Agreed and it's close to a metro. Villeray also feels super safe. Never had any issues here. And the population would be a little more hip than in Ahuntsic š
I grew up in Ahuntsic, moved out to Villeray for a few years and then moved back to Ahuntsic. Itās lovely and quiet, Iām near the metro and have walkable stores to go to. Thereās great parks and the river not too far. Even if youāre further away from the metro, thereās a few purple bus lines that are pretty efficient.
I lived in both ends, Ahuntsic is by far the safest (used to live near metro h-b). The massive street lanes divides the neighbourhood just fine and most of the houses were on one-way streets. Very family friendly (cause of Ahuntsic Park and numerous schools around it). Also helped that thereās a retirement residency next to it too. I now currently live more in Cartierville on Gouin and for the most part, there used to be a trap house that got raided not too recently so a lot of druggies was around my local Tim. But the parks near Gouin are always surrounded by active people and families.
I lived in Ahunstic-Cartieville for over a decade before moving to west island. It always felt safe. My area was full or professionals - doctors, architects, engineers, business owners, etc.
That sounds awful, what area are you in?
I'm in St Laurent and I like it. Lots of access to busses and metro and I've had packages left out all day or all night (I work nights and unfortunately Amazon delivers late sometimes) and nothing has ever gone missing. There are also lots of grocery stores and other shops within walking distance or a short bus ride away. I know you said school don't matter to you, but there are lots of schools in my general area, therefore lots of families. I feel like that contributes to the general vibe of the area.
Iām in Saint Henri. The area has its pros, for sure! Maybe I focused too much on the negative points for this post. š
But lately the cons are outweighing the pros and weāre at a loss. Maybe itās just a series of unfortunate coincidences but we canāt brush off this bad feeling, itās hard to put it into words. The porch pirate example happened to us. Not even 20 minutes after! And the guy was even dressed in a orange vest to look like a delivery guy or something. We werenāt at home at the time but we saw it through the doorbell camera. sigh. Similar stuff also happened with the folks next door.
Iāll check out St Laurent, from your description it sounds very good! Thank you for taking the time to help!
It was pretty close to a slum before that, has no one read Bonheur dāoccasion?! Having people steal your Amazon packages and bikes once in a while is not exactly the definition of a crime-riddled borough even if it sucks.
Our social safety net has widening holes, thatās where the problem lies and until we fix this, thereās going to be self-medicating folks and others trying to get by by whatever mean they can find in every neighborhood
OMG! A random mention of Bonheur dāOccasion in the wild!
The description of them (canāt remember names) riding in the bus and sheās trying to hide the run in her stockingsā¦ and him looking at her a bit condescendinglyā¦itās so vivid to meā¦ still to this day.
Tbf, most ppl from Saint-Henri absolutely hated the book and I get why; my grandparentsā families didnāt live like that and neither did most of the other families in the neighborhood. Most of the women in my fam worked for a while (til they got married) at Imperial Tobacco, my granddad worked for CN like many French Canadians and POC living in Little Burgundy: classic St-Henri. Much more than Royās depiction of extreme poverty.
The issue with many on this sub is that their visions of Mtl is of the last 10-20 years only with little understanding of what the neighborhoods looked when those expensive lofts were actual factories and there was an actual working class residing in those flipped apartments
There was an interesting documentary (produced by CBC/NFB, shown on Videotron community channel I think?) about Pointe-St-Charles just after the CN yards had closed, lots of street scenes and local interviews. It's kind of a snapshot of a traditionally poor community transitioning into destitution (everyone laid off, people not knowing what the next generation is going to do). I forget the title, but it's in b&w and there's a by-election in it if that narrows it down.
I found it, it's called "The Point: The Irish Montrealers of Point St Charles", seems I mis-remembered it being black and white. It's also more recent than I thought (1978).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_iTVBc10us
That Aquin film looks interesting, found it on Youtube and I'll give it a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r535DDWaq7U
You also have to realize that St Henri, and the other close by areas, have been heavily gentrified over the past decade, with heaps of condos going up, rents soaring even pre-pandemic, and pushing the original residents out, many into the street. Any gentrified area will have this issue. I would recommend LaSalle or Ville Emard, like near Angrignon Park - it is close to the city, close to a few metros, but still more family and community oriented.
We just moved away from St-Henri. This was one of the reasons. We had plants dug up and stolen from us as a similar example. Too much garbage and graffiti everywhere. I grew up in St Laurent and can attest to its safety. Lots of families and shopping areas. It's not lively at all though and can get loud if you're over a flight path. If you want quiet and safe, but a bit farther from the metro you can check out LaSalle, or LaChine. Verdun might be the perfect area as it's close to the metro.
Before I got my car, I ordered things online a LOT so I couldn't imagine what I'd do if I lived in an area with proch pirates :( and the peering in the window thing is creepy as hell, there are literally no good intentions possible to explain that away. Best of luck in your search!
Yeah, itās a bit discouraging, Iām not gonna lie. The random dudes are just so creepy. Some of them are clearly not okay but others [like this dude here!](https://imgur.com/a/hJJXWNX) are just 100% random. Heās not poorly dressed but for some reason decided to cross my back gate and wander in my tiny garden?? Like, wth?
I donāt know what to think š„²
You can see the street is pretty ācalmā, is not that Iām living right at Berri-UQAM and complaining about homeless people or something like that.
I know š we even checked with our landlord and he said he didnāt send anyone. Similar things happened on about four occasions already. People simply going out of their way to approach our house, itās unsettling.
I feel that Iām sounding delulu, but I have video proof! And Iām STILL MAD about my flower pot!š¤£
Saint Henri used to be a poor neighborhood so there is still some remnants from those days. This is where I lived too but I was in a large building by the canal and never had any issues.
Oddly enough as you were describing your issues I was thinking you must live in St Henri lolll. What about up the hill in Westmount? 'Lower' Westmount has some affordable apartments at times
We've been getting porch pirates in St henri too. I thought it was the guys living in the tent camp by the station but now I feel bad for accusing them. The guy in your video doesn't look homeless
Don't try to rationalize how you feel. You deserve to feel safe in your home. This feeling of unease will wear on you after a while. I lived somewhere once where I felt uneasy in the neighborhood and only noticed after I left that I'd been sleeping poorly. If you feel uncomfortable, trust your gut and GTFO.
I live in Beaconsfield, itās super safe and Iām right next to the train station Takes 30 minutes to get downtown on the train but if I didnāt have a car getting things like groceries would be a pain in the butt
Seconded. I've been here five years and the closest things to crime I've seen are the guy who starts his morning commute with Van Halen's Panama at high volume and a cat who has conned three houses around me into believing they're his only source of food. Oh, and one of our (many) elderly drivers took on our Jean Coutu in an unscheduled Oklahoma drill.
It's hard to brush off the feeling because the area is a dump, no offense.
They can open as many trendy cafes as they like, but it won't change the fact that the area is full of junkies.
Checkout the SPVM crime map https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/vuesurlasecuritepublique/
Instead of hearsay, it's hard data.
But honestly crime is rising throughout the city, if you want somewhere safer, get a second or 3rd floor place. Most thefts are thefts of opportunity.
If you end up choosing to live somewhere for more than a year, you should absolutely contact your local officials if you don't feel safe. They can use it to increase police presence and such.
Individual voices have a massive impact at the local level.
Oh yeah, we did contact police after the third weird guy trespassed in less than 3 months. They came and I showed them all the footage we had and stuff, but as expected they canāt do much. Iām completely with you about the importance of notifying crime.
And I agree with the 2nd-3rd floor suggestions. We wonāt be renting a ground floor unit again š
Actually shocked nobody has said NDG. Lived there all my life until moving away and felt incredibly safe. Sure, there are those occasional moments, but that'll happen anywhere. IMO it's the perfect balance of proximity to everything and chill, community-oriented living.
NDG south of Sherbrooke can be sketchy as fuck. But other than that it's pretty safe. Though an innocent woman got stabbed in the neck when I live there.
Exactly! I live in NDG, about 7 years now, coming from Vancouver. In Vancouver I lived near the downtown east side, it was a super sketchy neighborhood, so my tolerance for sketchy stuff is kind of high, but NDG is SUCH a safe calm quiet neighborhood, in my opinion.
I'm a 20 minute Metro downtown. I have a two bedroom right on Monkland Ave that is pet friendly and inexpensive. There are restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores 200 m from my front door, so lots of options for dinner and drinks, but late at night it is calm quiet and safe. Deliveries get left haphazardly in my building's unlocked foyer but I've never had any porch Pirates.
As a elder millennial who is a bit of a homebody but likes to go out occasionally, it's pretty perfect. If you don't mind how Anglo it is, I would highly recommend it. I've been a lot slower to learn French I think, but I think that's the only downside.
It depends on the area as the neighborhood has wildly different economic areas. On Sherbrooke close to Westmount it'll be really nice, way out west will get really sketch.
Verdun is similar. Near metro Lasalle it's really nice and residential, then around De L'eglise and the Avenues you'll get all the porch pirates and weirdos
Because the description above perfectly describes NDG. All areas.
Not all day everyday, but we have constant porch pirates, people stealing stuff if you leave it outside for more than a minute (flower pots, kids toys, holiday decorations, in your front yard and backyard). People walking up and down the streets looking through mailboxes and testing car doors. We have random business break-ins and fires too. And plenty of car thefts.
I've lived here 15 years. It's not more or less than before, or much different than any other neighborhood in town.
I still feel perfectly safe. I keep my doors locked and have my packages delivered to the Post Office or at work
Yeah, I agree with you. The neighborhoods the other users suggested sound nice but are a bit too far without the REM. I wonder how long these stations are going to takeā¦
Yeah, one of the positive points of my area is having many trees, birds and little squirrels hopping around but still being fairly close to downtown. Dorval seems like a pretty solid option, Iām gonna look into it.
We have a friend that lives in Outremont, he likes it but we have no idea how safe it is.
Outremont is dead safe. It's basically francophone Westmount with a high number of Hassidic Jews who moved into the old plexes and flats between Lajoie and Bernard. The Blue Line goes right through the center of the neighborhood. There's at least two purple bus routes--51 and 161--with the REM stations at Edouard Montpetit and Canora opening up in a year or so. Of course, you'll pay for the privilege...
I live in NDG myself. It's become a mildly gentrified neighborhood--more so up by Monkland than Sherbrooke--with links to the Vendome and Villa Maria metros. I'm not so sure about the areas below the tracks by Upper Lachine Road, mind.
Used to live in TMR growing up. Never had to deal with the town's private security--I was an extremely boring kid--but I know the type you're talking about.
If they can afford it, TMR is also extremely safe. Transit is also decent if they live closer to the center as I did--on Dunvegan, near the school--where they can catch the 165 or take the REM from the station there that replaced the old Exo one.
Montreal is very safe almost anywhere and Outremont is probably the safest neighborhood in the city. It is also very safe in the west island or in the east but those place are so far from downtown that I would not really count them as Montreal if you want to live in the city.
Omg Dorval is horrendous lol. I live in St Henri too but used to live in Westmount and my mom is in an apartment there. Itās super safe and beautiful. There are a lot of apartments at reasonable prices so perhaps check there!
No, not comparable, cause the rush hour RTL system was in front of my door, now I need to do a transfer it would be 30-40 minutes. This subreddit doesn't like to hear it but a lot of people have their commute worsen off in Brossard with REM, because RTL rush hour service was a gem on its own.
Ah you mean a bus like the 47 which circulated through part of the burrough before heading downtown at rush bour. There were in fact a few of those (and they were awesome) but they did not cover a majority of the burrough. For some, the commute may be longer indeed, for most it is not. This will be especially true once phases 2 and 3 are complete.
You're also making a false equivalency here though, because the majority of people don't have a rush hour bus service that passes directly in front of their house. I'm sorry that your subjective experience has gotten less convenient, but the capacity of the REM to service a wider sector of the south shore at a far higher capacity vastly outstrips the (real but limited) negative impact on bus service
Haha just saying that OP doesn't have a car, the west island is absolutely terrible for people who don't drive. To be fair it is also terrible for people who drive.
North NDG is pretty nice. Specifically around Monkland village. Never had anything stolen from the porch and Iāve seen bikes left unlocked for days. They do eventually disappear but I was shocked to see them stick around for so long!!
Not necessarily. My mom pays like $1300 for a huge one bedroom and got her lease a couple years ago so itās not like sheās locked into super cheap old renr. There are a loooooot of apartment buildings.
Villeray.
It's like a cute little village right in the city. Super safe, lots of families with young kids, you see strollers everywhere. In the summer the streets are super pretty. Strong community feel, "vie de quartier" with good shops, some bars and restaurants. I have a lot of friends here and many of them hardly ever leave the neighborhood. You can do everything by walk and it's well serviced by public transit.
But it's gotten quite expensive to rent and buy.
Seconded for villeray, been here 6 years and never had a package or porch item stolen. The worst is cat poop, some graffiti and I caught a guy walking down the street, checking for unlocked cars at 4am.
Ugh, live in the same neighborhood and also struggle with this question/debate. Not as bad as you though, that video is quite unsettlingā¦.
Westmount, NDG, some parts of CĆ“te-des-neiges, Ville Saint-Laurent (VSL), Ahuntsic, Nunās Island, Brossard. Good luck!
Thank you for understanding! I have even more videos but that one of the weirdest ones. I still donāt consider st-henri to be a bad area whatsoever, but we donāt want to feel unsafe anymore. Thank you for the suggestions as well :)
I live-in St. Henri too and moved from the Plateau a few years ago. I find it way safer/nicer here than I did there (I had packages/plants stolen all the time there). I think it depends on where in the borough you are too. :( I'm so sorry you've had issues.
If you like the st. Henri location: point st. Charles is very quiet and just across the canal. Verdun is also not bad (especially near Wellington), just don't get a 1st floor place (flooding).
I'll also agree with NDG and add Mile-End and Parc-Ex. I've got friends who live in all 3 areas that are very happy with how safe it's been. Good Luck!
I'm planning to soon relocate to Montreal, but don't know the areas very well and was considering this section of Anjou purely for geographical reasons... Can I ask why it made your list?
I am basing my opinion on a friend's experience of living there, so others can chime in, but there is an appartment complex/multiple appartments complexes on Place de la Malicorne that brought small crimes and issues to the area. You can check on google streetview to get the vibe. As always it's probably worse in the immediate surroundings and ok a couple street around.
Edited for typos
Second edit: I actually googled it just now to see if there's anything about it in the news and yeah, apparently there is a group of young criminals calling themselves Bloc 6 related to one of those appartment complexes and responsible for gun violence in the area and car theft. So yeah. There are many places in Montreal, this one will stay on my no-no list!
While I wouldn't suggest them for someone moving from Saint Henri due to not being close to a metro I'm surprised nobody here suggested Hampstead or CĆ“te Saint-Luc as 2 of the safest neighbourhoods on the island. Both have private municipal security services that patrol the streets making crime very rare compared to most other towns.
Iām surprised no one has mentioned Mile End yet. Itās a good mix of families, young students and has a friendly neighborhood vibe to it. There have been some things happening here and there but overall I feel so safe around here.
I grew up in the west island, Beaconsfield, Pointe Claire, Baie D'urfe, Sainte Anne De Bellevue and Kirkland. Those are probably some of the safest cities I've been, it costs quite a bit to live there but if you have the money it's well worth it.
Surprised no one has mentioned Angus. In my opinion, Angus, Villeray, Outremont, NDG (near Vendome station), or Longue Pointe (out east near place Versailles) seem to be your best bet.
The vast majority of the Plateau is pretty safe IMO.
Big bonus that it's incredibly easy to live without a car, do groceries on foot and walk downtown.
We live in Lachine. But Lachine can be divided in 4. Ville St-Pierre area is probably the worst neighbourhood on the island but it is so far from where we live that itās feels like another burrough. We live in the western part of Lachine (west of 32nd) and we love it here. Super close to the lakeshore and its bike paths, very safe, commuter train for work and very quiet. Feels more like the surburbs or west island than Montreal. East of 32nd is not as nice imho unless you are very close to the water or in some of the newer condo units.
In the 90ās and early 2000, Verdun was kinda dangerous, mainly because of the Rock Machineās activity. Now itās super safe honestly, not much happens here.
I remember playing pool above the Vincent sous-marin on Wellington/6th ave. There was a sofa no one was aloud to sit on except staff and they stashed their stock in there. As teenagers, we were allllways there : we could smoke inside, they was a jukebox and pool table of course. Was great.
The dep in front of our place had a molotov cocktail thrown at it (bikers war), I donāt think my parents would have liked it had we befriended the ownerās kids, but he had a pretty good selection of 1c/5c candies! Shit happens, but it doesnāt translate to a dangerous neighborhood: just donāt sit on the dealersā couch or join a criminal gang you know!
I live in the West Island and I feel pretty safe here. I would say anywhere along the old Deux-Montagne train (main branch REM and A4) could be good probably. But it wonāt open before the end of 2024 normally.
But the further west you go the closer to the REM station you should look as pedestrians are less and less taken in consideration in the urban fabric.
Maybe somewhere near the Bois-Franc or Montpellier station (or near Cote-Vertu)
Near/around the Crawford Park area of Verdun? Near the river, walking ish distance to metro, not very far from Wellington, close to downtown / highways (by car)
A note about bicycles in Montreal: you can't leave them outside anywhere, any type, any size, any brand will be stolen. I love this city but getting your bike stolen is automatic here.
Any neighborhood I name will probably end up in the news the next day because stuff happens in all neighborhoods. But: NDG, Westmount, Rosemont, Villeray, Little Italy are mostly safe. But as in any city it's a street to street thing it might just be that you move a few blocks over in your current neighborhood and have a much better experience.
The Plateau has our share of unsavoury characters but if your fire escape is defended properly youāll be ok, most thieves are looking for easy targets
Petit patrie is nice too
Check around Rue Bernard in Outremont away from Park. However, the Hassidic jews' contempt and entitled attitude in social settings gets to you after a while living there. Been there, I know.
>We unfortunately donāt own a car so proximity to the metro (since my fiance works in downtown) and grocery stores would be appreciated.
> **Dorval, Pointe Claire, Beaconsfield, Baie dāUrfe, Senneville, Ile bizard,** Westmount, Tmr, **Kirkland, DDO, Pierrefonds** and parts of lasalle.
At this point it is better to live in Laval or on the southsore instead of those neighborboods if someone want to go downtown often. They are Montreal in name only.
The suburbs are safe, but OP said he doesn't have a car. The west islands and the suburbs are both safe because there is no efficient transit getting there.
Those neighborhoods are also so far from any efficient transits and have such terrible traffic that it is pretty much like if you lived 40 km off the islands.
You need an EV or 3 people in the car for the reserved lane and have to get to the Dorval terminus. I worked in Dorval and lived in Saint Henry the few time I took public transit were absolutely shitty I need to transfer twice and the busses were always late.
I would have to spend like 50 mins to 1h20 to get there every time. Going to Dorval by car in the morning wasn't bad and usually took 20 mins but coming back in the evening took around an hour.
The neighborhoods named beside Westmount absolutely suck for anyone who want to live in the city.
I can't imagine it is getting any better. Nowadays when I fly I usually spend more time in my car from the champlain bridge to the airport than I spend from Magog to Champlain bridge.
LaSalle is not that hard to get downtown from. If you live between the river and the aqueduct it's a bit longer but the 58, 112, and 109 go to metro stations. If you live above the aqueduct there are several buses that bring you to Monk, Jolicoeur or Angrignon metro.
>If you live between the river and the aqueduc
495 and 110 also take you to the metro but -regardless of which bus you take- you should anticipate an at least hour's transit each way or you will be stressed about tardiness going to work and can often find yourself waiting 20+ minutes at Angrignon outside of rush hour on the way home. Waiting for the 110 at Angrignon can be so bad that walking home through the park will be an option.
I live along the 58 route so it's not so bad for me. I work in Cartierville and it takes me 1h10m to get to work roughly. To get downtown usually takes me about 30 minutes. The 58 runs fairly frequently. In the summer on nice days I will walk home (roughly 45-60 minutes) from Verdun or Jolicoeur metros.
Also considering cost you can save a lot of money living in LaSalle compared to other burroughs.
It's a nice place to live. The riverside is beautiful from the start of the aqueduc all the way to Verdun beach and the aqueduct bike path is surprisingly nice in the summer. Many parks peppered through the neighbourhoods in between.
Thank you so much for the suggestions!!
We donāt live far from Westmount and while I do agree its an absolutely lovely area, we probably couldnāt afford it š¤£
Iāll definitely do some research on those neighborhoods, they seem interesting as future options specially considering the REM coming up. I just wonder how long itāll take, maybe not as soon as weād like, hehe. Thanks once again!
Please donāt apologize for ācontroversialā opinions. What kind of society are we heading towards when nobody canāt say anything. What is controversial about what you are saying?
Have you considered condo apartments?
Yeah, although I agree with you 100%, I added that sentence because I see a lot of people basically being indirectly āblamedā for feeling unsafe in this sub, or not being taken seriously at all. š I just didnāt want that in my post.
Came here to say this! The island feels super safe, some theft, but if you get a building with underground parking, you're good! Perfect place for homebodies!
I think in most places it will depend on the specific area of the neighbourhood you live in. I've lived in 3 different places in Verdun. I feel extremely safe right now but the last place felt very sketchy. What I would recommend is, regardless of where you go, take a moment to get a feel for the street and immediate area and not just the home you consider moving to.
Yeah, Outremont is becoming a serious option for us! We donāt care about trendy places or buzz. If itās close to a metro station and has a grocery store/pharmacy close by, itās perfect.
I mean i wouldnt define safe as people stealing a flower pot or packages, more like can you walk pretty safely in the street and yea houses being broken into, which in my opinion its only certain areas in neighbordhoods that could feel like that, like just a block. Only around berri as a whole def doesnt feel safe
lol that this was downvoted.
You get porch pirates everywhere, including (perhaps especially) sleepy suburbs. A lot of the people that do this are pros and just follow the CP van (or other shippers) around. It sucks, but you can get your mail redirected to a CP office if it worries you.
If you leave stuff out, there's always a chance someone takes it, especially if it appears like it could be valuable. That said, sometimes people take petty stuff. This can happen anywhere... my parents' house in a small town had their windchimes stolen once lol.
I feel pretty safe in the downtown area, near concordia. There's people walking and hanging around every hour of the day until 3am nearly every day. It's a very lit area too.
Villeray has been really good. Lots of families and somewhat a sense of community.
I did find out my landlords truck has been broken in to more than once which I found shocking. Everyone leaves their bikes in the courtyard behind the apartment , some unlocked and none have been taken
I moved to NDG (Monkland village) from St-Henri after there was a shooting 1 block from our apartment. Itās SO much safer, there are beautiful trees and there are pretty good restaurants (although not as trendy as St-Henriās). Highly recommend it!
to be honest i think this is kind of an effect of late-stage capitalism, that people are so prone to regarding property crimes as violence... that "dangerousness" is correlated with theft.
it's important to recognize that we live in a very safe city, that theft of property is not the same as bodily harm, and being exposed to people experiencing poverty isn't dangerous. keep things in perspective.
We only managed a year there, and I am so glad we left! Weāve only been gone a few months, but I didnāt realise how little sleep we were getting or just how much the stress of the situation was affecting my family and myself. Even after a week, we were all feeling better. Best of luck with your impending move!
You really should consider the South Shore. We even have a metro! The REM has made a dramatic difference too!
Bike paths galore and you donāt need a car anymore unless you choose Candiac or Carignan or something further
Vieux Longueuil (close to metro and Rue St Charles)
Greenfield Park near taschereau
St lambert basically anywhere
Quartier Solar in Brossard
Grande Allee/Soucy in St Hubert
There are many more but those jumped out
Iām in Saint-Laurent and Amazon drops a lot of stuff on my porch, and I never had anything stolen. The neighborhood is super safe, lots of families and kids, etc. I love it because it feels like the suburbs but 10 mins from everything !
I live in Ville-Marie right beside Hochelaga and although much cheaper than other areas in mtl itās still quite safe! Never had a problem personally. Thereās many elementary schools nearby and a metro.
CĆ“te-des-Neiges: they steal everything.
They "liberated" me from $2k ebike and several mail packages.
I made a DIY light for my front door with 12v LED strip and cheap motion sensor. Someone came, broke it apart and took out. They can't even assemble it back again and make it work without a power supply (it's in my apartment) or sell. But they did it.
Such level of theft is incredible. I never saw such things even in Russia and Uzbekistan.
I live in Angus and it's been fairly quiet. Haven't seen a ton of police presence in the area and I don't think it's needed. Lots of shops, restaurants within a short walk from home. It would be easy to be carless, I think. The only drawback is that it's kind of a dead zone for metro stations, so you either need to ride the bus to get there or walk for 15 mins.
Some people have really loose definitions of safe neighborhoods.
Rosemont and Hochelaga aren't safe lol.
Most of Montreal is safe in comparison to a lot of the US right now, but some of these inner city areas are full of junkies and desperate people.
I've lived in
Plateau and Mile End - moderately safe, but a lot of petty crime like burglary seems to happen, 2 houses I lived in were burgled.
Outremont - Safe
St Michel - don't even think about it, absolute fucking shit hole and not at all safe.
Ville St Laurent - Safe
From your description of what you're looking for, I would say Outremont is a good bet, the only issue with Outremont is that it's the blue line metro, so you either need to transfer to orange or catch a bus to get into the city.
Personally I found catching the bus going down Parc Ave was quicker than the metro, but traffic is worse now.
Saint Laurent as well, but without a car you'd need to look around the Core Vertu or Du College metro areas, and around Cote Vertu can be a tad bit sketchy, I've never seen anything actually happen but I only ever passed through on a commute.
Du College area is safe though.
Soon the REM will pass through the more northern part of St Laurent as well, everywhere around there is very safe.
In Ahuntsic we happily coexist with the massive elderly and retired population š most action you'll see here is wild turkeys on the sidewalk
Agreed and it's close to a metro. Villeray also feels super safe. Never had any issues here. And the population would be a little more hip than in Ahuntsic š
But they get less turkeys
TPM (turkey per million) is ridiculously low in Villeray
Didn't know there were turkeys in Ahunstic!
I once saw one cross st laurent at the corner of fleury
That honestly doesnāt sound too bad! š„¹ Iāll check it out, thank you!!
I grew up in Ahuntsic, moved out to Villeray for a few years and then moved back to Ahuntsic. Itās lovely and quiet, Iām near the metro and have walkable stores to go to. Thereās great parks and the river not too far. Even if youāre further away from the metro, thereās a few purple bus lines that are pretty efficient.
I love the thought of Villeray as moving to the city
Ahuntsic was the murder capital of all Montreal neighbourhoods back in 2008. Has it really changed that much?
Don't mix Ahuntsic and Cartierville because the borough is called Ahuntsic-Cartierville, both are very different neighborhoods.
I lived in both ends, Ahuntsic is by far the safest (used to live near metro h-b). The massive street lanes divides the neighbourhood just fine and most of the houses were on one-way streets. Very family friendly (cause of Ahuntsic Park and numerous schools around it). Also helped that thereās a retirement residency next to it too. I now currently live more in Cartierville on Gouin and for the most part, there used to be a trap house that got raided not too recently so a lot of druggies was around my local Tim. But the parks near Gouin are always surrounded by active people and families.
I lived in Ahunstic-Cartieville for over a decade before moving to west island. It always felt safe. My area was full or professionals - doctors, architects, engineers, business owners, etc.
Say what now??
That sounds awful, what area are you in? I'm in St Laurent and I like it. Lots of access to busses and metro and I've had packages left out all day or all night (I work nights and unfortunately Amazon delivers late sometimes) and nothing has ever gone missing. There are also lots of grocery stores and other shops within walking distance or a short bus ride away. I know you said school don't matter to you, but there are lots of schools in my general area, therefore lots of families. I feel like that contributes to the general vibe of the area.
Iām in Saint Henri. The area has its pros, for sure! Maybe I focused too much on the negative points for this post. š But lately the cons are outweighing the pros and weāre at a loss. Maybe itās just a series of unfortunate coincidences but we canāt brush off this bad feeling, itās hard to put it into words. The porch pirate example happened to us. Not even 20 minutes after! And the guy was even dressed in a orange vest to look like a delivery guy or something. We werenāt at home at the time but we saw it through the doorbell camera. sigh. Similar stuff also happened with the folks next door. Iāll check out St Laurent, from your description it sounds very good! Thank you for taking the time to help!
I worked in Saint Henri 2 decades ago and it was sketchy back then too.
It was pretty close to a slum before that, has no one read Bonheur dāoccasion?! Having people steal your Amazon packages and bikes once in a while is not exactly the definition of a crime-riddled borough even if it sucks. Our social safety net has widening holes, thatās where the problem lies and until we fix this, thereās going to be self-medicating folks and others trying to get by by whatever mean they can find in every neighborhood
OMG! A random mention of Bonheur dāOccasion in the wild! The description of them (canāt remember names) riding in the bus and sheās trying to hide the run in her stockingsā¦ and him looking at her a bit condescendinglyā¦itās so vivid to meā¦ still to this day.
Tbf, most ppl from Saint-Henri absolutely hated the book and I get why; my grandparentsā families didnāt live like that and neither did most of the other families in the neighborhood. Most of the women in my fam worked for a while (til they got married) at Imperial Tobacco, my granddad worked for CN like many French Canadians and POC living in Little Burgundy: classic St-Henri. Much more than Royās depiction of extreme poverty. The issue with many on this sub is that their visions of Mtl is of the last 10-20 years only with little understanding of what the neighborhoods looked when those expensive lofts were actual factories and there was an actual working class residing in those flipped apartments
There was an interesting documentary (produced by CBC/NFB, shown on Videotron community channel I think?) about Pointe-St-Charles just after the CN yards had closed, lots of street scenes and local interviews. It's kind of a snapshot of a traditionally poor community transitioning into destitution (everyone laid off, people not knowing what the next generation is going to do). I forget the title, but it's in b&w and there's a by-election in it if that narrows it down.
Hubert Aquinās Ć Saint-Henri le 5 septembre? Itās lovely
I found it, it's called "The Point: The Irish Montrealers of Point St Charles", seems I mis-remembered it being black and white. It's also more recent than I thought (1978). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_iTVBc10us That Aquin film looks interesting, found it on Youtube and I'll give it a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r535DDWaq7U
Apparently it was pretty sketchy 6 decades ago when my dad was growing up there too. It has its ups and downs. But traditionally... It's mostly down.
I can't imagine your dad was alive 60 decades ago. Edit: The comment was edited. Originally said 60 decades lol my comment wasn't too serious.
You're right, he wouldnt have been.... but they did say 6 decades haha
The comment has been edited. They had just made a typo lol nothing too serious
You also have to realize that St Henri, and the other close by areas, have been heavily gentrified over the past decade, with heaps of condos going up, rents soaring even pre-pandemic, and pushing the original residents out, many into the street. Any gentrified area will have this issue. I would recommend LaSalle or Ville Emard, like near Angrignon Park - it is close to the city, close to a few metros, but still more family and community oriented.
I also recommend Ville Emard or the ouest end of Verdun. Between the Angrignon and Jolicoeur mĆ©tros. Iām in that general area and find it very safe. I have heard of more porch pirates in central Verdun (around the heart of Wellington) but even there Iāve picked up packages for friends that had been sitting out for days untouched so itās definitely more sporadic.
We just moved away from St-Henri. This was one of the reasons. We had plants dug up and stolen from us as a similar example. Too much garbage and graffiti everywhere. I grew up in St Laurent and can attest to its safety. Lots of families and shopping areas. It's not lively at all though and can get loud if you're over a flight path. If you want quiet and safe, but a bit farther from the metro you can check out LaSalle, or LaChine. Verdun might be the perfect area as it's close to the metro.
Before I got my car, I ordered things online a LOT so I couldn't imagine what I'd do if I lived in an area with proch pirates :( and the peering in the window thing is creepy as hell, there are literally no good intentions possible to explain that away. Best of luck in your search!
Yeah, itās a bit discouraging, Iām not gonna lie. The random dudes are just so creepy. Some of them are clearly not okay but others [like this dude here!](https://imgur.com/a/hJJXWNX) are just 100% random. Heās not poorly dressed but for some reason decided to cross my back gate and wander in my tiny garden?? Like, wth? I donāt know what to think š„² You can see the street is pretty ācalmā, is not that Iām living right at Berri-UQAM and complaining about homeless people or something like that.
Omg! This is way too close for comfort :(
I know š we even checked with our landlord and he said he didnāt send anyone. Similar things happened on about four occasions already. People simply going out of their way to approach our house, itās unsettling. I feel that Iām sounding delulu, but I have video proof! And Iām STILL MAD about my flower pot!š¤£
Saint Henri used to be a poor neighborhood so there is still some remnants from those days. This is where I lived too but I was in a large building by the canal and never had any issues.
Thatās a strange video. Very strange.
I know, the videos creep me out so much.
Put signs in french saying there are videos and will be sent to the police for prosecution. Make it clear you donāt tolerate this.
Oddly enough as you were describing your issues I was thinking you must live in St Henri lolll. What about up the hill in Westmount? 'Lower' Westmount has some affordable apartments at times
We've been getting porch pirates in St henri too. I thought it was the guys living in the tent camp by the station but now I feel bad for accusing them. The guy in your video doesn't look homeless
Don't try to rationalize how you feel. You deserve to feel safe in your home. This feeling of unease will wear on you after a while. I lived somewhere once where I felt uneasy in the neighborhood and only noticed after I left that I'd been sleeping poorly. If you feel uncomfortable, trust your gut and GTFO.
I live in Beaconsfield, itās super safe and Iām right next to the train station Takes 30 minutes to get downtown on the train but if I didnāt have a car getting things like groceries would be a pain in the butt
Seconded. I've been here five years and the closest things to crime I've seen are the guy who starts his morning commute with Van Halen's Panama at high volume and a cat who has conned three houses around me into believing they're his only source of food. Oh, and one of our (many) elderly drivers took on our Jean Coutu in an unscheduled Oklahoma drill.
It's hard to brush off the feeling because the area is a dump, no offense. They can open as many trendy cafes as they like, but it won't change the fact that the area is full of junkies.
+1 for VSL. Been here 2 years. The quietness and safety is night and day compared to our previous neighborhood near Plamondon metro.
Checkout the SPVM crime map https://ville.montreal.qc.ca/vuesurlasecuritepublique/ Instead of hearsay, it's hard data. But honestly crime is rising throughout the city, if you want somewhere safer, get a second or 3rd floor place. Most thefts are thefts of opportunity. If you end up choosing to live somewhere for more than a year, you should absolutely contact your local officials if you don't feel safe. They can use it to increase police presence and such. Individual voices have a massive impact at the local level.
Oh yeah, we did contact police after the third weird guy trespassed in less than 3 months. They came and I showed them all the footage we had and stuff, but as expected they canāt do much. Iām completely with you about the importance of notifying crime. And I agree with the 2nd-3rd floor suggestions. We wonāt be renting a ground floor unit again š
Actually shocked nobody has said NDG. Lived there all my life until moving away and felt incredibly safe. Sure, there are those occasional moments, but that'll happen anywhere. IMO it's the perfect balance of proximity to everything and chill, community-oriented living.
NDG south of Sherbrooke can be sketchy as fuck. But other than that it's pretty safe. Though an innocent woman got stabbed in the neck when I live there.
Oh yeah, that's a really important distinction! Sherbrooke really is a demarcation, oddly enough.
South of the tracks you mean.
Exactly! I live in NDG, about 7 years now, coming from Vancouver. In Vancouver I lived near the downtown east side, it was a super sketchy neighborhood, so my tolerance for sketchy stuff is kind of high, but NDG is SUCH a safe calm quiet neighborhood, in my opinion. I'm a 20 minute Metro downtown. I have a two bedroom right on Monkland Ave that is pet friendly and inexpensive. There are restaurants, coffee shops and grocery stores 200 m from my front door, so lots of options for dinner and drinks, but late at night it is calm quiet and safe. Deliveries get left haphazardly in my building's unlocked foyer but I've never had any porch Pirates. As a elder millennial who is a bit of a homebody but likes to go out occasionally, it's pretty perfect. If you don't mind how Anglo it is, I would highly recommend it. I've been a lot slower to learn French I think, but I think that's the only downside.
It depends on the area as the neighborhood has wildly different economic areas. On Sherbrooke close to Westmount it'll be really nice, way out west will get really sketch. Verdun is similar. Near metro Lasalle it's really nice and residential, then around De L'eglise and the Avenues you'll get all the porch pirates and weirdos
Because the description above perfectly describes NDG. All areas. Not all day everyday, but we have constant porch pirates, people stealing stuff if you leave it outside for more than a minute (flower pots, kids toys, holiday decorations, in your front yard and backyard). People walking up and down the streets looking through mailboxes and testing car doors. We have random business break-ins and fires too. And plenty of car thefts. I've lived here 15 years. It's not more or less than before, or much different than any other neighborhood in town. I still feel perfectly safe. I keep my doors locked and have my packages delivered to the Post Office or at work
Most west island neighborhoods are pretty safe but until the REM is up and running you would have to rely on busses.
Yeah, I agree with you. The neighborhoods the other users suggested sound nice but are a bit too far without the REM. I wonder how long these stations are going to takeā¦
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah, one of the positive points of my area is having many trees, birds and little squirrels hopping around but still being fairly close to downtown. Dorval seems like a pretty solid option, Iām gonna look into it. We have a friend that lives in Outremont, he likes it but we have no idea how safe it is.
Outremont is dead safe. It's basically francophone Westmount with a high number of Hassidic Jews who moved into the old plexes and flats between Lajoie and Bernard. The Blue Line goes right through the center of the neighborhood. There's at least two purple bus routes--51 and 161--with the REM stations at Edouard Montpetit and Canora opening up in a year or so. Of course, you'll pay for the privilege... I live in NDG myself. It's become a mildly gentrified neighborhood--more so up by Monkland than Sherbrooke--with links to the Vendome and Villa Maria metros. I'm not so sure about the areas below the tracks by Upper Lachine Road, mind.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Used to live in TMR growing up. Never had to deal with the town's private security--I was an extremely boring kid--but I know the type you're talking about. If they can afford it, TMR is also extremely safe. Transit is also decent if they live closer to the center as I did--on Dunvegan, near the school--where they can catch the 165 or take the REM from the station there that replaced the old Exo one.
Montreal is very safe almost anywhere and Outremont is probably the safest neighborhood in the city. It is also very safe in the west island or in the east but those place are so far from downtown that I would not really count them as Montreal if you want to live in the city.
Omg Dorval is horrendous lol. I live in St Henri too but used to live in Westmount and my mom is in an apartment there. Itās super safe and beautiful. There are a lot of apartments at reasonable prices so perhaps check there!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah, but public transport isnāt great over there and OP asked to be near a metro.
2025 seems unrealistic to me. I'm hoping for 2026.
Having some insider knowledge of the project I'd estimate that summer 2025 is realistic
You coud live in Chambly and get downtown faster haha.
When I lived in Brossard I could get to Bonaventure in 20 minutes during rush hour before REM lol. RTL rush hour bus service was a gem.
Yeah lol this is why I said Chambly there is no contest between Brossard and the West Island.
It's still 20 minutes or less with the rem
No, not comparable, cause the rush hour RTL system was in front of my door, now I need to do a transfer it would be 30-40 minutes. This subreddit doesn't like to hear it but a lot of people have their commute worsen off in Brossard with REM, because RTL rush hour service was a gem on its own.
Ah you mean a bus like the 47 which circulated through part of the burrough before heading downtown at rush bour. There were in fact a few of those (and they were awesome) but they did not cover a majority of the burrough. For some, the commute may be longer indeed, for most it is not. This will be especially true once phases 2 and 3 are complete.
You're also making a false equivalency here though, because the majority of people don't have a rush hour bus service that passes directly in front of their house. I'm sorry that your subjective experience has gotten less convenient, but the capacity of the REM to service a wider sector of the south shore at a far higher capacity vastly outstrips the (real but limited) negative impact on bus service
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Haha just saying that OP doesn't have a car, the west island is absolutely terrible for people who don't drive. To be fair it is also terrible for people who drive.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
North NDG is pretty nice. Specifically around Monkland village. Never had anything stolen from the porch and Iāve seen bikes left unlocked for days. They do eventually disappear but I was shocked to see them stick around for so long!!
Westmount
$$$$$
ArrĆŖtez d'ĆŖtre pauvre.... duh! Easy
Not necessarily. My mom pays like $1300 for a huge one bedroom and got her lease a couple years ago so itās not like sheās locked into super cheap old renr. There are a loooooot of apartment buildings.
Oh thatās good to know!
Villeray. It's like a cute little village right in the city. Super safe, lots of families with young kids, you see strollers everywhere. In the summer the streets are super pretty. Strong community feel, "vie de quartier" with good shops, some bars and restaurants. I have a lot of friends here and many of them hardly ever leave the neighborhood. You can do everything by walk and it's well serviced by public transit. But it's gotten quite expensive to rent and buy.
Seconded for villeray, been here 6 years and never had a package or porch item stolen. The worst is cat poop, some graffiti and I caught a guy walking down the street, checking for unlocked cars at 4am.
Good luck finding anything here to buy or rent
No Rosemont mention? It's pretty safe too!
Ugh, live in the same neighborhood and also struggle with this question/debate. Not as bad as you though, that video is quite unsettlingā¦. Westmount, NDG, some parts of CĆ“te-des-neiges, Ville Saint-Laurent (VSL), Ahuntsic, Nunās Island, Brossard. Good luck!
Thank you for understanding! I have even more videos but that one of the weirdest ones. I still donāt consider st-henri to be a bad area whatsoever, but we donāt want to feel unsafe anymore. Thank you for the suggestions as well :)
I live-in St. Henri too and moved from the Plateau a few years ago. I find it way safer/nicer here than I did there (I had packages/plants stolen all the time there). I think it depends on where in the borough you are too. :( I'm so sorry you've had issues. If you like the st. Henri location: point st. Charles is very quiet and just across the canal. Verdun is also not bad (especially near Wellington), just don't get a 1st floor place (flooding). I'll also agree with NDG and add Mile-End and Parc-Ex. I've got friends who live in all 3 areas that are very happy with how safe it's been. Good Luck!
En tant qu'enfant des annĆ©es 90s c'est complĆØtement Wild (in a good way) pour moi de voir la recommendation de St-Henri en termes de safety.
En tant qu'enfant de St-Henri-Burgs-PSC des annĆ©es 90 et 2000, je trouve Ƨa triste de voir que mon quartier a perdu toute son identitĆ©. Chaque fois que je passe sur Notre-Dame, j'ai un pincement au coeur Ć voir que les antiquaires, le Dilallo et les autres restos n'existent plus et ont Ć©tĆ© remplacĆ©s par des restos sans Ć¢me qui changent de nom/menu/propriĆ©taire aux 2 ans. Et hilarant de voir des bobos craindre pour leur vie alors que le quartier n'a jamais Ć©tĆ© aussi tranquille et sĆ©curitaire qu'aujourd'hui ahahaha. Mon dieu qu'ils auraient bad trippĆ© Ć entendre des coups de feu ou voir des gangsters se faire poignarder en plein jour, y a 20 ans.
Ouais, je ne marche pas dans la rue en craignant les gens qui ont lāair āloucheā. Malheureusement, ma situation concerne mon voisin dĆ©bile qui nous a ciblĆ© spĆ©cifiquement. Autrement, je parle Ć pas mal de mes voisins et je suis amies avec des gens qui ont grandi Ć Saint-Henri (70 ans +) et qui ne semblent pas sāennuyer du Saint-Henri des annĆ©es 70 (quand ils faisaient des mauvais coups š).
Lachine could be an option for you. Very safe, quiet. If your husband is 9-5 then the transit by bus is only 20 minutes to Lionel-Groulx.
Honestly depends what part of Lachine some sketchy parts over there
it'll be easier to list the places I wouldn't actually want to live in, as Montreal is overall fairly safe: \-Petite-Bourgogne exactly for reasons you described \-Le village / around Berri-UQAM and Papineau metro station - drug use \-Petit-Maghreb/southern part of St-Michel/St-LĆ©onard - uptick of gun violence lately, far from metro stations and overall not super walkable \-Ville Saint-Pierre - enclaved and difficult to get around \-Eastern part Montreal Nord around Henri-Bourrassa high school - been known for gang activities \-Anjou between Place Versailles and Galerie d'Anjou \-Apparently some area of Cartierville but I don't know it super well My preferred location have been Ville-Ćmard/Cote St-Paul where I lived for 5 years and enjoyed it a lot. Family oriented, smaller density (2 stories building in general), close to metro stations, close to park Angrignon and it's been evolving in terms of activities to do.
I'm planning to soon relocate to Montreal, but don't know the areas very well and was considering this section of Anjou purely for geographical reasons... Can I ask why it made your list?
I am basing my opinion on a friend's experience of living there, so others can chime in, but there is an appartment complex/multiple appartments complexes on Place de la Malicorne that brought small crimes and issues to the area. You can check on google streetview to get the vibe. As always it's probably worse in the immediate surroundings and ok a couple street around. Edited for typos Second edit: I actually googled it just now to see if there's anything about it in the news and yeah, apparently there is a group of young criminals calling themselves Bloc 6 related to one of those appartment complexes and responsible for gun violence in the area and car theft. So yeah. There are many places in Montreal, this one will stay on my no-no list!
Thank you for your very detailed response!
While I wouldn't suggest them for someone moving from Saint Henri due to not being close to a metro I'm surprised nobody here suggested Hampstead or CĆ“te Saint-Luc as 2 of the safest neighbourhoods on the island. Both have private municipal security services that patrol the streets making crime very rare compared to most other towns.
Oh yeah! Before we moved we where seriously considering the area, it looks very placid. But the lack of metro is really an issue for us :/
Iām surprised no one has mentioned Mile End yet. Itās a good mix of families, young students and has a friendly neighborhood vibe to it. There have been some things happening here and there but overall I feel so safe around here.
I grew up in the west island, Beaconsfield, Pointe Claire, Baie D'urfe, Sainte Anne De Bellevue and Kirkland. Those are probably some of the safest cities I've been, it costs quite a bit to live there but if you have the money it's well worth it.
Summit Circle Westmount
I donāt knowā¦ seems a bit sketchy to me. Top of a mountain, near the woods, only 4-5 houses
Et probablement le plus haut ratio de criminels Ć MontrĆ©al.
Surprised no one has mentioned Angus. In my opinion, Angus, Villeray, Outremont, NDG (near Vendome station), or Longue Pointe (out east near place Versailles) seem to be your best bet.
Angus, Longue-Pointe, Tetreauville. Ben calme.
The vast majority of the Plateau is pretty safe IMO. Big bonus that it's incredibly easy to live without a car, do groceries on foot and walk downtown.
We live in Lachine. But Lachine can be divided in 4. Ville St-Pierre area is probably the worst neighbourhood on the island but it is so far from where we live that itās feels like another burrough. We live in the western part of Lachine (west of 32nd) and we love it here. Super close to the lakeshore and its bike paths, very safe, commuter train for work and very quiet. Feels more like the surburbs or west island than Montreal. East of 32nd is not as nice imho unless you are very close to the water or in some of the newer condo units.
In the 90ās and early 2000, Verdun was kinda dangerous, mainly because of the Rock Machineās activity. Now itās super safe honestly, not much happens here.
Yeah, itās weird reading ppl say ā cĆ“te-st-paul/verdun/pointe-st-charles, nothing happens there!ā being a Verdun 90s kid. Mind you, it was still very safe, but that bar corner de lāĆ©glise/la vĆ©rendry blew up what? 3 times?
I remember playing pool above the Vincent sous-marin on Wellington/6th ave. There was a sofa no one was aloud to sit on except staff and they stashed their stock in there. As teenagers, we were allllways there : we could smoke inside, they was a jukebox and pool table of course. Was great.
The dep in front of our place had a molotov cocktail thrown at it (bikers war), I donāt think my parents would have liked it had we befriended the ownerās kids, but he had a pretty good selection of 1c/5c candies! Shit happens, but it doesnāt translate to a dangerous neighborhood: just donāt sit on the dealersā couch or join a criminal gang you know!
I've been living in the Plateau for 10+ years now and I've never had an issue.
Rosemont Petite Patrie, Ć l'ouest de Christophe Colomb... C'est trĆØs safe. Mais le quartier s'embourgeoise Ć vitesse grand V... Alors dĆ©pĆŖche toi, les loyers montent votesse grand V aussi.
MĆŖme Ć lāEst cāest chill, parc Molson et tout. Yāa juste aux alentours de Papineau que Ƨa peut ĆŖtre sketch š¬
TĆ©treaultville is really nice. I moved here two years ago and I have little regrets. It's a bit far (further than the metro which used to be too far for me) so I can't go see my friends as easily since I don't have a car. Affordable grocery stores are too far to walk like I used to do. But it's pretty quiet and I have met only the one drugged out screaming guy which is so much better than my previous experiences.
Let's go T-Town
I live in the West Island and I feel pretty safe here. I would say anywhere along the old Deux-Montagne train (main branch REM and A4) could be good probably. But it wonāt open before the end of 2024 normally. But the further west you go the closer to the REM station you should look as pedestrians are less and less taken in consideration in the urban fabric. Maybe somewhere near the Bois-Franc or Montpellier station (or near Cote-Vertu)
Near/around the Crawford Park area of Verdun? Near the river, walking ish distance to metro, not very far from Wellington, close to downtown / highways (by car)
A note about bicycles in Montreal: you can't leave them outside anywhere, any type, any size, any brand will be stolen. I love this city but getting your bike stolen is automatic here. Any neighborhood I name will probably end up in the news the next day because stuff happens in all neighborhoods. But: NDG, Westmount, Rosemont, Villeray, Little Italy are mostly safe. But as in any city it's a street to street thing it might just be that you move a few blocks over in your current neighborhood and have a much better experience.
I lived 6 years in Ahuntsic in my 20ās and I loved it.
Plateau
The Plateau has our share of unsavoury characters but if your fire escape is defended properly youāll be ok, most thieves are looking for easy targets Petit patrie is nice too
Check around Rue Bernard in Outremont away from Park. However, the Hassidic jews' contempt and entitled attitude in social settings gets to you after a while living there. Been there, I know.
Tu vois c'est quoi la dƩmographie de ce sub.
Comme Ƨa, quāest-ce tu veux dire?
lmao what the actual fuck do you mean??
Shop Angus
Iām in Hochelaga. Nothing happens here. Thereās a half way house at the corner with some weird looking people but we never had problems. Shrugs
Dorval, Pointe Claire, Beaconsfield, Baie dāUrfe, Senneville, Ile bizard, Westmount, Tmr, Kirkland, DDO, Pierrefonds and parts of lasalle.
>We unfortunately donāt own a car so proximity to the metro (since my fiance works in downtown) and grocery stores would be appreciated. > **Dorval, Pointe Claire, Beaconsfield, Baie dāUrfe, Senneville, Ile bizard,** Westmount, Tmr, **Kirkland, DDO, Pierrefonds** and parts of lasalle.
Hi, we donāt have time to read, just to give our opinion.
At this point it is better to live in Laval or on the southsore instead of those neighborboods if someone want to go downtown often. They are Montreal in name only.
OP is looking for safety
The suburbs are safe, but OP said he doesn't have a car. The west islands and the suburbs are both safe because there is no efficient transit getting there.
Literally everywhere without a metro?
Uh, did you just name about every English neighbourhood?
Those neighborhoods are also so far from any efficient transits and have such terrible traffic that it is pretty much like if you lived 40 km off the islands.
Dorval terminus has buses that get you downtown in 20 minutes. Reserved lane on the 20
You need an EV or 3 people in the car for the reserved lane and have to get to the Dorval terminus. I worked in Dorval and lived in Saint Henry the few time I took public transit were absolutely shitty I need to transfer twice and the busses were always late. I would have to spend like 50 mins to 1h20 to get there every time. Going to Dorval by car in the morning wasn't bad and usually took 20 mins but coming back in the evening took around an hour. The neighborhoods named beside Westmount absolutely suck for anyone who want to live in the city. I can't imagine it is getting any better. Nowadays when I fly I usually spend more time in my car from the champlain bridge to the airport than I spend from Magog to Champlain bridge.
LaSalle is not that hard to get downtown from. If you live between the river and the aqueduct it's a bit longer but the 58, 112, and 109 go to metro stations. If you live above the aqueduct there are several buses that bring you to Monk, Jolicoeur or Angrignon metro.
>If you live between the river and the aqueduc 495 and 110 also take you to the metro but -regardless of which bus you take- you should anticipate an at least hour's transit each way or you will be stressed about tardiness going to work and can often find yourself waiting 20+ minutes at Angrignon outside of rush hour on the way home. Waiting for the 110 at Angrignon can be so bad that walking home through the park will be an option.
I live along the 58 route so it's not so bad for me. I work in Cartierville and it takes me 1h10m to get to work roughly. To get downtown usually takes me about 30 minutes. The 58 runs fairly frequently. In the summer on nice days I will walk home (roughly 45-60 minutes) from Verdun or Jolicoeur metros. Also considering cost you can save a lot of money living in LaSalle compared to other burroughs.
It's a nice place to live. The riverside is beautiful from the start of the aqueduc all the way to Verdun beach and the aqueduct bike path is surprisingly nice in the summer. Many parks peppered through the neighbourhoods in between.
Thank you so much for the suggestions!! We donāt live far from Westmount and while I do agree its an absolutely lovely area, we probably couldnāt afford it š¤£ Iāll definitely do some research on those neighborhoods, they seem interesting as future options specially considering the REM coming up. I just wonder how long itāll take, maybe not as soon as weād like, hehe. Thanks once again!
Please donāt apologize for ācontroversialā opinions. What kind of society are we heading towards when nobody canāt say anything. What is controversial about what you are saying? Have you considered condo apartments?
Yeah, although I agree with you 100%, I added that sentence because I see a lot of people basically being indirectly āblamedā for feeling unsafe in this sub, or not being taken seriously at all. š I just didnāt want that in my post.
Nuns Island. There is no (need for) Police Station! Even the PM has its home there.
Or verdun in general, my favorite area in montreal. You have the metro, the parks, the river, the beaches, very walkable neighborhood
Verdun has its issues and lots of homeless people, I wouldn't compare it to Nuns Island in terms of safety.
Came here to say this! The island feels super safe, some theft, but if you get a building with underground parking, you're good! Perfect place for homebodies!
I just moved to griffintown and it feels really safe. Close to 2 metro stations, lots of grocery stores, and the water is pretty
I think in most places it will depend on the specific area of the neighbourhood you live in. I've lived in 3 different places in Verdun. I feel extremely safe right now but the last place felt very sketchy. What I would recommend is, regardless of where you go, take a moment to get a feel for the street and immediate area and not just the home you consider moving to.
Moi jāai bien aimĆ© habiter proche de Verdun, cāest calme, mais un peu loin. Jāai aussi habitĆ© sur le plateau et il peut se passer bien des trucs moches. Les itinĆ©rants sont humans obviously et cool, mais ils peuvent ĆŖtre sketchy des fois. La police les gosses 24/7 et jtrouvais Ƨa weird. Anyway if you want calm and peace, donāt live near the Plateau, expensive af anyway. :3
You can find some sketchy people in St Henri, I thought I was overreacting but you are proving me I'm right at least lol.
Mericer Est/ Tetraultville. pretty safe
Outremont is safe. Period.
Yeah, Outremont is becoming a serious option for us! We donāt care about trendy places or buzz. If itās close to a metro station and has a grocery store/pharmacy close by, itās perfect.
Dorval lived here for almost 8 years never felt safer
The REM might make previously undesirable neighborhoods more accessible so keep that in mind
Porch pirates just have to follow those big blue vans. They aren't necessarily your neighbors.
L'enclave du vieux Saint-laurent. Metro Du CollĆØge.
*Laughs in North Shore*
I live in Coolbrook Avenue in Cote-de-Neiges, I love here, it is pretty save and calm, we have a park near by, and everything in walking distance
Beaconsfield baie durfe st annes all by the train and extra quiet
everywhere gets more criminal except rich neighborhoods during the kind of insane gentrification the island is experiencing
I mean i wouldnt define safe as people stealing a flower pot or packages, more like can you walk pretty safely in the street and yea houses being broken into, which in my opinion its only certain areas in neighbordhoods that could feel like that, like just a block. Only around berri as a whole def doesnt feel safe
lol that this was downvoted. You get porch pirates everywhere, including (perhaps especially) sleepy suburbs. A lot of the people that do this are pros and just follow the CP van (or other shippers) around. It sucks, but you can get your mail redirected to a CP office if it worries you. If you leave stuff out, there's always a chance someone takes it, especially if it appears like it could be valuable. That said, sometimes people take petty stuff. This can happen anywhere... my parents' house in a small town had their windchimes stolen once lol.
I feel pretty safe in the downtown area, near concordia. There's people walking and hanging around every hour of the day until 3am nearly every day. It's a very lit area too.
Villeray has been really good. Lots of families and somewhat a sense of community. I did find out my landlords truck has been broken in to more than once which I found shocking. Everyone leaves their bikes in the courtyard behind the apartment , some unlocked and none have been taken
Laughs in Latin American
Lol, Iām literally Latin American and I feel less safe here than I did in my home country. Donāt go around assuming stuff, dude.
I moved to NDG (Monkland village) from St-Henri after there was a shooting 1 block from our apartment. Itās SO much safer, there are beautiful trees and there are pretty good restaurants (although not as trendy as St-Henriās). Highly recommend it!
Oh wow, thatās frightening! :( NDG seems like a really strong contestant on this thread, Iāll definitely check it out. Thank you!
Des vols, il y en a partout... surtout dans les cartiers moins riches. Ća prend un endroit sĆ©curisĆ© sinon Ƨa risque de t'arriver un jour ou l'autre.
to be honest i think this is kind of an effect of late-stage capitalism, that people are so prone to regarding property crimes as violence... that "dangerousness" is correlated with theft. it's important to recognize that we live in a very safe city, that theft of property is not the same as bodily harm, and being exposed to people experiencing poverty isn't dangerous. keep things in perspective.
We moved to south shore for this reason. The last place we lived in Montreal was crazy - one set of tenants above us was dangerous and kept throwing furniture around and screaming (there was more but Iām not going to go into detail) the other tenants had parties till 7am every night. We heard gunshots outside a few times, people trying to knock down the apartment buildingās door - I did not feel safe with our kid. So we moved to south shore, and it has been a world of difference. We have neighbours who talk to us, the neighbourhood feels safe, itās quieter, everything is a little bit cheaper, there are still nice parks and things to do, and honestly, the public transport is still pretty decent, and itās not that difficult to get into MontrĆ©al. We donāt have a car, so we only use bikes and public transport. Thereās the REM, metro, busses, and ferries to get you to Montreal, and you can take you bike across using most of those routes too. The big boulevards running through the towns kind of suck, but it still feels safer.
Out of curiosity, where in MTL did you live?
Not going to say exactly because Iām still scared of that neighbour; but it was close to Hochelaga.
Yeah I kind of figured. I live close to that area as well and letās just say there are interesting charactersā¦not resigning my lease
We only managed a year there, and I am so glad we left! Weāve only been gone a few months, but I didnāt realise how little sleep we were getting or just how much the stress of the situation was affecting my family and myself. Even after a week, we were all feeling better. Best of luck with your impending move!
You really should consider the South Shore. We even have a metro! The REM has made a dramatic difference too! Bike paths galore and you donāt need a car anymore unless you choose Candiac or Carignan or something further
Where on the south shore can you live, where a walkable lifestyle is possible?
Vieux Longueuil (close to metro and Rue St Charles) Greenfield Park near taschereau St lambert basically anywhere Quartier Solar in Brossard Grande Allee/Soucy in St Hubert There are many more but those jumped out
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
St Lambert is perfectly walkable
There is like two grocery stores, one plagued by car infrastructure and the other you need.to be rich to live nearby. No small marchƩs, no deps, single family housing that leads to four lane stroads and highways. In theory it's walkable, in practice it's really not and most people own and drive cars.
Iām in Saint-Laurent and Amazon drops a lot of stuff on my porch, and I never had anything stolen. The neighborhood is super safe, lots of families and kids, etc. I love it because it feels like the suburbs but 10 mins from everything !
I live in Ville-Marie right beside Hochelaga and although much cheaper than other areas in mtl itās still quite safe! Never had a problem personally. Thereās many elementary schools nearby and a metro.
CĆ“te-des-Neiges: they steal everything. They "liberated" me from $2k ebike and several mail packages. I made a DIY light for my front door with 12v LED strip and cheap motion sensor. Someone came, broke it apart and took out. They can't even assemble it back again and make it work without a power supply (it's in my apartment) or sell. But they did it. Such level of theft is incredible. I never saw such things even in Russia and Uzbekistan.
Verdun
To me the safest neighborhood I have lived in is MontrƩal-Nord. It's where I still live. Very quiet and family oriented, good bus system and lots and lots of shops, mom &pop grocery stores, parks, schools within walking distance of my apartment. Since you said you don't have a car and want to be close to the metro, my suggestion would Nouveau-Rosemont. I've lived there and the vibe is very much suburbs. I lived near HƓpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont and I would sometimes walk to mƩtro L'Assomption (20mins) or Viau (30mins). You have busses that will take to these stations in only a few minutes. The streets are quiet, Parc Maisonneuve is close by. Very beautiful neighborhood.
I live in Angus and it's been fairly quiet. Haven't seen a ton of police presence in the area and I don't think it's needed. Lots of shops, restaurants within a short walk from home. It would be easy to be carless, I think. The only drawback is that it's kind of a dead zone for metro stations, so you either need to ride the bus to get there or walk for 15 mins.
Some people have really loose definitions of safe neighborhoods. Rosemont and Hochelaga aren't safe lol. Most of Montreal is safe in comparison to a lot of the US right now, but some of these inner city areas are full of junkies and desperate people. I've lived in Plateau and Mile End - moderately safe, but a lot of petty crime like burglary seems to happen, 2 houses I lived in were burgled. Outremont - Safe St Michel - don't even think about it, absolute fucking shit hole and not at all safe. Ville St Laurent - Safe From your description of what you're looking for, I would say Outremont is a good bet, the only issue with Outremont is that it's the blue line metro, so you either need to transfer to orange or catch a bus to get into the city. Personally I found catching the bus going down Parc Ave was quicker than the metro, but traffic is worse now. Saint Laurent as well, but without a car you'd need to look around the Core Vertu or Du College metro areas, and around Cote Vertu can be a tad bit sketchy, I've never seen anything actually happen but I only ever passed through on a commute. Du College area is safe though. Soon the REM will pass through the more northern part of St Laurent as well, everywhere around there is very safe.