Today I have gathered all my favorite information about living cheap in the city of Montreal!
Montreal is an amazing, energetic and artistic city. It is filled with a beautiful mix of all the colours of skin and all the languages of the world. There are the uprising activists, the everyday stoners and that one guy who wears shorts in -25. Every character you can imagine lives in the city. And these characters are innovatively great at living affordably.
Montreal Guide to Cheap Living
FOOD
- Affordable grocery stores.
Segals is among one of the locals favorite places to shop. It is almost always busy, and there’s a good reason why. It’s so cheap! Not only is it filled with amazing local, organic products, they are sold at more-than reasonable prices.
An extra bonus is that they have FREE DELIVERY directly to your doorstep. They offer this when you spend more than 50$. (Just be thoughtful in tipping the delivery man, not everybody is.
Segals- 4001 Blvd St-Laurent
Eden is another talked-about grocery store. They offer a large selection for vegans, vegetarians, gluten-free, and organic-enthusiasts.
Eden- Les Galeries du Parc 3575, avenue du Parc
2. Jean-Talon Market.
Marché Jean-Talon is located in the “Petite-Italie” neighbourhood. They offer the largest selection of locally grown products, and great prices. In the winter they move indoors and keep it running busily, but the summertime is when it’s bopping. Almost twice as many vendors, and typically cheaper prices. The J.T. Market takes a few times going to figure out the stands with the best deals. It can be a bit frustrating trying to remember if the last basket of peaches were cheaper than the ones you’re staring at now… Or if you’re staring at the same basket as before. Have some patience and you’ll get the hang of it.
TIP! Keep your eyes peeled for the 1$ sections. Most stands have a 1$ section either on a separate trolly or hidden at floor level.
Marché Jean-Talon – 7075 Casgraine Ave.
- Dumpster diving.
Surprisingly common in Montreal. There’s a bit of a misconception to dumpster diving surrounding how sanitary it is. However, most food is individually wrapped, and the dumpsters are most commonly, only filled with food. You can find a lot of university students jumping in dumpsters behind big supermarkets like Metro, IGA, or Intermarché. You will be amazed how much food you can find that is still good. And you will learn quickly that a lot of food lasts longer than it’s so-called expiry date. In one dive, I once got 4 large blocks of cheese, 2 bags of potatoes, 2 boxes of blueberries, 1 bag of oranges and a plant!
Exercise this practice with caution. Wash all products you find. And do thorough checks to make sure everything is top shape.
Accommodation
Look online
You can find really cheap places to live in Montreal if you look for them.
There is a sweet website called www.Padmapper.com. On that website you can enter the city you are in, plus the details of apartment you are looking for and it will show you a map of all the apartments that have been found. It allows you to describe your price range, number of bedrooms, or even if you are looking for a pet-friendly home.
Kijiji.ca and Craigslist.ca are also popular websites to look for an apartment.
Neighbourhoods
Get to know the Montreal neighbourhoods because some cost a lot more money to live in. Some cheap neighbourhoods to check out are…
Verdun
Shared space $250+
Single bedroom $450+
Two or more bedrooms $600+
Saint-Henri
Shared space $300+
Single bedroom $500+
Two or more bedrooms $650+
Côte-des-neiges
Shared space $400+
One bedroom $500+
Two bedroom $750+
Transport
Walking/Bicycle
This is obviously the cheapest way to get around the city. Fortunately, there are a lot of marked bike paths around the city. In the summertime it feels like the whole city is on their bike and you may have to deal with some bike traffic. However, it’s a great way to see the city!
MTLBlog does a great post about all the Best Montreal Bike Shops
BIXI Bikes
If you don’t want to invest in a bicycle you can use a Bixi.
Bixi Bikes are public bikes that are located all over the city.
First you have to pay a subscription
$7/per day (at pay station only)
$13/per 3 days (at pay station only)
$30.25/per month
$80.50/per year
First 30-45min use – Included in subscription
Afterwards you can rent the bike
$1.75/60mins
$3.50/61-90mins
$7.00/subsequent 30min periods
STM
Are you going to be around Montreal for more than a year?
Invest in an OPUS card. It’s a rechargeable metro+bus pass that is valid for 4 years.
$83.00 – Monthly
Are you just visiting Montreal for a short-time?
$3.25 – 1 trip
$6.00 – 2 trips
$27.00 – 10 trips
$5.00 – Unlimited evening
$13.75 – Weekend pass
$18.00 – 3 day pass
$25.75 – Weekly pass
Are you/Will you be a student in Montreal?
Take advantage of the student opus card
(ages 16-25)
Bring with you
-Your filled-out Application Form
-$15.00 cash (they do not accept any cards)
-Proof of age (drivers license, school id, passport, etc.)
How to get the card
-Go to the Metro Berri-UQAM and follow the signs (or ask the info desk) to get your opus student card.
Your Student OPUS Card will be valid for 1 year. Afterwards you must renew your student OPUS Card. For information on how to renew click here.
Student OPUS Card Fares
$49.75 – monthly
$197.00 – 4 months
I hope this information was helpful.
Leave a comment below if you know anymore great tips for living cheap in Montreal
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