I never thought I'd wind up in Brossard. Now, it's my little extension of downtown

This First Person article is the experience of Thea Cruz, a singer and event planner in Brossard, Que. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

For most of my life, Montreal was the only city I knew. From the parks to the potholes, Old Port to Côte-des-Neiges, downtown to NDG, it was my city — born and raised. I loved it so much that I never thought I would even consider moving out of it. It was convenient, and everything was nearby. The suburbs seemed so far away.

My friends would call the South Shore the "dark side," the place no one would dare go. The bridge is always full of traffic, I was told. There is nothing to do, it's too far, the bus is different and expensive. Everything I heard about the South Shore gave me the perception that it was a bad place, a place not for me. But let me debunk some of those perceptions for you.

The Samuel-de-Champlain Bridge isn't that bad — Montreal traffic on the Décarie or Metropolitan is a lot worse, and we have other bridges to get to the island, too. And it isn't far at all! It takes about 21 minutes by bus to get to downtown Montreal, and the bus even has its own lane during rush hour. Yes, the bus is different, but a single-ride ticket costs the same.

I learned that once you live here, those images of a "dark side" quickly fall away.

In 2014, my husband and I went on a search for a new home. He was working in the Saint-Laurent borough at the time, and I was a 22-year-old stay-at-home mom and a struggling artist. We were looking all over — the West Island, LaSalle, Laval, you name it, we looked. But we never considered looking at Brossard until my real estate broker and a few family members and friends suggested it. I was hesitant, but I thought there was nothing to lose by just looking, right?

I fell in love with the area as we drove through it. DIX30 was like a Canadian Beverly Hills for me. No potholes, and free parking everywhere! Plus there was an amazing school district for my little man. So we put an offer on a condo, and the optimist in me said that if it's meant to be, it will be.

After seven years here, I don't think I'm ever leaving this town. I went from a city girl to suburban housewife, with the space to run a music business from home. My husband and I were able to set up a whole livestream video studio upstairs on our mezzanine. I can sing live from the comfort of my home, bringing joy to friends and family during those long lockdowns.

I'm definitely a homebody. I love staying home, watching Netflix and drinking a nice glass or (or more) of wine. But when I do go out, I go all out — and I don't need to cross the bridge to do that. In DIX30 there are a few places that give you that downtown bar and lounge feel. I personally love going to Dirty D, where food is tasty and affordable, plus their sangria is to die for. It's a favourite for date nights and outings with the girls while staying close to home.

If you love food, there is definitely a variety to choose from on the shore. To name a few, 1930 Shanghai has amazing soup dumplings, Kimpo is a bring-your-own-wine Korean BBQ place right next to an SAQ, ImpacTaco is the closest you will get to a taco in Mexico and Phở MC is has the best Vietnamese soup and Banh mi. For Chinese food, Papa Jackie's is one of my top picks. They have this amazing lobster and crab tower, and it's also bring-your-own-wine.

In terms of community, I have never felt so cared for by my neighbours. We even have a Facebook group for my area, and if we need anything, we can just ask. Once my son had a really bad allergic reaction and I didn't have the means to drive to the store to grab an antihistamine. An amazing nurse replied, and within 10 minutes she was at my door with children's Benadryl.

Last winter, our community district organized a Christmas parade with decorated cars for the kids. The parade ended in my yard, where we held a socially distant concert. Since my husband is a DJ/sound technician and I am a singer, we performed from our balcony and streamed on our Facebook group. Lights, speakers the whole nine yards just to entertain the amazing people in my community during tough times.

It's strange to think I was one of those people who for so long never considered Brossard as a good place to live. I've now done a 360 on this — Brossard is where I belong. As a city girl, it feels like our little extension of downtown Montreal.

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