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It's not necessarily a sure-fire indicator of quality of education but according to the stats that school has the third-highest percentage of low income kids of the 30-odd public English-language schools in Montreal.
About half of the kids that go there come from low-income households.
Lol..we'd fit right in there then....do you have a link to the stats you refer to? So because it's a school with lots of poor kids, does the school have a bad rep? I like the prospect of this school because it's right next to a metro so I feel we can travel easily to it whether we live right there or near a different metro. The school does have a Facebook page so maybe I can track some parents down and ask their experiences or something. And the school location..plamondon metro, is that a seedy area?
Lol..we'd fit right in there then....do you have a link to the stats you refer to? So because it's a school with lots of poor kids, does the school have a bad rep??
I like the prospect of this school because it's right next to a metro so I feel we can travel easily to it whether we live right there or near a different metro. The school does have a Facebook page so maybe I can track some parents down and ask their experiences or something. And the school location..plamondon metro, is that a seedy area?
It's an extremely mixed area. Lots of very new immigrants living alongside an aging Ashkenazi Jewish population that is mostly anglophone.
Montreal in general is very socio-economically mixed however. There aren't huge swathes of the city that are no-go areas and pretty nice parts are often right next to not-so-nice ones.
Thank you for all your answers nuala! So helpful. I am excited to look up more info on the francisation. When did you move to Montreal and from where? I know, I sound like such a noob!! I will probably laugh at myself a month in. The utilities are definitely a lot more expensive but my rent is 1200 here soo, I'm sure it will still be much cheaper. When I visited Montreal a couple summers before, I was completely flabbergasted about rental prices, and housing prices in general...so I am looking forward to a lower cost of living in general. And no (or less) quake fears.
I stayed at UdeM briefly and they had ants crawling up the walls in the dorms. So gross. But maybe that's just a campus thing and not real housing situations ..Also, I did look at the EMSB site to try to research the elementary schools but it's just basically a list and doesn't mention where each school is. I would have to click on each link and then place it on a map and then research each neighbourhood. But well, I guess that's my work to do I was hoping to get an idea of a narrowed down list I guess of most walkable or favored schools or whatever. Walkscore is my friend. I guess I can just input the school postal codes and start from there in that regard.
Montreal in general is very socio-economically mixed however. There aren't huge swathes of the city that are no-go areas and pretty nice parts are often right next to not-so-nice ones.
We had a 5 in 2010 just east of Gatineau (northeast of Ottawa and about an hour west of Montreal), so it shook all of eastern Ontario, southern Quebec and parts of the northern states.
The epicentre was about 50 km from my house. It didn't knock anything off my shelves but all of my paintings and frames were crooked.
There was also a 6 in the Saguenay region of Quebec in 1988. It's about 500 km from Montreal but was felt for quite some distance from there, including Quebec City, Montreal, and into eastern Ontario (Ottawa) and the northern states.
Sounds scary!!!! But I can deal with that. I think.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
But no one ever talks of The Big One in this part of the world.
That's good. I like that. Of all the things to fear, that's one of my major things. No one really talks about it here either. If so, more in a jokey way. It's only if you go looking for the talk ie the news, social media, whatever. My friends and fam laugh at me and my er supplies and tips about earthquake proofing the home.. I'm like hey. You never know!! But the idea of being somewhere where it's considered a non-issue is comforting.
Thank you for all your answers nuala! So helpful. I am excited to look up more info on the francisation. When did you move to Montreal and from where? I know, I sound like such a noob!! I will probably laugh at myself a month in. The utilities are definitely a lot more expensive but my rent is 1200 here soo, I'm sure it will still be much cheaper. When I visited Montreal a couple summers before, I was completely flabbergasted about rental prices, and housing prices in general...so I am looking forward to a lower cost of living in general. And no (or less) quake fears.
I stayed at UdeM briefly and they had ants crawling up the walls in the dorms. So gross. But maybe that's just a campus thing and not real housing situations ..Also, I did look at the EMSB site to try to research the elementary schools but it's just basically a list and doesn't mention where each school is. I would have to click on each link and then place it on a map and then research each neighbourhood. But well, I guess that's my work to do I was hoping to get an idea of a narrowed down list I guess of most walkable or favored schools or whatever. Walkscore is my friend. I guess I can just input the school postal codes and start from there in that regard.
As for the elementary schools, I moved around and found neighborhood schools everywhere. So I would concentrate on a neighborhood. As an example, people said Roslyn Elementary was very good in Westmount. What good would it be if it translates into $$$ in this posh neighbourhood. After 6th grade, the kids move on. Secondary schools that appeal to your family, may be elsewhere and so the quest will continue.
The good strategy could be to just point a finger on a map. For a newcomer, it really doesn't make a difference. Then, with time, you will research the neighborhoods that appeal personally to you.
Don't worry about the earthquakes, in Montreal the risk is very low compared with the West Coast.
From the areas that you mention Outremont is nice but very expensive. Cote-Des-Neige is OK, closer to the highway there are few streets that are more dicey, but I would not consider them dangerous. There plenty of other areas in Montreal way worse. In any event all that area close to Decarie and Mountain Sights is being developed right now with high end condos so it will not be an issue for much longer.
Cote-Des-Neige is also one of the neighborhoods with the highest percentage of immigrants and visible minorities, that's why some people perceive it as dangerous, but really other than few streets is extremely safe. It is surrounded by extremely rich neighborhoods the areas close to Universite de Montreal and Outremont are actually very wealthy. It is also very walkable, has good bus/metro connections with downtown, has several major hospitals and a significant anglo population.
The school does have a Facebook page so maybe I can track some parents down and ask their experiences or something. And the school location..plamondon metro, is that a seedy area?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Acajack
It's an extremely mixed area. Lots of very new immigrants living alongside an aging Ashkenazi Jewish population that is mostly anglophone.
Montreal in general is very socio-economically mixed however. There aren't huge swathes of the city that are no-go areas and pretty nice parts are often right next to not-so-nice ones.
I used to live near that area, it's not a bad area to live in but I admit I wouldn't want to send my kid to coronation street elementary. The streets mentioned by acajack never struck me as being bad or any worse than the other streets in the area, IMO its probably a little worse closer to Victoria road and along Decarie. I used to live right on Decarie a bit further down towards Snowdon closer to NDG and I confirm there is some drug activity in that area but its not too bad really. That is how I remember it form when I lived there, things could have changed though.
Acajack is right, it is a very mixed area. Lots and lots of restaurants, lots of people out and about during the summer months on victoria road. Cote de neiges is not far away, you got everything you need over there. Overall its not a bad area but If you have kids I would prefer to live else where or
at least send the kids to school in another area. There are nicer parts of Cote De Neiges or further down in NDG as well.
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I was hoping to get an idea of a narrowed down list I guess of most walkable or favored schools or whatever. Walkscore is my friend. I guess I can just input the school postal codes and start from there in that regard.
