Best Places to Retire Abroad: Montreal - WSJ Article

[peekay]

Holy shit guys anything to make you feel better? It's not as if I'm insulting your mother's or something. Please stop rationalizing for the sake of the argument. Keep in mind I'm debating that Montreal's winter is much harsher than Toronto's.

 

One take away from the graph:

 

Montreal spends 52% of the time in January in frigid weather whereas Toronto spends only 15%. That's it. I'm done. Although the other parts of the graph is bad as well, lets focus on winter please.

 

I can't wait to see how many of you will now say "Well if you hate it so much why don't you move out of here"

 

Again that is not the point. What I am saying is that our winters suck a whole lot more. And clearly they do. I don't like it either but I'm honest about it.

[LindbergMTL]

En tout cas, à New York aujourd'hui nous allons avoir une des journées les plus chaudes de l'été avec un 93 Fahrenheit prévu et 90 % d'humidité.

 

Le mois de septembre en général est très confortable et très agréable.

Je ne crois pas que je serais capable de me réhabituer aux hivers de Montréal.

Modifié 11 septembre 2013 par LindbergMTL

[monctezuma]

Holy shit guys anything to make you feel better? It's not as if I'm insulting your mother's or something. Please stop rationalizing for the sake of the argument. Keep in mind I'm debating that Montreal's winter is much harsher than Toronto's.

 

One take away from the graph:

 

Montreal spends 52% of the time in January in frigid weather whereas Toronto spends only 15%. That's it. I'm done. Although the other parts of the graph is bad as well, lets focus on winter please.

 

I can't wait to see how many of you will now say "Well if you hate it so much why don't you move out of here"

 

Again that is not the point. What I am saying is that our winters suck a whole lot more. And clearly they do. I don't like it either but I'm honest about it.

 

J'adore faire du patin à glace. Combien de fois ais-je plus en faire l'hiver dernier ? 2 fois. Seulement DEUX fois ! Nous avons eu une météo d'hiver merdique, selon moi, mais selon toi, il s'agissait peut-être d'un bel hiver doux ?

 

There is only one way to like winter : do winter sports. Plus it's good for your health

[franktko]

Holy shit guys anything to make you feel better? It's not as if I'm insulting your mother's or something. Please stop rationalizing for the sake of the argument. Keep in mind I'm debating that Montreal's winter is much harsher than Toronto's.

 

One take away from the graph:

 

Montreal spends 52% of the time in January in frigid weather whereas Toronto spends only 15%. That's it. I'm done. Although the other parts of the graph is bad as well, lets focus on winter please.

 

I can't wait to see how many of you will now say "Well if you hate it so much why don't you move out of here"

 

Again that is not the point. What I am saying is that our winters suck a whole lot more. And clearly they do. I don't like it either but I'm honest about it.

 

I'm debating exactly the same point as you and I think you're wrong when you say it is much harsher and that it suck a whole lot more. The site you gave as reference decided that -10C was frigid and -9C was not. Forget these words and just look at the temperatures differences. Bring some dude from Cuba and he'll tell you that -8 and -10 are both fuckin frigid!!!

 

Toronto, Montreal and Quebec all have harsh winters. Yes, the more to the north you go, it gets a little colder and tend to get a little more snow. It's not like Québec has a much more harsher winter than Montreal. A little? Sure. Just like Montreal over Toronto.

[MtlMan]

It seems that the only one crying out loud on this subject is you my friend. You seem to refuse to admit that our winters are much harsher than other Northern cities. My beef is with people who have lived here all their life and cannot admit the truth. It will be my pleasure to prove you wrong as soon as I get my hands on the data. Humans have a very sensitive threshold to bitter cold wind (Montreal is notorious for that). There is a HUGE difference between a 6am temperature reading of 11C and one of 5C. Toronto and Boston do not have that type of weather as often as we do.

 

To be honest, I wouldn't have minded the winter if it was only three months long like it is elsewhere. Our winter conditions stretch into mid-spring!

 

Yet, I ask you AGAIN: what do you propose instead of just complaining? We have to live with it. I proposed solutions to make the best of it. At least, that would help a bit. Not your attitude, dude.

[peekay]

Propose solutions? What are you talking about? I'm stating FACTS on issues we cannot change!

 

Look at the purple part of the graph for both cities and realize that the Texas couple in the article was right in saying that our winters are harsh.

 

Anything below -9 is considered frigid. Yes that includes -10 but it also includes -18, -25 etc. freezing is 0 - -9 on this graph which Toronto has a whole shitload more often then us.

Nothing is more infuriating than people like you guys saying "It's not that cold here" to unsuspecting tourists.

 

There is a huge difference in the type of winter clothing you need here vs Toronto.

 

Numbers and graphs do not lie but apparently it's not enough for some of you.

[vivreenrégion]

Ce qui est harsh, c'est la longueur de l'hiver. 5 mois. Si l'on compte le mois de novembre où il fait froid et sombre, souvent sans neige, un mois gaspillé. Et le mois de mars où tout fond, un mois où les activités extérieures sont entre l'arbre et l'écorce.

[MtlMan]

Propose solutions? What are you talking about? I'm stating FACTS on issues we cannot change!

 

Look at the purple part of the graph for both cities and realize that the Texas couple in the article was right in saying that our winters are harsh.

 

Anything below -9 is considered frigid. Yes that includes -10 but it also includes -18, -25 etc. freezing is 0 - -9 on this graph which Toronto has a whole shitload more often then us.

Nothing is more infuriating than people like you guys saying "It's not that cold here" to unsuspecting tourists.

 

There is a huge difference in the type of winter clothing you need here vs Toronto.

 

Numbers and graphs do not lie but apparently it's not enough for some of you.

 

Maybe I'm not clear enough: we CAN do something. Not change the weather, of course! But at least promote our winter as something that can be positive, and different than in other cities. We CAN stop exaggerating, which doesn't help. I'm not saying we don't have winters, I'm saying :

 

1- it's not the end of the world, but it looks like it when we whine all the time

2- There are economic opportunities we're gonna miss if we envelop ourselves in a besieged mentality because of the snow.

 

Since 2012, we have the Snow Village, which is unique in a great North American city. We have Montreal High Lights Fest. We have more events and festivals appearing now. That's because we are starting to understand that it doesn't serve any logical, and especially, economic purpose to live in the hope that winter will disappear, or dream that it's like Washington DC! It's simply is not! That's fact my friend. You're right about that. But, a good entrepreneur, stuck with a reality that is somewhat disadvantageous, will find a way ti use it, and turn it into an advantage! A good entrepreneur!

 

So, de we act like good ones and do something, as much we can, to alleviate this "hindrance", or do we continue just close our eyes each year and hope it won't be too long? We are passive, or we try to be pro-active.

 

In my point of view, it starts by saying to visitors: "Winter is cold, but it doesn't destroy houses, doesn't destroy cities (like Katrina), and if you wear appropriate clothing, you can do SOOOOO many things in Montreal. So it's not THAT terrible. In comparison, you can't do anything during a hurricane, a tornado or a tsunami, my friend. They don't last as long, but they are WAY more dangerous and destructive."

 

I really think it makes a lot of sense. But that's me, and my optimism. I prefer it that way. Better for the health.

Modifié 12 septembre 2013 par MtlMan

[peekay]

You brought up some interesting points and I really like what you wrote in your second-to-last paragraph.

 

I would only change one thing though. I would say to visitors, Winter is very cold and long, but it doesn't destroy houses, doesn't destroy cities (like Katrina), and if you wear appropriate clothing, you can do SOOOOO many things in Montreal. So it's not THAT terrible. In comparison, you can't do anything during a hurricane, a tornado or a tsunami, my friend. They don't last as long, but they are WAY more dangerous and destructive."

 

[acpnc]

Pas besoin même de parler de catastrophes climatiques pour convaincre les gens. Les hivers européens sont si humides, que le froid, même très modéré, donne une impression de vous glacer jusqu'aux os. J'ai eu plus froid à Paris et à Londres avec mon anorak, que j'utilise pourtant ici à -25, parce que l'humidité traverse le vêtement et rend inconfortable toutes promenades extérieures. Idem à New-York, Boston, Chicago, Vancouver, etc. Sans parler bien sûr de la pluie et les jours gris qui se succèdent presque sans interruption et cela tout l'hiver. Quatre mois de novembre en ligne, merci beaucoup. Je préfère mes belles journées froides et lumineuses avec un couvert de neige, qui permet toutes sortes d'activités ludiques, et mes tempêtes de neige qui créent des paysages des plus poétiques, tout en nous invitant ensuite à aller jouer dehors.

 

Apprenons à mieux profiter de nos hivers qui sont au passage de plus en plus courts. Ils font partie de notre exotisme qui attire son lot de touristes durant la saison froide. Bien sûr on trouve ces visiteurs en région, notamment dans Charlevoix, un de nos paradis hivernaux où se pratiquent absolument tous les sports extérieurs imaginables. Les classiques: ski alpin, ski de fond, raquette, patinage et motoneige. Aussi escalades de glace, traineau à chien, kayak de mer sur le fleuve, kyte surf, pêche sur glace et j'en oubli.

 

Plus près de Montréal, les Laurentides et les Cantons de l'Est sont d'immenses terrains de jeux qui n'attendent que les montréalais de toutes provenances, pour leur offrir la plus belle façon de vivre l'hiver. Et même la Ville multiplie les efforts pour rendre cette saison la plus agréable possible. Cessons donc de "focuser" sur les quelques irritants passagers, notre hiver est une saison joyeuse qui demeure encore sous-exploitée par les québécois eux-mêmes.

 

Usons d'imagination et créons des produits et des événements qui sauront attirer les foules. Peu de villes en Amérique pourront nous faire compétition dans ce domaine, car en dépit du fait qu'il fait plus ou moins froid partout au nord, rares sont les endroits où le couvert de neige et de glace sont suffisamment épais et permanents pour assurer plaisir et sécurité.