[Christien]

I did my Master's in music at McGill and my undergrad at Queen's in Kingston.

McGill is a great school, no doubt. Their music program is as good as it gets, at least in Canada. But the best part is Montreal. Living there for 3 years was one of the best experiences of my life. I might have got lucky, but the 3 winters I spent there were quite tame. Rarely below -10C, and typical snowfall for a Canadian winter. Cost of living isn't what it was back in the early 90s, when you could get a nice apartment for $300/month, but it's still MUCH better than Toronto or (especially) Vancouver.

Kingston, on the other hand, is a very typical university town. The campus is much more separate from the city, compared to McGill or U of T, so it can be a very sheltered existence. For some folks, that's a good thing.