If you live in Montreal or Toronto, you live in one of the best cities in the world. Seriously.
Time Out magazine surveyed their own editors, experts and nearly 34,000 anonymous city-dwellers across the globe to put together an official ranking of the best cities in the world in 2019. Since every person has different tastes when it comes to city life, each place was rated on a wide variety of factors.
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Of course, culture, food, drink, nightlife and city attractiveness were included in the grade, but so were factors such as affordability, convenience, safety, diversity, and happiness.
Montreal cracked the top 10 list, ranking at No. 6, while Toronto came in at No. 23 of 48 cities.
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Diverse culture and food are what these two Canadian urban centres have in common, and both factors helped rank them higher on Time Out’s list.
Montreal is known as a hub for diversity, self-expression, and creativity. Considering the city hosts the largest LGBTQ Pride celebration in Canada and is home to distinct cultural neighbourhoods— from the European-esque Old Port to the recognizable Chinatown — Montreal has certainly earned that reputation.
As for the city’s culinary scene, it’s a foodie’s dream. Montreal has more restaurants per capita than any other in Canada, Point2Homes reports, and they range from casual diners to upscale eateries. Not only that, but the diversity of food offerings are overwhelming. From Canadian favourite poutine to Portuguese chicken to Syrian delicacies, Montreal has something for every craving.
Similarly, Toronto is incredibly multicultural. The city is home to 200 ethnic groups with people who speak over 140 languages, Culture Trip reports. On a larger scale, the 6ix has “the world’s fourth most diverse cultural make-up,” according to Time Out.
Toronto’s foodie scene is comparable to Montreal’s when it comes to diversity. New restaurants are always cropping up across the city, and two-thirds of Torontonians rated the urban centre as an “amazing” culinary destination in Time Out’s survey.
Montreal does stand out from Toronto, however, which is why it ranked in Time Out’s top 10 list. Quebec city is the second most affordable in the world and 79 per cent of locals reported feeling happy living there, according to the survey.
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While Torontonians reported being happier and friendlier than the global average, Time Out did note the "awful performance of the TTC public transit system," which could have brought down the city's score.
So which cities made the top five? New York City, Melbourne, Chicago, London, U.K., and Los Angeles ranked just ahead of Montreal as the best cities in the world in 2019.
