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Montreal's inner city is much more dense and has much larger population than SF.
I'm not really buying the statement above. San Francisco has some of the densest central neighborhoods of any city in North America after New York. It's hard to believe that Montreal is somehow significantly denser in terms of population. They might be close or San Francisco might even be higher in certain neighborhoods around downtown, but you'll have to back a statement up like the one above with some facts.
And for the record, I like both cities. Montreal is a beautiful city--really unique as far as coming close to looking and feeling like Europe. I have much more experience with San Francisco as I lived there for several months once and grew up in the area, but if I knew more about the cost-of-living and economic comparison for Montreal, I might choose it over SF. Both are enjoyable cities in my book however.
Not sure what happened to the post I made yesterday on this thread.
I vote for Montréal: I am French-speaking. And if I can't get to France, I will settle for this city in North America. Besides, it has a lot of hidden gems that SF does not have.
Montréal, apart from the uncouth/redneck hockey fans, has more chic and class than the whole state of California. I like elegance, and it is indeed a precious commodity in today's world. And so if you can get some, soak it up; it does the soul wonders.
(Note: when I speak French, my liaisons are not "facultatives" (optional); and in doing so, it is about elegance, not snobbery. Sadly, our society cannot see the difference, and thus they're missing out on this special characteristic of the human experience.)
Last edited by FrancaisDeutsch; 06-15-2012 at 02:13 PM..
Montreal by a mile. I lived in Downtown San Francisco for 4 years and got bored after few months. Summers are WAY too chilly and are more like Spring and Autumn in Montreal. Montreal has much better weather, 4 distinct seasons with real hot summers. Winters are cold and snowy, but not that cold anymore as it used to be (Thanks to Global Warming) and snow trucks cleans the road quickly.
Montreal has better downtown with excellent shopping along with their underground and plenty of malls.
Public transportation is better and cleaner, and people are WONDERFUL. Food is also great and healthier.
Not to forget the amazing cathedrals, the parks, beautiful lakes, rivers and the city cafes that no other North American city offer as much as Montreal. It has a European feel, as well as skyscrapers. I love Montreal and wish I could live there any time!
Montreal has over 1.6 million people while San Francisco only has 800,000 people in the city.
1) inundation of 19-20's in clubs/bars (too much immaturity)
2) mosquitoes from rivers in summer
3) horribly cold winters with too much snow (some like this, though)
1. There are clubs in Montreal for all ages, and not only for teenagers.
I wish Canada's drinking age was 21 like in the U.S.
2. That happens in any city with cold winter.
3. Winters are not that extreme and not that snowy as they used to be (thanks to global warming).
This winter Montreal only got few feet of snow the whole season.
1. There are clubs in Montreal for all ages, and not only for teenagers.
I wish Canada's drinking age was 21 like in the U.S.
2. That happens in any city with cold winter.
3. Winters are not that extreme and not that snowy as they used to be (thanks to global warming).
This winter Montreal only got few feet of snow the whole season.
Bad mosquitoes....like the low-lying areas of the Maine coast.
I suppose you're right about global warming there, too, but some folks have an aversion to cold weather and snow (I don't like snow, but I like cold weather at times)
Yes, it'd be much better if Canada (or Quebec, who can make their own laws to some degree), would up the drinking age to 21 like in the US.
I don't know about that - parking in the Mission, Haight/Ashbury, Lower Haight, the Marina District, hell even the outer Richmond area (areas that are most definitely NOT part of downtown) can be an absolute nightmare. I once spent an hour looking for a spot in Lower Haight on a Wednesday night before I finally gave up and parked in an outer area and took a cab.
Overall, I'd say virtually anywhere in SF city limits, save a few areas, is terrible for parking.
Oh there are definitely pockets of SF outside of downtown that are tough to find parking. But I still find Montreal to be a tougher city to park in (on the street). I guess it's just that my points of comparison are Boston, New York and Washington DC. San Francisco is far easier to find street parking than in those cities. My girlfriend lived off of Geary (near Masonic) in Laurel Heights. I never ever had trouble finding a spot within a block of her apartment. In a comparable area in Montreal it's typically much harder (again, based on my experiences).
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobMarley_1LOVE
San Francisco
Take note of mountains and ocean
Thanks for the photos. Love the shot of Golden Gate Park from the ocean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Yamatos
Montreal has all of that + much more
But SF has bigger Chinatown.
It does? Montreal has an ocean? Where? Mountains? Not nearly on the same level as what you find in the Bay Area. There are more and larger mountains closer to San Francisco than there are to Montreal. Montreal has a number of notable hills nearby (most notably, the city's namesake- Mount Royal), but it's largely flat/slightly rolling terrain for miles in all directions. The hills and mountains are IN San Francisco. And the view from Twin Peaks blows the view from Mount Royal out of the water in my opinion.
Montreal's Chinatown isn't the same ballpark as San Francisco's. It's almost not even worth visiting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by In God We Trust
1. There are clubs in Montreal for all ages, and not only for teenagers.
I wish Canada's drinking age was 21 like in the U.S.
This is what drove me nuts about Montreal. It's also what keeps its nightlife from being as good as San Francisco's. I know there are some clubs frequented more by non-teens, but the inundation of high school aged kids in many (most) of the bars and clubs is enough to be really frustrating. Combine that with the obnoxious fans during hockey season and Montreal's nightlife can be an overwhelming mix of high school kids and hockey trash. FAR from "world class" in that regard.
On an unrelated note, I don't think HDR photos are really good for comparing cities. They're so post-processed that using one is almost closer to posting a painting than it is to posting a photograph.
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