[mattkrause]

Compared to the US, Montreal seems to have a larger proportion of people with “weird jobs”: artists and performers, but also small, non-VC backed startups with unusual ideas. I think part of the reason is the more generous social safety net: you can follow your dream of becoming a circus performer or building highly-instrumented clothes for athletic training, without worrying about ending up sick and broke. As a result, people are happier, the city is more interesting, and some of the innovations seem to be panning out.

I don’t actually know of anyone who is out-and-out abusing the system. I’m sure there may be some, but I think a lot of people seem disproportionately worried about someone, somewhere eeking out a meager existence vs. the possible benefits.

[hackermailman]

I think another reason is the cost of living in Quebec/Montreal is low because they don't allow foreign real estate speculators. You can still rent a one bedroom for ~$800 in Montreal in an area where you don't need a vehicle, or a studio for ~$600 that includes tennant insurance. It's even cheaper in Quebec City, $900 for a large 2 bedroom. In Vancouver or Toronto that same studio in an area where you don't need a vehicle would be well over $1k/mth which is probably why it seems more people with wacky jobs like street juggler live there and not in Vancouver or Toronto despite having a similar safety net.

[rchaud]

It's not just speculators. Toronto and Vancouver have large foreign student populations who obviously need a place to live in. Most of them are not the cash-and-cars-flashing millionaires the newspapers constantly feature. Many are middle-class and had to take out loans from their community to afford the tuition.

In general, the major landing points for Canadian immigrants are Toronto, the GTA or Vancouver. The GTA is where the jobs are, so that's where people congregate.

There are some big employers based in Montreal, but you usually need to know French unless you're a developer or in an otherwise non-client facing role. You don't need French to get around in Montreal though, although of course it's appreciated if you make an effort.

[mattkrause]

Sure, there are a lot of reasons for cost-of-living differences. I think Quebec might have a stronger safety net: childcare and college tuition are considerably cheaper, for example, than in Toronto, and those are major expenses for many people.

I still think the broader point stands though: th city is fun because the cost-of-living (including fallback plans) is low enough that people don’t feel compelled to chase only income-maximizing careers. If I lived in New York instead, I think it’s much more likely that I would be in finance or something similar because I’d be only a few bits of bad luck away from destitution. In Montreal, I feel like I’ve got a reasonable life on a research scientist’s much lower salary.

[gremlinsinc]

What's stopping the U.S. from making it illegal for foreign real estate holdings? Take back all the real estate, and auction it off at reasonable values, would go a long way to fix the rent issues. We don't owe foreign nationals anything, you should have to be a U.S. citizen or legal resident living stateside to hold/own land in America. If you live in the house as a legal resident that's one thing, but if you live in mainland china, or hong kong, and are just 'holding onto the real estate' - they should give 1 year to sell or your property will be auctioned and you'll receive 50/50 split -- govt getting the other 50.

[niij]

Can you explain _why_ you think that would be beneficial?

Why moving abroad for a year you automatically lose your property rights? Does this just apply to real estate or do you release all property rights, such as cash, stocks, property left in a storage unit, car, etc?

[gremlinsinc]

Moving abroad you're still a U.S. citizens, I'm talking about non-us nationals buying up property strictly to hold/sell later, or to use as AIRBNB, etc... A little old but here's an example: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/18/foreigners-snap-up-record-nu...

I get if you are a U.S. national and live abroad some times and come back sometimes keeping a home, but a business man in china just holding 5-10 homes, or using U.S. real estate to launder money, definitely serves no purpose.