Glorious NDG
Well, well, well…No Damn Good is now #1 in your hearts. The day has finally come.
To quote that Van Wilder meme: “But, why?”
My theory: the more Montreal seems to change, the more Notre-Dame-de-Grâce stays the same. As Griffintown Condo Disease blights neighbourhood after neighbourhood in the downtown core, the Decarie eyesore has acted as a pseudo-barrier to the barbarians at the gate.
Don’t get me wrong, rents are rising here at a criminal rate as well, but the lifeblood of NDG hasn’t been sucked out yet and seems to be hanging by a thread.
Sherbrooke’s mom and pops have weathered storm after storm. Souvlaki George is still slinging pitas for the students. The only Starbucks actually closed up shop. You don’t feel the crushing march of modernity breathing down your neck. The classic weirdos of Montreal are still acting weird — in NDG.
The last two years, spacious NDG has served as a comforting pandemic outpost, with wide enough sidewalks, barren north-south stretches and plenty of green space to make the necessary constitutionals peaceful and relaxing. And if you needed human interaction, the locals were surprisingly chatty even from a distance: there’s a reason Porchfest goes down here.
Girouard/NDG/whatever you want to call it Park is an underrated gem in the city, offering all the pleasures of park hangs with half the crowds.
It’s not perfect, of course, but even its fundamental problems seem quaint in a way. The interminable Vendome area construction. The regular blackouts whenever there’s a gust of wind. That ominous giant tower in Upper Lachine. Even when people ask about safe/unsafe neighbourhoods in Montreal Subreddit, the response usually reassures that as bad as you think it might be, it’s still NDG. Things ain’t that bad here.
I’m not naïve, though. There’s likely an element of protest voting here from those exasperated by Plateau and Mile End living. No one cares how you found your way to NDG, we’re just glad you’re here. Quit your job, pull up a folding chair, crack open a cold one and enjoy the vibes.