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Reason being that both Berlin and Montreal are the largest or second largest metros in two of the most developed OECD countries, consistently ranked by a myriad of surveys and studies year or year as having some of the highest standards of living:
- Affordable and universal access to modern healthcare (Montreal is home to the largest and second largest "super hospital systems" in Canada)
- Universal access to free or near-free university education (both Berlin and MTL happen to have some of the highest ranked universities in NA and Europe respectively): Humboldt, Freie Universitaet in Berlin / McGill in Montreal
- Great infrastructure and public transit infrastructure (esp. Berlin), connectivity to other major metros (Berlin to other EU capitals by flight or high speed rail, Montreal a short drive or flight to Boston, NYC, DC, Toronto, Quebec City, etc. etc.).
- Affordable COL as compared with similar metros in NA and Western Europe: Montreal's cost of rent/housing is on average more than 50% lower than neighboring Boston, Toronto, NYC.
- Vibrant, diverse economies: interesting thing is that both Berlin and Montreal are not necessarily the economic/finance centers of their respective countries (shadowed by nearby Toronto and Frankfurt/Munich, but both still command diverse local economies and a growing lead especially in tech due to their highly educated workforce.
09-27-2017, 07:43 PM
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Remember, the epic travel advantage lifestyle is going on at Berlin technically near Central to even Eastern Europe. Close proximity to virtually everywhere on this Globe. Montreal, and Santiago are severe victims to Geographic isolation. Close access to Andes mountains from Chilean major city entry. For a city of 7.3 million people near NYC’s own count, that is extremely impressive with Santiago. Montreal is not resembling anywhere else in all of Canada. Corresponding to a pseudo-Paris scale.
Remember, the epic travel advantage lifestyle is going on at Berlin technically near Central to even Eastern Europe. Close proximity to virtually everywhere on this Globe. Montreal, and Santiago are severe victims to Geographic isolation. Close access to Andes mountains from Chilean major city entry. For a city of 7.3 million people near NYC’s own count, that is extremely impressive with Santiago. Montreal is not resembling anywhere else in all of Canada. Corresponding to a pseudo-Paris scale.
The problem is not geographic isolation but airfare. Both Chile and Canada have absurd airfare charges. The cheapest Montreal-U.S. flights are $200 round-trip whereas I can fly from Washington to most cities in the U.S. for $80 round-trip. I can fly to the West Coast for the same price as Montreal, even though Montreal is 4x closer.
I've also flown La Paz-> Santiago and Santiago > Buenos Aires. Both cost me a fortune. Absolutely ridiculous prices. $300 one-way from Santiago to BA?
The problem is not geographic isolation but airfare. Both Chile and Canada have absurd airfare charges. The cheapest Montreal-U.S. flights are $200 round-trip whereas I can fly from Washington to most cities in the U.S. for $80 round-trip. I can fly to the West Coast for the same price as Montreal, even though Montreal is 4x closer.
I've also flown La Paz-> Santiago and Santiago > Buenos Aires. Both cost me a fortune. Absolutely ridiculous prices. $300 one-way from Santiago to BA?
U.S. domestic airfares have always been cheaper than international flights:
- All U.S. airport authorities are fully or partially funded and operated by local or state transport authorities, hence highly subsidized airport usage fees for both airlines and passengers (oddly "socialist" arrangement when many other countries are in the process of partially or fully privatizing or selling airport assets).
- There's pretty much no other alternative to intercity traveling domestic U.S. except by air or driving/bus on interstates. Amtrak, the government-subsidized rail operator, is nothing but a footnote in most Americans' travel itinerary.
U.S. domestic airfares have always been cheaper than international flights:
- All U.S. airport authorities are fully or partially funded and operated by local or state transport authorities, hence highly subsidized airport usage fees for both airlines and passengers (oddly "socialist" arrangement when many other countries are in the process of partially or fully privatizing or selling airport assets).
- There's pretty much no other alternative to intercity traveling domestic U.S. except by air or driving/bus on interstates. Amtrak, the government-subsidized rail operator, is nothing but a footnote in most Americans' travel itinerary.
Are European airports subsidized too? It is incredible cheap to fly in Europe too. A 2 hour flight may cost as low as 20 euros. In Canada it will start at 200 euros.
Are European airports subsidized too? It is incredible cheap to fly in Europe too. A 2 hour flight may cost as low as 20 euros. In Canada it will start at 200 euros.
Yes, but can't really compare Canada to EU can you?
- EU has some 20+ countries, many of them with their own national flag carriers - hence intense competitition not to mention the myriad of other non-EU carriers operating in that region
- Much higher population density than Canada (in vast majority of people only fly between 3 cities: Toronto, Vancouver, and MTL - not a huge passenger market to begin with)
- Intense competition from intercity rail and regional rail operators, as well as many many cheap bus operators
You have none of the above factors in Canada.
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