If you were to tally this list, a basic conclusion would be to say that Montreal won. However, if you read between the lines and look a little more critically, this isn’t really the case. While Montreal may win in categories like drugs and green space, Toronto takes the prize in more key areas like health care and taxes. Even things like cheap rent and real estate, where Montreal “wins”, are actually more indicative of a loss. While prices are influenced to a certain degree by socialist leanings and rent control in la Belle Province, the bigger factor is that the French-Canadian metropolis’ economy and population grow incredibly slowly, fewer people make decent money, and, consequently, inflation doesn’t really happen on housing. On face value, this is a benefit to students and those who can actually afford to purchase. In actuality, it is a symptom of a city and economy not quite in decline, but not going anywhere fast either.
Toronto, by contrast, continues on a construction growth fueled by enormous private and foreign investment. While the condos may be ugly, one cannot say a rapidly expanding economy and population don’t have benefits. Arts and culture have historically been a Montreal stronghold yet Toronto is rapidly taking ground. How? Because money makes things happen. This is perhaps why 500,000 Montrealers (including three members of the Vv Magazine team) have decided to relocate from Montreal to Toronto.
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