Quality of life
A Safe, Lively Environment
Greater Montréal is a safe environment where people can stroll without fear. Day and night, its public places are frequented by lovers of music, gastronomy and movies. Crime, already very low for a major city, has fallen regularly since 1990. Today, the homicide rate is the lowest in North America according to Statistics Canada and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Downtown Montréal comprises office buildings, department stores, shops, restaurants, cinemas, universities and hospitals, all within walking distance of residential neighbourhoods. Unlike most big North American cities, downtown Montréal is simultaneously a place to work, to reside and to enjoy its many offerings. People living in single-family homes located in a residential neighbourhood of the metropolis can get to their offices in under 30 minutes. The subway, commuter train and bus services converge toward the centre, adding people to the streets, public squares and underground city.
A Diversified, Quality Housing Stock
The area offers a broad range of dwellings, whether one chooses to live in one of the most animated downtowns in North America, the charming cities on the South Shore of the St. Lawrence, the verdant neighbourhoods of Laval or the neighbouring cities, where lots of 450 m2 (4,800 sq. ft.) are the norm – just 20 kilometres from downtown Montréal. At less than one hour from Montréal, there are over 30 ski stations, 80 golf courses and 50 marinas.
In addition to affordable prices for buying or renting an apartment, there is a broad range of house types: modern single-family homes, superb older buildings, safe and functional apartments downtown, post-industrial lofts or even attractive houses with gardens on Montréal’s North and South Shores. Country cottages are also available at reasonable prices and less than one hundred kilometres’ drive from downtown Montréal.
Underground City
Montréal’s underground city comprises a subterranean network of 30 kilometres of passageways and shopping galleries. This network provides access to the downtown subway stations, numerous office buildings, seven major hotels, two universities, 200 restaurants, 1,700 shops, 37 movie theatres, two train stations, 62 building complexes and much more. Every day, some 500,000 people use the underground city to get to work or do their shopping. Montréal’s underground city is the largest pedestrian and commercial network of its type in the world.
Key Figures
Canada ranks 1st among G7 nations and 4th in the world in the United Nations Human Development Report (2007-2008).
According to the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Canada ranks 1st among G7 nations (World Competitiveness Yearbook 2008):
- In the general quality of life ranking
- As a safe place to live and do business
- Where the legal system is administered the most fairly
According to the Mercer Human Resource Consulting survey on quality of life, Greater Montréal ranks 3rd in the top 20 of the largest metropolitan areas in Canada and the United States (2008). It also ranks 2nd for health and hygiene.
According to the July 2008 edition of the international magazine Monocle, Montréal is among the 25 most liveable cities in the world, ranking 16th. Among this select group, just five cities are in North America, with only Vancouver ranking higher than Montréal.
