<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I am a vegetarian attending McGill next year, and I had pretty much made up my mind to list Solin as my first choice. I don't really mind the commute, and the idea of being able to cook for myself seemed awesome. However, I will still be 17 when I go to McGill so my parents have to sign off on my residence selection, and they're pretty paranoid about the security situation. Could anyone give me more detailed about metro safety, Solin security, etc? </p>
<p>I will be a music student which means occasional late night rehearsals and concerts and my parents are under the impression that I will be walking home at night all by myself and be murdered or something lol. Can someone with first hand experience clear that up for them?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Montreal (and particularly the McGill area) is very safe and its metro is also very safe. It is safer than most large US campuses even when they are set in small cities/towns. There are a lot of people walking around at night and on the metro at night; that helps keep things very safe. While Montreal has its share of panhandlers/homeless that may look scary, they are not, in fact, dangerous at all.</p>
<p>Why not consider Greenbriar or one of the More houses (you can cook for yourself in these)? Greenbriar is right on campus and the More houses are quite close.</p>
<p>If safety is a big issue, then consider RVC–you’ll never have to go outside for rehearsals or music classes). The cafeterias all have vegetarian options (in fact some students complain that the vegetarian options are better than the omnivorian options). As well, the rooms in RVC and Carrefour (which is just a 1-minute walk from the music building) all have small fridges, so you can stock some of your own food (and there are common kitchens, I believe).</p>
<p>Hi,
I live in Solin right now and it is really the best choice for someone who wants to cook for themselves! Also, its a great advantage to live in an apartment-style rez because you get to experience rez life but you also get to start living on your own (with your roomies/flat mates that is), so will have a big advantage on the other rez kids who have no experience with living in an apartment at the end of first year.
The metro is litteraly 100 m from the door to Solin and there are street lights and people at all times so no need to worry about that: you would be suprised at how many people take the metro at 10pm!
Also as you said that your a musician, the metro exit is actually the closest thing (with maybe RVC) to the music building, which is pretty cool for Montreal winters. And we also have a basement where tons of people practice their intruments/play together and there are also 2 pianos.
The only downside would be that the metro stops at 1am and 1:30 am on fridays.</p>
<p>is solin better than greenbbriar?</p>
<p>To second helloworld’s views, Montreal is an extremely safe city. Are you American? Hav you visited the city?</p>
<p>Here are videos of the Lionel-Groulx metro station near Solin:
[YouTube</a> - Time-Lapse of the Lionel-Groulx Metro Station](<a href=“Time-Lapse of the Lionel-Groulx Metro Station - YouTube”>Time-Lapse of the Lionel-Groulx Metro Station - YouTube)
<a href=“Lionel-Groulx lower 2010-02-18.mov - YouTube”>Lionel-Groulx lower 2010-02-18.mov - YouTube;
<p>@Allialli: as a musician you’d be better off living close to campus at Greenbriar which affords a very similar living experience to living in Solin. I don’t know what instrument you play but I doubt you’d want to drag it with you late at night to Solin.</p>
<p>Montreal is generally a very safe city. I usually walked to most places, except in the winter. Weather permitting, I’d only take public transit if I needed to go past Westmount in the west or past the Plateau in the north/east. I’ve walked back home from St. Laurent at 4 am, and from the Plateau scores of times between 3- 5 am. That being said, Montreal is a large city and all large cities have crime. You occasionally hear of students getting troubled in the Ghetto as well. If you’re an American, Montreal is much, much safer than a similarly sized American city.</p>
<p>The McGill Metro exit that leads to Union Street is indeed close to the Music Building but there are many other exits as well, all leading to points not so close to the music buildings.</p>
<p>@Asian123: Solin isn’t per se better or worse than Greenbriar. They both have their pros and cons and depending on what you’re looking for, one or the other could be better suited to your needs.</p>
<p>Solin has suites, Greenbriar has single and double apartments which means you are living with fewer roommates at GB (and potentially less drama). However, the Solin suites are better furnished than the GB apartments.</p>
<p>Greenbriar is a street away from campus which was a huge plus in my book when I was considering residences. I would duck in and out of my apartment in between classes to pick up books, to snack or to snooze! Living in Solin precludes that. You’ve got to be very organized if you’re living a few metro stops away from campus.</p>
<p>Living in Solin feels a bit isolated from the downtown action, but it also exposes you to a great part of the city which McGill kids tend not to venture out to. Looking back, I think living in Solin would’ve been nice since it would have made me explore more of Montreal from day 1.</p>
<p>At the end of the day both Solin and Greenbriar offer similar independent apartment style experiences. I made good friends in GB who I am still in touch with and I was also forced to learn to cook (a very handy skill).</p>
<p>Solin isn’t per se better or worse than Greenbriar. They both have their pros and cons and depending on what you’re looking for, one or the other could be better suited to your needs.</p>
<p>Solin has suites, Greenbriar has single and double apartments which means you are living with fewer roommates at GB (and potentially less drama). However, the Solin suites are better furnished than the GB apartments.</p>
<p>Greenbriar is a street away from campus which was a huge plus in my book when I was considering residences. I would duck in and out of my apartment in between classes to pick up books, to snack or to snooze! Living in Solin precludes that. You’ve got to be very organized if you’re living a few metro stops away from campus.</p>
<p>Living in Solin feels a bit isolated from the downtown action, but it also exposes you to a great part of the city which McGill kids tend not to venture out to. Looking back, I think living in Solin would’ve been nice since it would have made me explore more of Montreal from day 1.</p>
<p>At the end of the day both Solin and Greenbriar offer similar independent apartment style experiences. I made good friends in GB who I am still in touch with and I was also forced to learn to cook (a very handy skill).</p>
<p>I got assigned to Solin and I really want to be downtown, I was hoping for one of the hill residences. Are you allowed to switch with a student who, say wants to live at Solin hall?</p>