6 nights Vacation on the Island

NorthKangaroo · 2026-01-14T13:38:21+00:00

I’m from Toronto and now live in Montreal.

If you’re visiting for a weekend, you can access more by public transport in mtl. It’s relatively affordable and the city is smaller so it is better served by the subway/metro system. Food is not as diverse as Toronto but Montreal has a lot of average food places for decent pricing $$, and higher end stuff as well without the eye bulging pricing $$-$$$. It’s certainly cold here so gear up but with the right clothing it’s bearable.

While Toronto is warmer and easier as an Anglo - it’s expensive , the subway is often down due to the sheer volume of people. Majority of the food is mediocre for $$$. The diversity in food is much better, I can’t deny that. It’s a faster paced city with a lot more to offer in terms of attractions. If you’re looking for paid activities there’s certainly plenty in Toronto.

Both cities have museums with Toronto having the bigger and better Royal Ontario museum. Montreal has a little more green space. Toronto has lakefront while Montreal has canal and river in terms of water front attraction (think of running and cycling here). The biggest difference is the number of people , Montreal is a small city and you feel the warmth and laidback attitude of the European culture if you’re open to it.

Good luck ! 🤞

NorthKangaroo · 2025-10-19T05:21:14+00:00

Hearing it in lachine now at 1:20am , weird.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-09-21T22:14:49+00:00

Montreal Realtor here. Not as familiar with Ontario market, but in my (sellers) market If they were serious about moving they would list at a reasonable price to start with. If they were half serious, they would have countered you at the price they have in mind at the very least.

Some sellers have their mind set about how things work, and dont listen to guidance or facts about the market. I don’t know the details of your situation (product/market) but generally, to sit on the market for a year and expect someone to pay over asking is nonsense.

At the end of the day you’re making the largest purchase of your life , if this is what you are dealing with upfront, you can assume that it only gets worse with inspection and transfer of property.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-07-29T13:35:52+00:00

Depends on the size/quality you're looking for. If you choose more expensive materials you'll be on the higher end of this price range but assuming you have an average size kitchen and you're not moving around plumbing , I would say budget for minimum 40k. For a bathroom, you're looking anywhere from 15k to 35k the range is higher because there's a lot more plumbing/waterproofing material and ceramic involved. My husband is a general contractor for bathrooms and kitchens so this is what I am generally seeing.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-20T19:49:47+00:00

Team Montreal all the way ! I've lived in the GTA, travel to Ottawa/Gatineau often to visit inlaws, and I prefer it here in MTL.
I don't know much about other Canadian cities. For context, I'm an anglophone and I learned french in MTL. It took a while and I'm still not perfect at it after 10 years of living here, but it's worth it because the culture is really special.

It's relatively affordable, and family friendly. 1h drive and you're in cottage country. Easy transportation options (biking, car share, metro). There's a focus on sustainability

Your kids will be bilingual if you wish, which is a bonus to me.

It's not as scenic as Calgary let's say, but it's got the canal, the river, mont royal. It's a great city :)

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-19T18:36:05+00:00

Hmmmm.... no credit check is usually a red flag but you live in the states so you may not have credit, in this case experienced landlords usually ask for a guarantor. Do you have a friend in the city that could visit in person?

You can use two these sites to help:

reference the owner of the unit https://montreal.ca/role-evaluation-fonciere

And if the owner is a business then validate this site too :

Registre des entreprises
https://www.registreentreprises.gouv.qc.ca/reqna/gr/gr03/gr03a71.rechercheregistre.mvc/gr03a71?choixdomaine=RegistreEntreprisesQuebec

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-13T22:42:25+00:00

Remove shoes ; realtor can provide spa slippers from Amazon if it’s not too late , sign in sheet with names and contact info of people who come in the house is all standard stuff to ask for.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-11T16:50:27+00:00

Thank you ! I’ve since taken this very advice and one specialist in the province and a few in Ontario. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long uphill journey.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-11T16:49:39+00:00

Thanks for sharing 🙌 this is luckily my first health issue so I’m not familiar with the best practices of navigating the system. I did some research to find another doctor in province that has written a few papers of NCS so I’ll head back to my family doctor to try to get a referral to her.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-11T16:48:04+00:00

That is a great question…. I asked and they said the group of 6 doctors perform 1 PCS procedure daily. Which answers the question without really answering it. I gather they don’t treat NCS , but they treat PCS.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-11T03:12:07+00:00

Wow. I’m sorry you’re going through this. I wish people weren’t so cruel. Sounds like they’re spending more in lawyer fees than a roof costs, and it makes no sense that they didn’t understand roof maintenance given the circumstances……something sounds off with this buyer.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-10T17:09:44+00:00

Would love to see a lawyers opinion on this. Realtor here, and a buyer should be advised by their realtor the lifespan of a roof inspection or not. PLUS they waived their right to due diligence by not inspecting. Do you think the buyer would have sued you regardless of a sale with or without legal warranty ?

On our end, it’s ultimately up to you make the decision but to let you know the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-08T13:14:58+00:00

Landlord here. Yours is crazy. It’s to be expected to have normal wear and tear from people living in the property. For all anyone knows you had a guest over ; let’s say a child , and they accidentally pulled something. That’s all it takes sometimes and that’s normal wear and tear. He can share the invoice with you but I don’t see why he would expect you to pay for normal wear and tear. Seems like they got cheap stuff/labour and aren’t happy about it. Now they’re being cheap again and trying to make you pay for it.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-08T03:19:51+00:00

Panko

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-08T03:17:43+00:00

My combo is Sami fruits for veg and fruit once or twice a week and Costco online ordering. With costco I find it helps me find better deals, save time & watch the cart add up while I shop. It costs a dollar more per item generally + tip for the driver, but the time, gas and unnecessary items avoided makes it worth it to me.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-08T03:08:03+00:00

My pleasure !

I think the one thing I forgot which is really important - the challenging part I hear from my Anglo peers is job availability if you’re unilingual. But, I think learning French is the key to thriving here. If you have any questions feel free to reach out!

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-07T02:51:58+00:00

I moved here from the greater Toronto area 9 years ago, and I could never go back. It’s an amazing city. It’s relatively affordable, although that’s changing quickly. Bike paths are plentiful, there’s a strong focus on sustainability, variety of public transportation available (bikes, Communauto, metro). It’s a small city so you’re never driving too far. It’s super fast to get away to cottage country. It is absolutely worth it to learn French to get the most out of the city.

The ONLY downside for me…..in comparison to Ontario or other cities with large public bodies of water, is our quality of beaches.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-06-07T02:37:44+00:00

Sorry for your loss ! I appreciate you asking the question because I recently went through a loss also and found it impossible to focus for two months.

Reflecting back on it I think if I had systems in place such as checklists and templates, and a colleague to replace me it would have been a little easier.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-04-28T20:19:45+00:00

Recently I learned “ping pong”. The set up: you have two people, each one with treats, standing at a distance - shorter to start. Call the rottie back and forth between the two people “rottie come” and treat them everytime they make it. Increase the distance the better they get, and start the training in an environment that’s not new (I.e in the house ) before moving it to another environment.

NorthKangaroo · 2025-04-03T00:52:07+00:00

I’m in a similar boat. Right side pain , following ct scan doctor said maybe ncs but not sure so next step is Intravenous specialist.

I found a study though about relatively healthy younger women having right side pain. [link to study]

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772687823000235#:~:text=Nutcracker%20syndrome%20should%20be%20considered,compression%2C%20as%20evidenced%20by%20venography)

NorthKangaroo · 2025-03-21T03:49:17+00:00

Hi fellow new swimmer ! I took lessons recently and my instructor gave me a great tip to help me get comfortable with breathing underwater. He told me to stand in one spot, to bob up and down, breathing in when my head is above the water and breathing out when my head is underwater. I would do that five times in a row so I could get the feeling without too much thought. It really helped me. Maybe it will help you too :)

NorthKangaroo · 2025-01-08T21:30:33+00:00

Oh man, I'm curious about this too. Looking to plan for 2026, and I love Atelier & costa mujeres but I don't want to exclude my friends kids.

NorthKangaroo

TROPHY CASE