If you’re moving this year and trying to choose between living in the McGill Ghetto, or Milton Park, and a place further than that, this article is for you. I’ve been living in the ghetto for 2 years now. Before that, I lived for a year in an apartment about 30 minutes away from McGill. So, let me talk you through the main differences I’ve noticed over my time living in both.
- Going home
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If you live close to campus, you’re likely very familiar with the phrase “I’m just going to go home to eat and then come back,” followed by you never coming back to continue studying, or maybe making it 3 hours later.
If you live further, you miss out on the luxury of not having to remember to meal prep or make sure you bring everything you need with you in the morning, but at least you know that when you go to campus to study, you won’t have any 3 hour food intermissions.
- Lateness
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Contrary to what you may think, when you’re in the ghetto, you will likely be a little late to things more often. There is a mentality that creeps on you when you live close to campus that materializes in a voice saying “you can leave in another minute, you can still make it”. Often you will find yourself postponing leaving your apartment to the last possible second and probably end up a few minutes late.
However, if you live a commute away, chances are you will usually arrive on time, but when you’re late, you’re very late. That’s because the reason you’re behind in this case is usually missing a bus or the metro being stuck, which means you’ll end up at least 20 mins behind schedule.
- Apartments
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Apartments in Montreal are generally not the best maintained (or at least the ones the students end up living in). However, that doesn’t take away from the fact that most apartments in the ghetto are significantly less well kempt than the apartments further from campus. In addition, needless to say, you get a much nicer place for the same cost if you’re open to living beyond Avenue Du Parc. I wish I had a pro for ghetto apartments for this topic, but there just isn’t.
- Landlords
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Landlords is a funny one. When you don’t live in the ghetto, if you need something fixed , most times all you gotta do is the normal thing which is to let your landlord know, and they take care of it. In the ghetto, you have to think of a plan to trick your landlord into fixing your broken things. You can’t just tell them—you’ll need a masterplan that includes at least 5 people working together to convince them that it is a big enough deal to fix.
- Buying things
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When you live in the ghetto it is a very rare occasion that you need something which doesn’t exist in the Gallerie Du Parc complex or the Jean Coutu and Provigo on Parc. For me, if something isn’t there, I question if I really need it. Because what do you mean I have to go all the way to St. Catherine???
When you live further, you have an opportunity everyday to buy the item you want on your way home. You become less lazy and more open to going to places that involve a commute. You probably end up seeing more of Montreal. When you’re in the ghetto your life can really just exist between Sherbrooke and Prince Arthur.
- Dressing Up
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I remember when I used to live by Berri Uqam, I would leave my house in pyjamas to go grocery shopping. Not my proudest memories, but it was extremely freeing to know there is little to no chance I would run into someone I know from school. Now every time I leave my apartment I see at least 3 people I know, and at least one of which I do my best to avoid eye contact with because I’m not down for one more small talk intermission in my day (which happens often when you live close by).
- Best for last: Morale
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Now on a more serious note, comparing the morale when living in both areas. Reading what I wrote for the previous points, it may seem like I am pro living far away. I am, in fact, not. Living close to campus, despite everything, comes with a feeling of belonging. Everywhere you look you can recognize someone, whether it’s a friend or someone you’ve seen once in class. You feel part of a whole. You know there is a friend a couple streets over that you can have tea with at any point in the day. You know that you can be studying on campus within 5 minutes if you wanted to, and you know you’re around the corner whenever one of your friends needs you. FOMO? Don’t know what that is since I’ve moved here! But seriously, the sense of community to me has been worth everything else, because at the end of the day this is a special time in our lives and we may never experience anything like it again.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this post helped you see the different sides of the comparison!