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I can, I drove to Montreal once on a whim because I was craving good poutine. Best 20 hour impulse decision I've ever made haha.

Never had poutine at all

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I've never had it either.

What? You guys are missing out! We need to all meet somewhere and have poutine. But not Montreal, we want you to experience it somewhere nice.

Where do you have in mind, Amalya?

Find a place and bring us there lol

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What? You guys are missing out! We need to all meet somewhere and have poutine. But not Montreal, we want you to experience it somewhere nice.

Seriously, Montreal sucks so hard. There's homeless people absolutely everywhere, shady people keep trying to sell me drugs (bro I'm 24, no I don't need Viagra), city's ugly as sin, the people are rude, mean, unhelpful, self-centered and condescending and my biggest point of contention because I'm an asshole is that if you stop 10 strangers in the goddamn streets, there's 5 at best who speak French, quickly dwindling to 0 depending on the neighborhood you're in.

One time I spent a week in Montreal and just gave up speaking the freaking official language of the province, every time I went to Subway or corner shops or similar places I'd get hit with "English please", so after a while I didn't even bother trying anymore. When I came back to Quebec City, I was so confused that I was speaking English to people in the shops and then they'd say "French please" and I actually felt huge relief at being able to finally speak it. Like I know I'm not supposed to feel at home in a different city but the cultural shock was more akin to leaving the province entirely. It was almost like going to the States except signage was in French, even though I rarely met people actually speaking it. When I moved to Quebec City from southern Quebec, it didn't really take long until I felt at home, but I'd never get used to Montreal, probably not even if I spent years there. I'd feel like I was losing my identity, which in my case is mostly connected to language.

Just come to Quebec City, even the poutine is better. Montreal's nightlife is much more fun than ours, though, but I'm not a big fan of nightlife. Big and accepted LGBT community too, so that's a point in their favour.

Montreal is still a shithole and this was today's rant.

What? You guys are missing out! We need to all meet somewhere and have poutine. But not Montreal, we want you to experience it somewhere nice.

Seriously, Montreal sucks so hard. There's homeless people absolutely everywhere, shady people keep trying to sell me drugs (bro I'm 24, no I don't need Viagra), city's ugly as sin, the people are rude, mean, unhelpful, self-centered and condescending and my biggest point of contention because I'm an asshole is that if you stop 10 strangers in the goddamn streets, there's 5 at best who speak French, quickly dwindling to 0 depending on the neighborhood you're in.

One time I spent a week in Montreal and just gave up speaking the freaking official language of the province, every time I went to Subway or corner shops or similar places I'd get hit with "English please", so after a while I didn't even bother trying anymore. When I came back to Quebec City, I was so confused that I was speaking English to people in the shops and then they'd say "French please" and I actually felt huge relief at being able to finally speak it. Like I know I'm not supposed to feel at home in a different city but the cultural shock was more akin to leaving the province entirely. It was almost like going to the States except signage was in French, even though I rarely met people actually speaking it. When I moved to Quebec City from southern Quebec, it didn't really take long until I felt at home, but I'd never get used to Montreal, probably not even if I spent years there. I'd feel like I was losing my identity, which in my case is mostly connected to language.

Just come to Quebec City, even the poutine is better. Montreal's nightlife is much more fun than ours, though, but I'm not a big fan of nightlife. Big and accepted LGBT community too, so that's a point in their favour.

Montreal is still a shithole and this was today's rant.

Pretty accurate statement. I actually enjoy Quebec City a lot more than Montreal. I wouldn't be opposed to having poutine there with you lovely folks.

I've had poutine before... Because Seattle is perfect...

It is 1:30am and I am soaked. At least it won't ruin the bed this time.

So I just actually looked up poutine...it's seriously french fries, gravy, and cheese?

I will weigh in with an Alternative View.

First, I freaking LOVE POUTINE, and everyone needs to clog their arteries several times a year with this stuff!   I say that because I have spent every March and every August in Montréal for the last 10 years.

Montréal does not "suck hard."  IT FUCKING ROCKS!

I don't know where the rest of you hang out, but I stay in Le Village (the gayborhood) each time.  We have many friends there, some of whom speak only French, some of whom are bilingual to various degrees.  80% of the time I speak French, and no one has ever criticized me for it.  The bars are great (I prefer Dive bars, actually), the people wonderful and inviting, and if I ever choose to emigrate from the USA, it would be to Montréal.  It is a modern, liberal, multilingual, cosmopolitan city with an easy layout and a great subway system.

I will weigh in with an Alternative View.

First, I freaking LOVE POUTINE, and everyone needs to clog their arteries several times a year with this stuff!   I say that because I have spent every March and every August in Montréal for the last 10 years.

Montréal does not "suck hard."  IT FUCKING ROCKS!

I don't know where the rest of you hang out, but I stay in Le Village (the gayborhood) each time.  We have many friends there, some of whom speak only French, some of whom are bilingual to various degrees.  80% of the time I speak French, and no one has ever criticized me for it.  The bars are great (I prefer Dive bars, actually), the people wonderful and inviting, and if I ever choose to emigrate from the USA, it would be to Montréal.  It is a modern, liberal, multilingual, cosmopolitan city with an easy layout and a great subway system.

Well, in my mind, there's only one type of person ruder than the average Montrealer and it's the average urban American

With that being said, the rest of Quebec does not really share much in common with Montreal. Everywhere in the rest of the province there's this "small town charm" where the people are friendly to a fault, everybody wants to know you and it really isn't all that hard to approach people, even in Quebec City with almost a million people in the metro area. Coming from a small town myself, I'm used to greeting people I pass on the street just because, mailmen waving to me and saying good day, strangers getting uncomfortably personal for no other reason than to get to know you better, make you one of them, so to speak. I could find that in Quebec City, not Montreal. I like to engage in passing conversation with people just because I'm bored and don't have anything else to do, on the bus for instance. I'm also used to people engaging with me, while Montrealers mostly give me the cold shoulder. Montrealers are just overly suspicious to me. They remind me a lot of New Yorkers where apparently if you look at people on the subway you either want something from them or want to mug them. They're also always hurried, most people didn't seem to have any time for me. It seems like a really quick pace for a life, and I don't dig it.

One good point for Montrealers is that they could try as hard as they could, but they'd never be as rude and unfriendly as New Yorkers. As much as I dislike Montreal, that turns into outright hatred when New York City is concerned. It's like there's a contest there to be as big of a dick as you can to people. People in shops are dicks, people in restaurants are dicks, people working for the MTA are dicks and the NYPD is like a huge dick factory, they're completely unhelpful. I've never, ever seen anything like it. The only people that are nice to you are paid to be it seems, and even then it's incredibly hit or miss. The pace of life there is once again absolutely insane, everyone runs around like headless chickens and is on guard all the time, I honestly can't see why anyone would ever want to live in New York City.

I had a friend from NYC visit me here, and we were walking at night and passed in front of a school with a group of the regular late teenager hoodie people. My friend freaked out, crossed the street to get to the other side as fast as humanely possible then begged me to take her to safety as quickly as possible. I just couldn't see the problem, they were just standing there speaking in a group, not looking at us, not being threatening. Hell, I could've asked them for directions if I needed to. Like people from big cities just seem to be incredibly distrustful, I suppose that's why they're so cold and distant. I could never get used to that, it's way too pessimistic a lifestyle, expecting bad things from people all the time.

Then again, maybe that suspicion has good reason, what with the metric ton of homeless people, drug dealers and other potentially dangerous people in these cities. Plus, when the natives accost me instead of the opposite, it's usually to ask me for something. The term "no ulterior motive" didn't seem to exist. Just makes it seem all the more evident why city life isn't for me.

That being said, the village is really the only neighborhood I can tolerate (and no I'm not gay). People there just seem...friendlier. Probably because they know what it feels like to be given the cold shoulder for no good reason.

So I just actually looked up poutine...it's seriously french fries, gravy, and cheese?

Yeah, it is. You can add other stuff if you want to, but that's the base.

Pretty accurate statement. I actually enjoy Quebec City a lot more than Montreal. I wouldn't be opposed to having poutine there with you lovely folks.

It should be during the St-Jean (June 24), so we can all munch on poutine while drunk or stoned and listen to the open-air bands playing until 3AM.

Well, in my mind, there's only one type of person ruder than the average Montrealer and it's the average urban American

With that being said, the rest of Quebec does not really share much in common with Montreal. Everywhere in the rest of the province there's this "small town charm" where the people are friendly to a fault, everybody wants to know you and it really isn't all that hard to approach people, even in Quebec City with almost a million people in the metro area. Coming from a small town myself, I'm used to greeting people I pass on the street just because, mailmen waving to me and saying good day, strangers getting uncomfortably personal for no other reason than to get to know you better, make you one of them, so to speak. I could find that in Quebec City, not Montreal. I like to engage in passing conversation with people just because I'm bored and don't have anything else to do, on the bus for instance. I'm also using to people engaging with me, while Montrealers mostly give me the cold shoulder. Montrealers are just overly suspicious to me. They remind me a lot of New Yorkers where apparently if you look at people on the subway you either want something from them or want to mug them. They're also always hurried, most people didn't seem to have any time for me. It seems like a really quick pace for a life, and I don't dig it.

Then again, maybe that suspicion has good reason, what with the metric ton of homeless people, drug dealers and other potentially dangerous people. Plus, when the natives accost me instead of the opposite, it's usually to ask me for something. The term "no ulterior motive" didn't seem to exist. Just makes it seem all the more evident why that city isn't for me. That being said, the village is really the only neighborhood I can tolerate (and no I'm not gay). People there just seem...friendlier. Probably because they know what it feels like to be given the cold shoulder for no good reason.

Oh Puh-leeze...." metric ton of homeless people, drug dealers and other potentially dangerous people..."

You sound like a parochial country rube....which, of course, is how we urban Americans would view you small-town Québeckers 

Oh Puh-leeze...." metric ton of homeless people, drug dealers and other potentially dangerous people..."

You sound like a parochial country rube....which, of course, is how we urban Americans would view you small-town Québeckers 

Bro you can't deny the homeless problem in Montreal, they're absolutely everywhere in most neighborhoods. Whenever I walk out I'm accosted maybe once every 2 minutes by some homeless dude who wants some money. I mean, I'm happy to give some, but eventually my change runs out.

Same thing with the dealers, I mean if I wanted drugs, I wouldn't even have to look for them, I'd just have to walk around St. Catherine or St. Denis, or head to the UQÀM or the bus terminal, and they'd find me instantly. The dealers are ubiquitous. Try finding even weed in Quebec City's streets...it's doable but it's way harder, it's not even comparable. I've never been offered any drugs in the streets of Quebec City in the 2 years I've lived there. In one weekend in Montreal, I was randomly offered weed, speed, ecstasy, coke, crack, Viagra and heroin, multiple times, and trust me I don't look like a druggie at all. It just seemed like random potshot offers and I've always wondered how these people never seemed to get busted by the police. I don't even know if it's the neighborhoods I stay at, they've always seemed to be "dodgier" but not necessarily "dodgy". I mean, we're talking about stuff like Côte-des-Neiges, not Montréal-Nord. Compared to the shadiest borough in Quebec City (which is pretty much eggshell white instead of pure white), CDN is 60-70s Queens or Harlem, but it's still not what I would consider as "never go there" dodgy, evidenced by the fact that I did spend a week there.

Now don't get me wrong, I never felt once in danger in Montreal, but then again I seem to be an overly trusting "parochial country rube". I know it's the stereotype that we people of the "big village" (as Montrealers call Quebec City) are scared for our lives upon stepping foot in Montreal, because there's so much weird shit we're not exposed to back home and we see all of it and immediately start being terrorized, but for me at least it's pretty much the opposite. It's because I wasn't exposed to huge amounts of homeless people, visible gangs, drug dealers and shady neighborhoods that I'm not scared. I still think people are decent and that trouble usually doesn't look for you, it will only find you if you look for it.

I was saying that maybe it's the metropolis folks feeling in danger all the time, hence why I find them so distrustful and distant. I have friends from large cities and I have a word to describe them : paranoid. But why are they? Small town folks are scared in cities because they're used to rural/suburban peace and seeing a police car going next to where you live is a big event that will get all the neighbours out and near the scene because it's so rare, while in the cities you see rushing cops all the time so you don't really feel safe because it's so common, but why are the natives not scared, but so distrustful? I mean they live in it, they should know that people aren't specifically out to get them, all of this is common and yet their guard's always up, they're always cautious and in a hurry. That's what I was getting at. Is it a perceived danger that I don't perceive? Am I just too naïve and that means I'm nice to everyone and pretty unguarded? I know my NYC friend had to teach me about not speaking randomly to strangers, not greeting people, not even making eye contact in the subway because they'll feel that I'm a danger or at least want something from them. Being distant and rude seems like a defence mechanism for them. People in the cities feel the need to be cautious, but I don't. I'm just wondering if it's because of all the shady shit or because I'm abnormal and just naturally trusting. I mean I'm not an idiot, I can recognize a dangerous situation, but I need a good reason to consider myself in danger, and I haven't had that happen yet, be that in Montreal or NYC. Being open and unguarded is my default mode, I was thinking most urban dwellers act how they do because they aren't, and then I'm wondering if they have a good reason, because where I'm from, that's not necessary and aside from the random paranoiac, people don't act this way.

Either way, I wouldn't enjoy living in a place where people don't give me the benefit of the doubt. I'd feel lonely and cut off. It's funny because I'm pretty much the biggest loner I know, I enjoy being alone, I rarely go out and I have very few friends even though I speak to everyone because I rarely let people get any close, but I don't like being an anonymous face in the masses. Some find this reassuring, I don't. I suppose it's something about being alone by choice, being in control of my social interactions, as opposed to a city where I find most people unapproachable, where this control is wrestled away from me.