Population and Housing

[ijmorlan]

Wider streets in Montreal -- also legal to park on streets overnight. Unlike Waterloo region, where on-street parking is frowned upon. Helps that more people use PT to move around. Subway wheels are rubber. Montreal is a nice city. They have a different attitude, though it helps that it is a historical city. Lots of good, high quality, older buildings there. Around here, still lots of cheap builds, especially in the university area.

Probably the most urban city in Canada. It can be politically complicated (I grew up there). I think rubber Metro wheels are overrated, it was still really bumpy when I commuted to high school. And yes you can park overnight but you have to move your car twice a week in summer (which I think is great, adds friction to car ownership).

Montreal has a lot to recommend it. There are at least 2 things I really don’t like:

1. Multi-unit buildings with outdoor access to the various units. There are way too many buildings where one has to climb an entire flight of stairs to get to the entrance to a unit. The worst offender is Habitat, which is cool and all with the modular design, but the notion of taking an elevator up 8 floors and then having to walk outdoors to my unit in Montreal winter weather is just silly. All that extra shovelling is unattractive. But then I don’t really believe in outdoor stairs at all in most situations: building entrances should be at grade.
   
2. “Moving Day”. The notion of having most leases end on the same day is just an absurd way to run a residential rental market. I thought it was perpetuated by the operating practices of a major public housing agency, but all the information I can find quickly now seems to suggest that it’s just a holdover from ancient practices; as late as the 70s leases were required to end on a certain day of the year, which needless to say is massive government overreach into what should be the realm of private contract.
   

But the park on the mountain, the subway system, bagels, … now I want to schedule a visit!