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A previous poster mentioned French-speaking majority as I negative. I view it quite the opposite and find it one of the draws for me.
Not sure if you were referring to me but I certainly don't view French in Montreal as a negative. (I am a native French speaker living in the province of Quebec.) I know that some people do view it as a negative, however.
Not sure if you were referring to me but I certainly don't view French in Montreal as a negative. (I am a native French speaker living in the province of Quebec.) I know that some people do view it as a negative, however.
Good post BTW.
Acajack,
No I was definitely not referring to you when I said a previous poster viewed the language as a negative. I just didn't want to "name names" or start a fight on the board. Sorry if you got the impression I was talking about you. I've read many of your posts and you are an excellent contributor who always seems fair and balanced.
I read this Montreal msg board a bit and I see a lot of posts with English-only speaking people acting with a great deal of apprehension about the language or even saying that the people of Quebec are rude if they don't automatically speak in English. To me that is just silly. It's a French speaking province so get over it I say!
Acajack,
No I was definitely not referring to you when I said a previous poster viewed the language as a negative. I just didn't want to "name names" or start a fight on the board. Sorry if you got the impression I was talking about you.
I suspected as much but just wanted to make things clear. No worries and no offence taken.
Lived in Mtl, would definitly love to live in NYC. Don't think the two compare though. You do get the feel you're in MTL or vice-versa when you're in East Village but other than that, completly different cities.
I live in Montreal and I am in NYC 4 times per year, I love it there, quite a lot. It's sorta of my 2nd home, I guess I'd say the same if I was living in Reno, NV for example and knowing San Francisco is about 8 hours away, I'd say SF is my 2nd home because I love it there so much.
I turned 22 years old a month ago, been living here all my life and I got fed-up. When I first went to NYC, I realized there is much more to the world than staying in the same city all the time, hence why I started to travel a lot and decided to move to California. I had almost set out for NYC because I am in LOVE with the big apple.
Now comparing NY to Montreal, yeah some similarities.
NYC: diverse, intriguing, you've never seen it all, there's always something happening and something to discover. It's life, events, energy, culture, lifestyle, it's what makes it unique.
Montreal; cool, laid back, great metro/bus system. The best (minus expensive fees and big lates) It def. has a great nightlife, great people, good looking women. What lacks is the diversity, Montreal is boring during Winter, while in NYC, I love it. Montreal lacks diversification I find, sure we got great festivals and all, but what makes NYC so cool is
Time Square, boroughs like Little Italy is so cool, yellow cabs, Seaport is alive during winter, old port is not so appealing. Hot dogs, food stands, spirit of Christmas there is very present. Which is what Montreal is lacking, but again, that's only MY point of view of things, which is probably different from a lot of people, but hey, that's what makes a great topic discussion right?
I would choose NYC hands down.
oh yeah, sports sucks here. I'm honestly fed-up of hearing all about the Habs. I want a baseball team again and the Nordiques to come back, would be cool
As for the whole "America vs. Canada" thing: I think they're both great countries. I live in Minnesota, which is pretty much Canada in the USA, so I can understand a little of both sides. I don't have a distaste for French Canadians at all. Personally, I like Canada's "multicultural" outlook (similar to that of Minnesota) and their diversity of languages (English, French, Inuktitut, etc.). I also think Canada's reputation for racial tolerance is great. To me, Canada seems to be a more "levelheaded" country than the US: there is far less sensationalism there than here in the States.
I live in montreal, and i love it. I love the culture, the downtown, the language and diversity. I love the mountain, and the parks. It's true that knowing french does help, but i am an Anglo who speaks french, and i find plenty of thing to do in English.
I was recently in Boston and I didn't think it was too bad. Not the place that i would want to be. People were friendly there, but the downtown wasn't big and there wasn't so much diversity. But yet i was only there for barely a whole day.
I personally, want to live in New York city once i'm done high school and cegep. New York looks like a beautiful city that has anything i would want. Now, i have only been there when i was four, so my opinion might change when i do the sec 5 N.Y. trip.
Now it is imposable to compare N.Y. to Montreal, because they are so different. I will admit that sometimes I feel that i get bored of Montreal, but that is probably because i look at N.Y. as the place where you can do anything. N.Y. is a huge city where "no one ever sleeps" and Montreal is a nice moderated sized city with stuff to do.
Now, when it comes to Montreal and Boston, I love Montreal and i'm happy i live in montreal. And the architecture im Montreal IS one of a kind and i beautiful. And not that this is important or anything, but when i was in boston, i went on the subway system and it was disgusting compared to the Montreal Metro which has art and each metro is designed to be nice looking.
So, in my opinion, Mtl vs. Boston: Montreal
Mtl vs. N.Y.: incomparable, but N.Y. wins on an international level.
NYC is a big city with many neighborhoods, which neighborhoods are you envisioning when you picture NYC?, Like Montreal the majority of the population in NYC live outside city center and you'll find some neighborhoods are better than others in both cities...
Spent time in both places and have friends in both. NYC is only livable if you have an income approaching $200K (or more), and it has become so expensive that the people who used to make it interesting---writers, musicians, artists, actors, etc. can no longer afford to live there. New York has become a magnet for hyper-materialistic capitalists, whom I find aggressive, obnoxious, nervous, boring, shallow, self-absorbed, and just plain mean. They've ruined New York for the rest of the population. As someone said in an earlier post, Montreal is more on a human scale, and it's population is much more relaxed and friendly. I never feel endangered in Montreal, anywhere at any time of the day. It also has a great local Jazz scene. Rue St. Catherine and the Ille De View district are unsurpassed in North America for walkability and entertainment. I think it also has the best looking people of any city I've visited in the world. The city itself is just plain beautiful. If it weren't for winter, I'd seriously consider moving there.
Spent time in both places and have friends in both. NYC is only livable if you have an income approaching $200K (or more), and it has become so expensive that the people who used to make it interesting---writers, musicians, artists, actors, etc. can no longer afford to live there. New York has become a magnet for hyper-materialistic capitalists, whom I find aggressive, obnoxious, nervous, boring, shallow, self-absorbed, and just plain mean. They've ruined New York for the rest of the population. As someone said in an earlier post, Montreal is more on a human scale, and it's population is much more relaxed and friendly. I never feel endangered in Montreal, anywhere at any time of the day. It also has a great local Jazz scene. Rue St. Catherine and the Ille De View district are unsurpassed in North America for walkability and entertainment. I think it also has the best looking people of any city I've visited in the world. The city itself is just plain beautiful. If it weren't for winter, I'd seriously consider moving there.
Interesting comments, but where is Ille de View in Montreal?
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