[ahmedaly]

Thank you so much for that very informative post.

I am not really good in speaking french, and I will make the landing next january.. I need to know, is it mandatory to speak french to be connected with local businesses in Montreal?

Finally.. what is the safer area to live at in Montreal, specially for a family with kid? :) Thanks so much again for your great help.

[JWMTL]

I've been living here a while now, and only recently started learning french. You don't need to speak it at all to get by, but it will limit your business opportunities to some degree.

These links contain some decent information about some of the different neighborhoods. But they're definitely far from comprehensive. If you're looking for an predominantly anlgo neighborhood with a decent amount of families, close to downtown, and not too expensive, I think NDG is your best bet, but there's certainly other options: http://ask.metafilter.com/71911/Were-Moving-to-Montreal-Wher... http://www.city-data.com/forum/montreal/1183273-need-help-fi...