Canada

[kirrz 0]

I'm thinking about moving over to Canada in a year or so for grad school, I'm tossing up between Vancouver and Montreal. Which city has more jumping days/ better weather?

I have heard that it rains nearly everyday in Vancouver (don't know if it is true though) but I know that it gets bitterly cold in Montreal.. Which is the best Canadian city if you're a skydiver? Help!

[freeflir29 0]

I've never lived in either but have been to both. My vote would be for Vancouver. There are turbines there too!

[NWFlyer 2]

I don't know anything about Montreal so this thread isn't meant to dis it.

As for Vancouver ... great DZs up there, plus you can get down to the Seattle-area DZs (cheaper jumps and cool peeps) very easily (there's a few people who come down reguarly so you can always find a carpool buddy).

Vancouver's a cool city, too.

You *can* jump year-round, but the winter will be a lot of hop & pops and frustrating days waiting for the skies to clear (or you can just say "fuck skydiving" and go skiing or snowboarding really close by).

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Remster 24]

Montreal may be cold in winter, but then you get to buy winter boots!


Strictly for skydiving, I would say Vancouver is better. That beening said, the weather can be down right misearable for very long stretches. I see it like this: in Montreal, you have winter where you pretty much give up on jumping for 6 months or so, but summers are nice. In Vancouver, you can theoritically jump all year round (with cool weathe rin winter) but it can be cloudy and yukky for weekds on end...

Remster

[freeflir29 0]

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I would say Vancouver is better.

There's a lot less smelly French Canuks in Vancouver too.

[Skyvixen 0]

Toronto has about 4 DZ's around it...most are south of the city ,there are a few to choose from..

Let's put the FUN back in Funeral

Life is a Freefall Enjoy!!
MUFF #2760

[Remster 24]

yeah, but she dint mention TO!

Montreal has a Twin Otter DZ in summer now with Nouvel Air. They also have 3 Beech 18s on top of that.

Montreal is a cheaper city to live in the Vancouver. Much cheaper. Much much cheaper

Vancouver has much milder winters, but hit and miss summers.

I'm from Montreal, love the city, but also really like Vancouver.

You'd enjoy both in my opinion.

Remster

[murrays 0]

I've lived in both ... it's a bit of a toss-up. They are both cool places in different ways. Winters in Montreal aren't that bad as far as cold goes...but I'm from and have returned to the Canadian Prairies so you can take that with a grain of salt. You just have to dress for the cold. Walking around underdressed is miserable. (I used to walk to work here when it was -40 out...but I was dressed for it and it was a great way to start the day.)

I left the West Coast of Canada because I was so damn sick of the rain and gloom all winter long. I found it very depressing. When the sun shines it's glorious...but waiting for weeks to see it got to me.

I haven't jumped at Nouvel Air near Montreal because it didn't exist when I lived there but I have jumped at the dzs near Vancouver. Good people, great scenery. I think both locations offer great dz experiences as the owners of Nouvel Air are great guys with tons of jumps (>10k)... and French Canadians love to have fun!

I miss the ocean and being able to go sea kayaking which I did a lot of when I was in BC but that's about it. I'm not a skier but you can ski in both locations. BC skiing is awesome but there are lots of nice hills in the Laurentians.

This time of year in Quebec is spectacular....Eastern Canada has the best fall colours...and it was my favourite time of year to jump in the East. Rides to altitude were always a treat.

Good luck with your decision!

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[SabreDave 0]

Vancouver by a country mile. I live 1,100 km's from Vancouver and drive out there 2-3 times a year. I used to live in Kingston Ont, I think it was 300-400 km's to Montreal....went once.

Vancouver is more expensive but the outdoor lifestyle opportunities there are awesesome.

It is rainy in the winter but their summers are quite sunny and warm.... http://tinyurl.com/pchcd
From the website link here yoiu can look up precipitation, temperatures etc......for the summer and winter months.

C'ya in Vancouver

SabreDave

[Richards 0]

I would guess there is better jumping in BC as you can jump all year but in fairness I have never jumped in Quebec (gets to -25, -30 in Quebec). If you go out to chilliwack FVSC (my old dropzone) you are surrounded by mountains that almost seem to reach jump altitude . Downside is that it gets very cloudy and rains a lot. Due to cloud cover you sometimes are limitted to hop'n'pops and you become very creative at predicting when a hole in the cloud cover will be directly over the DZ for a precious few minutes.

I presume you are aware that you will need to speak French if you go to Quebec, so unless you are proficient BC will be better. Incidentally does Concordia, McGill or Laval have have a better program than UBC or SFU for your discipline? If not then go to BC. The scenery is beautiful, the weather is great and the people are wonderfull. you can ski at Grouse while overlooking downtown vancouver. Whistler even has some skiing in the summer.

Cheers,

Richards

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[Remster 24]

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I presume you are aware that you will need to speak French if you go to Quebec,

You have never lived in Montreal have you?

PS: Laval University is in Quebec City, not Montreal. The main U's in Montreal are, in size: Universite du Quebec a Montreal (French)Universite de Montreal (french), McGill (English) Concordia (English)

Remster

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Montreal and Vancouver are definitely the two coolest cities in Canada to be in. UBC, however is by far the nicest campus in the country.
Pacific Skydivers is located within reach of the city bus, which may make a big difference.
It does not rain most days in Vancouver; it just seems that way sometimes. What you can expect during the depths of winter is days on end of low (1000') overcast. Compare that to -25C with a -40C wind chill. Perris and Eloy are way more accessible from Vancouver than Florida is from Montreal.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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If you go out to chilliwack FVSC (my old dropzone) you are surrounded by mountains that almost seem to reach jump altitude .

Sadly Chilliwack did not open this year.

[Remster 24]

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Perris and Eloy are way more accessible from Vancouver than Florida is from Montreal.

Again, I'm not bashing Vancouver, its a great place in deed, but huh??? They are all in the 2100-2700 km range from each other if you want to drive. And there are quite a few direct flights to Orlando from Montreal, and a whole bunch with 1 stop.

Remster

[freeflir29 0]

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I used to walk to work here when it was -40 out...but I was dressed for it and it was a great way to start the day

Do you have polar bear blood in your family or something? You people are STRANGE!

[murrays 0]

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I used to walk to work here when it was -40 out...but I was dressed for it and it was a great way to start the day

Do you have polar bear blood in your family or something? You people are STRANGE!

Plus, there's no mosquitoes in January!!!

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[Armour666 0]

Toronto !!! big city about 4 DZ all with in a hour or so , one that has a turbine all summer, I'm biased thats were I live

SO this one time at band camp.....

"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most."

[MrBrant 0]

no no no


Winnipeg.



We've got........um........potholes?

[Richards 0]

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You have never lived in Montreal have you?

Oh yeah. I forgot it has a large english population. that does not change the fact that I would not wish to live there without at least a basic understanding of french.

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PS: Laval University is in Quebec City, not Montreal.

Oops...My fuck-up.

Richards

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[quinny 0]

Hi Kirrz,
I would whole heartedly vote for Vancouver.
UBC, from what friends who go and have gone there is awesome. The weather is overall good and there is awesome skydiving happening. Check out Pitt Meadows on pacificskydivers.com and also a club called westcoastskyflyerz.com. Lots of great people and great jumping happening.
Good luck!
Quinny

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[Richards 0]

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Pacific Skydivers is located within reach of the city bus, which may make a big difference.

Jumped there a couple of times but I mostly jumped in chilliwack.

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It does not rain most days in Vancouver; it just seems that way sometimes.

True but it is usually cloudy so we often found ourselves limitted to hop'n'pops. Amazing scenery though wioth all of the mountains. They kind of make you feel like you are not that high up. After jumping at FVSC for several years I did a couple of jumps at the markham skydiving centre just outside of Toronto. Without mountains it seemed like we were way higher than we actually were and i almost refused to beleive my altimeter. Kind of freaked me out since it was like we were in fucking orbit when on the jump run!

Cheers,

Richards

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[GrumpySmurf 0]

Montreal - definitely.

Don't come to Vancouver, we don't need the housing prices to go any higher with more people here.

[Richards 0]

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Sadly Chilliwack did not open this year.

[kirrz 0]

hey guys! thanks for all the replies!!

i have a major in french so i'm not worried about the language barrier in montreal. i guess what i really want is a place like sydney but with accessible ski slopes.. sydney has awesome weather.. i love the european-ness of montreal but don't have a basis for comparison as i have never been to vancouver.

remi - to work in retail/ customer interaction type jobs in montreal, do you need to be able to speak french? i'm going to be dragging my boyfriend along so if he's not going to be able to get a job, that might just be the deciding factor..

also, i want to do a masters in broadcast/ investigative journalism... are there any schools in either cities with an outstanding reputation?

thanks heaps guys!! i'm looking forward to jumping with all of u in canada! (once i'm good that is)

[Amazon 7]

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If you go out to chilliwack FVSC (my old dropzone) you are surrounded by mountains that almost seem to reach jump altitude

BZZZZT

Chilliwack is closed.. Most of the people there are jumping at Pitt Meadows or Abbotsford.

BUT http://nwskydivers.com is just 50 miles south of the border and our jumps are $20 USD instead of $32 CDN

We do have a kick ass turbine Porter that gets to 14k in 12 minutes with 8 people instead of other DZs that cram in 10 people.

The weahter.. although overcast..in winter will surprise you , there are MANY days when it looks gray and you think you will not get full altitude.. but you do. Hop and pops though can keep you sane.. and hell you end up a better canopy pilot

OR

You can do what I do...hop on a plane and go to CA or to Eloy.. its a 2 hour flight from Seattle and costs about $200 USD every other month or so... and jump your ass for a 3 day weekend.

Its very temperate.. rarely does it get below 25 degree F here in the west side of Washington,,, and Vancouver BC is just a few miles over the US/Canadian border.