But hotel clients are quite revved up. Some even memorised the jazz show listings prior to checking-in; others brought their lawn chairs along for the outdoor shows!
Despite the excitement, there was one family that seemed quite down each time they passed through the hotel lobby. It was an elderly couple from Delhi with their 30-some-year old daughter. The daughter wasn't friendly one bit, but her parents would come to talk to me whenever they were on their own.
They liked learning about my visit to their city and how I almost relocated there. "Can I ask you something?" the Uncle asked at the end of his stay. Oh brother! I thought. Here comes yet another match-making offer... I was wrong.
"Why are people in Montreal so depressed?"
"Come again?" I thought I had heard wrong.
"Why are people in Montreal so sad and depressed?"
I was taken aback by his question. Montrealers are indeed not depressed, I thought in my head. The summer has just begun, everyone is happy and outdoors. I didn't sense any depression. If anything, it was the couple that seemed depressed!
"Montrealers are not depressed," I defended. "Maybe you feel this way because of the rainy, gloomy weather we've had the past few days."
"No." the Aunty now firmly interrupted. "This is a very sad city. Montrealers are depressed. You can feel it in the atmosphere, on the streets even. You can see it in the city's use of colours, or lack of colours. Everything is gray and dull; everyone is so sad."
"That's not true," Aunty continued. "We visited our daughter in San Francisco and Miami while she was working there. Both cities were quite nice. But now she works in Ottawa. She finds it very depressing. People are not nice there. The energy is quite low in Montreal also. Both cities are depressing."
It was clear that I couldn't change their perception of my city. Maybe they went through certain unfortunate incidents that led them to this conclusion. Or perhaps they saw something with their tourist eye that I was overlooking with my local eye.
Quebec has the highest provincial suicide rate in Canada. According to an article on the CBC website, "suicide remains the No. 1 cause of death among men between the ages of 20 and 40 in Quebec." There may be more to what the couple was saying.
I still see Montreal as a happy city though. And I hope that is the image most other tourists leave with.
Sources: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/02/02/mtl-suicide-rates-0202.html
I can only tell that Montreal has lots of single people. You see few couples on the street, and very few people chatting in public transportation, let alone laughing or seeming to have fun (unless it's a friday night). Also, too many square brick style houses there, it's made to be cheap because there is not much money. Still the city has it's good parts.
ReplyDeleteThis city has a lot of problems. It can be quite depressing. The government and companies have stolen tax payers money. Hot humid Summers with no air-conditioning on public transport. Cold Winters. Spring with too much rain and gray skies. Lack of good employment especially for Anglophones. An increasing low tolerance for Anglophones by Francophones and government. Healthcare declining but might improve. Might. High taxs and charges. Rents going up plus most places are slum apts. Too many 3rd world immigrants like other major cities. Lack of justice. The list too long. OH and crime coming in slowly but surely.
ReplyDeleteMontreal is depressing. It looks like it's falling apart. Recently the Olympic stadium was deemed unsafe, and there are reports that elementary school buildings are dangerous. The bridges? Really, does this look like it's part of the first world?
ReplyDeleteThe nationalism is troubling. Instead of talking about language laws, how about improving infrastructure? Encouraging bilingualism?
I wouldn't raise boys here -- the high school drop-out rate is quite high. And even if you speak French well, but with an accent, good luck even trying to teach English as a Second Language in a Quebec public school. They will expect you to pass an exam francophones cannot pass. Which explains why the English language instruction is so poor -- they don't want to hire native speakers.
Montreal is a nice place to visit but not good to live.
ReplyDeleteMontreal is depressing. Especially for Asian male. I find this city the most closed minded among the other big cited like Toronto, Vancouver. Most Quebecoise (Quebec female) are extremely closed predigest to Asian male. I have only seen Quebec guys talking to Asian female. Probably Montreal is the worst place for Asian guys to live. The best places for asian guys are San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Orange County, Hawaii, Paris. Bad places are all the cities in England, all the cities in Australia, all the cities in New Zealand, but not as bad as Montreal. Quebec females are the most narrow minded of all. That makes this city depressing because they (white female quebecoise)are the outcast of the new world trend.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether I can reply to something written in 2010-but, I just Googled in-Montreal-gray and depressing. I'm sitting here in my place right now, and it's April 12, 2013. There's a snowstorm happening. I checked with the weatherman, and the forecast for the next week is-gray, gray , and gray...with some rain. Last night, I was standing outside this jazz club, noticing that there was hardly anyone in the place-only young hipster couples from TO and Vancouver. I was sharing a joint with this local jazz musician. He was a Montrealer-a decent sax player, and I asked him what's up? Where is everyone? He said, he'd just come out of a depression that lasted a month so he had no idea what I was talking about.. Then, he started talking about his meds, and how this woman friend mixed her meds, then went psychotic and is in the hospital. Yes, I've lived her a long time. It's almost as if I no longer have the energy to leave.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird, Montreal. Back in my youth, I refused to go here, instead visiting Quebec City. Look at the mountain with that strange cross all lit up, looming over the city. Have you ever noticed that the sunny side of the mountain is a huge cemetery? And that the rich Anglos live on the dark and cold side of the mountain? Luckily I'm living on the side of the street where the snow melts a month earlier than the other side. The neighborhood is hipster paradise now. We have to popular Italian run esspresso joints that both pay protection to the mob. But, business is good. That's what counts. Enjoy, your Moka d'Oro, the mafia brand. You have no choice.
Nice to see comments still coming in. Some interesting viewpoints!
ReplyDeleteit's both a great city and a depressing one. I lived there from '89 to '94 and had great times and sad times. Visited again in 2005 and 2012, not much has changed aside from the newly developed neighbourhoods, like the international district, the old port, the plateau. etc.. to sum it up, it has a lot of wonderful venues, but the depressing factors could be the economy, the weather, and lack of energetic, positive, and an outgoing circle of friends. Too much bud in the winter will certainly keep you on the couch and depressed.
ReplyDeletesomehow I always miss it.
I'm leaving in 20 days... when I first moved here, maybe the first few weeks were good, but it's been three years of sadness. It's partly my fault, and that's exactly the reason I'm leaving, I need to re-connect to Nature. The only think I like about this city is the hockey team and the fact that awesome metal bands come play here.
ReplyDeleteBeing English here sucks, even if I have "quebecois" in my blood and can understand it fairly well - doesn't matter, still get shunned.
This place is anything but "multi-cultural". It's just a bunch of people from all over the world living in the same town, yet congregated to separate groups. The whole town is segregated.
Poor graffiti everywhere and uneducated people about the history of the world and their own inner divinity. Corrupted government, gangs and mafia.
Sure cute women are around, yet since this whole feminism movement has failed the minds of women, and to be honest towards myself, it's not like I'm an alpha male with tones of money, I have no chance.
No thank you, I'm done with this place. Leaving is the only chance I have left to save my Soul.
:D
I am leaving Montreal in three weeks. I lived here since 1996 and always loved it, but last few years it seemed that Montreal is becoming a very sad place. Yes life is ok, it is stable, people are relaxed and friendly, they are still smiling. But scratch little bit deeper and you will see the truth: nothing here is what it seems! The smile doesn't mean anything at all, people are not friendly they are just trying to brush you off politelly, no one has any money to spend, french are destroying the city by descriminating against english speaking citizens and immigrants, health system is ruined, schools are not teaching kids anything anymore, people love to socialize on social networks, but are afraid of physical contact, restaurants are closing, big companies are moving out, 16000 people on average are leaving Montreal every year. And I could go on and on and on. Of course there are some good things about Montreal like nature, but it's not the only place on earth with parks, rivers and mountains. There is no vibe or energy that media is trying to push SO HARD. It is becomng a city for teenagers and clubbers, but for people with kids and families it's a very, very sad place. I am sorry, I love this city, but I see no future for my family here.
ReplyDeleteDmitri, your comments are very helpful in making my own future decisions. I've been mulling over where on earth to migrate to in Canada. The factors are job prospects in my field(pharmaceutical), cost of living, weather, location w/ respect to Asia, etc. Initially, I have narrowed my potential options down to Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Montreal. After reading the comments here and some other site elsewhere, I feel like I might have to cross out Montreal. But there are a few more things I want to be sure about :
ReplyDelete1. Would I be treated poorly or with disrespect if I can only speak very basic level of French + native level of English?
2. How good/bad is the overall quality of healthcare in Montreal compared to that of other provinces? (i.e. Hospital amenities, health insurance systems, etc.) What provinces have the most state-of-the-art hospital facilities?
3. How can young people and clubbers afford to live in such a city like Montreal? Do they even have a proper job? I just don't understand...
I appreciate so much if anyone who's very aware the reality can answer any of the above.