Choosing a Montreal neighbourhood as a family really means choosing a school, a daycare and a commute. Here are the five questions we ask every family before we start the search.

School: public, private, French or English?

In Quebec, public school is in French by default. To enrol a child in English public school, you need a certificate of eligibility, generally reserved for families where a parent was educated in English in Canada. Many newcomers turn to private (often bilingual) or immersion schools instead. Catchment areas matter: a few in-demand schools effectively dictate the neighbourhood.

Daycare: get on the list before you land

Subsidized daycare spots (the well-known reduced rate) are scarce and slow to get. Register on the La Place 0-5 waitlist as early as possible, and plan for private daycare in the meantime. Proximity to a good daycare weighs as much as rent when choosing a street.

Commute, parks and snow-clearing

Test the home-work-daycare commute at rush hour, not at noon. Look at parks, bike paths and, in winter, how fast the city clears your street (main arteries first, side streets later). A family neighbourhood is judged on a Tuesday at 8 a.m., not on a sunny Sunday.

Our favourite family neighbourhoods: NDG, Outremont, Rosemont and west Verdun. We help from picking the school to signing the lease.