Montreal is an amazing city, we all know this. Whether you just moved here and are getting used to everything or you've lived here your whole life and nothing surprises you anymore there's some things we can all relate to about Montreal life.
READ ALSO: Toronto Vs. Montreal: Where Should You Be Living?
The city of Montreal is one of Canada's biggest cities and it's known for it's European feel, crazy nightlife and foodie scene that no other city can compare to.
While this city does have a lot of amazing things going for it, there's still a lot of things that Montrealers can all agree need to change.
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Housing 🏡
Expectation
Reality
When you move to Montreal you probably have ideas of getting a gorgeous sunny apartment in Old Montreal with views overlooking the St Lawrence River or a spacious loft in the Plateau filled with plants, but then reality hits.
Although rent in Montreal is pretty reasonable compared to other large cities in Canada right now, it's still very difficult to find a nice place under $800 per month. You can easily find apartments for around $500/month in the downtown area but you'll likely be living in a dingy space with a landlord that mysteriously forgets to answer your emails or texts when things happen to break.
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Transportation 🚊
Expectation
Reality
I know we all wish that we could afford to take Uber everywhere around the city. I mean, it's just so convenient to tap a button on your phone and a car will come and pick you up and deliver you wherever you want to go. Unfortunately, there's almost always a surge on Uber in Montreal so basically it's almost always double the price.
When Uber is out of the question our next option is the good ol' Montreal metro. When there isn't 5 buses passing with the "En Transit" sign or a 10 minute wait to transfer at Berri or hoards of people during rush hours, the metro isn't all that bad..
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Nightlife 🥂
Expectations
Reality
Nightlife in Montreal is pretty hit or miss. You might plan a huge night out with your friends where you think you'll end up at a massive rave at New City Gas or you're all going to dress up nice and drink fancy cocktails at Velvet.
Whether you made it out to these plans or not you'll most often end up a dive bar like Cock n' Bull or Bifteck drinking cheap beer and maybe singing some karaoke at some point in the night. Honestly, you'll have way more fun at a dive bar where you'll spend half the money than if you went out to a crazy club.
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Food 🌭
Expectation
Reality
There's tons of gorgeous restaurants in Montreal, in fact this city is known for it's amazing culinary culture. Although we wish we could go out to all this cute restaurants and eat delicious food all the time, but it's just not feasible for most of us.
Between paying for your rent, groceries, social life and whatever else you might need, money can get a little tight some months. But you really can't go wrong with a classic poutine though and here in Montreal there's no shortage of amazing poutine restaurants.
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Weather ⛈
Expectation
Reality
Oh yes, the weather in Montreal! It's been so confusing this year no one knows when the heck is going on anymore. We barely had a real summer at all, it was cold and rainy the entire time. Now we're in fall and it's 30 degrees every single day!
Who knows what this winter has in store for us but we all know we're in for some Arctic cold temperatures and more than a few massive snowstorms.
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Shopping 🛍
Expectation
Reality
We all wish we could shop at those beautiful boutiques that line Saint Laurent street with all the cutest clothes. They always have the most stylish outfits that will guarantee you look your best on your nights out.
But for most of us those boutiques are wayyy out of reach. There's nothing wrong at all with shopping at H&M, it's my go-to spot if I need some new clothes on a budget, but the clothes are pretty poor quality and not always on point with their styles.
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University Life 🎓
Expectation
Reality
People usually think that university is all about about partying, getting wasted and going staying out all night long. While this is a part of university life the rest of it is spending all-nighters at the library, cramming for finals and trying not fail all your classes.
We party hard and we study hard, that's the balance you need to have when you're in university. It can't be one or the other because that's just not sustainable. But once you figure that out you're golden!