Montreal vs. Vancouver

(Sorry to all of you that have received a letter from me in the past two weeks, you've already heard me blurb about this...)

Growing up in Montreal, I thought that it was the best city in the world. I mean, it's not too big, not too small, it's got an amazing variety of foods, cultures, and people. There's a metro, and there are bagels just around the corner. You can hike up the Mont-Royal, and get a view of the whole city, or you can drive for an hour and go snowboarding. There's live music every night, and you can walk home without being scared. In the summer, there's La Ronde, and the TamTams, and St-Jean-Baptiste in the Mile End. In the winter, I know it's bloody cold, but the sunny days are amazing!

When I moved to Vancouver, I had high standards; but after 5 months here, I must admit that Vancouver is definitely up to stuff! Now, don't get me wrong, Montreal is still the city of my heart, it's just that Vancouver is making itself a nice cozy spot there too. The best analogy I have been able to come up with is:

Montreal is my first love. (You can never quite forget it, and you compare all your subsequent loves to it, and you're over it... almost)

Vancouver is my new and current love.

This analogy works for me because Montreal is the city of my childhood, and "teenage-hood". When I go back there now, it's never for very long. So I always seem to end up in the same places, often with the same people. And I love it, but sometimes it makes me feel a bit stuck. Whereas, Vancouver is the city of my adulthood. I live alone. This means I must motivate myself; to go out, to meet up with friends, to eat out, to discover the city... And I think that self-motivation is one of the new "adult" traits I've discovered in myself since moving here. Also, my favorite "spots" are constantly changing, everything is very fluid, which makes me feel free. Everything is new, everything is gorgeous, everything is exciting, just like a new love!

More practically, things that I love about Vancouver:

• FOOD (fresh fruits, farmers markets, fresh fish, etc.)
• Nature
• Skytrain
• Culture
• My apartment
• Beaches
• Massive trees everywhere
• Bill and Eva (my great-uncle and aunt)
• Easy biking
• Green grass year round
• FOOD (as in restaurants, like Granville Island potato place, Naam, Pad Thai from that place on Commercial, Gelato by that other place on Commercial...)
• Aquarium
• Easy access to the ocean
• Stop-over city for all asia-bound destinations (lots of visitors!!)
• Clothing
• People that just met me can sometimes guess that I'm half-asian!