How different are the Twin Cities vs. Montreal? (Minneapolis, St. Paul: crime, houses)

[Yvanung]

There could be differences I might have missed. Then again, I can only learn so much about a city with just a trip that spanned about a couple of days.

• Taxes are lower in Minnesota
• Gas prices are lower in the Twin Cities (and by a rather large margin)
• Food is cheaper in the Twin Cities
• Montreal has better nightlife
• Twin Cities have more urban sprawl
• Montreal has the better transit system
• Montreal is a Francophone city and the Twin Cities are Anglophone cities
• Montreal has cheaper healthcare
• Different currencies used in each city (country really)

Sure these items make for differences but these nine items can't capture the whole picture. Are there differences I have missed?

[nanabush]

They feel extremely different. Montreal is about as close to a 'European' city as you get in North America. Minneapolis is not like that at all. As far as Canadian cities go, Minneapolis is a more like Winnipeg.

[Yvanung]

How I described Minneapolis to my family: it would almost feel like 30 miles of suburbia, counting from city center...

Originally Posted by nanabush

They feel extremely different. Montreal is about as close to a 'European' city as you get in North America. Minneapolis is not like that at all. As far as Canadian cities go, Minneapolis is a more like Winnipeg.

Even crime and pothole-wise?

[nanabush]

Originally Posted by Yvanung

How I described Minneapolis to my family: it would almost feel like 30 miles of suburbia, counting from city center...

I can see that, but I lived in Chicagoland which is more like 400 miles of suburbs. Aside from Bloomington, I don't find the suburbs here very 'suburb-y'. To me, many Twin Cities burbs seem more like living out in the woods at the lake.

Even crime and pothole-wise?

Crime, no. Potholes... yes. Minneapolis is much nicer than Winnipeg but the urban architecture, residential neighborhoods and climate are very similar.

but i guess to re-iterate on your first question: I don't think Minneapolis and Montreal are similar... at all.

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by nanabush

I can see that, but I lived in Chicagoland which is more like 400 miles of suburbs. Aside from Bloomington, I don't find the suburbs here very 'suburb-y'. To me, many Twin Cities burbs seem more like living out in the woods at the lake.



Crime, no. Potholes... yes. Minneapolis is much nicer than Winnipeg but the urban architecture, residential neighborhoods and climate are very similar.

IMO, MPLS is nicer, bigger, more cosmopolitan and less cold. (Admittedly, it's been years since I went to Winnipeg). Winnipeg seemed to me more like a larger/prettier version of Fargo.

[nanabush]

I have a lot of experience with Fargo and Winnipeg. Fargo is truly a cow town with nothing urban about it at all. Winnipeg is a relatively big city by North American standards. It is actually bigger than Minneapolis proper (if you take away St. Paul). There's a lot of old warehouses, a lot of sandy colored brick, 70s and 80s era glass skyscrapers, parking lots and garages, skyways and tunnels, the types of residential homes are very similar, etc. It seems like both Minneapolis and Winnipeg experienced building booms at the same time. However, I haven't been up to Winnipeg since 2008 so am not sure if anything is booming right now like it is here.

In my mind Winnipeg is the city that 'feels' the most like Minneapolis. However I mean this purely from a physical, architectural and urban planning viewpoint. I don't find the culture or types of people very similar.

[ellysbelly]

I'm originally from Montreal, as is my husband-- while I grew up in South Florida, starting at the age of 3, I spent every summer in Montreal until I was 19-- and my grandmother still lives there-- my husband was born and bred in Montreal and lived there until he was 22 (we're in our early 40s now).

There are a number of similarities between Minneapolis and Montreal-- the climate is similar, in terms of temperature-- with Minneapolis being a touch colder and Montreal being a lot snowier (we average 50 inches of snow vs an average of 80 inches in Montreal). Montreal has a more European feel-- it's arguably more fashionable and has a better nightlife. As my husband and I are both Anglophones, leaving the political havoc was what prompted both of our families to leave-- in fact, we very briefly considered moving back to Montreal instead of MPLS (we just moved here to MN last year, from FL) as my husband is a (youth) hockey/goalie coach -- but didn't want our kids growing up in the political turmoil (and anti-Anglo culture) that, sadly, has destroyed an otherwise amazing city.

A lot of the housing stock here is markedly similar to Montreal-- there's times that I would swear I'm in NDG or on the West Island. The suburbs here are much more sprawling and activities less city-centric than you'd find in Montreal (I would venture to guess that this is due to the much larger size of the Cities and the surrounding 'burbs AND because of the lack of decent public transportation). While Minneapolis does have the Skyway system, it pales in comparison to the Underground-- and the nightlife here doesn't seem to be even close to what Montreal has going on (again, I'm 41, so take that with a HUGE grain of salt-- I'm much more likely to be at one of my kids' sporting events on a Friday night than in a club-- in fact, I haven't been to a club in a looooong time). Restaurants and theater are excellent in both places-- and while you can't get smoked meat here (sob!)-- you CAN get poutine! But, seriously, the restaurants here are fantastic-- almost on par with Montreal, maybe totally on par, in fact.

Much like Montreal, many people summer in the "country" or "at the lake"-- while that, of course, isn't everyone's reality (not even close!)-- it's yet another similarity. Also, the parks system in Minneapolis is great-- tons of great space and people truly take advantage of the outdoors-- I would argue more so than Montreal (though I so miss lazy summer afternoons spent with my family at Mount Royal!) To generalize, Minneapolis is more sporty/outdoorsy vs Montreal being more fashion-y/upscale. The roads in Minneapolis are much better laid out and maintained-- fewer potholes and smaller ones at that!

My perspective of living here in Minneapolis is from one of a suburban mom vs my perspective as a child/teen/young adult in Montreal, frequenting bars, clubs and the like-- so it's very possible (and highly likely) that my perspective is colored the differences in my lifestyle as much as it is by the realistic differences between the two locations.

[PDF]

I'm not sure Montreal is the Canadian city that I'd compare Minneapolis to. They aren't really similar at all.

[Yvanung]

Originally Posted by PDF

I'm not sure Montreal is the Canadian city that I'd compare Minneapolis to. They aren't really similar at all.

The only reason why I brought up Montreal in the first place was that I will move from Montreal in a month or so.

[PDF]

Originally Posted by Yvanung

The only reason why I brought up Montreal in the first place was that I will move from Montreal in a month or so.

Oh OK, then that makes sense. Minneapolis reminds me very much of a Canadian city, just not Montreal.