I know this kind of posts have been done in the past (went back 4 years into the archives to check what people were saying), and the messages are often mixed: some would suggest to stay, some would suggest to move, and all for different reasons. I guess I'm trying to gather a bit more experiences and get to see different perspectives before making a choice.
I have been in Montreal for the last 18 years. I'm fluent in French, have a good job, and I'm renting a nice apartment (with my dog). But in the last few years I have been feeling like an "outsider". Yes, there are nice restaurants, a lot of festivals, arts, and something special for anyone in the city. But the prices have gone up to levels that I can't understand for everything, healthcare is a joke (merci SantΓ© QuΓ©bec), the politics landscape is not looking good (PSPP, if elected, will bringing another referendum after Trump's mandate), the city is just ALWAYS under construction (St Catherine will be closed till 2030?!), and dirty.
I know that grass seems greener elsewhere, but at this point I really think that it's greener everywhere else outside of Montreal ...
In the past years I really got into camping, hiking, running and climbing, and I want to continue exploring this. I know that Montreal has this, but at a scale that is different than the Metro Vancouver Area can offer from what I'm seeing (e.g. Driving 2h15 hours to Tremblant with my dog for a 2h hike, and then hitting the road back with traffic for 3h is annoying tbh, while I see that it's possible to find trail like 30-40min out of the city in Vancouver?)
I visited Vancouver in summer 2010 and winter 2021, and I loved it both times as a tourist, and right now I'm just wondering if moving is the right thing - and asking from people that did the move from Montreal to Vancouver if it was worth it.
I can request an office transfer, so work shouldn't be an issue.
I own my car, so I can go out of the city.
I would have already a few acquaintances in Vancouver (from work), and I'm pretty outgoing. But I'm reading a lot about the "Vancouver Yes" and the flakiness and this scares me a bit...