Montreal makes a lot of noise about itself but its sister city Laval is quietly making some major ground as an interesting place to live a better life.
Here's a list of reasons why the old also-ran has become a place you can no longer overlook as a location to live.
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| Place $427 M development here |
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| Cosmodome |
- It's Canada's 13th largest city and its growth rate of 8 percent between 1996 and 2011 is higher than Montreal's and is the sixth-highest of those 13 cities, real estate values tend to rise faster in quicker-growing cities.
- Condos cost something like $100,000 less than they might in Montreal, with places near the fast-growing Montmorency metro station area costing as little as $136,000. When the vacancy rates tighten up those prices will shoot right up.
- Bridges are short, highways and roads are wide, with the 13 and 15 make getting into the city a breeze.
- Metros go downtown Montreal along the main orange line, no changing at Berri required.
- It's a paradise for those with cars. Having a family just became a ton easier. Meanwhile Montreal is yanking out parking and closing ramps with the idea of forcing people onto public transit.
- It's clean, new, growing, booming. Not all the island is a hotspot but culturally-speaking it's no worse than many other parts of Montreal
- The Montreal Canadiens AHL team is expected to move there in two years
- A massive $427 million commercial project connected to the Montmorency metro station announced this week will make that area abuzz with action. That project is expected to create over 3,500 jobs
- It has still has an air of wild-west opportunity where things can grow and thrive, and has attractions ranging from family friendly Cosmodome, Centropolis, baseball batting cages to strip clubs and nightlife hot spots like the Moombah.
- Still loads of green space and nature parks.
I would prefer to be put to death. Every once in a while one of our friends sells off their expensive little condo in the city and heads to Laval for the square footage. Usually we never see them again. Too busy with the lawn mowing, driveway shoveling and the driving everywhere for everything.
ReplyDeleteMaybe your friends are tired of hearing you complain about the traffic, the parking, small apartments, high house prices and taxes. It may also be that you don't want to take the 2+ hour metro and the bus out to Ste. Rose, Ste. Dorothé or Fabreville and your friends don't want to have to deal with the inevitable traffic jam that is the Decarie / Metropolitaine.
ReplyDeleteI say "to each their own".
I never complain about any of those things since I don't have a car and live quite happily bounded by the mountain, the river, University and Atwater. Within a 15 minute walk from my front door, I have 2 cinemas, a stadium, 4 grocery stores and more restaurants, Deps, Tim Horton's and Starbucks than I can count.
ReplyDeleteI agree "to each his own".
I grew up in the Chomedey area of Laval. My parent bought their first (and only!) house there in the mid-70's, and it's where I spent my entire childhood and adolescence. All my friends, places to hang out, school and things to do were ALL in Laval. For that reason, the island of Montreal was a relatively foreign place growing up. It wasn't until CEGEP that I even became familiar with downtown Montreal.
ReplyDeleteBy the mid-90's I was living on my own downtown but I have to admit, to this day I still miss living in the suburbs of Laval. It was so quiet, peaceful and closer to nature. Trees everywhere, the actual sounds of birds in the morning, clean air, etc (well, maybe not these days, but back then). Quite the opposite of Montreal really.
That same family house my parents bought in the mid 70's was only just sold three years ago. And with all my friends and family moved out of Laval (well, province) there's so little left of Laval to me, except memories. Last I visited Laval wasn't quite the same as it used to be, but I'm sure others are still likely to find some of that appeal I mentioned above.
Incidentally, other advantages of Laval: You can TURN RIGHT ON RED, like the rest of North America. City buses have a GPS tracking system, and even digital computerized displays at most stops, and bus service is FREE all day on New Year's Eve--far more progressive than Montreal and the backwards ass STM. Laval even has Carrefour Laval, one of the largest shopping malls in Canada! Also a lot of good restaurants that have been there for countless decades (e.g. Marathon Souvlaki, Village Grec, Atomic Pizza, Pendeli's).
If you do commute by public transit though, be prepared to spend a good hour each way going to and from Laval to get to downtown Montreal. Though other than work, not much reason to go downtown Montreal these days, is there?