For many of us the end of the semester means moving out and all the hassle that comes with it. Whether you already had an apartment in Montreal or you lived in a school residence, the struggle stays the same.
Let’s check out together the 13 things you desperately need to consider before getting a new apartment:
1. Is electricity & water included in my rent?
When getting your own apartment you have to pay on a monthly basis both electricity and water which can come down in the winter to hundreds of dollars per month. International students grabbing a place in Montreal often get surprised with one hell of a bill during the months of December, January & February not knowing how rough Hydro Quebec bills residents.
2. Will I need to buy furniture?
Buying furniture is probably the worst thing to put your money on when studying abroad. Getting a nice space with great furniture already at your disposition is key to an easy transition this summer. How good must it feel to get to your already furnished placed? No moving necessary!
3. Is it a struggle to move out?
This comes hand to hand with our previous point. Who in this world wants to deal with renting a truck for just a single day.
And we have yet to state the fact furniture costs hell of a lot ! When you add it to renting a truck well, no thanks! Plus, do you even lift bro or broette? You’re going to need a lot of strength to get up all that furniture up in your apartment building ! It’s actually nice to take it easy with an already furnished spot?
4. Who are going to be my new neighbours?
Having ‘’good’’ neighbours is really about having the same lifestyle as them. If you are a student in Montreal and have a tight day schedule the worst thing you can get is an apartment next to bartenders or DJs (which pretty much sums up half of the Mile-End’s residents).
Living with students who have the exact same lifestyle as you is the funnest thing ever. They have the exact same schedule as you and want the same thing as you, good grades and good parties.
5. Will my landlord provide maintenance?
In a lot of situations, you will realize your landlord has many apartment buildings and not a lot of time to take care of your maintenance needs. It is extremely nice to have a team around you to take care of any small issues that come in the way throughout your year in Montreal. Security is also always a plus!
6. Is there a required background check?
To get the apartment of your dreams you will need references from previous apartments. If you come from a residence or never had an apartment, you will not be able to provide such information and landlords won’t be interested in taking any risks with you.
To note, in any kind of situation, credit history is always checked up so make sure you do have good credit !
7. Do I have proper roommates?
Cleaning your apartment after your roommates is always a thing that comes up, and it’s not nice, let us tell you that. Living alone and enjoying the freedom of doing whatever the heck you want is a massive plus in getting a room.
8. How’s the community around my apartment?
Living in a borough where the community lives the same lifestyle as yours is extremely important to your well-being. If you have an active lifestyle you will, obviously, want to live around people who are active. In the case you are a student, you will want to live around students who appreciate cool activities on a weekly basis.
9. Is internet included in my rent?
Internet when living alone? Not so bad. Internet with 3 roommates listening to the entire Game of Thrones series during spring break? Not so nice. If you lived in a school residence the WIFI is pretty weak and if you lived in an apartment building you probably had to pay for WIFI every month. How about unlimited WIFI for free?
10. Am I close to school?
It’s a constant struggle for most locals! Every day it’s an obligatory 45 minutes of metro & bus (read 2 hours) just to get to class. Location is purely the sweetest thing when living downtown, everything is so close. Lastly, downtown has the best coffee shops and restaurants, hands down.
11. Where am I going to work out and study?
Living in an apartment means not having the features that hotels or the nicest residences in Montreal have included in their deals. Who wants to have to leave the house just to go study seeking for some peace? Or who even wants to have to get a monthly gym membership instead of having a gym right under their room? No, seriously, everything under one roof is LIFE!
12. How many stairs do I have to go up everyday?
Let us tell you, elevators are life.
13. How’s the state of the building?
Many apartments in Montreal have a sketchy state. Whether it is the building entirely or just the apartment, it is extremely annoying to have to go through reparations every month because the ceiling is cracking down on you.
Make sure you live in a very clean space and have all of your costs covered if anything happens.