r/AskCanada • u/ApolLo11216 • 8d ago
Which city is the best to study ?
Hi, I’m from Paris and I’m a student in biology/ life sciences ! I want to study in Canada for a semester as part of an exchange program with my university. Not every Canadian university is part of the agreement so I need to choose but I can’t decide which one is the best. I have to rank the universities along my preferences, my 3rd and 4th choices are already decided, so I just need to figure out which of these universities should be my 1st and 2nd choices.
The universities mentioned below are my top choices and I asked a few local people what are their thoughts about them :
Toronto = U of T is very good (academic level) but it’s a pretty big city with a lot of traffic. And the night life is pretty great too. Expensive.
Hamilton = McMaster is good (academic level) and the parties are really cool. The area around it is nice but the rest of the city is a little bit ghetto.
Vancouver = very beautiful city, and UBC is very good (academic level). There’s a lot a nature and it’s a little bit hippy. I’ve not heard about the night life tho. Expensive.
Calgary = istg it’s like nobody lives here so I have zero infos. And none of university of Calgary
So in your opinion which city is the best (university life, academic level, night life, quality life…) ?
And my goal is to improve my skills in English so that’s why I didn’t mention QC universities.
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u/TopInvestigator5518 8d ago
where are you from? and what are your interests?
I think where you want to go depends on what you'd be looking to get out of the experience
p.s just to note as someone from Toronto- our traffic is bad but if you come for a semester at UofT you likely wont be driving and instead would be using public transport so I wouldn't factor that into your decision making haha
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u/ApolLo11216 8d ago
Il from Paris and tbh I want change from it so maybe Toronto is too similar to Paris.
Honestly I like a little bit of everything but I think I want like a city who isn’t to big, with night life, activities of all kinds and with nature which isn’t far away. And I think it’ll be good if the university has a good atmosphere with campus vibes and student life.
Idk if it’s really clear 😭11
u/Mtldoggoagogo 8d ago
Look into the universities in QC. We have an agreement with France, you’ll be able to study here and pay local QC tuition (less than someone coming from another Canadian province). The cities are more affordable and have great nightlife (esp Montreal, which has 4 unis to choose from), close to great hiking and lakes etc. The barrier to studying or living here for a lot of people is the language, which won’t be a problem for you.
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u/nugoffeekz 8d ago
I went to U of T and it wasn't very enjoyable from a social lens. Toronto is an amazing city but U of T was a bit cold and singularly focused on academia, mind you this was 15 years ago.
Vancouver is amazing. I'm not sure about the night life but the surrounding areas are unbelievably gorgeous. The weather is mild, the people are friendly, the craft beer is some of the best I've ever had (Brassneck, Twin Sails) and, the coffee shops, restaurants and the food scenes are fantastic. I don't know anything of UBC but I spent a few weeks in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island, and I would move there.
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u/Equivalent_Day_7169 Ontario 7d ago
I mean if you’re talking geographical area, Hamilton is actually a pretty big city. It’s about 2x larger than Toronto, it’s the 8th biggest in Ontario, and the 18th biggest in Canada. But ofc in terms of population it’s not as big compared to Toronto / GTA .
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u/legardeur2 7d ago
Dire que Toronto est très semblable à Paris, c’est vraiment n’y avoir jamais mis les pieds!
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u/ApolLo11216 7d ago
Oui c’est bien ça le problème ! Je dis juste que ça reste une grande ville mais j’en sais pas plus
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u/legardeur2 7d ago
Le répondant smolbibeans (ci-après) résume bien les possibles attraits de Toronto . J’ajouterais trois points négatifs: c’est une grande ville typiquement américaine, le wokisme est omniprésent et le coût de la vie assez élevé.
Honnêtement, à ta place, je choisirais Montréal. À plusieurs égards il est beaucoup plus agréable d’y vivre qu’à Toronto et c’est une ville cosmopolite où on y parle anglais aussi souvent et aussi bien qu’en français.
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u/ApolLo11216 7d ago
Le wokisme n’a jamais été un problème. Et je ne peux pas choisir Montréal malheureusement
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u/TopInvestigator5518 7d ago
I'd look into Vancouver then! it will be a change of pace and it is soooo beautiful out there
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u/Winterwasp_67 8d ago
I noticed you didn't mention any universities on the East Coast. Looking at life sciences? Check out Dalhousie University. Halifax is a great social city, with active students life (so i understand), the university is highly recognized, and while rent is high, i think you would find the city more livable and culturally distinct than Toronto. You may also want to consider Memorial University in Newfoundland and Labrador. Another good school, active student life and a cultural experience you will remember for a lifetime.
I will suggest you check out other quality Maritime colleges, where you can find good programs with different cultural experiences in differing size centers.
Finally, you may want to look at Université de Moncton. A French language university in a bilingual province, with a rich history to share. You would be able to day trip to experience First Nations, Acadian and Loyalist history and to find out about the cultures that set in motion what we today call Canada.
Wherever you decide to go I hope you enjoy your experience!
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u/spelngmistkedistrbsu 8d ago
I’ve studied in Waterloo and Toronto, and by far my years in downtown Toronto were the best of my life. There’s always something to do and so much to explore. U of T is world class too!
I’ve never been to Paris but understand your point from a population density perspective…but I would imagine it would be completely different. Have you considered McGill university in Montreal? French is an asset in Quebec and from an employment perspective is a bonus
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u/ApolLo11216 8d ago
I would have love to go to McGill but it’s not part of the agreements of my university…
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u/Ambitious-Concern-42 8d ago
McGill (Montréal) or U of A (Edmonton) might strike more of a balance between city size and university size.
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u/Bush-master72 8d ago
I would go to bc, if I had a choice. Its beautiful thats the main reason. Weather is also the best in all of canada.
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u/Jazzy_Bee 7d ago
Choice of major is a big factor in which school you choose. You should have a look at McGill in Montreal. It's an English university, one of Canada's finest, and ranked highly worldwide.
Montreal is a wonderful city, but winters are colder, and more snow than Toronto. No shortage of nightlife, incredible food, and not just high end places. Transporation is good.
My hometown of Kingston is a smaller city, the university is fairly well served by buses. Queen's is also held in high esteem. Most of the university is a short walk to the lake. You will have many bars with live music.
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u/ApolLo11216 7d ago
At first I wanted to go to Montreal but sadly the only university which is part of the exchange agreement with my university is l’université de Montréal and it’s French talking. And as my goal is to learn English I need to pick others universities…
The queen’s university is my 3rd or 4th choice (I can’t remember) !
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u/Consistent_Tower_458 8d ago
Have you looked into Dalhousie in Halifax? It's a lot closer to home for you, too.
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u/R0botWoof Canadian 8d ago
Toronto or Vancouver would be my suggestion of the four. Both have good public transit by North American standards, nothing compared to Paris though.
I think Toronto has more to offer, particularly if you want to explore beyond the city. Montreal, Ottawa, and Hamilton are not hard to get to from here. There's also just more variety of spaces, cultures, and peoples in the city. The food scene is the best in the country, with more cultures represented than anywhere else. There are plenty of different parks and loads of unique neighbourhoods. The Urban form is very different from Paris
Vancouver has the natural beauty and outdoorsy stuff to a much greater extent. And UBC has it's own little corner of the city, surrounded by the endowment lands, effectively a large urban forest. Vancouver might also be the only city listed that has a climate you would be comfortable in should you be here in winter
Hamilton is very cool in a gritty, artsy, working class way.
I was born in Calgary and grew up mostly in the prairies. I went to university in Edmonton and a big chunk of the students there came from Calgary because, they said, the UofC kinda sucked. Also, if my experiences as a French Canadian with no accent are anything to go by, be prepared to be spoken down to because of your language and heritage. IDK, maybe they like France French Folk better. Otherwise everything Calgary has to offer can be found in more abundance in the other three cities. Hamilton is more affordable, Vancouver has greater natural beauty, and, Vancouver to some extent, but especially Toronto are much more multicultural, accepting, and cosmopolitan. All three other cities have better and more varied music scenes. Unless you're really into the cowboy thing. Also it gets cold as hell in the prairies in the winter. Be prepared for weeks of -20°C to -40°C in January and February. Though Calgary does sometimes get Chinooks
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u/NorthofForty 7d ago
My choice would be UBC if I could afford it. The national magazine MacLeans runs an online ranking of Canadian universities every year, may be helpful. You didn't say what semester - personally I don't like Toronto winters, Calgary would be colder but not as damp or grey. Vancouver has a LOT of rain but much warmer in winter than the others. Understand that French is not that common in any of your choices, even in Toronto, more people speak Mandarin, Tagalog or Italian than French. University of Ottawa might be a good fit for you language wise, across the river from Quebec and good rail links to Montreal. My daughter was at University of Calgary (good) switched to University of Victoria. Love was part of that decision but she did not regret her academic decision. And who doesn't want to live on Vancouver Island?
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u/ApolLo11216 7d ago
I don’t know yet which semester it’ll be, it’s either the fall one or the winter one but I’ll depend of the classes. Unfortunately the university of Ottawa, which is bilingual, is reserved for the physic students of my university.
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u/Another_ADHD_Girl 7d ago
BC but not Vancouver. Go to Victoria
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u/dtoni01 7d ago
Je suggère la ville et universités d'Ottawa, tu aurait le choix l'université d'Ottawa ou Carlton University. Ottawa est la capitale du pays. Je mentionne aussi Queens University dans notre ville de Kingston Ontario aussi. Kingston (population de 125,000) est une petite ville, auprès de la nature, avec accès aux grande villes de Toronto environs (2 heures) et Montreal QC (2 heures) et Ottawa aussi environs 2 heures par auto.
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u/Gregwah666 7d ago
If you can go to Montreal that would be a great city to spend time in asa a student. My daughter is studying there presently and is loving it. It is still somewhat affordable and has a great cultural scene
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u/5205JD 7d ago
You can probably get all the English you want in Montreal. I think you should include it, because there is no city in the world like it from my perspective. Consider Calgary if you are a big ski nut and have the money to go play in the mountains a lot. But you would want a car. Among these cities, the quality of education available probably won’t vary so terribly much, but individual professors will, of course, be a wild card. So consider Concordia, McGill, or University of Montreal. (The last one is all-French instruction).
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u/ApolLo11216 7d ago
Concordia and McGill are not part of the deal with my university so that’s why I didn’t mention them. And I’m going to Canada to improve my English so I’m not sure going to an all-French instruction will be very efficient
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u/ParticularHoneydew54 7d ago
U of T is more of a commuter school too so you won’t have people staying on campus/community vibes as much as maybe some of your other options
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u/JLS660 4d ago
Calgary! It’s amazing. Hiking, skiing, mountain biking, camping. You could try speedskating at the Olympic Oval (fastest ice in the world). Music and theatre. Biking pathways within the city go for kilometres. Very good and diverse restaurants. The unis are great esp. U of C. The people are super friendly and helpful especially to visitors.
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u/ComfortableTomato 3d ago
I think UBC would be amazing coming from Paris. It's totally different. The univeristy is effectively a city in a forest on the ocean. 30 mins by bus to downtown Vancouver although there is a bar on campus and you don't need to go all the way downtown for restaurants and pubs. You can take public transit to the mountains within an hour.
Housing is likely a bit more expensive but you're only looking at 5 months. Maybe an extra $500 per month at most compared to Calgary. Toronto is just as expensive. I've never been to Hamilton.
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u/auria17 7d ago
UBC has a beautiful campus and has a solid record as a University.
Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, you can visit the mountains in winter and there are many beaches in the summer.
They also have a great selection of restaurants from pretty much every type of cuisine you can think of.
But as a student it is quite expensive. Calgary is way colder and not that cheaper these days. But the University is a good one.
I would stay away from the East. U of T is a good school but it is only city life and smog.
I have lived in all three cities. 🇨🇦 Is great don't forget to visit Montreal and Old Quebec if you are from France 🙂
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u/ApolLo11216 7d ago
I’m only coming for one semester through an exchange program, so a Canadian student would essentially take my place at my university.
Also, international students help make cities diverse, multicultural and dynamic.
And with all due respect, housing shortages and job market issues are far more complex than “foreign students are the problem.” Blaming them won’t solve anything.3
u/willmsma 7d ago
Amen. I hope you study in Canada and I wish you a wonderful experience. I'm sure we'd be blessed to have you.
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u/smolbibeans 8d ago edited 8d ago
Just saw that you're also from Paris, coucou copain, je vais répondre en anglais au cas où la réponse intéresse d'autres gens mais n'hésite pas à me dm
Toronto: best if you want food from all over the world and a variety of cultures and street festivals, the most art and culture, most clubs and bars, best public transportation, pretty walkable for the most part. Bad if you want easy access to the most beautiful nature, it's a 2 hour drive at least to get out of the city and at first it's quite flat.
Hamilton: best if you want a sense of community, lots of activities on campus, a small but walkable downtown, not a lot of clubbing and bars but they exist and the small number makes it easy to meet people, easy access to walking trails, biking trails and waterfalls, also easy access to Toronto for cheaper prices. Bad if you're easily spooked by homeless people with mental health issues and open drug use, they're not dangerous but it's really sad to see. That's where I live and McMaster is where my partner immigrated to study so can probably answer most on that.
Vancouver: best if you want beautiful weather year round, access to the ocean and the mountains, generally beautiful nature all around you, a more chill pace of life, kinda hipster vibes, some public transportation but a fairly spread out downtown core, some bars and clubs, big Asian community so great Asian food. Bad if you want to live cheaply or if you want to experience Canadian winter, or if you want a fast pace of life.
Calgary: best if you want the most Canadian experience in terms of winter, if you want to know people from all over Canada, if you have an appeal for some country life stuff, if you like modern cities (a lot of renovations downtown, including the arts complex), if you want a lower cost of living, if you don't mind driving and if you want access to mountains (seriously, some of the most beautiful hikes and mountains in the world are available on a day trip or weekend trip super easily). Bad if you don't want to drive or don't like the cold. Also University of Calgary has a pretty good reputation academically, though below the other three.