So I made a big decision a couple of weeks back and leave Toronto, go to Montreal shortly and head west to Vancouver. I mean honestly, of course I could not leave the East without seeing Montreal. Being in Montreal, celebrating one band after another, enjoying beers and alternative lifestyles up and down…it seems like I have found my place. Well, almost; wouldn’t have been there this little, tiny circumstance called winter. I mean, well, for sure, I am in Canada. Of course I should have been prepared for winter. However, winter in Montreal is not really where I feel comfortable at (I bet nobody does…). So I made this decision very quickly, to substitute this fabulous, colorful and festive city for Vancouver. Mentally, I got ready for my trip to Vancouver. My excitement was beyond from what I have expected. I got pretty smiley and had this huge vision to find a job in the “entertainment industry”. Well, well, well…first things first…
Montreal in Concert: Tegan and Sara
After my arrival I stayed a couple of days at a friend’s place. And lucky me I had this opportunity. I had no idea how expensive this city really is…finding accommodation itself is not easy. But finding budget accommodation is not an easy road AT ALL. It gave me so much pain, grey hair and moments of desperation. I had so many viewings. One after another and I lowered my excitement from viewing to viewing. Also, my expectations hit rock bottom, truly I just wanted to have a roof over my head and some floor where I could sleep in some sort of imaginary bed. From that moment on, I knew it will be impossible to expect European living standards. My inner voice yelled at me “No! Not going to happen! Deal with it you little naïve girl”. I truly forgot even though I am in Canada, I am still in North America (surprise, surprise) and people love town houses. So it might be pretty common finding yourself in an old, moldy basement apartment/room, using two or three blankets to survive the nights in this unexpected cold winter while the heater is not working (well, didn’t I flew the winter?) As I consider myself a fairly positive thinker, I truly found myself seeing the bright side of my current housing situation in Vancouver. It turns out that basement apartments make alarms in the morning totally dispensable; thanks to lovely roommates who live right above your head and decide to either jump around or celebrate the joy of life in the middle of the night with their $500 Sound machine (I am jealous though that those basses are so great and massive. In private, I celebrate life with them during my days off ;-)).
Looks like Montreal...Ha...but it's Vancouver...unfortunately...
Well, well, well…I accepted this living situation and I would even cherish it, even consider it as kind of an adventure if I only would pay a more appropriate rent…even though I am already paying incredibly less compared to this city’s average rent.