Montreal : Is it worth it ?

[hole in one]

True, Canadian taxes are high but the cost-of-living is among the lowest in the industrialized world.

 

You might be interested in the annual Mercer Cost of Living Index. In the year 2004, Montreal ranked 113th out of the 142 cities included in the survey - lower than all the 20 U.S. cities on the list.

 

http://www.finfacts.com/costofliving.htm

[marc anthony]

In addition, you don't need to pay for health

>insurance, which is expensive in the U.S. If you look at it

>that way, you'll see that you probably end up paying roughly

>the same in Canada as you do in the U.S. when you add in the

>health insurance. In addition, in Canada your health

>insurance isn't tied to your employment, the way it is in the

>U.S., so you don't have to lose sleep about what would happen

>if you lost your job, or change employers. You're always

>covered!

>

>

 

I may be wrong about this... but don't the benefits described above apply to Canadian citizens only?

[Guest]

That survey seems kind of strange. I'd be surprised if it's really more expensive to live in Abidjan, Ivory Coast or Douala, Cameroon than in Los Angeles or San Francisco...

[hole in one]

The Mercer Index is used by many multi-national corporations to determine the cost differential of re-locating one of their employees. So, according to the index, it would cost an expatriate more to live (a comparable lifestyle) in many cities in developing nations than in a city like San Francisco.

 

On the other hand, the comparison of one city to another across North America and in Western Europe are pretty spot on.

[Luv2play]

Health benefits apply to all who have permanent residence status in Canada which would include landed immigrants (who are not yet citizens). The original poster did not specify the exact nature of his job, whether it would be a permanent move or just an out of country assignment. He would have to have out of country health insurance if the latter applies (employers would normally pay for this for their employees overseas)unless he wanted to pay out of pocket for health services, which is an option for those with sufficient $$$.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Steve,I find your phrase"the Quebecois nonsense is tolerable"an insulting and bigoted phrase.

The seperatist movement may be the last holdout that keeps Canada from becoming part of the USA.

The Bloc Quebecois has made huge strides in the last few years-including a great showing in last years election.

So you would rater have Steven Harper as PM versus Gilles Duceppe?

[Guest zipperzone]

>You live in Vancouver???

 

Yes I do Juan - guess I should contcact you one day, eh?

[Guest zipperzone]

>Steve,I find your phrase"the Quebecois nonsense is

>tolerable"an insulting and bigoted phrase.

>The seperatist movement may be the last holdout that keeps

>Canada from becoming part of the USA.

 

What in the world do you mean by the above statement. The seperatist movement is going nowhere and for you to imply that Canada would ever become part of the USA is bullshit in the extreme and displays the arrogance that makes many of your countrymen loathed around the world.

 

Perhaps we should be suggesting that the USA might become part of Canada as our 11th province? That's no more laughable.

 

>The Bloc Quebecois has made huge strides in the last few

>years-including a great showing in last years election.

>So you would rater have Steven Harper as PM versus Gilles

>Duceppe?

 

Our PM is NOT Harper and hopefully never will be. Martin is totally in favour of Gay Marriage and defending the rights of gays. Harper, on the other hand, would treat us like 2nd class citizens. You know - just like Bush.

 

As for Gilles Duceppe - could never happen. Where are you getting your information from?????????

[BgMstr4u]

Flying vs. Driving from NYC (I assume you are NYC or NYC-adjacent, since you mention Fordham):

 

I haven't driven to Montreal, but I have flown several times from NYC. After you factor in time to and from the airport, I imagine the time from NYC pretty much comes out the same. Figure an hour to the airport, and hour or so to wait and board, an hour for the flight, an hour so so to deplane, immigration, wait for the bag, and almost an hour to get into town and you're in the 5 hour range for a one hour flight. If you have a car and it's not much more driving time than that, you might be better off driving, as it will give you flexibility.

[steve roberts]

zipper,

 

there was no reason for my comment to be taken as insulting nor as bigoted. i was merely stating a fact.

 

for many years the separatists resorted to all sorts of thug means to demonstrate their points; for example, blowing up mailboxes in residential neighborhoods, terrorising kids, etc. All that has abated dramatically, and the debate is being waged in words rather than actions. that's why I chose the word "tolerable".

 

Many of those living in Montreal respond the the Separatists/Quebecois's idea of seceding from the Dominion by freely suggesting that they can have all the terriroty in the province above 50 miles north of Montreal. That's their suggestion, not mine.

 

Again, sorry if you misunderstood.

[+ newatthis]

RE: Montreal : driving vs. flying

 

>an hour so so to deplane, immigration, wait for the bag, and almost an hour to get into town ... If you have a car and it's not much more driving time than >that, you might be better off driving, as it >will give you flexibility.

 

Immigration has never taken me more than about 15 minutes, including waiting in line (of course you might get taken aside and questioned as described in the Stock thread :-)). Carry your bag on. Even during rush hour, the cab ride downtown (CAD$31) from the airport has been less than 35 minutes; at least 10 minutes shorter otherwise. And parking downtown is either difficult or expensive.

 

Of course if you're not staying downtown, or choose to take the much cheaper airport shuttle bus, some of these comments don't apply.

[Guest Tampa Yankee]

Take the plane unless you have a special need. Else auto parking will run you $16 -$18 a day to sit in garage unused. Arrive airport 90 mintues - 2 hrs before departure, one hour to YUL, one hour to deplane, pass customs and arrive at hotel if you avoid late afternoon rush of arriving planes. If you hit the arrival rush add more time to get through customs.

[noviceny]

Thanks a lot guys,

 

I am going tommorow by car. I would have done by plane, but I have that antsy feeling and dont really feel like being couped up in a plane. I may regret it though :-)

 

Thank you very much for the time that you took to give me all this good info. I have gotten a really good inside feel for the city and cant wait to see it.

 

As fortune would have it, I met two guys from the board (dont know if they want me to say who they are so I wont) and will be meeting one of them at one of the clubs. I do have a feeling it will be fun, but overwhelming, since the Gaiety is the only "strip club" Ive ever been to. I went to Hustler, but I dont think that counts.

 

Will give ya some details when I get back.

 

Thanks again

[bigguyinpasadena]

I suggest both Steve and Zipperzone read The Black Book of Canada.

And there was/is lots of evidence supporting the idea that some(or most)of the "terrorist"actions were hatched/executed by anglophones.

[Luv2play]

This is just not true. The only "anglophone" terrorist plot that I can remember was a half-baked scheme supposedly concoted by the RCMP to burn a barn down and have it blamed on the separatists. The mail-box bombings (one of which claimed the life of a French-Canadian postal worker) and the kidnappings of the British Trade Attache James Cross and the Provincial Labour Minister Pierre LaPorte (who was subsequently murdered) were carried out by French-Canadian separatists. The kidnappers of Cross and killers of LaPorte were apprehended and exiled to Cuba after the Federal Government had invoked martial law. It was really quite a bizarre turn of events. Eventually the exiled perpetrators were permitted to return to Canada.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Luv2Play wrote>"

This is just not true. The only "anglophone" terrorist plot that I can remember was a half-baked scheme supposedly concoted by the RCMP to burn a barn down and have it blamed on the separatists. "

This is the only one that was "officially"recognized.There is much written by many attempts to smear seperatist with this sort of counter insurgency.

Again-read The Black Book of Canadian History.

[Guest zipperzone]

>zipper,

>

>there was no reason for my comment to be taken as insulting

>nor as bigoted. i was merely stating a fact.

 

Steve - I think you have the messages a bit confused. It wasn't me that made the comment you are referring to. I think it was our friend from Passadena. Actually, I quite agree with your take on things.

 

What I was replying to was the lunacy of the suggestion that if it were not for the Bloc, Canada would be joined to the USA.

 

Typical American arrogance! And also, what the hell does he know about Steven Harper??????

[+ deej]

Separatist movement? Anglophone? (Is that anything like a telephone?)

 

This sounds like politics.

 

Do you guys bring it down a notch or do we move this thread?

[Luv2play]

I agree Deej. What BigGuy brought up is "history", which has little relevance to the subject being discussed here. The only thing noviceny needs to know is that the tensions which undoubtedly existed between the French and English speaking elements of Quebec's (and Montreal's) population have subsided and do not affect daily life as they once did thirty years ago. It is important to know this as I have encountered Americans who told me they were in Montreal during that time and have never gone back because of the unpleasant situation at that time. Thankfully, the young French guys you meet today were not even born then and have no personal recollection of that bitter period of our history.

[bigguyinpasadena]

Zipper,not "typical American arogence"at all.If that were the case I would have written that Canada SHOULD or WOULD become part of the US,rather than might(or may)

And of course that notion is not mine as you should know from my previous posts on this board.

So please-stop calling me typical-I am about as far from the "typical american" as I can be without being incarcarated!

Also unlike the "typical American"I do not have my head in the sand when it comes to world events.And of course having spent almost a month in Montreal last year(total)I have a very great interest in the politics and future of Canada-most specificly of Quebec.