Housing near McGill

[DesperateMD]

Does anyone know a good place to live near McGill?

[Cyann]

La Cité Appartements is very comfortable, I lived there for a while. Not great if you're on a budget though.

[docofmedicine]

Howdy all! I'll be moving back to Montreal from the US this summer. The areas I'm looking at are the Ghetto (tho most units are tiny for the price!), the Plateau and the west side of campus. Of course, I'd like to be really close to campus, >15 mins walk. Any med students live in the Plateau? Is living slightly further from campus worth it? Also, do any of you live together? I would prefer living with another student if we could get a 41/2 somewhere close. Any suggestions appreciated.

[EricC]

I also have the same question as Docofmedecine... Does anyone live further away, is it easy to get to McGIll ie quick and is it any cheaper??

[Atomic_Kitten85]

Hi, although not a med student, I live in the plateu area and it takes me 20 min to walk to McMed...for 1 1/2 im paying $600 but i've seen ok places for 500-550 as well...just a bit smaller. If you're renting with another person, it will be probably cheaper.

Although the ghetto is definitely closer...in my opinion it's totally overpriced.

[Sharpie*]

Hi I went to McGill and had quite a few classes in the medical building. I lived on the west side of campus in my last semester and found it to be super convenient, because the medical building is on the opposite side of campus from the ghetto (which is just east of campus). It's also a little more affordable than the ghetto if you shop around.

 

The subway there is very clean and cheap too (if you get a metropass through the school). It is really not difficult to live a little out of the way from campus if you are close to the subway line. It can definitely be cheaper than living near campus (although, again, the west side of campus isn't bad either). My brother lives about 5 subway stops east of campus. The subway actually runs right along a main street just a couple blocks south of campus. He finds it takes him about 15 minutes door-to-door to get to classes in the morning because the train comes every 3 minutes. The only thing he complains about is that it's hard to get home from bars because the subways close earlier than he tends to come home; the bars students go to are often not in his area. Another good thing about it is that it forces you to stay on campus between classes--so you get work done, rather than deciding to go home and take a nap (like I often did, because i'm a bum!)

 

I miss montreal! Whoever ends up there... you'll LOVE it.

[miss_sunshine]

there are quite a few of my classmates that live west of campus as well either in NDG or C. des niege (a friend in my class lives right next door to the jewish general and it takes him at most 15 min to get to class by bus). my opinion is that the ghetto is overrated and overpriced. it's much too expensive and has very small appartments. i moved there for convience. about half of classes in first year are in mcMEd, the others are in Strathcona anatomy. the ghetto is great because it's right next door to stratchona but it's still a walk to mc med.

[solocup]

I agree. I never liked any of the apartments I saw east of University and they're way over-priced. I live in Ridgewood and 165, 166 go all the way to MGH and from there it's only a 10 min walk to McIntyre. Alternatively, it's also a 10 min drive to campus but finding a parking spot there is painful.

[Ève]

I live about 6 subway stations from McGill, East, along the green subway line, in a neighborhood that is considered poor. It takes me 20 minutes to get to McGill in total, and I often bike there, which takes me even less time (I don't go to McGill anymore, I just took courses there last summer). In my area, you can find a two-bedroom for around 600 a month, sometimes less if you're lucky. When I close the bars, I just take a cab home for the price of an extra drink. My point is: you so don't need to stay in the ghetto! As long as you're near the green line of the subway (http://www.stcum.qc.ca) you're fine.

 

Remember, though, that Montreal follows the provincial trend of "moving in and out on the 1st of July". I.e. most appartments are leased on a yearly basis, from July 1st to June 30th. Which means the best appartments are on the market right now. If your start searching after July 1st, chances are you will have a lot of left-overs that might be more pricey or of lesser quality.

 

And legally, no one is allowed to ask you for a first-and-last payment, like they do in Toronto. Landlords cannot even ask you for a bunch of post-dated cheques. Well, they can ask, but you don't have to agree to it.

 

And if you find something decent and sign the lease, you are entitled to know what the previous rent was (and don't believe everything you're told). If you see that it's been increased by, say, more than 10%, you can secure the appartment by signing the lease and then go to the Régie to complain, and you will win a retro-active reduction of your rent. If everyone had done that (many people are just so happy to have found a good place that they are afraid to lose it and just agree to the abusive increase), rent in Montreal would still be very afforable everywhere, including in the ghetto. And this is coming from a landlady...

[EricC]

Hey everyone,

 

I was wondering how others felt about the best time to get an appartment. I've talked to a few friends of mine in montreal and they have told me both opinions: 1- find something for july 1st or risk getting bad leftovers or 2- it doesn't matter when you get it by.

 

ON a sidenote, if anyone is looking for a roomate or looking to rent with someone else in the ghetto or something along the greenline, I'm definately in.

 

Eric

[miss_sunshine]

To get a good place, you must find something for july 1st. The best appartments (price/location/nice places) are taken very early. I would recommend that you start searching now. If you don't mind living further from campus and communiting or if you don't care about what kind of place/price, then wait until later.

[trustwomen]

Does anyone know a good place to live near McGill?

Define "near", I guess. Like Eve, I live in another neighbourhood, in my case Pointe St.Charles, just south of downtown and quite affordable compared to the Ghetto, or even the Plateau (the Pointe is like 650-800$ for a two-bedroom, but it is gentrifying faster than the east side). I take the 107 bus in front of my house, it goes directly to both McIntyre and Strathcona in about 10-20 minutes (depending on traffic) - it climbs the hill for you, which is nice in winter. One could also take the green line (Charlevoix metro) which is 5 stops from Peel station and 6 stops from McGill station.

 

If you wanted to live even cheaper, think Verdun. The 107 goes there too, as does the green line.

 

Free your mind, OP!

 

(Then again, once you're in med, a lot of people feel free to rock the credit line in order to live closer. Depends on your priorities. My BF works in Old Montreal so the Pointe is just logical for us - we bought a place cheap last summer.)

[miss_sunshine]

trustwomen makes a good point. It would be great if I lived near the 107 bus because it stops at McIntyre, Strathcona and the Royal Victoria hospital (all without having to walk up the hill in the winter, which seems to last forever in montreal). As a plus, these neighbourhoods are also generally quieter than downtown.

[rapoune]

If anyone is looking for an apartment, I have a largeish studio available either July 1st or August 1st. Its located on quaint Durocher street in the ghetto. Price is 560$ including heating & hot water. Electricity is an extra 20-25/month. PM me if you would like pics sent!

[SmileyGirl]

Anyone hear anything about the Horizons on Pins, Place Elgin on Dr. Penfield or any buildings close to McMed?

Thanks!

[solocup]

I live on Ridgewood, which is a street off Cote de Neiges. It's within walking distance of the major McGill hospitals - the Jewish is about a 20 min walk, St. Mary's is 15 mins, MGH is about 30 mins walk or 20 by bike. But getting to McIntyre (worse Strathcona) is a bit of a hassle by bus. If you have a car then it's perfect. There are lots of restaurants on CDN and it's just 15 mins away.

[The Bunny]

even with a car, parking downtown is not obvious and quite expensive

[solocup]

that's true. parking's a *****. it takes me more time to find free parking than the actual drive.

 

"Parking is like sex. Why should I pay for it? If I apply myself a little, I can have it for free!" -- George Costanza