There is a lot of bundling up: coats, scarves, gloves and boots. It takes a lot longer. Pro: A world-class cultural scene and laid-back attitude. Montreal is a magnet for young artists looking for a place to develop their craft and connect with like-minded people. Numerous artists, writers and musicians of renown were born here. Not only that, the citizenry is much more laid-back than elsewhere in Canada. Con: Language barriers. Language issues have been in the spotlight for a long time in Montreal.
Aurore Trusewicz is a freelance translator from Belgium. Although it was intimidating at first, she stuck with it and polished her English skills with diligent practice. The same can be said for learning French. Pro: Affordable public transit. The stations are also designed with better esthetics than the system of my hometown. Con: Traffic and infrastructure problems.
This city is disintegrating around us. The roads and sewers have been neglected for years, and now the city has a tremendous amount of work to do with upgrading its ailing infrastructure. City hall is also hard pressed to find the financing to pay for it.
It seems this is one problem that Montrealers are going to have to suffer through for years to come. Universities have the lowest tuition rates in the country, making Montreal a popular city for students. Approximately 2, hectares of public parks are spread across 17 large parks and 1, small neighbourhood parks. Many people leave Quebec each year for better job prospects in the rest of Canada 28, people left from January to September in It seems essential to be bilingual in order to build a life here; that can be hard for newcomers.
Unlike what is commonly believed, Montrealers use the underground tunnels mostly in the heat of the Summer rather than to escape the cold in Winter! Montreal is home to the famous Cirque de Soleil and hosted the Summer Olympics in Montreal has the second largest Amusement Park in Canada.
It is the largest in the province of Quebec with its acres and is located on the eastern tip of St. It offers 10 rollercoasters, one of which is the 40 meters high, The Monster. That's where I would locate myself between those two candidates: one that dreams big, but maybe is not pragmatic or doesn't get how it works, versus the other one that is stuck in the past.
I like to think that not only do we have the vision, and we dream big, but we're able to pull it off. Do I have the financial capacity [to make public transit free]? The answer is no. But we believe in accessibility for transportation. Well, there's a lot of things that I'm proud of, but I will choose one. I think it combines everything that I believe in, and it's creating the Grand Parc de l'Ouest.
It's going to be the biggest municipal park in Canada. Every occasion to fight climate change is important, and we're an island , and we have so little green space remaining. Students, families and investors are looking for places where it's nice to live. In Montreal, we have beautiful parks, and now we have a new one.
I do have a few regrets as well. One that comes to mind was last year when we decided to implement temporary bike lanes. It started from a good place. We wanted to give more space and the possibility for people to move around in a safe way. We did not consult enough. We were not able to accompany well enough, some of the businesses and the population.
I hope that people didn't turn their backs on some of those projects, because I think they're great. They're important. But it was not done at the level of quality in terms of consultation that I like doing. I would probably say in two years because there's been a deficit in investment in our roads, but we also need the support of Quebec because bridges and highways are under the control of Quebec City and the federal government.
But I'm working on it! Though there were some people not happy, it was a great consultation and great work, well-planned and now, it's fantastic. We want to plan more of those because ultimately there has to be a better share of the public way, right?
We need to come up with a secure way for pedestrians, cyclists, and car drivers to use our streets. But I'm proud we did that because ultimately, we want to make sure that if you own a pet, you need to be responsible. You're making sure that he gets all the attention needed. We want to make sure that nobody fears animals as well, so that's why we decided to build more dog parks.
The way we're seeing how to be a pet-friendly city is to work with the organizations that have the expertise and the knowledge and to help us to navigate through this. I always put the milk after! I didn't even think there was another way! See, I didn't even think of that! Subscribe to our Daily Digest and receive latest stories every day in your inbox.
Follow us. This website uses cookies We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. Learn More close. Yes, I Accept. What makes Montreal unlike anyplace else. It is one of the few places in Canada you can visit with colourful tropical butterflies and subarctic dwelling penguins in the same afternoon.
Originally built for the Summer Olympics, the park is now open to the public and professional athletes alike. A guided tour explains the history of the construction of the stadium, and no visit is complete without a trip to the top of the observation tower, the largest inclined tower in the world.
A walking tour of the Old Port is a view of the evolution of Montreal. The Port features architecture from the 17th century to the 20th century, often right next to each other. Many of the small cobbled streets are barely wide enough for one lane of traffic so driving the Old Port is difficult, but small restos and cafes dot the corners offering many places to stop for a rest, lunch or even a glass of wine for those on foot.
Montreal is unique in Canada as it is the only French metropolitan city. While this makes it a difficult relocation point for those who speak little or no French, its wide range of cultures offers excellent opportunities to meet people from around the world and participate in a diverse range of activities. Major enterprises in the city are business services, manufacturing and retail sales.
The city is also a hub for students as it has the most universities and schools per capita in the country. While the average yearly family income is slightly lower than the national average, rental and housing prices are significantly lower than those of other major cities.
After traveling hours from US we found Montreal being a very nice and animated city. We were pleased with the hotel we stayed in , but we had two bad experinces in the same day. The first one was in a souvenir store, where the owner was very rude no friendly welcoming, looked very bothered by our presence, and told my seven years old daughter to find a souvenir at the next store because he has to take his break. The second one was in the waiting line at a famous restaurant.
We were 7 persons, out of which 4 were kids, cold and hungry, we took uber to this famous restaurant, saw a waiting line, and tried to get in and find out the waiting time. I was with a 5,7,8, and 10 years old kids. I asked him to watch his language in front of the kids thinking that he may have not noticed them, but he did not care. His friend even pushed me out to close that door. I felt very frustrated and sad at the same time because I choose this location as my vacation place, spend a good amount of money, and got cursed and pushed because I was visibly not a local.
I truly believe that not all the locals act in this manner and are true at their heart. But this experience left a very sour taste in my mouth and I will never come visit Montreal or recomend to any of my friends. Best regards! Please believe me as an American citizen, permanent Canadian resident, living in Montreal for 6 years now, that that is definitely not the typical attitude of average Montrealers. On the contrary, I have most often found the locals to very welcoming and even very accommodating to my not-so-perfect French.
Usually when they hear my accent, they switch to English just for me. I hope you will visit again. There are so many wonderful places to visit and things to see. That being said, if you move here and only speak english, prepare to have a really tough time finding a job.
As mentioned above, bilingualism is a must for any customer-facing job here, which you would expect of any mixed language region. In terms of quality of life, rent is average, public transit is really good, and the cultural aspects of the city compare well to that of Toronto. In terms of parking and driving, things go badly quickly. Local parking is scarce and often restricted, and further to this, it is very obvious that the city fines aggressively as a means of raising capital.
Additionally, the parking signs are often confusing. There is also large police presence compared to other Canadian cities, and while some may find this comforting, I personally find it oppressive.
That being said, Montreal is a very safe city, so do not think the heightened police presence implies otherwise. Finally, for those thinking of moving here, official document integration is a laborious, unpleasant process. If you like security, green space, family environnement with no stress and if you search a life quality and a cheaper place to live all is more expensive in Montreal: tax, house, rent, gas you will find it outside of Montreal. Montreal is like most cities…. I moved here having never lived in a city and this experience is making me loath cities even more.
Visiting here is fun. Living here is hell. The winters are cold and it makes the locals bitter. I love winter camping and living in a city in winter is possibly the worst experience i have ever had. The metro breaks down quite often. In the summer, if you have a car, you will have to move it twice a week so they can clean the streets.
The only reason to live in the city is if you are a true consumer of things. Immigrating to Quebec is also complex. I do not see the return on investment for all the tax dollars. There is no connection to local officials or the ministry.
People just seem to fall in line and pay taxes though the nose without demanding anything in return. The CBC coverage of local issues is non-existent. This town. The last comment from Andy is very accurate.
I personally really like much of Quebec outsider of Montreal, yet wihtin the city….. There is the rancid smell of rotting garbage and dirty diapers in the summer air as you walk the sidewalks, large heeps of garbade bags full of putrifying food scraps lay out in the open for all to see.
Even in fast food and restaurant areas. As for the street sweeping system and high fines for parking in sweeping zones, especially when there are limited places to park in the first place. It would be more efficient to schedule the sweeping days only for when its actually needed like in the spring and fall instead of weekly and instead improve upon waste management and systems of composting and more renewable practices. And how about those high taxes and low paying jobs!
Rent is not actually cheap considering the qulaity of what you get is certainly not that great. Living in a building full of people, some who smoke cigarettes indoors and landlords who could care less about the implications it has on quality of life and health. The bad was so bad that the good became not worth gambling for it anymore. Needless to say, I will be making my way back west as soon as possible.
How do they treat visitors? We will be coming from Alabama and we know very little French. At worst someone might force an accent through their English, however you are guaranteed service in English by law so just ignore this arrogant minority, though be aware that they do exist. Should it happen, just apologize and say you are visiting, they should apologize. It is very safe and the thieving is very low. Cleanliness standards in both restaurants and hotels are very demanding therefore there should not be issue on that level.
A lot of museums are free, there are usually several festivals going on at pretty much any given time. All banks accept american money and american credit should be accepted pretty much everywhere, however if you intend on using cash, please convert it as, by law, patrons are not required to accept american money.
Credit and Debit should work, simply advise your bank of your trip abroad beforehand. Also, American express is greatly limited in Canada. A few behaviors to avoid for a best experience; like any good family dinner, avoid political discussions or issues as well as the language status of French, however, if you want to ask questions, that is certainly fine, however these tend to be a polarising topics.
The legal age is 18, however alcohol and other substances are not permitted in public and cannot be sold past 9pm. Quebec is still technically in prohibition when it comes to alcohol. For the best experience I would recommend to have an idea, an outline of your trip and where you want to visit to maximise your experience, there are various information centers that offer free services to orient you with activities and information should you need them.
I have to say, I agree with a lot of your points about Montreal. I absolutely love this city. I do speak French at decent intermediate level. Even so, finding a job in my field publications has been extremely difficult. Canadians in general are the most accommodating people in the world. I migrated here 10 months back and lived a few days in Toronto. Then i found a job in Montreal and moved here.
If you dont know French, then this is not the best place to be. There is language racism! Take my word for it. People will ignore you or be rude to you if you do not speak in French.
So think again before coming in here. But not all people in Montreal are bad. I have met a few French Quebecois who are really nice people!
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