San Francisco vs Montréal (private schools, colleges, living in)

[nature's message]

Out of the two cities, which has the best:

Architecture
Restaurants
Nightlife
Museums
Arts
Public transportation
Gay friendliness
Better parks
Affordability
Scenery
Weather
Better for the youth
Colleges
Public schools (high schools, etc.)
Private schools
Economy
Livability

Which city would you rather live in, and why??

[ThroatGuzzler]

Montreal blows SF out of the water Culturally and Architecturally, also it's been established for longer so that adds to it as well.

[LosAngelesNightmare]

Originally Posted by ThroatGuzzler

Montreal blows SF out of the water Culturally and Architecturally, also it's been established for longer so that adds to it as well.

tsk tsk...lets get serious here people. no seriously, that was a good one

[ThroatGuzzler]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesNightmare

tsk tsk...lets get serious here people. no seriously, that was a good one

Yeah no bias at all.. not surprised, another LA'er! It's either go Cali or go home.

[john_starks]

la is a nitemare

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by nature's message

Out of the two cities, which has the best:

Architecture: SF, I couldnt recall what signature Montreal architecture looks like, SFs buildings and residential architecture on other hand, are world famous.

Restaurants: SF is up there with NY and Paris as a foodie capital.

Nightlife: SF with Montreal not too far back. Although as far as entertaining onesself, SF is the 3rd most eventful city in the entire US, behind NY and LA. Not bad.

Museums: I've never been to a museum in Montreal, but SFs museums blow imo. But actually they are improving. I'll give it Montreal only because Ive never been to their museums.

Arts: As far as what? SF has a very vibrant scene and Im sure Montreal does too. As far as Orchestra, Ballet and Opera, SF is really near the top.

Gay friendliness: Im sure Montreal is very gay friendly, but I'll say SF.

Better parks: The Beaches and Mountains around here are hard to beat. SF.

Affordability: Dunno how expensive Montreal is but Im guessing its more affordable than SF.

Scenery: SF is a worldwide icon if for nothing else, its scenery.

Weather: SF hands down.

Better for the youth: I don't know. That depends on the youth and their upbringing and not so much the city imo.

Colleges: Stanford and UC Berkeley have graduate programs that rival Harvard. SF.

Public schools: (high schools, etc.): I dont know, but I doubt Montreal's schools are as problematic as ours.

Private schools: Im sure they both have awesome privates.

Economy: The Bay Area's Economy is nearly half a trillion dollars in size and is the global epicenter of technology and innovation. SF consistently ranks as the wealthiest major US Metro Area and in the US, our paychecks are only rivaled by NYC.

Livability: This years Mercer ranked Montreal 22nd and SF 30th so I guess Montreal is more livable.

Which city would you rather live in, and why??

Been to Montreal 2 times, its a joy. Love the ambience and European Flair.

That said, I'll make do with my miserable life in the Bay Area.

[OyCrumbler]

I'm going mostly by the city instead of the metro.

Architecture - Montreal, without a doubt. Old Montreal and the regions around it are full of amazing architecture. Since Montreal was the Canadian financial capital for quite a long while, and during the period when Beaux-Arts architecture reigned supreme, it's got quite a few impressive and beautiful buildings. Its got a decent roster of skyscrapers, but none that are particularly distinctive, but it does have quite a few interesting megastructures like Expo 67 and that stadium.

Restaurants - SF has great food. Montreal's no slouch and has some interesting regional dishes, but SF is just amazing for its diversity and quality.

Nightlife - SF for the most part, but Montreal's music scene seemed to be more alive and bustling

Museums - Never been to the museums in either. I don't think either is particularly well-known for museums, but I'm no expert.

Arts - I dig the Montreal music scene. SF was alright. Didn't really get into anything else in either city, so I guess I can't comment on the arts in general.

Public transportation - Both are pretty good (though having the last train come way before last call blows). Montreal's really old traincars might be a bit of complaint, but the Underground City kinda makes me forgive that.

Gay friendliness - SF. Montreal seems pretty gay friendly.

Better parks - Both have great parks.

Affordability - Montreal is a lot more affordable than SF.

Scenery - SF, unless you're talking about Montreal in the Fall.

Weather - SF except during the summer when it goes to Montreal.

Better for the youth - Probably both are good.

Colleges - Montreal if we're going by the city since McGill is amazing. SF wins when including the extended metro area.

Public schools (high schools, etc.) - No clue, though California has one of the worst public school systems in the nation not known for particularly good public schooling

Private schools - Know even less

Economy - The Bay Area as a whole is a lot more people than Montreal's metro. Both do pretty alright for themselves.

Livability - Both seem pretty livable though the cost of living in SF seems a little ridiculous

Montreal with a SF winter home.