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Well I've visited both cities and I must say Toronto all the way. You can not only get the cultural and bohemian vibe but a lot more. Toronto has it all and it's a much more cosmopolitan, diverse and dynamic city apart from being, according to many Canadian people that I know, a much better place to find a high paying job and settle down. People in Toronto seem better well off than in Montreal. You can also enjoy a decent nightlife there.
Montreal has more charm, it's true. It's an older city. But some buildings and streets look rather shaby and overall it felt more stagnant than Toronto. A friend of mine has moved to Montreal a few months ago (she has family there) but most of her relatives of her age either moved to Toronto or are planning to do so. She also has been having problems with the language because she only speaks English.
For me, the winner is Toronto by far. Montreal is cool but you can't make a like there. Those blokes speak French.
Well I've visited both cities and I must say Toronto all the way. You can not only get the cultural and bohemian vibe but a lot more. Toronto has it all and it's a much more cosmopolitan, diverse and dynamic city apart from being, according to many Canadian people that I know, a much better place to find a high paying job and settle down. People in Toronto seem better well off than in Montreal. You can also enjoy a decent nightlife there.
Montreal has more charm, it's true. It's an older city. But some buildings and streets look rather shaby and overall it felt more stagnant than Toronto. A friend of mine has moved to Montreal a few months ago (she has family there) but most of her relatives of her age either moved to Toronto or are planning to do so. She also has been having problems with the language because she only speaks English.
For me, the winner is Toronto by far. Montreal is cool but you can't make a like there. Those blokes speak French.
Well said. I've lived in Toronto and spent a lot of time in Montreal (to the point that I don't need maps to get around) I prefer Toronto for careers. I don't find either one has a fascinating skyline.. but its the neighborhoods that make a difference. Both have wonderful neighborhoods. The only thing that I don't like about Montreal is winter. Toronto winters are the most I'd like to bear.. Montreal's seems much colder. If both had similar winters I would have been hard pressed to chose one over the other (and I'm not a francophone though have no trouble relearning french).
Let me also remind you that NYC is far from being the cultural city it once was. LA has indeed sucked in a lot of energy even if it is mainly in the movie\TV and musical wolrd. NYC, a part from it's numerous museums, has become a mainly corporate city as opppose to a much better it once had 40 years ago beetwen the finance world, the artistic world etc... NYC focused a lot on the financial aspect while loosing a lot on the artistical side. Toronto is doing the same.
LA has sucked a lot of NY's culture? I would like to smoke whatever you're smoking and a large order of poutine when I'm done smoking please!
Why is it people who don't know NY think NY is just Manhattan? Is Montreal just the Old Port and Toronto just downtown? NY is still very much a cultural mecca. The multi-cultural mosaic is quite evident not just in Manhattan but in the boroughs and suburbs. As far as culture, it has not diminished. Several opera companies still exist. Broadway is still the pre-eminent locale for theatre. Many TV series continue to be made in NY. The movie business is still thriving. The art scene of Soho and Tribeca is vibrant and the city is still the home of the US' art magazines. Of course other cities have a thriving art scene as well but to say that NY is less so as it has become a corporate city? NY has ALWAYS been a corporate city! The analogy about being less cultured due to increase of corporate activity is a non-sequitur.
Why not? Who made the rules stating that one city can't be both? Look at London. That city is the #1 financial capital in the world and also is the most multi-cultural city in the UK. The same goes for New York in the US.
New York is the cultural capital but it's hardly as bohemian as it was in the 80's and early 90's. The East Village and the LES are gentrified and even neighbourhoods in Brooklyn are now wholly inaccessible. San Francisco is the same way. You really can't have the polished yuppie reality and the Bohemian starving artist shtick. You choose one or the other.
LA has sucked a lot of NY's culture? I would like to smoke whatever you're smoking and a large order of poutine when I'm done smoking please!
Why is it people who don't know NY think NY is just Manhattan? Is Montreal just the Old Port and Toronto just downtown? NY is still very much a cultural mecca. The multi-cultural mosaic is quite evident not just in Manhattan but in the boroughs and suburbs. As far as culture, it has not diminished. Several opera companies still exist. Broadway is still the pre-eminent locale for theatre. Many TV series continue to be made in NY. The movie business is still thriving. The art scene of Soho and Tribeca is vibrant and the city is still the home of the US' art magazines. Of course other cities have a thriving art scene as well but to say that NY is less so as it has become a corporate city? NY has ALWAYS been a corporate city! The analogy about being less cultured due to increase of corporate activity is a non-sequitur.
What makes you think i don't know NYC ? I have lived there 2 years and worked a full year in Bay Ridge (Brooklyn). My best friend lives in Sheepshead's bay and i spent most of my time in Queens.
Now. Yes, NYC still has a lot to offer and a lot of highly cultural activities but the ''balance'' beetwen the artistic/cultural aspect of the city and the business/finance/corporate aspect as been hurt a lot over the past 15/20 years. Thanks to Giuliani amd Bloomberg.
This is not only me saying this but native New yorkers that once lived in bohemian neighborhoods and now their old area is gone because of 45 storey apartment building, brand new ''boutique'' upscale hotel, numerous Starbuck coffee's etc....
Anyone who has been there 25 years ago, 15 years ago and lately should have noticed the difference if they stayed and explored long enough. Not only in the Village, the Upper east side, Park Slope but even in the Meat packing district...who would have thought !!!
Toronto never had the same cultural/bohemian feel to it and in the last 15 years it has created one but at the same time has gone way too far (in my opinion) in the corporate department. It's a choice. I dont say it is wrong but it's a fact. The high price of rent is playing a role but the constant need to develop big and high and copy NYC and Chicago is also ruining part of what could be interesting.
On Queen street west, which is one nice street, High rise condo's are being built and more are being proposed. I don't think it is with these addition, the City Place, Dundas Square and the Air Canada center area that it will give a bohemian feel to the city or bring some street level cultural activities.
While Montreal keeps a very good balance beetwen both world. The finance is present but never dominates the city while the cultural life is spreading all over....or almost !!!
What's so good about "bohemian"? It basically means impovished artists and writers' lifestyle. They live like that not because they want to, but because they have to. Isn't it true?
A bohemian community basically means a neighborhood where you can live cheaply and behave in an untraditional way. I don't see the charm of it. If given a chance, those artists would choose to live in a luxury condo rather than a rundown warehouse, wouldn't they?
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