Pulaski

Not only are the winter days longer in Montreal than in the UK, the sun is significantly higher in the sky too, so you get more benefit (bright sunlight) from the sun than you do in winter in the UK, where the sun barely seems to rise above the horizon in December and January.

scrubbedexpat091

Don't forget about us in Coastal BC, we don't get the bright sunny winter skies as often as most of you do.

We can spend weeks of gloomy grey clouds and rain.


Winters are miserable for me in general because of depression and lack of sunny days in BC.

But I can say although Edmonton and So. Ontario were colder, I felt a lot better in winter due to having more sunny days and while cold the sun being out got me outside where while warmer its not inviting to go out when it's rainy and gloomy.


Ive not been to Montreal, however it doesn't strike me as a place that get grey and gloomy for weeks straight.

reddflamingo

Thank you so much everyone for all your replies, you have really made me feel better, especially MillieF, thank you for your encouragement!

I did take a look at sunshine hours before making my original post and you are right that winter days in Montreal are longer than in southern England, which quelled my fears momentarily until I realised that the days get noticeably longer more quickly in March and April in England compared to Montreal. But I suppose this wouldn't make too much difference in terms of sunshine hours themselves, it just worries me more that winter will drag on for so long.

It definitely is an amazing opportunity though and I don't want to not do it just because of winter - I was just genuinely worried that I would end up having a terrible time if winter really was awful. I am thinking of visiting Montreal in October though to get a better idea of the city and university and all your replies have reassured me that it wouldn't be a waste of my time or money to do so, so thank you.

Pulaski

Everyone in the world gets the same number of hours of daylight every year, the distribution through the year is all that varies.

On or around March 21 and September 21 each year everyone in the world gets 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. The further away from the equator you are, the more daylight you get in the summer, and less daylight you get in the winter.

Atlantic Xpat

The Mrs (Who is from Newfoundland, a place infinitely damper and foggier than Montreal) always use to say the same. Personally I think she (and you) are barking mad. Perhaps thats just because the novelty of seeing fog blow past your door at 100km/h has worn off over these past 12 years or so....

Souvy

I grew up next to the sea. The novelty of fog wore off decades ago.

Gimme a -20 sunny, windless, day any time!

Oink

I thought people in Montreal lived a subterranean existence in the winter?

Souvy

And why did you think that?

There is a bit more to Montreal than downtown.

Oink

Its just what I've heard from colleagues who worked there. They said they moved about in tunnels or took the metro everywhere in winter.

Oink

Is it a specific program of study that McGill offers or do you have an institutionally specific bursary or scholarship? If not, why Montreal? If you're worried about the weather why not choose UCLA, USC or Claremont?

reddflamingo

Not sure I had quite realised that although it makes sense, thanks for clarifying! Science is not my strong spot.

reddflamingo

It's a combination of lots of things really but the most important one is that McGill seems to be a really good (and well-known) uni but is still affordable. I don't think I would be eligible for much if any financial aid but even so it is barely more expensive than studying in Britain, and I am lucky to be able to afford it.

Other than that I like that it is in a big city, that Montreal is bilingual so I would be able to learn French without studying it at uni (I already speak some French and it would be good to be able to practise often), I like that I could (and would have to) take multiple majors, minors and electives so I wouldn't have to narrow down too much but would still be able to avoid doing maths or science which doesn't seem to be the case at other North American unis, and from a much shallower perspective I like that the drinking age is still 18 there! And from what I understand I could also get a work permit after graduation so it's nice to have the option to stay in Canada if I still want to after four years, which would be much harder to do in the USA.

I would definitely be open to other unis in North America but the bottom line is that most of them are just too expensive and McGill seems to be a good combination of prestige, fun and affordability - the only major drawback I can see is the weather, which is why I was asking about it.

xavier1955

I fail to see your preoccupation with the weather?

Yes it can be frigid but you can dress for it and least the homes are well heated

It is not exactly as it you were feeble and ancient

in Montreal we are cursed with hot humid virtually tropical summers and that has been the case since the nineties. I do not think that is the case in the UK. I think you should be more concerned with summer rather than winter.

BristolUK

xavier1955

I meant every word of it

no sarcasm intended