the average cost for living in montreal
 

hello. i will be coming over to montreal for my studies in september 2006. i would like to know what is the average cost for living wise, such has the rent, the food cost, transport cost. i'm living in paris with my mother, and it will be the first time that i will be independent.
i will be looking for a flat to share.
what's the going price between the different quarters of montreal
thank you

patrick thorp

What's the average cost of living in Paris?

Your question is almost impossible to answer. Will your school provide help finding housing? How far from school do you want to live? Are you going top cook your own meals?

Chicken quarters are $1.25 a pound. A loaf of ordinary sliced bread is $1.20. Filetr Mignon is $24 a pound. Cable television is $30 a month. It probably costgs about $2.25 to ride on the subway or a bus (it's been a few years since I lived in Montreal)

A one-berdoom flat in an old house costs anywhere from $700 to $1500 a month, probably, but it depends on the house and the neighborhood.

I do know that British people think that many purchases in Canada are a bargain compared to home, with items costing about one Canadian dollar here and one British pound in London.

A "tall" Starbucks coffee is about $1.70.

BAK

thank you very much for your response. i might be british, but i don't live there, but as we all know england is expensive, and france is getting very expensive aswell. yes i will be cooking my own diner and will not be buying filet mignon or expensive meat.
but it seems a bit much between 700 and 1500 dollars for a one bedroom flat. i would even call that a rip off. anyway, my school will be in the quartier latin, boulevard maisonneuve, if that can help you.
let's just imagine, can i live comfortably with a budget of about 700 canadian dollars per month, i include in that 700, my food and my rent. i know that having the cable tv and internet will be a luxury.
otherwise can you maybe help me by telling me wich are the best quartiers to live in montreal, according to you of course.
thank you very much, waiting for your response. have a great evening.
patrick thorp

I would like to add to this comment. I too think that 700 minimum is a bit steep for a one bedroom and frankly I think you can do much better, depending on where you plan on living and how big your appartment will be. My good friend just moved into a bachelor appartment on de Montagne between Sherbrooke and Dr. Penfield and pays 800$ a month, but this is a prime location. You can certainly do better, maybe 400-500, in Le Plateau or NDG for instance. Of course, you may want to live somewhere close to where you study. From your description, I assume you will be studying at Universite de Quebec a Montreal (UQAM). I may be wrong, but if so, it is close to the Plateau district and will some good research, you should have no trouble finding decent accomodation there. Good luck.

There are lots of different places people can live, of course.

And Montreal real estate is generally less than Toronto, which is the market I know best. But food, transportation, books, entertainment, insurance, etc. are very close in price between the two cities.

When my daughter was going to opera school a few years ago in Toronto she had a room for a while in a special residence kind of building with a private bedroom but shared kitchen and bathroom, for $700 a month, but close enough she could walk to school.

Later she moved into a $900 a month one bedroom apartment after I moved out, but had to spend $100 a month on a transit pass. She had a part time job, so covered some of the difference herself. If she could have found a studio apartment it would have been less, but the problem was finding one.

In Montreal, it probably costs more to be within walking distance of school yhan to be father away but have to buy Metro tickets.

You might be able to just rent a bedroom in a house, and be allowed to use the kitchen.

And, of course,you need lunches at school. You can make something at home, or buy something at school. Again, $5 per day, $100 a month, is hardly any money at all, especially if you want a coffee in the afternoon for $1.50

My daughter got $1000 a month from me for rent, etc., and supplemented this with her own earnings. This placed her at the low end of the economic scale at school. Lots of students spent a lot more money.

I certainly would suggst you have a $1000cdn budget, not counting tuition and transporation from Europe.

Mobile telephone would be a minium of perhaps $20 a month, assuming you use it very little.

BAK

Hello! 700 $ per month can be enough, but you'll really need to be creative. 1000 $ does seem more reasonable... Your best bet is to look at this site, the best to find flats to rent or share. You have to pay I think, but it's worth it. If not, I know that some places in Paris have the Journal Voir (some of my friends read it while in Paris). It will give you a good idea of prices and neighborhoods : http://www.voir.ca/aLouer/

I just realized that there is a free section of the "A louer" section on the Voir Website. Here is the link : http://voir.ca/petitesannonces/rubri...IDRubrique=200

Voir magazine gives you a good idea of the asking price for renting an apartment in Montreal. I have friends who pay much lower in rent and are pretty centrally located to boot. (Ranging between $350-$600/month for a 1 BR.) The very low rents are nigh impossible to find these days, but with a bit of fishing around, you should be able to find a 1 bedroom or studio within the $500-$600 rent (+utilities) and still be living independently, with a pretty central location to boot. The Plateau, Mile-End, McGill Ghetto and Quartier Latin are fun areas to be young in.

Transport, monthly pass is $63 as of Jan. 2006, gets you anywhere on Montreal island that buses or metros go. (Commuter trains are more.)

Good luck and Bienvenu a Montreal!!!!

Just to add a point, since Patrick will be a student, assuming he is between 18-25, he is entitled to the "tarif reduit" fare of 32.50 per month for a CAM (Metro-Bus Card) assuming he gets the appropriate STM photo ID!