Since the pandemic has forced a lot of us to abandon our commutes and offices, a new study from Nestpick took a look at which are the best cities around the world to work from home. And our lovely city, Montreal, has ranked in the top 10 cities around the world.Â
Montreal ranked ninth overall and had good scores on all the study's metrics including healthcare, equality, the standard of living, and availability of housing.Â
Toronto, meanwhile, came in at number 12, just missing out on a top 10 spot. Vancouver ranked quite low on the list, coming in at 39th overall.Â
Other Canadian cities didn't even rank in the top 75.
Above Montreal are, from first to eighth place, Melbourne, Dubai, Sydney, Tallinn, London, Tokyo, Singapore and Glasgow.
"The last year has really proved to many companies that remote-working is not only a possibility but actually something that can be beneficial to everyone involved," Omer Kucukdere, Founder and CEO at Nestpick, said in a statement.
Vancouver is still the most expensive, Toronto is second, Calgary is fourth and Ottawa comes in fifth, but overall, Montreal still a comparably affordable place to live for overseas workers, according to this year's Mercer Cost of Living Survey.
Despite the loonie gaining strength relative to the U.S. dollar, "globally, Canada remains a relatively affordable place to live and an attractive destination for remote workers," Gordon Frost, partner at Mercer Canada, stated in a news release.
Using New York City as a baseline, the survey ranks 209 cities according to the cost of necessities such as transportation, housing, clothing, food, and entertainment.
The world's most expensive cities for expatriates are Ashgabat, Turkmenistan; Hong Kong, and Beirut, Lebanon, which climbed 42 spots this year thanks to economic turmoil compounded by the pandemic and the Port of Beirut explosion, according to the report.
The index came to this conclusion based on a number of systemic and environmental factors including safety, equity, socio-political stability, unemployment, population density, pollution, the weather and others.
Reykjavik, Iceland; Bern, Switzerland; Helsinki, Finland; Wellington, New Zealand; and Melbourne, Australia were ranked the five least stressful cities in the world.
Vancouver and Toronto came in 29th and 30th, respectively.Â
The five most stressful were, from least to most, Kabul, Afghanistan; Baghdad, Iraq; New Delhi, India; Manila, Philippines; Lagos, Nigeria; and Mumbai, India.
Montreal was one of the cities that has dropped the most points, along with Athens, Greece; Rome, Italy; and, at the top of the list of "biggest movers down the ranking," Hamburg, Germany, among others.Â
Revealed today, The Global Liveability Index 2021 tracks how the covid-19 pandemic has affected 140 cities worldwid… https://t.co/F4NLMSzAUe
— The Economist Intelligence Unit (@The Economist Intelligence Unit)
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Montreal came in as the 40th most liveable city in the world.
One of the primary drivers of Montreal's plunge in the ranking was the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.
"The downward movement in rankings for the European and Canadian cities can be attributed to the heightened stress on healthcare resources during the second wave of the pandemic," the report states.
"Compared with six months ago, the average city score for healthcare has dropped by nearly five points."
A new study conducted by Oberlo looked at 200 metropolises around the world and found "the top 75 global cities based on factors which reflected their innovation, economic strength and entrepreneurial spirit." Montreal ranked in the top three in Canada.
The report compared key indexes of attitudes toward LGBTQ2+ people across 34 countries. Canada ranked seventh based on social acceptance, sexual activity rights, civil union rights, marriage rights, adoption rights and military service rights, as well as anti-discrimination and gender identity laws.
Canada ranks seventh, after mostly European countries
The top five countries on the list were in Europe. Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain made the top three.
According to the report, Canada's provinces only introduced same-sex civil union rights in the early 2000s, while Sweden registered same-sex civil partnerships in 1995.
However, Canada was faster than Sweden to adopt gay marriage rights. Canada legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2005 — with some provinces legalizing it as early as 2003 — while Sweden legalized it in 2009.
Compared to Sweden's 94% social acceptance rating, 85% of Canadian society was found to be socially accepting of LGBTQ2+ communities.
Gender identity and anti-discrimination laws
Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain all have anti-discrimination laws for LGBTQ2+ people, the report shows.Â
The report says that in Spain, since 2007, all documents can be amended to a person's 'recognized gender.'
Comparatively, in Canada, transgender people have been able to change their gender and name (but not their sex) since 2017 — the same year Bill C-16 came into effect, making gender identity and expression a Constitutional right.
'Conversion therapy' has been illegal in Manitoba and Ontario since 2015, and Vancouver and Nova Scotia since 2018, according to the report.
It's always been a pretty well-known fact that Montreal is a great city to work in, but now it's official. For any young person deciding where in Canada to work, it's a perfect time to consider looking for jobs in Montreal.
Montreal was given 5th place in RBC and Youthful Cities' "Best Cities for Youth to Work" in Canada, which ranked 27 Canadian cities in total.
The RBC and Youthful Cities'Â 2021 Urban Work Index determined the rankings by using 11 different criteria, including good youth jobs, climate change, public transportation, cost of living, and more.
Vancouver got the top spot for best Canadian city for youth to work in, with Hamilton (#2), Edmonton (#3), and Victoria (#4) following in its footsteps. Then, Montreal at #5.
Youthful Cities has even created an 11-point quiz for individuals to take to help them discover which Canadian city fits them best.Â
A new survey conducted by Leger and shared by RATESDOTCA has ranked the top 10 most liveable places in Canada and two Quebec cities have placed among the best in the country.Â
Residents of Quebec City and Trois-Rivières will be proud to know that they live in two of the most liveable cities in Canada, according to the survey.
The results of the survey come as other reports indicate that more people are choosing to move out of big cities and into smaller towns.
Among the top 10 most liveable cities in the RATESDOTCA report, only Quebec City, in tenth place, has a metro population of over 500,000.
Trois-Rivières, meanwhile, with its mid-range population of 163,287 and competitive average home price was the third-place city.Â
According to the report's authors, "51 percent of Canadians who moved in 2020 due to COVID-19 did so to 'live in an area with more nature' and 36 percent 'felt financial pressure' to find a cheaper home."
"This list shows that there are affordable home options for homebuyers willing and able to broaden their horizons," said Robert McLister, mortgage editor at RATESDOTCA.
Some other cities you might consider moving to? Langford (1) and Kelowna (2) B.C., and Bathhurst, New Brunswick (4) also ranked among the most liveable places in Canada.Â
As much as people love to hate on the "Bonjour-Hi" debacle, it also contributes to the unique tapestry that makes up Montreal culture.
It's pretty special that our city is so bilingual that each interaction can be in either English or French — and is a nod to the interwoven English and French colonial history that makes us who we are today.
Our dominant style of housing is duplexes and triplexesÂ
Unlike other Canadian cities, which are dominated by single-family homes and high-rises, Montreal is a city of plexes — duplexes, triplexes, rowhouses and other low-rise multi-unit buildings.
According to Professor David Hanna of UQAM, the plex is a result of a 19th century "marriage of convenience" between French and Scottish traditions, with Scottish immigrants bringing the idea of "stacking one flat on top of another."
And then there are those 'twisty deathtrap' outdoor iron staircases
The reason for those "twisty deathtrap" outdoor iron staircases, as Treehugger so eloquently put it, could be attributed to space-saving, building codes, French-Canadian settlers from the countryside or even an anti-adultery measure.
One thing's for sure, they are now an iconic aspect of Montreal architecture.
But renting a Montreal apartment can be a super confusing process for someone moving from out of town. They're like, "What the heck is a one-and-a-half?"
Other Canadian cities outside of Quebec break down their apartments by studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, etc.
In case you haven't noticed, Montreal squirrels are not normal.
They are overfed, chunky as heck, too friendly and too confident. As a result, they're also quite destructive and are hazardous to properties and electrical wires.
As CBC put it, "Who runs the world [in Montreal]? Squirrels."
Do not feed nor trust the squirrels!
We have one of the highest rates of restaurants per capita in all of North America
Talk to people from other parts of Canada, and you'll find out anglo Montrealers have an accent.
We favour the "soft a" over the "hard a." So when we say "Barry" or "camp," it doesn't sound like "Berry," "cemp." That's not true of our neighbours in Ontario.
Snow does not impede our lives. Yes, this is true in other parts of Canada. But there's something about Montrealers' ability to go about our day-to-day routines as normal, without doing anything different to alleviate the huge mounds of snow and ice that have overtaken our paths.
Shovel? Why shovel when you can just drive right over it?
But, in general, Montrealers make their own rules when driving. Perhaps we've become so desensitized to detours and orange cones that it's our only option.
Choosing where to go to school can be one heck of a hassle, considering how many options there are in our country, but HelloSafe's 2021 Best Cities To Study In Canada Ranking makes that decision seem so much easier.
Sherbrooke is the best 2021 city to study in Canada!
HelloSafe
HelloSafe split its ranking into four main criteria: attractiveness, quality of student life, overall quality of life, and "academic excellence and cost of studying" and Quebec cities won the top spot for each category.
Sherbrooke was recognized as the best overall Canadian to study in for 2021, with Montreal following suit in the #2 spot. And many other cities in Quebec made it onto the list.
Chicoutimi ranked first in the quality of life category because of its cheap rent, access to nature, and not-so-freezing temperatures.
Sherbrooke got the number one spot for "attractiveness" because it's close to three major Canadian urban areas, has easy transportation systems, and "the unemployment rate is among the lowest of the country (8.5% in January 2021)."
When it comes to the quality of student life, Montreal was deemed the best in the country in 2021, thanks to its many bars and restaurants, its culture, and its large population of students living in the city.
Montreal also ranked #1 in the "Academic excellence and cost of studying" section because of the high number of universities in the city and since "if universities fees are quite high, they are far from being the highest in Canada."
MTL Blog may receive a portion of sales if you purchase something from this article, which was created independently by MTL Blog's Editorial team just for you.
Before you get all up-in-arms about the fact that we're supposedly less sexy than both Ottawa and Calgary — seriously, what? — the rankings were based on PinkCherry sales data from the past year.
12th
Montreal's ranking among Canada's sexiest cities of 2020
PinkCherry tallied up each city's sex toy sales per person to determine Canada's sexiest cities — which are really the cities that purchase the most sex toys.
Calgary (Alberta), Surrey (B.C.) and Edmonton (Alberta) were ranked the top three sexiest cities in Canada this year, according to sex toy sales per person.
PinkCherry's top toys sold in 2020, from most to least popular, were:
Vibrators (Montreal ranked 188th in sales overall)
Dildos (Montreal ranked 172nd in sales overall)
Male masturbators (Montreal ranked 182nd in sales overall)
Bondage (Montreal ranked 182nd in sales overall)
Anal toys (Montreal ranked 182nd in sales overall)
Lingerie (Montreal ranked 197th in sales overall)
The top three sex toys sold to Montrealers via PinkCherry's website were a clitoral stimulator, a wand massager and a blowjob simulation machine.
PinkCherry's online tool also allows you to expand beyond the top major cities and directly compare the cities, towns and municipalities of your choosing.
Between Montreal and Pointe-Claire, Pointe-Claire came out on top as the sexier city, buying more PinkCherry sex toys per capita than Montreal.
Laval was ranked the 20th sexiest city in Canada, according to PinkCherry's rankings. Laval and Quebec City were the only other Quebec cities to make the top 20.
This article's cover photo was used for illustrative purposes only.
So Montreal's low ranking could be explained by a less frequent use of Orkin compared to other pest control services in the city, but there's no way to know.
The number one spot of course went to Toronto.
It's followed in the ranking by Sudbury, Oshawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg, St. John's, Scarborough, Whitby, Edmonton and Ottawa.Â
"Bed bugs are extremely efficient hitch hikers," Orkin warns.
"They can move easily across a room and climb onto luggage or anything left on a bed in just one night."
The company's advice for keeping the critters out of your home include not putting luggage on beds when travelling, using metal luggage racks and packing clothes in plastic bags.
