Hello people from the Lemmyverse.
This September I will move out to Montreal for a Ph.D. Internship program that lasts until December. I have searched the costs of living but much of the content is outdated and not trusty enough for my taste.
How much should I expect to pay in Rent, Groceries, Transportation and in a Gym membership? Given that I will be there for work, I will not make tourism in anywhere fancy or expensive, I hope.
What I am most worried is the costs of rent. I am ok in sharing a place, not a room, with a bunch of people - needing only to be cheap.
My total budget is between 1400~1800 CAD per month.
If anyone can help me with that, I would be glad. Thanks :)
Apartment
- On the Island you’ll have a hard time finding any apartment under 1000$, the last one I had was 1200$ for a 3-1/2 (2 years ago) and it was disgusting and unsanitary (thank the lords i got out bug free).
- Maybe if you go way north MTL you can find some cheaper, but transport is going to be harder since the metro is more focused down south of the island.
- Look for people who want roomates on Facebook or Kijiji
- My advice is to look outside Montreal in Laval or Longueuil, rent will be cheaper though bus/metro fare will be a little more.
Transportation
- Metro+Bus is about 120$/month with tax, for the Montreal Island (Zone A) this is unlimited fare across the island.
- There is also Bixi which is a bicycle rental service, costs 22$/month and let’s you grab a nearby bike and go where you need. There are stations all over the island where you can park/grab one, and even electric assisted bikes.
- Communauto is like Bixi but for cars, once signed in it shows nearby cars and you can reserve one for the day or so. Just need to make sure to park it where it’s allowed. Very useful since owning a car in Montreal is a big pain especially during winter. So this gives the advantage of one without the hassle.
Food
- I can’t really tell you about standard groceries
- I gave up on prepping and organizing the fridge and switched to Hello Fresh, which ends up being 110$/week for 5 suppers. I still need to figure out lunch and breakfast, they sell some though.
Gym
- I don’t do gym, but i’ve got colleagues who do it. Econofitness is popular and you’ll find one almost anywhere (259$/year for the week-long pass). You’ll save money by looking at what’s close and getting your workout from a local business instead though.
Thanks for the tips! Probably will try Bixi, given that the city looks bike-friendly. I was already planning to live in Laval, here in Brazil I am used to move from a city to another to do stuff. I am keeping an eye on facebook, but thanks for the tip on Kijiji. Google was only pointint me to Roomies dot ca or Uniplaces
Your total budget will be tight if you want to live alone, you best bet is to share the rent with roommates as most reasonable 1 bedroom apartments in locations that don’t require a car will be 1100-1400$. If you are looking for roommates online, I suggest you also use the word “colocataire” which is the French word for roommate (word for word would be co-renter). Just know that downtown/university areas will be more expensive for everything, especially if you buy take out food, then be ready to spend 20$ for a sandwich.
For transportation, the bus and metro system works in Zones. Zone A is montreal and is going to be ~60$ as a student with taxes per month for unlimited use (maybe student discount doesn’t apply if you are foreign, so in that case it will be ~100$). For the other zones (for going outside of MTL it will be more expensive, check the prices here: https://www.stm.info/sites/default/files/pdf/en/a-tarifs2024.pdf). You could also try to ask the place you are getting your internship to pay your transport pass especially if they require you to be on site!
Also if you are not from Canada and you want a local phone number, avoid the big/premium companies (Rogers, Bell, Telus and Videotron) at all costs. Instead use Fizz.ca and PublicMobile.ca. Fizz has the potential to be cheaper if you disable unlimited SMS (you just need to add balance to your account and it becomes pay per use) and with data rollover (unused data is transferred to the next month) but if you are a big data user, public might be the better option with unlimited plans and the like
For gym I have no idea of the prices, maybe that means I should start training though…
Also please save some money to try some real Québec poutine !!
I am willing to even share a room, as long as I keep it cheap, so, not worrying about a room for one, right now. Didn’t put the time to make the search in french, so, will look into colocataire on marketplace and search engine also. For what I have seen, people are looking for long-term roomies, so, will have to deal with this problem. Huge thanks on the phone number/companies! Was not even thinking about, but is good to have great options. For the Québec poutine… Definitely a try!!
I forgot to say! If you don’t have them already, place some leftover money to get a used winter coat and some boots (maybe the boots won’t be needed, sometimes snow is late). September it will be fine, but as november comes closer it will start getting cold
Depends entirely what area you’re in. Public transit passes tend to be $100-$150 per month, depending what zones you’re going. More on that here.
Gym memberships can typically be $40-$70 per month, which will, again, depend on your area.
Groceries and rent are really what vary the most, and are the hardest to answer, especially when you’re just looking for a room. You won’t be able to find a 3 1/2 for less than $750-800 (and that’s far from the city,) but finding a room for $500-600 a month (nothing included) is a bit easier, if you put in the research and time.
For groceries, if you decide to hit up places like IGA, you can easily spend $150 to fill up just a grocery bag or two. If you can get to a Sami’s Fruits, however, you can walk away with a full shopping cart of produce for that much.
I haven’t lived in or near the city in years, as I’m in the west suburbs right now, but from what I can pull and what I can adjust for inflation, you may have something that looks like that.
Your best bet is to make as many new friends as possible with punks, hippies, and the rest of the misfits - they’ve always got the best spots with the cheapest things.
I will be far from IGA and closer to Sami’s Fruit, for sure. I was thinking to live in the suburbs. The worst places to live in Montreal is incredibly cozy for my standards.
And, yeah, will try to make friends with the punks and co. Wish they accept me with my rusty français
In Hochelaga, a 2 bedroom could go for about 1700$/month. So I’d look to split with a roommate.
The neighborhood is pretty nice. You have close access to the green metro line that can take you downtown in 15 min and to most universities including McGill and Concordia and there are several bus lines as alternatives that can take you not only downtown but also in most hip neighborhoods with the bars and clubs. There’s also night bus lines directly from downtown for when your stay up too late. Most amenities are accessible in a 15-30 minute walk like groceries, pharmacy, there’s a small market at Marché Maisonneuve with specialty groceries. But there’s also low cost options like a Super C and Maxi. It’s relatively cheaper than the rest of Montreal and it’s very convenient. However it’s mostly francophone.
Another similar neighborhood would be Verdun which is very similar to Hochelaga, but being in western Montreal, it’s more Anglophone. But I think the rent is more expensive.
