NEIGHBOURHOOD WALKABOUT
Montreal couple loves people and energy that make Plateau what it is
Inside our houses, apartments and condos, we surround ourselves with things that we like and items that have personal significance. In fact, it’s been said that one’s home is an extension of one’s self. Couldn’t it also be said that the neighbourhoods in which we choose to live are an extension of not only our homes but also ourselves?
If you are among the estimated 130,000 people planning a move during Montreal’s traditional moving season, you probably aren’t merely looking for the right building in which to place your belongings. You are looking for a place where you and your family can belong.
What does where we choose to live say about us? A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by an international group of psychologists, looked at the relationship between personality, happiness and the neighbourhoods in which people reside in the city of London, England. Interestingly, the study found a correlation with personality traits and where people tend to gravitate to call home. That’s to say, people with similar personality traits tend to cluster geographically. For example, people who are “open to experience” tend to prefer living in ethnically diverse, densely populated neighbourhoods. The more people, the more possibilities for engaging experiences leading to more happiness and a sense of satisfaction overall. This particular finding of the study seems to be at play in Plateau-Mont-Royal residents Joyce Peralta and Baasje Huys. They have chosen the Plateau, in part, because of the population density.
“I love a place where the sidewalks are busy. I like for there to be a lot of people around,” Peralta says with a smile.
If seeking a densely packed population was their goal in moving to the area in 2014, Peralta and Huys could not have picked a more fitting part of Montreal.
The streets of Mile End are like our living room, where we hang out and relax.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2016 census, the PlateauMont-Royal is the most densely populated borough in the city of Montreal, with 104,000 people inhabiting 8.1 square kilometres for a density of 12,792 people per square km, almost triple the city of Montreal’s density of 4,668. The distant second and third most densely populated boroughs are Rosemont—La-Petite-Patrie at 8,807 and Villeray—St-Michel— Parc-Extension at 8,724.
To share a tiny slice of what makes their neighbourhood so ideal for their lifestyle, the couple happily agreed to conduct a tour of some of their favourite places in and around the Plateau on the first warm and sunny afternoon of spring.
“It doesn’t matter which direction we go, there’s something to do in every direction,” Huys enthusiastically explains at the start.
Making our way down Drolet St. toward Laurier Ave., and pausing on the corner in front the Restaurant Chez Claudette in front of one of the Plateau’s many murals, Peralta relays a story of how people line up for what’s cooking at Chez Claudette (most notably poutine) on any given night until midnight.
Further up the road, Parc StMichel is alive with a cacophony of children’s voices. The children buzz around the playground like little bees, going from one piece of playground equipment to another while their parents catch a few long-awaited rays of sun.
Diagonal from Parc St-Michel is Parc Lahaie with people relaxing on benches. Peralta points out Église St-Enfant-Jésus-du-Mile-End as a backdrop. Its light stone has intricately carved details that are in dramatic contrast to the dark of the church’s massive wood doors, which have been welcoming parishioners since 1898.
Continuing on the walk diagonally from the Parc Lahaie is Montreal’s Fire Station 30 with its castle-like bearing. As if on cue from the set of the iconic children’s TV series Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, men and women firefighters taking a break on benches in front of the fire house say hello and happily pose for photographs.
After that bit of cordial interaction, it’s on to Boulangerie Guillaume on St-Laurent Blvd., where the smell of fresh baked bread and pastries is heady enough to lure a crowd of customers from The Main. The late lunch crowd forms a queue, seemingly content to wait for the reward of freshbaked goods and traditional loaves.
Onward to more tasty treats of the neighbourhood. After staring wistfully into the not-yet-opened-for-the-season Kem CoBa ice cream shop (it opened for the season April 27), we pop into Wilensky’s Light Lunch to bear witness to the greatness of its famous Special, aka a grilled beef salami and beef bologna sandwich with mustard on a roll. Then, a stop to sample the goods at Fairmount Bagel — which stakes its claim as having opened the “first bagel bakery in Montreal”.
“They’re open 24 hours a day,” Huys shared, when asked what kind of schedule they run. That’s a good thing since their long-standing rival, St-Viateur Bagel, is only a few blocks away and keeps the same hours.
Nearing the end of the tour, the conversation returns to what makes the Plateau-Mont-Royal the place for Huys and Peralta.
“It has every element that is Montreal: the iron spiralling staircases, the colourful buildings, the cafés and bakeries and the energy,” says Huys.
“It’s like everything is so convenient, we hardly have to leave the neighbourhood, so sometimes, we force ourselves to do so, just to experience other parts of Montreal. But coming back here afterward. … Well, it’s just home.”
“And people in this neighbourhood are out enjoying the area all year long. It’s always lively, no matter the season,” Peralta adds.
When asked if she agrees with the suggestion that the neighbourhood in which we live says a lot about who we are, Peralta answers fervently.
“I see our neighbourhood as being an extension of our home and part of what we call home. Very literally, in fact. In the summer, Parc Laurier is like our second dining room — it’s where we meet our friends in the evenings to share meals. The streets of Mile End are like our living room, where we hang out and relax in the evenings and on weekends. Mount Royal is like our rec room.”
In the summer, Parc Laurier is like our second dining room — it’s where we meet our friends in the evenings to share meals.