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I never thought Montreal was particularly clean: garbage on the streets, bums, urine smells in alleys, graffiti everywhere. I love the place, but would never call it "clean." I fail to see how Miami is any dirtier.
I haven't been to any city in the US save for Boston, years ago, but one must keep in mind the areas of the city one is in. A couple of friends and I drove to Boston to shop (I know...they liked shopping, I don't, but I wanted to visit the city).
We were in the shopping area of Boston, the main drag, whatever it was. It's so long ago that I don't remember. Of course, that area is going to be clean!
Same as any city's main drag, shopping venue will be. I'm sure that there are areas of Boston that are less than tidy, same as there are in areas of Montreal.
LOL, personally, I don't like how quiet Vancouver is.
But, then again, I also don't think that Vancouver is "nicer" than many American cities. Well, if you actually LIKE culture and not quiet....
"Quiet?" "Nice?" Don't you mean to say you thought that Vancouver to you was 'boring'?
You should have wandered into Gastown, was it called? Drunks staggering around at all times of the day, some looking as if they'd been beaten up, others clutching jugs of Chinese cooking wine...
Yeah, Montreal is not a dump but it certainly does not spring to mind either when one thinks of clean Canadian cities.
To be perfectly honest, Toronto is not as prim and proper as it once was either.
(There used to be a bigger contrast between Canada's two biggest cities.)
Like every city, both Montreal and Toronto have areas in which residents just don't seem to care about littering, garbage, used needles, etc.
I remember finding used syringes three times in LaSalle...not sure if I posted this here before.
The worst was when I went down to the riverbank when I lived in LaSalle to scrounge for beer bottles and cans.
I noticed a black carry-all bag by the rocky shore, so I clambered down to get it.
When I got back up to the embankment, I opened it...full of used syringes. I was horrified!
Kids went down to the river to play and fool around, what if they'd found the bag and started a game of 'darts' with those things?
It was garbage pickup day that morning, so I took the bag and contents to someone's garbage on a nearby street. I really should have set the bag and its contents on fire down by the river.
Once I found a syringe on the sidewalk while crossing a pedestrian bridge overlooking the highway. No problem, I just tossed it over the bridge.
Found another one in a bus shelter, on the ground. I carefully picked it up and threw it into the garbage can that was outside the shelter.
I don't give a toss about most of what people toss into the garbage, but don't litter our streets with filthy used syringes! Geez!
LOL, personally, I don't like how quiet Vancouver is.
But, then again, I also don't think that Vancouver is "nicer" than many American cities. Well, if you actually LIKE culture and not quiet....
Being extra clean often means boring as well.
I just came back from Palermo, Italy. You see trash and graffiti everywhere in the city, even in the centre, however, what a lively and interesting urban experience! It has a metro population of 1.3 million but feels 4 times the size of Vancouver. At 9pm on a Sunday night, the main commercial street are full of people. Even Montreal and Toronto can't possibly compete with that. Try that in Vancouver. It is probaby dead by 5pm.
Despite all the objections, Vancouver IS quiet and boring. Whoever don't agree didn't see much of the world outside suburban North America. To think Gastown or Yonge st vibrant, that's just funny.
I just came back from Palermo, Italy. You see trash and graffiti everywhere in the city, even in the centre, however, what a lively and interesting urban experience! It has a metro population of 1.3 million but feels 4 times the size of Vancouver. At 9pm on a Sunday night, the main commercial street are full of people. Even Montreal and Toronto can't possibly compete with that. Try that in Vancouver. It is probaby dead by 5pm.
Despite all the objections, Vancouver IS quiet and boring. Whoever don't agree didn't see much of the world outside suburban North America. To think Gastown or Yonge st vibrant, that's just funny.
I love cities with a semi-lack of order. There is a chaotic energy that you don't find in most Western European and North American cities. You need your head on a swivel, to expect the unexpected and it keeps your adrenaline kicked up a notch. New York used to have some semblance of this energy, but in the past 20 years it has become more subdued.
I love cities with a semi-lack of order. There is a chaotic energy that you don't find in most Western European and North American cities. You need your head on a swivel, to expect the unexpected and it keeps your adrenaline kicked up a notch. New York used to have some semblance of this energy, but in the past 20 years it has become more subdued.
I agree, however western Europe and North American cities are VASTLY different in terms of energy. We should not talk as if they are similar.
A typical North America city with 2 million people on paper usually look largely suburban and very quiet most of the time. You keep wondering this question: where the hell are the people? For example, Seattle with almost 4 million metro population, looks so boring with a half dead downtown. Vancouver with 2.3 million people feels like a little seaside port town, with a minuscule downtown area. On the other hand, a European city with slightly over 1 million people will be busting with hundreds of pedestrians, small shops, street vendors most the time. A European city with 2 million people would feel like a massive metropolis with dozens of beautiful and vibrant commercial streets and boulevards, very dense and urban city centre as well as frequent and convenient public transportation.
In reality, a city like Toronto can hardly beat a European city with 1.5-2m people in terms of urban feel and the "energy". Palermo's (again, a city less than a quarter of Toronto's size) retail streets would make Yonge, Queen and Bloor in Toronto feel like a small town.
Yes, Canadian cities are "CLEAN" because people don't go to the city (not that no one does, but in terms of numbers, it is so small). A place is of course clean when people don't interact as much with it. You just keep wondering where the hell are those 2M or 6M residents all the time, cutting grass?
Additionally, Canadian cities are CLEAN, yet there is little beauty. I am not talking about the sea or the mountain which are not man made. I am talking about public squares, sculptures, fountains, beautiful architecture, urban gardens (not a huge park with just rocks and grass). I mean, where is the money spent so that a city with millions of people can't even have ONE nice fountain and ONE great public square? A European city with 300,000 people would have a far more impressive and attractive square than Nathan Philips square or Dundas Square in Toronto (which are just FUGLY).
Yes, Canadian cities are CLEAN. So is Ulan Bator or the North Pole.
Canadian cities resemble American cities but look much richer and much cleaner and tidier indeed. There are some European elements as well. It is really interesting this mixture of American and European influence. I haven't seen any real hoods yet either, in that sense Canada resembles Europe more too.
Canadian cities resemble American cities but look much richer and much cleaner and tidier indeed. There are some European elements as well. It is really interesting this mixture of American and European influence. I haven't seen any real hoods yet either, in that sense Canada resembles Europe more too.
Does that generally mean American cities are more vibrant/active than Canadian cities then? (comparing cities with similar size or population)
I've always thought Calgary and London were Canada's cleanest cities.
Interesting thing is that Canadian downtown are much cleaner than American ones and Canadian suburban areas are much cleaner than European ones which are uniformly dreadful. with endless commie blocks and urban decay.
I agree, however western Europe and North American cities are VASTLY different in terms of energy. We should not talk as if they are similar.
A typical North America city with 2 million people on paper usually look largely suburban and very quiet most of the time. You keep wondering this question: where the hell are the people? For example, Seattle with almost 4 million metro population, looks so boring with a half dead downtown. Vancouver with 2.3 million people feels like a little seaside port town, with a minuscule downtown area. On the other hand, a European city with slightly over 1 million people will be busting with hundreds of pedestrians, small shops, street vendors most the time. A European city with 2 million people would feel like a massive metropolis with dozens of beautiful and vibrant commercial streets and boulevards, very dense and urban city centre as well as frequent and convenient public transportation.
In reality, a city like Toronto can hardly beat a European city with 1.5-2m people in terms of urban feel and the "energy". Palermo's (again, a city less than a quarter of Toronto's size) retail streets would make Yonge, Queen and Bloor in Toronto feel like a small town.
Yes, Canadian cities are "CLEAN" because people don't go to the city (not that no one does, but in terms of numbers, it is so small). A place is of course clean when people don't interact as much with it. You just keep wondering where the hell are those 2M or 6M residents all the time, cutting grass?
Additionally, Canadian cities are CLEAN, yet there is little beauty. I am not talking about the sea or the mountain which are not man made. I am talking about public squares, sculptures, fountains, beautiful architecture, urban gardens (not a huge park with just rocks and grass). I mean, where is the money spent so that a city with millions of people can't even have ONE nice fountain and ONE great public square? A European city with 300,000 people would have a far more impressive and attractive square than Nathan Philips square or Dundas Square in Toronto (which are just FUGLY).
Yes, Canadian cities are CLEAN. So is Ulan Bator or the North Pole.
I think Montreal is an exception to that. It has slightly over 4M people, so roughly the size of Seattle, but has a very urban vibe, and is lively all throughout. Aside from the West Island, there is no suburban vibe on the island whatsoever. Despite its mediocre economy, I will give it props where it's due. The liveliness is unmatched in pretty much all of NA aside from maybe Las Vegas and parts of New York.
In addition, have you seen the LOADS of public squares scattered throughout? Each is unique, and most feature some pretty nice sculptures.
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