Saint Laurent Boulevard cuts Montreal in half, creating the east and west parts of the city. The eastern half is predominantly French speaking, while the western half speaks English.
When I first moved to the city, I spent most of my time around McGill University, on the west side of Saint Laurent. McGill is one of only two English universities in Montreal, so while I was adjusting to living away from home for the first time, which was definitely challenging, at least I was safely tucked away into the English side of Montreal.
But McGill is situated in a boring, business district of the city. I hated that all I ever saw were office buildings and chain restaurants, and that the sounds of traffic from the busy street where my dorm was situated woke me up in the middle of the night. I wasn’t happy in that area. I knew from exploring that the areas I liked best were in the eastern part of the city. Here you can find quaint residential neighborhoods with parks instead of highways and colorful two-story houses instead of skyscrapers. There are neighborhoods with whimsical spiral staircases, where people sit on their balconies overlooking alleys decorated with gardens and murals. All this beauty is made all the more enticing, and perhaps a bit more intimidating, by the French swirling through the streets.
