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Thank you for this! really appreciate it. I really wish they had stuff like this for Canadian cities, for Montreal, all we have is "more than 80 languages" slogan, even though there are areas on the island with 120+, no idea why they pick the lowest number haha. I wouldn't be surprised then if it's in the same range as DC or a little below.
Right. I lived in Brossard in my mid-late teens, and it seemed like a different language was spoken at every street corner.
And as an example of just how diverse the city is, just off the top of my head: My best friend is half polish, half Scottish, married to a Chinese woman. My brother is half Guyanese/half French married to a half Peruvian/Half Italian.
Such scenarios are VERY common there.
Thank you for this! really appreciate it. I really wish they had stuff like this for Canadian cities, for Montreal, all we have is "more than 80 languages" slogan, even though there are areas on the island with 120+, no idea why they pick the lowest number haha. I wouldn't be surprised then if it's in the same range as DC or a little below.
Well one major difference is only 26% of the DC Metro speaks a language other than English, in Montreal I'm sure it's a bit higher
Montreal is more linguistically and ethnically diverse than DC (again, Montreal has 200+ ethnic groups), although both cities are very diverse in general. I'm not sure how many ethnic groups DC has though, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's at least in the 150+ range.
I’ll briefly respond since someone seems to think I’m trolling and is deleting my posts.
But i do believe the DC metro area is much more diverse than people give credit to. I’d be quite surprised if Montreal has larger African American populations, Anglophone African population, Arab/Middle Eastern, Or Horn of Africa populations. Montreal is diverse in its core but not in the suburbs whereas DC is very diverse in its suburbs.
I’ll briefly respond since someone seems to think I’m trolling and is deleting my posts.
But i do believe the DC metro area is much more diverse than people give credit to. I’d be quite surprised if Montreal has larger African American populations, Anglophone African population, Arab/Middle Eastern, Or Horn of Africa populations. Montreal is diverse in its core but not in the suburbs whereas DC is very diverse in its suburbs.
Well, no Canadian cities have African Americans, that's an American only term. Montreal has 321,000+ African origins, West Central Asia/Middle East accounts for 215k+, and almost 200k Carribean Origins according to the 2016 census (which had a 3.3% undercount). I know in the U.S they lump all regions into racial breakdowns so it makes it harder to see if it's AA, Carribean or African origin. But Montreal has a very large Asian (DC is bigger by about 90K), Arab, African, Carribean, Italian, etc... communities.. it also has a pretty large Hispanic community by Canadian standards at about 140,000, which will probably look "cute" to Americans but that's still a large community.
Actually, 21% of Montreal's population can speak three languages. French + English + an immigrant language.
Around 70% of Montrealers are native speakers of French, around 15-17% are native speakers of English and the rest are native speakers of pretty much every language under the sun.
1. Downtown - Montreal. Montreal wins on size, cohesiveness, amenities, and overall attractiveness.
2. Walkability - Montreal. Montreal is arguably the most walkable major city in North America. Downtown/the Old City are great, but Montreal really shines in the neighborhoods surrounding the city center. It's one of the best places to Explore on foot. DC is no slouch, but it's hurt by a downtown area that's defined by hulking landscrapers, and a lot of autocentric development outside of the core. NOLA has walkable sections, but is an easy 3rd here.
3. Economy - DC by a good margin.
4. Nightlife - Tie - Montreal/NOLA. Both really two of the premier destinations in North America for night life. DC is fine, but not at the same level.
5. Bars/Restaurants - Montreal. I actually think the gap here is significant which says a lot because all three are quality. NOLA has one of the best regional cuisines in North America, and DC has a rising food scene, but Montreal is one of the best food towns on the planet. Quebecois cuisine is excellent for obvious reasons and would compete on that basis alone, but Montreal is a very diverse city and if you haven't been, you'd be surprised by just how much quality variety from around the world you have. It's one of my favorite places to eat. Quebec has one of the best craft beer scenes anywhere too. Great wine and cocktail bars all over Montreal as well. Really well rounded.
6. Suburbs - I'll go with DC. Honestly, it's the only one with a lot of traditional suburbs. Both MTL and NOLA surprisingly don't have a ton of "traditional" suburbs. That's actually a win for me, but if you're looking for cul-de-sacs and cookie cutter homes, DC has it in bunches. DC also has great TOD suburbs around the metro as well.
7. Weather - Montreal. I don't do hot/humid and I don't mind a cold winter, so this is an easy pick. If you don't do the cold, it's easy to pick one of the others.
8. Recreational activities - Montreal. Easy access to skiing/hiking in the mountains, tons of neat amenities in town, a lake region not far, etc. If I want to be outdoors, it's Montreal. For most urban activities, it's also Montreal.
9. Green Space - Tough call. I'm giving Montreal the slight edge. Mont Royal being downtown is a huge advantage. It also has a great network of parks along the river and across town. DC is also one of the best in North America for parks/green space. But still, slight nod to Montreal.
10. Monuments./Museums - DC by a huge margin. It's arguably one of the best on the planet on this front.
11. Transportation Car/Public - Montreal wins easily in terms of public transit. Really one of the best systems in North America. I'd rank it 2 or 3 behind NYC and maybe Chicago. New Orleans may win with car transit? Traffic congestion isn't as much of an issue there as it is in the others. DC would win for car transit connections to other regions.
12. Where would you rather live? - Tie - Montreal/DC. I like Montreal better as a city and a place to spend time, but to live it would be tough given the citizenship hurdles and the fact that I don't speak French. I've lived in DC and would do it again. There are probably more job opportunities for me there as well.
Quote:
Originally Posted by the resident09
Well the fact that DC metro is 6.2 million has to play in there somewhere vs 4 million for Greater Montreal.
Well, keep in mind that Canadian metros are not measured the same as American metros. Looking at metro numbers between the two is not apples to apples. While you're right about the populations of each metro, "Metro DC" covers nearly 5,600 square miles. Metro Montreal is about 1,600 square miles. The area around Montreal is developed very differently (nowhere near the same level of sprawl - far more abrupt transitions to from rural/agricultural land to suburban/urban), but if you expanded the catchment area of Montreal to anywhere close to the size of DC's, the populations would be comparable, and would be almost entirely French speaking.
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