“And you actually don’t mind the winters…?” That’s usually the question I get when I tell people I live in and absolutely love Montreal. While I often stick to the simple answer of “not really,” I can’t help but feel tempted to further convince these curious souls that there is so much more to Montreal than just surviving -40C wind-chill. Yes, I have, on occasion, disliked the city a tad when my face felt...well, it felt nothing because it was completely frozen, but as I tread through the snow and hope my nose doesn’t fall off, I always manage to regain sanity and realize I may live in one of the best cities in the world.

In a city renowned for its icy cold winters, boiling hot summers, and a diversity of cultures, Formula One races, bilingualism, French fries with gravy and cheese (“Poutine”), fashion, comedy, jazz, and undoubtedly beautiful people, I found love of the deepest kind in Montreal – all encompassing, mind blowing, heart stopping, and world shattering. And I don’t mean with a man. On that front, I’ve been both single and attached in Montreal, but the city itself is my current focus of affection and I have yet to find someone who strongly disagrees with my adoration of this wonderful city. As a student at McGill University and now a full-fledged ‘city girl,’ I recommend Montreal to anyone that asks…and even to people who don’t.

As a student who has explored the nightlife that Montreal has to offer, I can suggest two of the most popular streets to find whatever it is you enjoy during the later hours. St. Laurent Street offers you every degree of clubbing (from fancy/high-class to grungy/’get groped’ and everything in between), bars, restaurants, supper clubs and even 3am greasy food stops for after the bars close. If you prefer a more casual but somewhat touristy easy-going bar scene, then Crescent is the street for you, with Montreal’s ‘classic’ bars such as Winston Churchill’s, Thursdays, Dundee’s (Sports bar) and so on.