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Living in Montreal

Life in Montreal

With its sociable joie de vivre and high quality of life, Montreal is a top pick for students, researchers and businesses. The low cost of living and doing business here, along with a multilingual, dynamic culture make it one of the most enjoyable and well-connected urban centres in North America.

Montreal is ranked the best student city in Canada and top 20 globally ().

Montreal is a bilingual city (English and French) located in the heart of North America. Montreal offers a unique and enriching cultural experience. As for climate, there are four seasons where the daytime high can reach as high as 32°C in mid-July to -20°C in mid-February.

A UNESCO City of Design since 2006, Montreal is still twice as affordable as other international cities in North America and Europe, with the most competitive housing costs of all the major Canadian cities and the best domestic purchasing power in the country (and third best in North America). Government-funded health care and free public primary and secondary education contribute to making the cost of living here 40% lower than other metropolitan cities.

Businesses are drawn to Montreal as opportunities in high-tech continue to grow. Montreal attracts innovators. Its strategic location on the east coast (Boston and New York City are just a 60-minute flight from Montreal), low annual operation costs, tax incentives and an ever-growing talent pool draw industry leaders here. Montreal is an international leader in AI and new media (in particular video games, immersive environments, and virtual and augmented reality). In fact, Montreal’s startup ecosystem has grown considerably in the past few years in different areas of the city with the creation of four new hubs: Fintech, Creative, AI, and Life Sciences.

Hip. Innovative. Creative. Dynamic. Montreal’s dynamism shines through its diverse, accessible neighbourhoods and popular festivals and events. Long standing annual events such as the , the , the and races have been joined by events such as the and , which invite business communities to network and collaborate in new and entertaining ways.

If you are a student and need wellness support, please contact . It is available 24/7/365 in over 60 languages. It gives you free, immediate and ongoing access to licensed counsellors through telephone, mobile chat, and videoconferencing—even for those currently outside of Quebec.

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