Social and cultural differences between Montreal and Vancouver (fit in, best city)
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So though i'm currently studying in Vancouver, i might transfer to another university in Montreal (probably McGill).
But can anyone enlighten me on how different Montreal is from Vancouver in terms of culture, demographics, how easy it is to meet and fit into social circles and whatnot?
It'd be great if someone who is familiar with both cities can comment!
Well, for starters the main language of the city (in a fundamental way, not in a folkloric way) is not the same. Montreal is not wall-to-wall French only and there is a lot of bilingualism in the city, but it's still a world away from Vancouver linguistically.
Both cities are laid-back - but in very different ways.
Vancouver is laid-back in the Pacific Northwest, outdoorsy, granola way. Like, I am gonna take the afternoon off to go skiing or sailboarding.
Montreal is more laid-back in a devil-may-care, pseudo-Latin way, in the sense of... What the heck, let's have another drink before we go back to the office. You only live once, man!
- If you are coming from Vancouver and have never lived in Europe, Montreal will probably seem more European to you. Not wholly, but you'll perceive certain things and say to yourself: "oh yeah, that's like in Europe".
- Social circles are loose and things are very diverse and casual in Montreal. If you are going to an anglo university like McGill then that will give you an "in" into the anglo scene that gravitates around the university. One caveat is that the larger French-language scene may not be as accessible to you if you aren't at least perceived a making an effort to try and learn French.
- Another similarity between Vancouver and Montreal is "bohemian-ity". Since Montreal is a much less expensive to live in than Vancouver the bohemian scene tends to be a bit edgier in Montreal because of this.
- Winters are much, much colder and snowier, but summers are a lot warmer. Even hot. Often borderline tropical believe it or not. 30-35C days can be quite common in the summer with humidex readings over 40C sometimes.
All of the communities represented in Vancouver are in Montreal. But Montreal still has way fewer people from China and India. This will be very noticeable.
Montreal has way more people from the Middle East and also from the West Indies (mostly Haiti) and also from francophone Africa.
The Latin American community is proportionately quite a bit larger than in Vancouver.
WASPs (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) do not make up the majority of the so-called "anglo" community anymore. The anglo community in Montreal has a very very large Ashkenazi Jewish and Italian component to it. Also Greek.
Montreal also has a very large number of immigrants and students from France. (Not to be confused with French Canadians, who make up the largest group in the city of course.)
I love both cities. The way I describe the difference to people is that Vancouver's charms are immediate, the setting, the air, the ocean etc. Over time, especially in summer for me, you realize the setting is what makes it so nice and has definite effect on the lifestyle here.
Montreal takes more time to reveal it's charms. Certainly there are some ones that are immediate, but Montreal has more to reveal over time. It seduces you.
Of course this is from a tourist point of view. However I have friends in Montreal who dearly love their city and often do say that Montrealers and Vancouverites are more alike in attitude than people in Toronto. By that meaning we like to work to live, rather than live to work. This of course is a generalization and I'm not Toronto bashing since I love that city as well.
I am no expert, but I have been to both cities on a few occasions. From what I gather, and I only want to help out is that Montreal is like the Northeast of the US, and Vancouver is like the Pacific Northwest of the US.
All of the communities represented in Vancouver are in Montreal. But Montreal still has way fewer people from China and India. This will be very noticeable.
Montreal has way more people from the Middle East and also from the West Indies (mostly Haiti) and also from francophone Africa.
The Latin American community is proportionately quite a bit larger than in Vancouver.
WASPs (White Anglo Saxon Protestants) do not make up the majority of the so-called "anglo" community anymore. The anglo community in Montreal has a very very large Ashkenazi Jewish and Italian component to it. Also Greek.
Montreal also has a very large number of immigrants and students from France. (Not to be confused with French Canadians, who make up the largest group in the city of course.)
Yes i noticed, diversity in Montreal tends to be more pronounced as it does not have that level of ethnic segregation that Vancouver experienced. Having been in Vancouver for a few months, i can safely say that the Asians tend to stick to each other and so are the whites, the blacks and so on.
And although i really love the fact that the weather here is so mild and how the people are generally so polite, i'm not really an outdoorsy person; i'd prefer coffee and long hours of conversation over dinner with friends. Do you think that fits the Montreal lifestyle?
Yes i noticed, diversity in Montreal tends to be more pronounced as it does not have that level of ethnic segregation that Vancouver experienced. Having been in Vancouver for a few months, i can safely say that the Asians tend to stick to each other and so are the whites, the blacks and so on.
And although i really love the fact that the weather here is so mild and how the people are generally so polite, i'm not really an outdoorsy person; i'd prefer coffee and long hours of conversation over dinner with friends. Do you think that fits the Montreal lifestyle?
Yes! As a Montrealer living in Vancouver, I think the other posters summed it up. I think it would be a good place for you, and I definitely feel you on the race aspect in Vancouver, it seems like a way more important category here than in Montreal, where we were so busy hating each other over language and culture such that race never became that big an identity issue, at least not in a major way, it was always secondary to language, class, Protestant vs. Catholic back in the day etc.
For a university student, definitely Montreal is the better city, probably the best city in Canada. For someone a little bit older, maybe they would prefer Vancouver but still, I think Montreal offers an amazing quality of life.
than in Montreal, where we were so busy hating each other over language and culture such that race never became that big an identity issue, at least not in a major way, it was always secondary to language, class, Protestant vs. Catholic back in the day etc.
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Yes indeed. In Montreal because of the history you have Asians who are very French-oriented, and Asians who are very English-oriented. Blacks who are French-oriented, others who are English-oriented. Arabs who are French-oriented, Arabs who are more English-oriented.
[quote=fellowjoe;28082799]Yes i noticed, diversity in Montreal tends to be more pronounced as it does not have that level of ethnic segregation that Vancouver experienced. Having been in Vancouver for a few months, i can safely say that the Asians tend to stick to each other and so are the whites, the blacks and so on.
You say " tend to stick " so I'm not sure to what degree you mean. Certainly new immigrants from anywhere tend to do that, but having lived in Vancouver my whole life, I don't think Vancouver has a race issue where races don't mix.
I don't know what observations led you to believe that people don't mix well, perhaps it's the ethnic neighbourhoods, but those enclaves are normal in every city. There are many mixed raced couples here as everywhere. I go to pubs, bars and restaurants and see people of all races mixed together as a group etc.
In fact one reason Asians enjoy coming to Vancouver is the fact that people here are pretty accepting since Asian culture has been part of Vancouver from the beginning and Vancouver would not be Vancouver without it.
I have never seen a group of blacks hanging out as a group except American tourists and my friends here who are black ( odd, I have never in my life had to refer to these friends by race ) have friends of all races.
Same with East Indians.....
Overall, I think Vancouver does very well racially.
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