmas Park Elementary!).

LOL nobody actually lives "underground". The underground city is basically a network of tunnels that interconnect metro stations, schools, shopping malls, office buildings, apartment buildings, etc. So for example you live on the 20th floor of your apartment building, you take the elevator and by the lobby you can find an entrance that will lead you to a metro station, you take it, get off at a different metro station that has a tunnel that leads you to your university, then take another tunnel that takes you to a shopping mall, you shop around and then go home. In total you were outside maybe like 5 minutes. That's how it works. It's not like we have Atlantis underneath Montréal (though that would be pretty awesome!)

[DD78]

@Mexi - Wow, that's naivety at it's best! Do I win an award or something? ;o)

Though in my defense, I was thinking more of a basement style thing, not Atlantis! Even so, tunnels that interconnect buildings and metro stations sound rather convenient when there is severe weather.

Now I know why Rick Mercer has such an easy time picking on Americans...

[callmemaybe]

Originally Posted by MexiQuebecois

LOL nobody actually lives "underground". The underground city is basically a network of tunnels that interconnect metro stations, schools, shopping malls, office buildings, apartment buildings, etc. So for example you live on the 20th floor of your apartment building, you take the elevator and by the lobby you can find an entrance that will lead you to a metro station, you take it, get off at a different metro station that has a tunnel that leads you to your university, then take another tunnel that takes you to a shopping mall, you shop around and then go home. In total you were outside maybe like 5 minutes. That's how it works. It's not like we have Atlantis underneath Montréal (though that would be pretty awesome!)

So basically it's like the PATH in Toronto?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by callmemaybe

So basically it's like the PATH in Toronto?

Highly similar yes.