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Montreal is more of a working class, blue collar town than those big European capitals you name. And that's fine, there's nothing wrong with regular everyday people.
Agreed, now that I think about it. I've been to Toronto about 4 times and to Montreal about 8 times, and I would say that Toronto comes off as way stuffier and more pretentious. Maybe that's what makes Montreal more attractive. It's probably the "joie de vivre" factor.
I wouldn't put Montreal in the same bracket as London, Paris, etc. from your list. Montreal as any other Canadian city in essence is very provincial and remote. Couple of streets in downtown that have some cosmopolitan flair everybody is strolling along, the rest is basically gritty suburbia where people live in their little houses (in the best case).
The problem with Montreal being a "big city" is its people. While being in places like Berlin, Paris etc. you quickly catch this cosmopolitan vibe from people on a street level (well-dressed, well-spoken, professional, been around, have class, engaging, etc.) in Montreal you mostly don't.
Montrealers are mostly caught in their own system and interested in their internal affairs, and with being secluded on a North American continent this results in a provincial North American with a French colonist flavor mentality profile of its populace.
I travel frequently between Montreal and the named cities and the contrast is remarkable.
I definitely didn't mean to put Montreal at the same level as London, Paris, etc. My point in general is that, for Canada, Montreal is almost as big as it gets, and as cosmopolitan as it gets. I would agree that it pales in comparison to the other cities on that list on a number of factors. It's all relative, ultimately.
I definitely didn't mean to put Montreal at the same level as London, Paris, etc. My point in general is that, for Canada, Montreal is almost as big as it gets, and as cosmopolitan as it gets. I would agree that it pales in comparison to the other cities on that list on a number of factors. It's all relative, ultimately.
I have to desagree with that... while montreal is not a world class city like london ect but don't get twisted, it's more cosmopoliain tthan london, paris ect...
the white population of london is 69.7% while in Montreal is 65%. The thing is that london gets publicity for its history, its fashion & its culture that makes people thinks it is very diverse... while still diverse, london, paris, Milan ect are less diverse than Montreal, Toronto (which is the world's most diverse city), nyc... Most peoples when they go to london, they barely travel outside of zone 1 & 2... So they see a big diversity which is mostly suburbians flocking to central london... but if they move further in the zone you will see it less diverse... Same with paris. Minority in paris lives in few areas while the rest is mostly white... when you visit paris, the peoples you see are most from the suburb (93, 77, 91, 94, 92 & 78... thoses who lived in France will understand what thoses numbers mean)... Montreal it s very diverse in fact more than london & paris but lack the power & history thoses two cities have
I have to desagree with that... while montreal is not a world class city like london ect but don't get twisted, it's more cosmopoliain tthan london, paris ect...
the white population of london is 69.7% while in Montreal is 65%. The thing is that london gets publicity for its history, its fashion & its culture that makes people thinks it is very diverse... while still diverse, london, paris, Milan ect are less diverse than Montreal, Toronto (which is the world's most diverse city), nyc... Most peoples when they go to london, they barely travel outside of zone 1 & 2... So they see a big diversity which is mostly suburbians flocking to central london... but if they move further in the zone you will see it less diverse... Same with paris. Minority in paris lives in few areas while the rest is mostly white... when you visit paris, the peoples you see are most from the suburb (93, 77, 91, 94, 92 & 78... thoses who lived in France will understand what thoses numbers mean)... Montreal it s very diverse in fact more than london & paris but lack the power & history thoses two cities have
I don't want to derail this thread (although I'm sure I will), but how so?
I don't want to derail this thread (although I'm sure I will), but how so?
Well, according to statistic, Toronto is the city which has the foreiign born population representing the highest percentage with about 48 or 52% that's why it is called the most diverse. but this thread is about montreal, one of my fav thread got locked because peoples went way out of topic so let's try to stay on topic with this one.
What I believe The Tourist was alluding to, and what I was echoing in my reply, is that Montreal cannot quite be compared with world class cities like London, Paris and Tokyo. It is much smaller, and to a certain extent more provincial, yes. It remains more cosmopolitan in the statistical sense. That said, it is still a fantastic, unique city.
What I believe The Tourist was alluding to, and what I was echoing in my reply, is that Montreal cannot quite be compared with world class cities like London, Paris and Tokyo. It is much smaller, and to a certain extent more provincial, yes. It remains more cosmopolitan in the statistical sense. That said, it is still a fantastic, unique city.
Yes montreal feel very provincial, you don't realy feel like you are in a big city when you are in Montreal (although that its size is larger than paris which is 105km² & Montreal is 366km².
Talking only about diversity, Montreal is more diverse than those cities.
But size talking, Montreal is a huge city :
Tokyo is 2 187.66km²
London is 1 570km²
Montreal is 365.13km²
Paris is 105.4km²
Most people think Montreal is smaller because they ttend to stay only in downtown & old montreal (which is a fraction of the city) thus they think all montreal look like old montreal while in fact it is not.
Paris metropolitan area : 12,089,098 inh (2008)
Montreal metropolitan area : 3,824,221 inh (2010)
I'm talking about the city proper & not the metropolitan area... & about the size not the population...
there is a difference between large city & big city... & you are not teaching me anytthing you know why? I grew up in France from 1985 to 2010 & lived in paris from 1994 to 2010...
From 2007 to 2008 i was in Liege (belgium)
& from 2002 to 2004 I was in london (UK)
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