YUL vs YYZ Base

[Maximus Delta]

Hey everyone!

I was looking for info on the best 705 airline base to choose if you are looking for a good QOL with a family. Let’s say you can drive up to 60min from the airport and would like a rental house that’s not crazy expensive ($2000-$3500) Bonus points for a big yard for the kids/dog.

I imagine YUL is far cheaper but I don’t have any experience living there/driving to the airport and wanted to hear from those of you that do! My wife saw some nice rental homes north of the YUL airport within budget, much closer at 20-45min, and the value seems better then homes 60min outside YYZ. She was worried about not speaking French and how that might impact her day to day with the kids though.

The family loves skiing and winter sports…. So YUL seems like a great fit for that side of things.

How is the traffic around YUL compared to YYZ? North or West in both locations.

Any info or other things I should know is much appreciated.

Thanks.

[BigQ]

That sounds like YUL to a T.

But, like YYZ, traffic goes to a standstill when a snowflake appears in the sky. You won't win in that department. But you can live much more cheaply within 1hr of YUL than YYZ

[nohojob]

For YUL, you got to take the bridges in consideration for your commute.
For french, it depends in what area you live.
Some are very French, some not.
For the kids, it would be a great opportunity to learn French (personal opinion).
Yes, there are great winter activities.
Roads look like minefield !
You'll get good xwind practice during Winter !

[Maximus Delta]

That sounds like YUL to a T.

But, like YYZ, traffic goes to a standstill when a snowflake appears in the sky. You won't win in that department. But you can live much more cheaply within 1hr of YUL than YYZ

Thanks for the info.

You would think they would be good with snowflakes no? Winter tires anyone lol?

[Maximus Delta]

For YUL, you got to take the bridges in consideration for your commute.
For french, it depends in what area you live.
Some are very French, some not.
For the kids, it would be a great opportunity to learn French (personal opinion).
Yes, there are great winter activities.
Roads look like minefield !
You'll get good xwind practice during Winter !

I just looked at the traffic map and you’re right…. Lots of red and congestion around the bridges. Is it like that just during the rush hours or most of the time?

How is the St.Jerome area for commute and living? French mostly or English too? I have intermediate level French but the family is English.

The Sommets ski area looks fantastic and is only 20 mins from st Jerome. Any idea if it’s busy during the weekdays?

Understood on the roads and it sounds windy!

[Inverted2]

You could live an hour west of YUL and still reside in Ontario. (Lower taxes). Also the west end of the city is more English friendly.

There is nowhere affordable within 1 hr of YYZ and the traffic is horrendous 7 days a week now.

[Maximus Delta]

You could live an hour west of YUL and still reside in Ontario. (Lower taxes). Also the west end of the city is more English friendly.

There is nowhere affordable within 1 hr of YYZ and the traffic is horrendous 7 days a week now.

That’s a good idea worth looking at as well. Will check it out. Maybe just east of Cornwall…. Less taxes is always nice!

I despise traffic and the big city life. I really wish our big airlines didn’t start you in YYZ or YUL, or at least pay more due to cost of living….. come on Big Red Contract, we are all counting on you!

[nohojob]

For YUL, you got to take the bridges in consideration for your commute.
For french, it depends in what area you live.
Some are very French, some not.
For the kids, it would be a great opportunity to learn French (personal opinion).
Yes, there are great winter activities.
Roads look like minefield !
You'll get good xwind practice during Winter !

I just looked at the traffic map and you’re right…. Lots of red and congestion around the bridges. Is it like that just during the rush hours or most of the time?

How is the St.Jerome area for commute and living? French mostly or English too? I have intermediate level French but the family is English.

The Sommets ski area looks fantastic and is only 20 mins from st Jerome. Any idea if it’s busy during the weekdays?

Understood on the roads and it sounds windy!

Actually I went to Saint Jérôme this afternoon. A pain in the neck to be honest. However I have no patience for the traffic and there are a lot of constructions. On the bright side, as you mentioned, you are close to Saint-Sauveur. People who go often skiing there, would go to sommet saint sauveur the week days and all the smaller hills around the week end if they want to stay away from the lines.
You could live south too. You have some great ski hills as well, Bromont, Orford...
About the French thing, Montréal is bilingual. It's different if you head north of the province. Now, the Quebecois can be sensitive on the language.
They like if you make an effort to speak French. If you do, they would swwitch to English to help you. If you don't they might turn their back on you.
They would consider it's a lack of respect if you don't make any effort.

[DanWEC]

Ottawa works well, if you're on the East end you're under 2 hrs to the field.
If you're into doing stuff, South of Yul in QC like Bromont is gorgeous. In between, once you get maybe 30 mins East of Ottawa however it's pretty much just farmland and tiny farming towns, take a look on Google earth. Nice near the Ottawa river or down to the St Lawrence, but very rural, depending on what you're looking for. Some areas are pretty bad for sulphur in the air, which is part of the reason it's never developed.

[Maximus Delta]

Actually I went to Saint Jérôme this afternoon. A pain in the neck to be honest. However I have no patience for the traffic and there are a lot of constructions. On the bright side, as you mentioned, you are close to Saint-Sauveur. People who go often skiing there, would go to sommet saint sauveur the week days and all the smaller hills around the week end if they want to stay away from the lines.
You could live south too. You have some great ski hills as well, Bromont, Orford...
About the French thing, Montréal is bilingual. It's different if you head north of the province. Now, the Quebecois can be sensitive on the language.
They like if you make an effort to speak French. If you do, they would swwitch to English to help you. If you don't they might turn their back on you.
They would consider it's a lack of respect if you don't make any effort.

All good info. Thanks for letting me know.

Always good to make an effort when you can! I do like Montreal and would choose to be based there more then YYZ so far. Houses seem to have a lot more value for both renting and buying down the road.

[Maximus Delta]

Ottawa works well, if you're on the East end you're under 2 hrs to the field.
If you're into doing stuff, South of Yul in QC like Bromont is gorgeous. In between, once you get maybe 30 mins East of Ottawa however it's pretty much just farmland and tiny farming towns, take a look on Google earth. Nice near the Ottawa river or down to the St Lawrence, but very rural, depending on what you're looking for. Some areas are pretty bad for sulphur in the air, which is part of the reason it's never developed.

Thanks for the reply and info. I’ll take a look at Bromont and check the driving time etc. nice to have a ski area close by too.

Ottawa is probably a bit to far for me, for now…. But I will look at the more rural side that’s farther east. Love me some farm land and a house with an acerage would be great. Wife would not like the sulphur, me neither, so that would be a no go….. I’ll have to do some research where those areas are and avoid them.

Worth a look though!

[yowflyer23]

I had to make the same decision. I chose YUL for the cheap QOL, the easy access to nature, bike/transit infrastructure, etc. It’s a beautiful city and there are lots of reasons to chose it. But know that it will be a 10+ year wait to get a family doctor, the roads are crumbling, the traffic is horrible, and you will always be a second class citizen as someone who wasn’t born speaking French. I’ve experienced enough micro aggressions about my French and I’d say I speak it better than a lot of people who’ve lied in QC their whole lives. I’m probably going to switch to YYZ when I can afford to.

[Maximus Delta]

I had to make the same decision. I chose YUL for the cheap QOL, the easy access to nature, bike/transit infrastructure, etc. It’s a beautiful city and there are lots of reasons to chose it. But know that it will be a 10+ year wait to get a family doctor, the roads are crumbling, the traffic is horrible, and you will always be a second class citizen as someone who wasn’t born speaking French. I’ve experienced enough micro aggressions about my French and I’d say I speak it better than a lot of people who’ve lied in QC their whole lives. I’m probably going to switch to YYZ when I can afford to.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Family doctor is not something I thought of, but my wife brought it up yesterday and that’s a big one family wise. Bad roads and traffic is also not ideal! But who actually likes traffic right?


For those of you living near and driving to YYZ…. How’s life from Barrie (terminal 4 lol!), Orangeville, Caledon, Newmarket, or Halton Hills areas? The North or NW areas seem to be the best bet…. Smaller towns and houses with a backyard are preferred.

St.Catherines also looks to have some nice sized houses/lots, but I don’t know if that’s a 60min average commute?

[Ash Ketchum]

I'm moving from YYZ to YUL base after spending 6+ years living near YYZ with the family and flying for 705 operators. Its simply gotten too expensive and traffic is getting worse and worse every day. On top of that, I feel like YYZ doesn't have that much to offer in terms of outdoor sports (especially downhill skiing). The french in YUL concerns me a bit but I was told that west island in Montreal is fairly anglo friendly.

[ant_321]

I had to make the same decision. I chose YUL for the cheap QOL, the easy access to nature, bike/transit infrastructure, etc. It’s a beautiful city and there are lots of reasons to chose it. But know that it will be a 10+ year wait to get a family doctor, the roads are crumbling, the traffic is horrible, and you will always be a second class citizen as someone who wasn’t born speaking French. I’ve experienced enough micro aggressions about my French and I’d say I speak it better than a lot of people who’ve lied in QC their whole lives. I’m probably going to switch to YYZ when I can afford to.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Family doctor is not something I thought of, but my wife brought it up yesterday and that’s a big one family wise. Bad roads and traffic is also not ideal! But who actually likes traffic right?


For those of you living near and driving to YYZ…. How’s life from Barrie (terminal 4 lol!), Orangeville, Caledon, Newmarket, or Halton Hills areas? The North or NW areas seem to be the best bet…. Smaller towns and houses with a backyard are preferred.

St.Catherines also looks to have some nice sized houses/lots, but I don’t know if that’s a 60min average commute?

I live in Orangeville and like it. It was supposed to be a temporary stay and I’ve been here 9 years. The drive isn’t too bad. Going north in that area there are a lot of options. For me it’s 45 mins with no traffic and almost never more than 1:05 with traffic. If Barrie is terminal 4 then I think Orangeville is terminal 5. Tons of pilots in town and the general area. My street had 4 pilots on it at one point. It isn’t cheap though.

[daedalusx]

I'm moving from YYZ to YUL base after spending 6+ years living near YYZ with the family and flying for 705 operators. Its simply gotten too expensive and traffic is getting worse and worse every day. On top of that, I feel like YYZ doesn't have that much to offer in terms of outdoor sports (especially downhill skiing). The french in YUL concerns me a bit but I was told that west island in Montreal is fairly anglo friendly.

Good call. There’s Bromont/Orford/Sutton on the south shore that isn’t too far and you can find something affordable nearby.
Also North Shore you have St Sauveur and Tremblanc. Say you pick something like Blainville you could be 30min from YUL and 30min from St Sauveur. Much better than the concrete jungles of Toronto.

[Maximus Delta]

I had to make the same decision. I chose YUL for the cheap QOL, the easy access to nature, bike/transit infrastructure, etc. It’s a beautiful city and there are lots of reasons to chose it. But know that it will be a 10+ year wait to get a family doctor, the roads are crumbling, the traffic is horrible, and you will always be a second class citizen as someone who wasn’t born speaking French. I’ve experienced enough micro aggressions about my French and I’d say I speak it better than a lot of people who’ve lied in QC their whole lives. I’m probably going to switch to YYZ when I can afford to.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Family doctor is not something I thought of, but my wife brought it up yesterday and that’s a big one family wise. Bad roads and traffic is also not ideal! But who actually likes traffic right?


For those of you living near and driving to YYZ…. How’s life from Barrie (terminal 4 lol!), Orangeville, Caledon, Newmarket, or Halton Hills areas? The North or NW areas seem to be the best bet…. Smaller towns and houses with a backyard are preferred.

St.Catherines also looks to have some nice sized houses/lots, but I don’t know if that’s a 60min average commute?

I live in Orangeville and like it. It was supposed to be a temporary stay and I’ve been here 9 years. The drive isn’t too bad. Going north in that area there are a lot of options. For me it’s 45 mins with no traffic and almost never more than 1:05 with traffic. If Barrie is terminal 4 then I think Orangeville is terminal 5. Tons of pilots in town and the general area. My street had 4 pilots on it at one point. It isn’t cheap though.

Yeah the Orangeville/Caledon area looks like it would work the best so far… the drive time seems good, even with the extra traffic. Not super cheap, certainly more to buy vs rent…. But the rentals for a house are pretty much the same in a lot of places. $2700-3500 can get a house, which is not terrible. Not a whole lot of detached rental houses in Orangeville right now though. I used Realtor and Kijiji to look, any other sites they list on out there?

Barrie/Innisfil also looks good, but a bit farther away. I imagine that adds another 20 mins to those commute times?

Decisions Decisions!

[Maximus Delta]

I'm moving from YYZ to YUL base after spending 6+ years living near YYZ with the family and flying for 705 operators. Its simply gotten too expensive and traffic is getting worse and worse every day. On top of that, I feel like YYZ doesn't have that much to offer in terms of outdoor sports (especially downhill skiing). The french in YUL concerns me a bit but I was told that west island in Montreal is fairly anglo friendly.

Good call. There’s Bromont/Orford/Sutton on the south shore that isn’t too far and you can find something affordable nearby.
Also North Shore you have St Sauveur and Tremblanc. Say you pick something like Blainville you could be 30min from YUL and 30min from St Sauveur. Much better than the concrete jungles of Toronto.

Both you and Ash make great points. I like being close to skiing, just need to convince the wife on YUL life ha!

So far I think the Bromont or Blainville/ St Saveur locations would work out well. Also looking at the Beaconsfield area to be close…. Some good looking houses for rent there right now.

[DanWEC]

Do you speak French? It's been in local papers recently that the English population is steadily and significantly declining outside of Montreal, in the areas you mentioned. I don't know to what level- I haven't spent much time outside of Montreal, so I personally don't know to what level of impact this would actually have if any, but just passing along the info.

[Braun]

Do you speak French? It's been in local papers recently that the English population is steadily and significantly declining outside of Montreal, in the areas you mentioned. I don't know to what level- I haven't spent much time outside of Montreal, so I personally don't know to what level of impact this would actually have if any, but just passing along the info.

Most of the places mentionned i.e. Bromont, orford, tremblant, st sauveur have a significant anglo population and I wouldn't see it as an issue at all. Is Quebec perfect, hell no, but it's still a nice place to live and I would always pick YUL and its surroundings over YZ. But that's me.

[Maximus Delta]

Do you speak French? It's been in local papers recently that the English population is steadily and significantly declining outside of Montreal, in the areas you mentioned. I don't know to what level- I haven't spent much time outside of Montreal, so I personally don't know to what level of impact this would actually have if any, but just passing along the info.

Yes, but the family doesn’t. When I’m gone, the wife wouldn’t enjoy not being able to communicate as much. Fair enough!

Thanks for the info

[Maximus Delta]

Do you speak French? It's been in local papers recently that the English population is steadily and significantly declining outside of Montreal, in the areas you mentioned. I don't know to what level- I haven't spent much time outside of Montreal, so I personally don't know to what level of impact this would actually have if any, but just passing along the info.

Most of the places mentionned i.e. Bromont, orford, tremblant, st sauveur have a significant anglo population and I wouldn't see it as an issue at all. Is Quebec perfect, hell no, but it's still a nice place to live and I would always pick YUL and its surroundings over YZ. But that's me.

Thanks for the input! Have you got experience living in any of those locations? I’m always curious if one is better than the other, or what family life would be like there etc.

The surroundings of Montreal are quite nice. Love the ski hills and mountains vs concrete jungle as others have said.

[Braun]

Do you speak French? It's been in local papers recently that the English population is steadily and significantly declining outside of Montreal, in the areas you mentioned. I don't know to what level- I haven't spent much time outside of Montreal, so I personally don't know to what level of impact this would actually have if any, but just passing along the info.

Most of the places mentionned i.e. Bromont, orford, tremblant, st sauveur have a significant anglo population and I wouldn't see it as an issue at all. Is Quebec perfect, hell no, but it's still a nice place to live and I would always pick YUL and its surroundings over YZ. But that's me.

Thanks for the input! Have you got experience living in any of those locations? I’m always curious if one is better than the other, or what family life would be like there etc.

The surroundings of Montreal are quite nice. Love the ski hills and mountains vs concrete jungle as others have said.

Yeah, I am ATC in YUL so I need to go to the airport every work day so I live downtown. If I could chose I would probably live in Tremblant/St-Sauveur but the traffic can be pretty bad during peak office hours, and even on weekends to be honest. Bromont is nice as well and pretty much the same thing traffic wise. Orford is about 100-120km away plus you may encounter traffic on the way in to YUL too so it would be a bit too far for me personally. In terms of real estate Tremblant is probably a bit more expensive than St-Sauveur and Bromont but the skiing and infrastructure is nicer in my opinion. It depends on your activities.

One thing to consider is the weather on the north shore of montreal is often quite a bit cooler than on the island or even in the Bromont area. Not a big deal but something to consider if you don't like chilly evenings.

[Maximus Delta]

Most of the places mentionned i.e. Bromont, orford, tremblant, st sauveur have a significant anglo population and I wouldn't see it as an issue at all. Is Quebec perfect, hell no, but it's still a nice place to live and I would always pick YUL and its surroundings over YZ. But that's me.

Thanks for the input! Have you got experience living in any of those locations? I’m always curious if one is better than the other, or what family life would be like there etc.

The surroundings of Montreal are quite nice. Love the ski hills and mountains vs concrete jungle as others have said.

Yeah, I am ATC in YUL so I need to go to the airport every work day so I live downtown. If I could chose I would probably live in Tremblant/St-Sauveur but the traffic can be pretty bad during peak office hours, and even on weekends to be honest. Bromont is nice as well and pretty much the same thing traffic wise. Orford is about 100-120km away plus you may encounter traffic on the way in to YUL too so it would be a bit too far for me personally. In terms of real estate Tremblant is probably a bit more expensive than St-Sauveur and Bromont but the skiing and infrastructure is nicer in my opinion. It depends on your activities.

One thing to consider is the weather on the north shore of montreal is often quite a bit cooler than on the island or even in the Bromont area. Not a big deal but something to consider if you don't like chilly evenings.

Roger that! Bromont looks nice. I like the ski hill lifestyle as well.

I do like a cool breeze coming in the window while I sleep, so that’s a nice bonus…. Mind you that probably exists everywhere in Canada during the winter ha!

What do you think of the beaconsfield area for a closer option?

[CaptainP8]

I live just northeast of Cornwall. One hour from front door to parking lot at YUL. If I hit rush hour, usually no more than an extra 15-20 minutes on that. If you’re in an area served by Cornwall electric, it’s about the same as Quebec hydro (way less than Ontario hydro.) Gas is usually at least 10 cents per litre cheaper than Quebec. Lastly, Cornwall used to be stinky…but is much better now.