Anyone who has dealt with the chaos of college dormitories can tell you that having lots of people move in or out on the same day is sheer madness. Montreal has embraced that madness for 269 years. While the rest of Canada is taking it easy and celebrating Canada Day on July first, the renters of Quebec jump at the chance to change homes.
Last year, upwards of 250,000 people across the province moved on or around July 1. As the province’s most populous city, Montreal—land of the spiral staircase—has the most intense version of Moving Day. According to city spokesman Philippe Sabourin, about 70,000 Montreal households move each year. That can be at least partly explained by the fact that the city has the lowest homeownership rate in the country (55 percent), exceptionally tenant-friendly rental housing laws, and widespread rent control.
Has he moved on July 1? “Oh, yes,” he replies, laughing. “It’s quite a challenge for Montrealers,” he adds. In the days and weeks leading up to July 1, nearly 55,000 tons of garbage and discarded household items—everything from appliances to couches to yellowed Christmas trees—make their way to the curb for city pickup. Truck rental agencies and moving companies double and triple their prices. Last year, a heat wave with high humidity steeped Montreal movers in what felt like a swampy 111 °F.
Why July 1? In 1750, it was decreed that leases would start on May 1 and end on April 30, but a 1974 reform measure extended that to June 30. The measure also allowed landlords and tenants to start and end leases any time they want, but old habits die hard, and moving on July first had become a tradition. Read about Moving Day in Montreal at City Lab. -via Nag on the Lake
(Image credit: Claude Boucher)