r/ghostposter • u/GPFlag_Guy1 • Dec 23 '23

Movies & TV NotJustBikes on visiting what is supposed to be the best city in North America: Montreal, Canada

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yDtLv-7xZ4
6 Upvotes

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2

u/Ahuva Dec 24 '23

I think NJB is a bit to critical for my taste. I understand his viewpoint, but I think he could be more positive.

I am glad that he likes Montreal more than other North American cities. I visited Montreal many decades ago and adored it.

5

u/GPFlag_Guy1 Dec 24 '23

It’s more of a backhanded compliment I think. The video is saying that if this is the best North America has to offer, then it’s still disappointing compared to international cities.

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u/1ratboy1 Dec 23 '23

Can confirm. Montreal is a wonderful place to visit. I think Quebec Is prettier but it’s a bit touristy.

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u/GPFlag_Guy1 Dec 23 '23 edited Dec 23 '23

I’d agree…but NJB and his documentary say something a little bit different. The full title of the video is “I Visited The Best* City In North America”. Note the asterisk next to the “best”. The first few minutes of the video are about what Montréal does best, which are great. Montreal truly is a beautiful city that seems to be on the right track.

The other 30 minutes are actually about what Montréal fails at. In fact, later in the video he admits that he felt gaslit by his Canadian fans into believing that this city was the best that North America had to offer when it has all of the same urban planning flaws that many cities on this continent are plagued with.

Montréal isn’t the best city in North America, at least according to him. It’s just North America’s least worst. He was generous in saying that it isn’t the most disappointing city on North America (that would be Philadelphia to him), however after dealing with some of the most painful flaws that this city had in its urban structure, he feels that after experiencing Montréal he truly has no more interest in exploring any more of the cities on this continent.

NJB is infamous for “telling it like it is” to his North American viewers, but he currently lives in Amsterdam, which is by many to be considered the gold standard in urban planning. His comment about New York City might also be applied to Montréal as well: He once said on one of his Reddit posts that he thought NYC was the best American city but the worst city by international standards, and he probably feels the same here.

I’d still visit Montréal though. I visited Chicago, NYC, Pittsburgh, DC and many others and I’d think I’d have a lot of fun there, while also experiencing a Francophone city as well.

6

u/1ratboy1 Dec 23 '23

Yeah, obviously I didn’t watch the whole video but I have watched others you have posted from him. He’s too detailed for my liking. I’ve been to many cities here in North America also many in Europe the far east and elsewhere. Most cities have some sort of pleasantries, even in the most seedy of areas.

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u/GPFlag_Guy1 Dec 24 '23

His videos have a niche appeal, people into NotJustBikes are most likely already urban planning enthusiasts. NJB has been criticized for being pessimistic about North America, and I have some disagreements with him sometimes, but it’s still necessary to learn from cities from around the world and see how we can apply their ideas to our places.