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Conversations and renovations together in the heart of little Italy, Montreal, Canada

Canada
Last activity : 25 Mar 2025

Profile information

Host rating
100 %
Last replied
24 Mar 2025
Reply rate
88.2 %
Usually responds within 10 days
Feedback
18
Email verified

Badges (2)

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Availability

2025

Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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What's this?

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Description
We are a family of 4 who love to travel, meet people and talk about different cultures.

We bought and renovated the house we live in but there is still much to do…

This is who we are:
- Maxime, 36, works in home automation product support and does construction projects for us or friends
- Valerie, 39, works in industrial automation sales and loves to organize parties and learn from others
- Kayla,4, goes to daycare and loves inventing stories and acting them out
- Gwendal, 2, goes to daycare and loves climbing everywhere including people
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are French people living in Canada, having lived in other countries before and traveled in tents, vans, Couchsurfing, hitchhiking, trains…. We would love to share our experiences with anyone but mostly get travelers' perspectives and travel stories!
Help
Renovation projects (woodworking, painting, etc) ; gardening; children
Maxime is very proficient in terms of renovation and can share his experience and he is always happy to learn more.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Spanish: Intermediate
Italian: Intermediate
This host offers a language exchange
We would like to teach English to our kids but our main focus is culture and experience sharing
Accommodation
Your space:
Room with a queen-sized bed, office desk, and shelves + bathroom with shower and toilets.
Shared space: large living room and kitchen area, family room, small garden, laundry room.
What else ...
The house is 1 minute away from the bus going downtown and about 10 minutes walk from 2 subway stations so there’s access to anything you would like doing in Montreal.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Internet speed is good, we have a printer, you have a desk but you can also work from the big living room if more comfortable (I do work from home too)
Space for parking camper vans
There is a space in our courtyard to park small vehicles, to be discussed
Can possibly accept pets
It depends on the pet
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two

Host ref number: 912925421721

Website Safety

Feedback (7)

31 Jan 2025

Left by host for Workawayer (Keisuke & Kurumi)

Kei family was amazing : Keisuke, Kurumi, Kioske and Konoka have been incredible workawayers. They have been wonderful guests in the house, always keeping things tidy and clean. The house felt neater with 8 people leaving in it than it is usually with just the 4 of us ! Kei and Kurumi have been incredible in the organizing of the space. they… read more basically sorted out the whole house, from top to bottom. They basement looked like a damp when they arrived, with piles of renovation material, winter clothing, camping stuff and other items we hadn't had time to properly put away. The rest of the house was ok but after they left it was so much better !

When Kei, Kurumi and the kids who were real helpers finished their stay with us, our house was completely different : every single thing had its place, there were labels everywhere, they had even built stuff to organize better (for instance separations in the kitchen drawer). They even sorted out the nails with the help of Kioske and Konoka! In the basement, everything moved, the unutilized stuffed were stored away, they did magic to re-think the whole space and make it more pratcical to access. They even drew a map to lay out where things had been stored. And with that, so much space was saved that it created an additional room for the kids to play in !

In addition, quite often they looked after our kids (aged 3 and 5), not only doing baby sitting, but actually doing games together, cooking and eating diner, sometimes for the whole day and sometimes during the evening, putting them to bed, and everything went really well every time.

The help they provided was providential. Thanks to them we finally had a more organized house, organized life too as we were able to carve out time for the two of us and with friends to do things without kids sometimes... But all in all, what was even better was the relationship we developed. We cherish the discussions on cultural differences, political landscapes, climate change... and the really nice moments spent together in the house learning to cook and eating japanese food, playing boardgames and being outdoors. We were amazed by how the parents friendship also mirrored in the kids. They played together naturally, despite the age difference (8 and 10 for Kioske and Konoka). Our children who didn't speak a word of English at the beggining of the month were able to understand most of it at the end, and our 5 year old daughter was even capable of talking, playing games with Konoka and translating to her little brother sometimes ! The whole family made a point to speak English and not Japanese (unless it was very complicated subject) every time we were in the room, an admirable habit that we started to mimic with our children, teaching them that this is more polite so that everyone understands. Both Kioske and Konoka were really good with them, patient and taking into account their young age, to the point that our daughter learned from them and strated to copy the way they played games, not giving the solution to her younger brother but patiently waiting for him to search... we had so much fun the 8 of us, we keep thinking about them 4 and even after 3 months not a day goes by were there is a mention by one of us at least of their former presence, reminiscing some souvenirs, or saying "itadakimas" before eating!!!

(Excellent )

14 Dec 2024

Left by Workawayer (Keisuke & Kurumi) for host

From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for welcoming our family of four so warmly. The past month has been an unforgettable and truly special time in our lives.

Valerie and Maxime, you are exceptional hosts in every sense of the word. From the very first moment we met, you treated us with the warmth and… read more

(Excellent )

29 Dec 2024

Left by host for Workawayer (Kateryna)

Kat has been an amazing workawayer, helping for renovations, cooking and taking care of the kids. She re painted a large portion of the house, helped with various other renovation work we had going on such as woodworking, gardening, etc. She took the initiative of cooking delicious diner and often surprised us with healthy and original recipes.… read more

(Excellent )

1 Jan 2024

Left by Workawayer (Isabelle) for host

Un vrai Bonheur de vivre ces 2 semaines chez Valérie, Maxime et leurs adorables enfants !
Un séjour Workaway aux multiples activités, et dans d’excellentes, chaleureuses et amicales conditions d’accueil, tant humaines que matérielles, tout comme une nouvelle famille 😍
Pas loin du centre-ville, j’ai pu voir ma fille étudiante facilement, et dans… read more

(Excellent )

6 Nov 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Isabelle)

(Below in English)

Isabelle est restée avec nous environ 2 semaines et nous avons passé des moments incroyables ensemble.

Elle nous a beaucoup aidés pour cuisiner, nettoyer le jardin, organiser le sous-sol et bien plus encore… on s’est éclatés à faire le marché et revenir avec 8 énormes citrouilles, une vingtaine de butternuts, 10 poireaux, 90… read more

(Excellent )

View all 7 feedbacks

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Feedback

These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.

Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)

Cultural exchange:
(5.0)

Communication:
(5.0)

31 Jan 2025

Left by host for Workawayer (Keisuke & Kurumi)

(Excellent)

14 Dec 2024

Left by Workawayer (Keisuke & Kurumi) for host

(Excellent)

29 Dec 2024

Left by host for Workawayer (Kateryna)

(Excellent)

1 Jan 2024

Left by Workawayer (Isabelle) for host

(Excellent)

6 Nov 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Isabelle)

(Excellent)

30 Aug 2023

Left by Workawayer (Ali) for host

Max and Val were amazing hosts! Very easy going people. Never too demanding with their workloads and allowed for a lot of flexibility. Location was great too if you’re looking for a quite place that’s still close to the important things. Would highly recommend!

(Excellent)

5 Jun 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Ali)

Ali has been awesome, helping us so much with renovations especially in the kitchen, helping building the counter, installing pantry shelves, building kitchen cabinets from scratch and even proposing very practical design
We really enjoyed the time with him, having conversations over diner. He managed to communicate with the children despite the… read more

(Excellent)

16 Aug 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Robin)

Robin stayed with us for a couple of months and immediately became part of the family. We were not planning to host anyone else as we were already welcoming 3 workawayers but when we met we met him, he made such an impression that we offered to host for 2 weeks, and it became obvious after a few data that we wanted him o stay. Luckily for us he… read more

(Excellent)

16 Jul 2023

Left by Workawayer (Juliana & Pedro Henrique) for host

We stayed just a week with this family, it was our second workaway experience and despite the short time it was an amazing experience. We helped them with the garden, sanding the woods for the new stairs and balcony, cooking and also had plenty of free time to know the city. They’re extremely gentle and although it’s very exhausting for them to… read more

(Excellent)

7 Jul 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Juliana & Pedro Henrique)

Julianna and Pedro have brought joy and liveliness to our home, and they worked great with the team! They were there for a short period of time but it felt so good to have them with us that they were integrated into the family in no time and it was as if they had always been around! We missed them so much when they left...
They always saw where… read more

(Excellent)

7 Jul 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Marie & Joseph)

Marie has been exceptional the whole time she was living at our house, always happy to help and taking a lot of initiatives. At some point, she noticed that we were under a lot of pressure with jobs, kids, and house renovations and she managed to make us feel better, finding ways to make it easier for us. The kids connected with her immediately… read more

(Excellent)

6 Jun 2023

Left by Workawayer (Schneider) for host

Maxime and Valérie welcomed me into their home with open arms, despite my late arrival. It's a very warm family where you quickly feel integrated. Talking to them was very easy and interesting. What's more, the help they ask for is not very complicated and leaves you plenty of time to visit Montreal. I can only recommend that you drop in and have… read more

(Excellent)

5 Jun 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Schneider)

Lucie stayed with us for a brief period of time but we really enjoyed her lively presence and nice conversations while she was here and she was very helpful around the house and with the kids

(Excellent)

5 Jun 2023

Left by host for Workawayer (Joséphine)

Josephine was an amazing roommate and workawayer. She immediately connected with the children who adopted her right away. She took care of them mornings and evenings, bringing them to day care and picking them up. She also offered her help around the house and even helped with the renovations!
We also both formed a great connexion with her and… read more

(Excellent)

17 Nov 2022

Left by host for Workawayer (Leon)

Despite his young age, Leon is very mature and of good conversation and experiences. He helped us a lot with the kids and in the renovation.
We had a great time and would surely welcome him again if come back in the area.
Enjoy your stay to the west, and may we meet again.

(Excellent)

12 Nov 2022

Left by Workawayer (Leon) for host

When I arrived at Val's and Maxime's house I thought I will live on construction work, but it is definitely more comfortable than it first appears. Both of them showed great interest in me as a person and what I'm doing which made it easy to have decent conversations. The work is pretty free and they are thankful for every idea or help that you… read more

(Excellent)

17 Oct 2022

Left by Workawayer (Julie) for host

My experience with Valerie and Maxime was amazing. Not only is the room very confortable, the family very welcoming, the localisation in Montreal excellent, I also had the opportunity to learn a lot by helping them renovate the house. I loved every day there and was very sad to leave. In the ~1 week I stayed there, I had the chance to share time… read more

(Excellent)

15 Oct 2022

Left by host for Workawayer (Julie)

Our experience with Julie was excellent.
Julie was adopted by the kids right away, and she also adapted them.
She was asking to learn how to renovate the house and how to use tools to build a small furniture.
She did not had much experience, but learn in no time.
Julie went beyond our expectations.
We wish you a good time for the remaining of your… read more

(Excellent)

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Conversations and renovations together in the heart of little Italy, Montreal, Canada

Profile information

Host rating

Last replied

Reply rate

Feedback

Email verified

Badges (2)

Find your perfect host

Availability

Details

Description

Types of help and learning opportunities

Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

Help

Languages

Accommodation

What else ...

A little more information

Can host digital nomads

Space for parking camper vans

Can possibly accept pets

How many Workawayers can stay?

Feedback (7)

Photos

Feedback