Basically the only city in US/Canada that seems to privilege quality of life and the tenets of social democracy and cultural autonomy over theocratic hegemony of mammon/mini-malls (but will still feel somewhat inhuman due to the grid-centric street system and the massive autos). Quebec City is smaller but might also be vaguely recognizable.
Apr 16, 2024
Related Recs
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one of my favorite cities in North America, my poor French aside, everything about it is so unique and beautiful, from every conversation to one of the best views of a city you can have. Much love to New York City and London, but part of my heart always is in Montréal
Mar 17, 2024
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best city on earth to me but it’s really intense tbh
i hear good things about montreal
Apr 16, 2024
you should look up citynerd on youtube, he does lots of top ten lists of primarily NA cities ranking them on various aspects of urbanism, transit, biking and affordability. the one I linked here talks about montreal, dubbed the most European city in north america, and talks about many of the topics mentioned above.
but also and probably more importantly, theres so much of your personal preference to take into account — what kind of climate do you want to live in? large school or small university? will you need to work or find housing to afford it? ease of travel back to your home country? definitely take some time to think about these things and keep them in mind as you research.
best wishes on your journey! hopefully you get some time to travel and see that there are some truly wonderful and vastly varied cities, cultures and people here.
Apr 16, 2024
Top Recs from @iconicindex
Finally saw this for the first time (on 35mm thxx Prince Charles Cinema) and wow. Jonathan Glazer and co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière spending all of pre-production re-writing the script without informing the studio… DP Harris Savides pushing the boundaries of underexposed film and getting the craziest deepest browns and purples out of Kodak stock… Alexandre Desplat starting with what seems like a very polite classical score and then gradually bringing in heavy synth bass… and of course Nicole Kidman throwing herself headlong into an insane role (and apparently bullying the producers for more $$$ when they finished under budget)
Nov 10, 2024
The less you read about it (or look at maps) the better. Just enter via Haight Street, turn your phone off and wander 'til you reach the ocean. If you go on a Sunday afternoon and you didn't already come across it, proceed to turn your phone back on and track back to the 6th Avenue Skate Park to check out the roller disco party 🛼🔊😎
Mar 3, 2024
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Because of the extensive tradition of pirate radio in the UK (from Radio Caroline on down), London probably has the most insane landscape of 24/7 internet radio in the world. I've tried to rank these in terms of approximate popularity ranging from NTS (as mentioned) on down to purely DIY weekend-only amateur collectives like LWSTD. If you don't know the stations in your city, just have a quick google and do some Instagram "Following" list exploration and it should be pretty easy to find more (e.g. in Amsterdam check out Echobox, Radio Tempo Não Pára, RRFM, etc...)
- NTS (Dalston) https://www.nts.live/
- Rinse FM (Hoxton) https://rinse.fm/
- Worldwide FM (Islington) https://worldwidefm.net/ (currently mostly on ice but great archive)
- Balaami (Peckham) https://www.balamii.com/
- Soho Radio https://sohoradiolondon.com/
- Reprezent Radio (Brixton) https://www.reprezentradio.org.uk/
- Netil Radio (Hackney) https://www.netilradio.com/
- Subtle Radio (Hackney) https://www.subtleradio.com/
- Voices Radio (Kings Cross) https://www.voicesradio.co.uk/
- Aaja (Deptford) https://aajamusic.com/radio/
- Do You!! Radio (Hackney) https://doyou.world/
- LWSTD https://www.lovewillsavetheday.fm/
Apr 4, 2024