Living · Family duel · Sainte-Julie and Varennes or Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire · October 13, 2026
Two neighbouring areas seen with children: schools, parks, commutes, and the compromise that decides between Sainte-Julie and Varennes and Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire.
Sainte-Julie and Varennes or Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire for a family, side by side. Sainte-Julie and Varennes: Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. No train or metro: both cities are lived by car, via highways 20 and 30. Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire: Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. The valley is lived by car and train: no metro, and the Mont-Saint-Hilaire train runs at peak hours only. For families who want a planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old riverside town with industrial jobs (Varennes), and accept the car. For families and couples who want nature, the mountain, the river, two old villages and a train downtown, in a calm, artistic valley; for those working in Saint-Hyacinthe or Longueuil via the 20.
Sainte-Julie and Varennes or Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire for a family: two neighbouring areas, the same questions on both sides. Schools, parks, commutes and the compromise each one asks of a family, taken from our neighbourhood guides and from what families tell us after the visits. The figures are those published by the APCIQ for the second quarter of 2026; nothing is embellished.
| Sainte-Julie and Varennes | Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire | |
|---|---|---|
| Schools | Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. | Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. |
| Parks | Mont-Saint-Bruno national park (trails, lakes, skiing) is at Sainte-Julie's door; in Varennes, the riverside promenade, Parc de la Commune and the Varennes islands. | The Gault nature reserve on Mont Saint-Hilaire (trails, Lake Hertel, summits) is the large space; the Richelieu riverbanks, the orchards and the neighbourhood parks complete the offer, with the arenas, the pool and Beloeil's cultural centre. |
| Commutes | No station or metro: exo Sainte-Julie and Varennes buses reach the Longueuil terminus (Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke metro) via Highway 20 with reserved lanes, and the REM in Brossard via the 30. | The exo Mont-Saint-Hilaire line stops at McMasterville station (for Beloeil) and at Mont-Saint-Hilaire station, the terminus, with Central Station at the end; exo Vallée-du-Richelieu buses reach the Longueuil terminus. |
| The market in 2026 | The QPAREB's Sainte-Julie/Varennes sector shows a single-family home at $630,000 (flat year over year, +49 % in five years) sold in 22 days, with 157 active listings, and a condo at $391,000 (+6 %, +61 % in five years, the South Shore's strongest rise) in 28 days with 81 listings. | The QPAREB's Beloeil/Mont-Saint-Hilaire sector shows a single-family home at $650,000 (+2 % year over year, +43 % in five years) sold in 23 days, with 210 active listings, and a condo at $409,500 (+5 %, +44 % in five years) in 28 days with 94 listings. |
| For which family | For families who want a planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old riverside town with industrial jobs (Varennes), and accept the car. | For families and couples who want nature, the mountain, the river, two old villages and a train downtown, in a calm, artistic valley; for those working in Saint-Hyacinthe or Longueuil via the 20. |
Sainte-Julie and Varennes: For families who want a planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old riverside town with industrial jobs (Varennes), and accept the car. Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire: For families and couples who want nature, the mountain, the river, two old villages and a train downtown, in a calm, artistic valley; for those working in Saint-Hyacinthe or Longueuil via the 20.
The compromise that most often decides between the two, seen with children. On one side, no train or metro: both cities are lived by car, via highways 20 and 30. On the other, the valley is lived by car and train: no metro, and the Mont-Saint-Hilaire train runs at peak hours only. The family that accepts one of the two more easily has found its neighbourhood. The full family portrait of each is in Living in Sainte-Julie and Varennes with a family and Living in Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire with a family; the general duel, all profiles together, is in Sainte-Julie and Varennes or Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire: the pros and cons.
For families who want a planned suburb with Mont Saint-Bruno next door (Sainte-Julie) or an old riverside town with industrial jobs (Varennes), and accept the car. For families and couples who want nature, the mountain, the river, two old villages and a train downtown, in a calm, artistic valley; for those working in Saint-Hyacinthe or Longueuil via the 20. The area whose compromise bothers you least is the right one.
Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. Both towns fall under the Centre de services scolaire des Patriotes and the Riverside School Board, with high schools on site. No page replaces checking the school catchment of the exact address.
No station or metro: exo Sainte-Julie and Varennes buses reach the Longueuil terminus (Longueuil–Université-de-Sherbrooke metro) via Highway 20 with reserved lanes, and the REM in Brossard via the 30. The exo Mont-Saint-Hilaire line stops at McMasterville station (for Beloeil) and at Mont-Saint-Hilaire station, the terminus, with Central Station at the end; exo Vallée-du-Richelieu buses reach the Longueuil terminus. Do both commutes once, on a Tuesday morning, before deciding.
Written by the Loaa & Manseur team from our Living in Sainte-Julie and Varennes and Living in Beloeil and Mont-Saint-Hilaire guides and from what families tell us after the visits; no figure is added to those published by the APCIQ, and ranking schools is not our trade. The other neighbourhood duels seen with children are in neighbourhood against neighbourhood for a family.
The Loaa & Manseur team, led by Lotfi Manseur and Loaa Al Daow, is the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 of large residential teams according to the official RE/MAX ranking, computed on actual transactions. Its Google profile counts more than 220 reviews with a 4.9 rating. Its offices are at 55 avenue de l'Équinoxe in Brossard, one bridge from the island, and every broker's licence can be checked in the OACIQ public register. Three things to verify yourself before calling us, and to demand of any other broker.
Also available in French: version française de ce guide.
Published September 7, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.
Équipe no 1 de RE/MAX Platine en 2024 et en 2025, 6e au Québec, 15e au Canada et dans le top 50 mondial au classement officiel RE/MAX. Réponse en moins de 24 heures, sept jours sur sept.