Looking for a good suburb area in the Montreal area (how much, houses)

[vallemic]

We currently live in Dieppe, New Brunswick. My husband is considering taking a job in (Lachine) Montreal and we have no idea where to begin looking for a house. We have a seven year old son who presently plays hockey and goes to a great school... we're looking for a good suburb area where he can make friends and even play hockey in the street Our annual family income is $150,000. We speak both French and English... any recommendations?

[jambo101]

What about Lachine?if you look west of 32nd ave you should find a nice detached house to live in, the neighboring community of Dorval would also be worth a look..
Google street views will give you a pic of any property or neighborhood you may be interested in.

[barneyg]

Houses will likely be more expensive but your husband won't be stuck in traffic if you stay on the island. With that type of income you can probably avoid the commute.

What type of suburb are you looking for? The housing stock in Montreal's "West Island" area (Lachine, Dorval, Pointe-Claire, Beaconsfield and so on) is also older with more mature trees/neighborhoods than what you'd generally find out of the island, whether on the South Shore (Châteauguay, Candiac, La Prairie), North Shore/Laval (Sainte-Thérèse), or further West (Vaudreuil). You'll find quiet streets in any of those places for your son to play hockey in, though!

[vallemic]

Thanks for the info barneyg. We have been Googling a great deal the last few days... learning more about the island and its surroundings.

Yes, we have found the houses on the West Island to be a little older (although sometimes really well maintained/renovated) but we would like to find a newer subdivision with younger families and especially good schools. What are the public schools like in the North Shore? Do most people opt for private schools?

[barneyg]

Originally Posted by vallemic

Thanks for the info barneyg. We have been Googling a great deal the last few days... learning more about the island and its surroundings.

Yes, we have found the houses on the West Island to be a little older (although sometimes really well maintained/renovated) but we would like to find a newer subdivision with younger families and especially good schools. What are the public schools like in the North Shore? Do most people opt for private schools?

Here's a link for (I believe the most recent) Quebec high school rankings by Quebec's equivalent to Maclean's. Not sure how much stock you want to put in those rankings:

L'Actualité - Palmarès 2008

I'm not concerned about suburban public schools at the elementary level. At the high school level, private schools are rather popular because they're still heavily financed by the government, so the cost of sending your kids to a private high school is lower than other places (definitely the US and Ontario, not sure about NB specifically). As a result, a lot of the people who can afford to send their kids to a private HS will do so.

As far as newer subdivisions go, a lot of the North Shore has them as you've probably seen through Google. Some places on the island do too -- Kirkland, Pierrefonds, Dollard-des-Ormeaux.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by barneyg

. At the high school level, private schools are rather popular because they're still heavily financed by the government, so the cost of sending your kids to a private high school is lower than other places .

To give an idea my daughter went to Sacred Heart an all girls school at the top of Atwater st. Cost us $7000 per year give or take a few hundred.
My younger daughter is going to a public school in Montreal West
(Royal West Academy) cost per year $60.. I personally dont see a difference in the quality of education between the two..

[ladyaugusta]

We used to live in LaSalle. We don't have children, but LaSalle has quite a bit to offer insofar as sports are concerned. Personally, I didn't like living there, though...it was a little rough around the edges for my liking.

We moved to Chateauguay and we love it here. The area we live in is very safe; we don't even have to lock our door when we take a jaunt out to the local store. Housing is affordable. Still, as your husband will be working in Lachine, I don't know if he'd enjoy the commute across the dreaded Mercier Bridge twice a day.

As another member mentioned, some parts of Lachine are really nice, and the bus service is good.

If you go to the city of Montreal's website and click on "Find a borough" on the top left hand corner of the page, you can read about the different boroughs.