Montreal.

[elbandito]

i live in the Quartier Latin... it's just a little east of the business part of downtown MTL. A good area to grab a place is NDG (Notre dame de Grace). There's cheap loft spaces, university kids and it's mostly english, at least during the school year. My side of town is more french. Another decent (read: cheap) area is on the east side, near Metro Frontenac. The Plateau is the hip area to live in right now and it really is nice, but it's expensive.

[iblamesummers]

i live in the Quartier Latin... it's just a little east of the business part of downtown MTL. A good area to grab a place is NDG (Notre dame de Grace). There's cheap loft spaces, university kids and it's mostly english, at least during the school year. My side of town is more french. Another decent (read: cheap) area is on the east side, near Metro Frontenac. The Plateau is the hip area to live in right now and it really is nice, but it's expensive.

Côte-des-Neiges ? seems to adjoin Notre Dame de Grace. what is that neighborhood like. the wiki entry says it is a ethnically diverse, working-class neighborhood. i think that would be a good fit for me. it aslo says that it is One of the few Montreal neighbourhoods where neither the French nor English language dominate. i think that is kind of cool.

[elbandito]

Cote des Neiges is definitely the multi-cultural area, if by multi-cultural, wikipedia means black ppl. (for the record, I'm black too.)
All the Haitian immigrants seem to move there. It's nice enough, but a little out of the way for me, considering the lack of late nigth transit. I gig a lot, so I need to be somewhere easily accessible late at night.

[iblamesummers]

Cote des Neiges is definitely the multi-cultural area, if by multi-cultural, wikipedia means black ppl. (for the record, I'm black too.)
All the Haitian immigrants seem to move there. It's nice enough, but a little out of the way for me, considering the lack of late nigth transit. I gig a lot, so I need to be somewhere easily accessible late at night.

the wiki is kind of murky on both those neighborhoods, w/ Notre Dame de Grace being described as Afro-Canadian and Côte-des-Neiges being more West Indian. i would assume it be an Caribeaan admixture dominated mostly by Haitians ? IDK. both wiki entries mostly described either neighborhood as predominately immigrant. but you know how zany those wiki entries can be...

i have not investigated any other neighborhoods wiki-wise aside from the Latin Quarter and Gay Village & those two. but Cotes-des-Neiges seems like a good fit & the apartments seem a little cheaper & the neighborhood seems nice enough. Notre Dame de Grace also seems cool.

so tell me what you DON'T like about Montreal. everyone gots something they hate about their city. spill the beans.

[elbandito]

Well, the roads and sidewalks are a big concern for a leatherfooter like me. They're complete shiite, for the most part, with huge potholes (for a cyclist) and serious gouges in the pavement. The metro seems as if it was designed to spite ppl with physical impediments, there being a plethora of stairs in the multi-leveled stations and virtually no elevators. They seem to be trying to remedy this lately (albeit, very slowly). Also, it's illegal to be in public parks after 11pm or 12am or something like that and the cops are quite happy to slap you with a $144 ticket if you're caught. Some parks are worse than others.

On a lesser note, there aren't really any public pools like N.Y. or Toronto have and that's a real bitch on some of our super hot summer days. Also, if you're into politics, MTL is one of the most corrupt cities in Canada but that's only a bitch for business owners and residents. As a non-permanent dude, you wouldn't have to worry.


My #1 fav thing about MTL is that the city has a very organic feeling... the streets aren't rigid and straight and neither are the buildings, aside from the business district. As a matter of fact, some of the roads are so curvy and weird that a wanderer can easily get lost before he even realizes it - especially on the west side. The good thing is that almost every major and semi-minor intersection has maps so it's pretty easy to find your way back. Really nice skyline due to the lack of tall buildings and Ile St. Helene is a beautiful place for a bike ride or as a quiet somewhere to chill out.

MTL is the only city in Canada that has spiral staircases on the houses... this doesn't sound like a big deal but it really adds a certain character to the place. A lot of what look like alleys are actually little nooks that sort of act like backyards to ppl that live there.

Overall, MTL is my fav city in Canada. I've visited every major city in this country and feel pretty confident in saying that this place has a little bit of the best of all the other major cities, plus some goodness of its own. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Canada, except maybe St. John's NFLD but I don't think I could do that for at least another 10 yrs. I wasn't born here, I chose to move from Toronto so maybe it's a bit of over-zealousness from a recent convert but regardless, it's a great place.

[elbandito]

Where do you live, man? Why do you want to quit it so bad? ...Aside from the general complaints about America.
Have you lived many places in the States?

[veteransdaypoppy]

Where do you live, man? Why do you want to quit it so bad? ...Aside from the general complaints about America.
Have you lived many places in the States?

This.
There's a whole lot of America to explore.
You might just be in the wrong place!
But, if yer trying to get out of the country, I'd say check out Europe. Do the Hemingway gig.

[elbandito]

This.
There's a whole lot of America to explore.
You might just be in the wrong place!
But, if yer trying to get out of the country, I'd say check out Europe. Do the Hemingway gig.

Heck yes! I checked out Europe last year. I visited England, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Czech Rep. All on only $2000, which i saved in 5 months, plus $800 for a roundtrip ticket that i bought well in advance (december of the previous year). I even managed to come back with almost $400! If you're smart about your travelling and are friendly, you can do a whole lot on very little money. Also, if you're ever in Germany or especially Austria, acquire an acoustic guitar somehow and play your best songs. There's a ton of money to be made, if you're good at playing street music and reading a crowd.

England is a bitch, though.
Customs grilled me for 40 minutes because I had a djembe, the bus drivers were cold and unhelpful and there are WAYYYYYYY too many cameras.
There's beauty to be found everywhere, if you look.

[iblamesummers]

Where do you live, man? Why do you want to quit it so bad? ...Aside from the general complaints about America.
Have you lived many places in the States?

i live an hr. outside of Atlanta. to be brief. i am in a rut & i feel i need something different. something drastic. there is exactly no-where in this country i could possibly think i would WANT to live. like no-where. i remember in 2000 all those self-righteous liberals said they were going to move to Canada if Bush were elected. he was. none really left.

there is this "nationalistic" phrase here: America: LOVE IT OR LEAVE. so yeah. i have no qualms about saying peace out. this country is on the verge of being quasi-third world country. a banana republic. i would like to live in a county that is decent civilized and humane.

i see Montreal as some sort of North American third-way or something. I don't really have to learn another language. or anything. if i could afford it i would live in Brazil or Africa or something but i can't afford that. plus. it would not be as if i were quitting for good. not like i am going to renounce my citizenship or anything. but yeah. this shit is total bullshit. very digusted. if i had the money & could leave now i would. i am probably gonna have to stay down here a little while, get a shit job and save some dough, find out more about if i am allowed to move there work permit wise and other stuff. but yeah...

also. university or technical school-wise, what are my options undergraduate-wise. i would like to finish. eventually. if possible. seems as if McGill is like Harvard & the University of Montreal and the University of Quebec at Montreal are french-speaking. IDK even know if i could get into a Canadian and/or pay for it, but definitely need to up my skill set. somehow.

also. tell me more about the Ville-Maire and the east side of Montreal. the other cheap part you mentioned hitherto.

[elbandito]

i see Montreal as some sort of North American third-way or something. I don't really have to learn another language. or anything.
...if i had the money & could leave now i would. i am probably gonna have to stay down here a little while, get a shit job and save some dough, find out more about if i am allowed to move there work permit wise and other stuff. but yeah...

It's interesting because it's like the "Little Europe" of Canada. I suppose the closest American equivalent would be New Orleans.
You really should try to learn the language, though. it makes life a whole lot easier in many respects. For one, many ppl here are seperatists or are just plain old english haters. these ppl will not be your friends. some of these ppl could be your neighbourhood bus driver, police officer or potential bandmate. For another, the job market really opens up to someone that can speak even a little french. It might even help with a work or school visa application.

also. university or technical school-wise, what are my options undergraduate-wise. i would like to finish. eventually. if possible. seems as if McGill is like Harvard & the University of Montreal and the University of Quebec at Montreal are french-speaking. IDK even know if i could get into a Canadian and/or pay for it, but definitely need to up my skill set. somehow.

i dunno much about this. i have friends in university but i decided to travel instead. hopefully i'll get into the school thing next year.

also. tell me more about the Ville-Maire and the east side of Montreal. the other cheap part you mentioned hitherto.

Ville Marie is a part of NDG. I kind of think of the whole area as one, so I haven't got too much to say about the specific parts of each section. As for the east side, it's kinda scummy and is accordingly low-rent. As such, there are quite a few students (french, for the most part) and events of various kinds. This is a good area to look for a place if you're looking to improve your everyday french, since - as I alluded to earlier, the east side is more french than the west side.

Atlanta is a place I'd like to visit, as a matter of fact. I hear it has an amazing jazz and blues scene as well as a buttload of hip hop. Also, the U.S. is lucky in its geographical position, cuz you guys get everything from snowy and cold to hot and tropical, with the rockies, the mississippi, the desert and the grand canyon (among other amazing things) thrown in the middle. I look forward to checking it all out.

[iblamesummers]

i will try to learn the language. take some classes. i took it briefly in high school. again that is appeal of moving to Montreal. to learn French. i know i how to say, " i am a dumb american" en francais: je suis amercain retardo...

[veteransdaypoppy]

Atlanta is a place I'd like to visit, as a matter of fact. I hear it has an amazing jazz and blues scene as well as a buttload of hip hop. Also, the U.S. is lucky in its geographical position, cuz you guys get everything from snowy and cold to hot and tropical, with the rockies, the mississippi, the desert and the grand canyon (among other amazing things) thrown in the middle. I look forward to checking it all out.

In my experience, the US has a lot to offer, especially music wise. I don't pay attention to politically-driven citizens, I just vote on my own opinions based on research. (I'm probably one of those liberal bastards that you hate...) But when it comes to the one thing I love dearly and won't quit, I am definitely satisfied. You want lonely acoustic folk beautiful music? Eau Claire, Wisconsin. You want dancy punk? New York City. You want indie brilliance, NYC or LA. You want Hardcore music? Come to my hometown. You can be satisfied by the trophy band of my town, Sirena. You want my band? Come to TCNJ (ewing/trenton) and check out a basement show. Or, better yet, New Brunswick. You could attend Rutgers and have something to do every single night. We'd be happy to have anybody. I'd say check out Philly to peruse the music scene there. As far as I know it's pretty incredible, lots of art flowing through. In the tri-state area (ny, nj, pa) I'm pretty sure Philadelphia or NYC, in regards to music and art, is the place to be. I know that my band's looking to play there in the future.

But by all means, if you want Canada, go Canada. I had a lot of fun in Toronto when I visited. I don't know about political views, but in regards to friendliness of people and easy living, it's pretty similar to US. I just wasn't a big fan of the difference in currency, but you'll get used to it if yer dedicated. Big moves like that are not easy to cruise into. If yer dedicated, however, I'm sure you'll have no problem. Best of luck.

[elbandito]

I just wasn't a big fan of the difference in currency, but you'll get used to it if yer dedicated. Best of luck.

Hey! What's wrong with our monopoly money? It makes things easier when we're too drunk to see and we have to pay our bar tab or the cab driver. Now THAT's progressive thought, right there!

[iblamesummers]

WTF is up w/ all these political parties? what if i wanna be down w/ the Marxist-Leninst Marijuana Transcendental Meditation Party. or the Bloc Quebecois Rhinoceros Party. can i like be down w/ all of them or do i have to choose one?

[elbandito]

WTF is up w/ all these political parties? what if i wanna be down w/ the Marxist-Leninst Marijuana Transcendental Meditation Party. or the Bloc Quebecois Rhinoceros Party. can i like be down w/ all of them or do i have to choose one?

You gotta choose one, my man. Or none, if you prefer.

I like the fact that we have options. Who wants just right and left? Voting for one devil or another is boring. Being able to choose from a multitude of devils spices things up a little bit. Plus, having a bunch of different parties geared toward different goals, means that citizens can kinda pick and choose what direction they want the place to go every time an election comes up. This time, we're going liberal, this time we're gonna go environment. Maybe next time we'll go conservative.

Also, I dunno what it is now but it used to cost something like $200 to register to run for P.M. and you only had to get like 10% of your riding to get a seat in the H.O.C.!! So really, anybody can participate in politics, even if it's just for fun! haha.
(all of the previous information is probably wrong. please verify it before you decide to buy your way into power)