Chicago, IL vs. Montréal, QC?

[newdixiegirl]

Both are great cities, and as others have said, two of the best in North America. I lived in Montréal as a teenager, which, to this day, has given me some of my best memories, but I've never lived in Chicago, so I can't make accurate comparisons.

I will say that, as much I love Chicago and Montréal, I wouldn't want to live in either one year-round. The winters are just too brutal.

[lrfox]

Location: Montreal. It's not far from Boston, New York, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, etc. I also think it's an extremely unique region geographically. Chicago wins if your a swimmer.
Climate: Tie. Cold winters, hot summers. I wouldn't choose one over the other based on climate.
Scenery/Architecture: Scenery goes to Montreal pretty handily. I'd give Chicago the edge in architecture. Montreal is no slouch on that front either, but Chicago is one of the greatest.
Quality of life: Tie. Both pretty solid places and I'd live in either.
Safety: Montreal.
Public transportation: Eh... tie? I kind of want to give this one to Montreal. Yes Chicago has the larger system, but Montreal honestly might get my vote for #2 in North America behind NYC. It covers the city extremely well and is incredibly user-friendly, comfortable, clean and efficient.
Shopping: Chicago gets the edge. Montreal might win if you want to give more weight to "unique" brands. There's a big local fashion scene there that might appeal to some people more.
Universities: Edge to Chicago.
Entertainment/Things to see and do: Tie. Really depends on your interests, but both are great cities on most of the entertainment/activities front.
Diversity: Tie. Chicago definitely has a larger black and Hispanic population, but Montreal is truly a bilingual city and has a sizable Middle Eastern and Asian population. Both are very diverse cities.
Economy: Chicago by far.
Culture/Food/History: These should be divided. I think Chicago wins in history, I give Montreal a slight edge in food, and I'd call culture a tie as it's a broad category that could go either way depending on what you're talking about specifically.

Where would you rather live? Chicago. Stronger economy and as a primarily English speaker, my career prospects would be better.
Where would you rather visit as first timer? Montreal. It's far and away one of the most unique cities in the U.S. and Canada, and I have a hard time think of a place I'd rather eat between the two countries.

Overall: I'm leaning towards Montreal overall, but it's close.

[aries4118]

Montréal.

[wy307]

Originally Posted by botticelli

Maybe you just went there assuming everyone should provide English language service to you, without the slightest attempt to respect their culture or speaking a single word in French before opening your mouth?

I am sure all this hostility toward Montreal or Paris for that matter stems from languages and the typical American assumption that everyone in the world should be ready to communicate with them in English.

Who is arrogant and obnoxiously here?

I had nothing but great time during my 5X visit in Montreal.

That's because everywhere else in the world, if people can speak English, they will. The French, due to their historical hatred of the English, will not, which to your average American who may not even have a drop of English blood, is fairly obnoxious.

If you can speak a language, but choose not to just to be difficult, you are being obnoxious, especially when the person you're doing it to is being polite otherwise.

[CCrest182]

Originally Posted by wy307

That's because everywhere else in the world, if people can speak English, they will. The French, due to their historical hatred of the English, will not, which to your average American who may not even have a drop of English blood, is fairly obnoxious.

If you can speak a language, but choose not to just to be difficult, you are being obnoxious, especially when the person you're doing it to is being polite otherwise.

When I went to MTL in 2016, the people there were friendly and even the French speakers had no problem communicating to me in English. I didn't see a huge amount of language division, though maybe it's only because I was there for a few days.

Quebec City, I imagine would be tougher for me, a solely English speaking tourist. I assume it would be like literally going to a small city in France with less tourists than Paris.