3.28/5
837 reviews
Photo by Matthias Mullie via Unsplash

Montreal

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great

english

life

public

cities

young

universities

food

european

easy

work

good

restaurants

spent

weeks

due

multiple

construction

buildings

Montreal offers a fun and lively atmosphere, especially for younger people or those looking for a vibrant nightlife. Thanks to several major universities, much of the city center is filled with young adults, trendy neighborhoods, and a laid-back attitude toward work and life. Alcohol is affordable, and there’s a strong culture of enjoying life beyond just work. The BIXI bike system is a convenient way to get around, especially with the amount of construction on the roads.

However, Montreal’s winter season can be particularly rough, with heavy snow, freezing temperatures, and reduced daylight. Taxes for higher income earners are steep and not very well tolerated socially. English speakers may find it tough, particularly with a vocal minority that's unwelcoming, even when one learns French. Governance and infrastructure lag behind expectations of a developed city, with complaints about inefficiency and ongoing construction. Additionally, costs for food and rent can be surprisingly high, especially for those expecting a lower cost of living. While it has pockets with a European-style charm, much of the city presents as a typical North American downtown. For some, a short visit might be enough to take in what Montreal has to offer.

AI-generated summary of reviews
8 months ago

Spent the month of September here and it was nice for the first 2 weeks. There are a lot of young people due to the multiple universities and you smell weed everywhere!!! There is also so much construction going on with the roads and buildings, so it’s best to walk and bike most places. The BIXI bike system is awesome! There are also a lot of homeless screaming at people randomly in the streets. Food and rent is expensive. The “European” vibe is isolated to a 3 street area, but the rest of the city is much like a normal downtown. Everyone speaks English, so super easy to get around. 2 weeks here is plenty!! I was hoping for more of a European vibe.

3 years ago

Spent two years in Montreal. I have zero regrets and it was a lot of fun for a few years, but ultimately needed to leave.
Pros:
-Good variety of nightlife and activities. From clubs to cool bars to strip clubs, you can find it in Montreal. Drinking here is quite cheap.
-Population feels very young in the city center due to multiple large universities. Other areas around are also full of young professionals. Lots of cool trendy areas.
-Work to live not live to work attitudes. People in Montreal like enjoying life.

Cons:
-The same work to live attitudes I mentioned above means people here abhor success. If you make good money, don't mention it to people. Quebec is much poorer than other Canadian provinces and they do not like the wealthy.
-The winters are awful. Lots of snow, cold and dark.
-Taxes are high as hell for the "rich", where even 80k USD qualifies you as rich.
-The government is very inefficient for a developed city.
-As an anglophone, it's clear a certain subset of a population won't like you. Even if you learn French, they still won't like you, because your french will never be to their standards.
-The city at times feels more developing than it does developed. If you're coming from a world-class city, Montreal is going to feel very small and not cosmopolitan.

5 years ago

Having lived in the Montreal region almost all my life, here are a few things to note:
- Smoking is prohibited in all public buildings (restaurants, bars, stores, underground shopping malls, business and residential building (excluding your own living spaces), public transportation, etc.
- English is harder to come by outside Montreal and certain parts of south shore but very common in the west end of Montreal
- Montreal has 2 English universities: McGill and Concordia both of which are centrally located downtown and accessible by Metro
- Making friends is quite easy. Just join a local meetup
- Many free public wifi spots
- Traffic can be a nightmare (lots of construction)
- Relative to European cities, public transportation is unreliable but quite good compared to other cities in south america for example
- Winters are very cold and costly for heating and car maintenance
- Food is good and healthy if you stay away from fast food chains

6 years ago

Great city, lots of art and artists. Found it a bit hard to break in as an English-speaker, but I liked it there anyway!

6 years ago

Montreal is the best city in Canada. Quality of life is unmatched because the pressure to make money isn't high here. Everyone is having a great time and happy.

7 years ago

one of the best cities in N America. Paris meets Manhattan.

7 years ago

Circus scene is AMAZING, the restaurants are great, and it's super easy to eat vegan here. Love this city! The winter is really hard though. I plan to leave before it returns.

7 years ago

Montreal is truly one of my favourite cities in the Americas hands down. Lots of great restaurants, rent is still affordable here. The winter can be a bit rough, but frankly it's part of the charm. The mountain in the heart of the city really adds to the layers. A great place to be a bohemian and and a metropolis with one foot in Europe. I have been here for 3 years, and live in a mostly english speaking neighbourhood of NDG.

7 years ago

Tipping is a part of life here. 15% is the average (rule of thumb is to tip whatever the provincial and federal tax on what you’re purchasing is, which is currently around 15%).

7 years ago

✅ Vibrant nightlife

✅ Lots of young people

✅ Laid-back lifestyle

✅ Very safe

✅ Fast internet

✅ Good air quality on average

✅ Nomads.com members liked going here

✅ Many Nomads.com members have been

✅ Spacious and not crowded

✅ Very easy to do business

✅ High quality of education

✅ Great hospitals

✅ Roads are very safe

✅ Great freedom of speech

✅ Democratic

✅ People can speak basic English

✅ Very safe for women

✅ Family friendly

✅ Very friendly to LGBTQ+

✅ (Medical) marijuana MAY be legal, unenforced or decriminalized (always double check this)

❌ Harsh winters

❌ High taxes

❌ Language barrier for anglophones

❌ Government inefficiency

❌ High cost of living

❌ Infrastructure and construction issues

❌ Very expensive

❌ Not much to do

❌ Cold now

❌ Gets very cold in the winter

❌ Very damp now

❌ Not many Nomads.com members right now

❌ Difficult to make friends

❌ Many people smoke tobacco

❌ High alcohol consumption

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Feels (median)

-621°
freezing

-916°
freezing

134°
cold

1355°
cool

1763°
cool

2577°
warm

2373°
mild

2984°
warm

2170°
mild

1559°
cool

439°
cold

-425°
freezing

Real (median)

-425°
freezing

-621°
freezing

438°
very cold

1456°
cool

1661°
cool

2576°
warm

2373°
mild

2780°
warm

2068°
mild

1558°
cool

541°
very cold

-228°
freezing

Humidity

damp
77%

damp
71%

nice
58%

nice
50%

nice
63%

nice
74%

nice
70%

nice
67%

damp
76%

nice
69%

Most common

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

☀️ Clear

☔️ Rain

Rain

rainy
77mm

rainy
76mm

rainy
78mm

rainy
72mm

rainy
67mm

rainy
114mm

rainy
113mm

rainy
57mm

rainy
106mm

rainy
102mm

rainy
103mm

rainy
95mm

Cloud

pockets
39%

pockets
36%

pockets
27%

pockets
33%

pockets
35%

pockets
46%

pockets
32%

pockets
33%

pockets
45%

pockets
31%

pockets
43%

Air quality

clean
40 US AQI

clean
41 US AQI

clean
36 US AQI

clean
28 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
35 US AQI

clean
36 US AQI

clean
30 US AQI

clean
29 US AQI

clean
31 US AQI

clean
36 US AQI

Sun

safe
1 UVI

safe
2 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

seek shade
4 UVI

avoid sun
6 UVI

seek shade
5 UVI

seek shade
3 UVI

safe
1 UVI

Remote workers

2,933 people

2,500 people

2,867 people

4,400 people

5,288 people

4,252 people

4,296 people

4,550 people

4,260 people

4,640 people

3,113 people

3,287 people

Green is good. Red is bad. Values shown are the medians of all daily highs in a month based on past few years, not necessarily current numbers. Remote worker count is estimated based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members.

If you'd like to filter destinations based on their climate, try Nomads.com's Climate Finder

Based on Montreal's cost of living, here's selected remote jobs that would cover your costs:

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Thailand

⭐️ OverallAll

💵 Cost 😙 Affordable

📡 InternetWiFi 🏎 Fast

👍 Liked mediocre

👮 Safety good

Tap to open

🌥 Feels 43° 109° 32° 90° 🥵 AQI 94 😷

✈️18h

$1,643 / mo

🌇 Also went here292 people

1,800 remote workers in Montreal now, of which 1+ members checked in (some members are set to private)

Members who will be here soon

Members who have been here

Values shown are estimated visits by traveling remote workers based on the total amount of trips logged by Nomads.com members. Visits to a place are only counted once per year per user, even if they visit more in that year. Visits are also normalized by overall trips added per month on the site, so if site usage goes up or down it does not affect trends. Not all digital nomads are on Nomads.com, and not all Nomads.com members log their trips. So the data is only indicative.

The chart below shows visitors by nationality normalized for population size. This means we take all trips logged on Nomads.com, check which country of origin the user is from, then divide that total visit count by the country of origin's population. If we didn't, it'd just show the big countries like US, Brazil and India always on top. Instead, this shows which nationalities worldwide proportionally visit more or less, which is more useful.

🎒 Nomad Score™	3.28/5 (Rank #273) 837 reviews
❤️ Liked by members	👍11 liked it 👎3 disliked it
👍 Quality of life score	Good
👶 Family score	Good
🎒 Community score	Okay
🤯 Overcrowding score	0% is nomad here
💵 Cost	🧐 Pricey: $3,785 / mo
📡 Internet	😡 Slow: 26 Mbps (avg)
😝 Fun	Okay
⛅️ Temperature (now)	🥶 Freezing : -3°C26°F (feels -6°C21°F)
💦 Humidity (now)	💦 Damp: 72%
❄️ % of buildings with AC	😊 High: 64%
💨 Air quality (annual)	🌱 Great: 30 US AQI
👌 Safety	Good
👩 Safe for women	Great
🌈 Safe for LGBTQ+	Great
🤮 Food safety*	Great
👮‍♀️ Lack of crime*	Good
🤝 Lack of racism*	Great
🎓 Education level*	High
⚡️ Power grid	Great
🌊 Vulnerability to climate change	Great
💰 Income level*	Very high: $3,513 / mo
🙊 English speaking*	Okay
😤 People density	🧘‍♀️ Sprawling: 2k ppl/km² (1 per 23x23m)
🚶 Walkability	Great
🚦 Traffic safety*	Okay
✈️ Airline scores*	Good
🧳 Lost luggage*	Bad
🏥 Hospitals	Great
😄 Happiness*	Okay
🍸 Nightlife	Good
📶 Free WiFi in city	Okay
🖥 Places to work from	Great
❄️ A/C or heating	Great
😁 Friendly to foreigners	Good
🗯 Freedom of speech*	Great
🎅 Startup Score	Okay

🌍 Continent	North America
🚩 Country	Canada
🗓️ Average trip length	20 days
📡 Internet speed (avg)	26 Mbps
⛅️ Weather (now)	🌥 -3°C 26°F + 💦 Damp (72%) = feels -6°C 21°F
💨 Air quality (annual avg)	👍 30 US AQI
🔌 Power	115V 60Hz
🚕 Best taxi app*	Uber
🚑 Travel medical insurance	Safetywing
💸 10 CAD in USD	USD 7.30
🏧 Suggested ATM take out:	CAD 100 = USD 73
💸 Tipping	Yes, 15%
💳 Cashless	💳 Yes, cards OK almost everywhere
💻 Best coworking space	Station C
💻 Best alt. coworking space	Ecto
🚰 Tap water	👌 Yes, safe to drink
♻️ Return rate	👍14% of visitors return
📸 Visitors per year	2,240,000 visitors
📸 Tourists now	42,930 tourists
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Population	1,700,000 people
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 GDP per capita*	$42,154 / year
😤 Population density	🧘‍♀️ empty: 23x23m (529m²) per person
👫 Gender ratio (population)	👨 47% 👱‍♀️ 53%
👫 Gender ratio (young adults)	👨 53% 👱‍♀️ 47%
👫 Gender ratio (nomads)	👨 81% 👱‍♀️ 19%
🏞 Foreign land ownership allowed	Yes
⛪️ Religious government	Non-religious
💻 Online electronics shop	Best Buy
🏠 Apartment listings	kijiji
✈️ Best short-haul air carrier	Air Transat
✈️ Best int'l air carrier	Air Canada

💵 Cost of living for nomad	$3,785 / month
💵 Cost of living for expat	$2,195 / month
💵 Cost of living for family	$4,892 / month
💵 Cost of living for local	$1,398 / month
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$2,290 / month
🏡 Airbnb (median price)	$1,883 / month
🏠 1br studio rent in center	$1,075 / month
🏠 Median home price	$401,343
🏨 Hotel (median price)	$107 / night
🏠 Airbnb (median price)	$62 / night
🏢 Coworking hot desk	$422 / month
🍛 Dinner	$17
🥤 Coca-Cola (0.3L)	$1
🍺 Beer in cafe (0.5L)	$5
☕️ Coffee in cafe	$3
👩‍🏫 International school	$9,308 / year
📱 Mobile data (~10GB)	$37 / month
🚕 Taxi price (avg trip ~3km/2mi)	$4 / trip
💰 Estimated tax on $50,000	$12,825
💰 Estimated tax on $100,000	$34,643
💰 Estimated tax on $250,000	$109,369