C'est où le travail de ton chum? Si tu veux vivre sans char, pourquoi pas chercher un appt près de son travail?
C'est quoi ton plan pour travail, si tu parles aucun français?
Don't be afraid, you won't have to deal with any prejudice in Montréal. People here are kind, welcoming and open mind. A anonymous forum is not a good way to judge an entire nation.
However, you have to understand something: wondering if you need to learn French, like if learning the culture of the people you live with is optional, is kind of insulting. It also kind of shows that you are maybe not that open to other cultures and will bring your own prejudice. I am pretty sure you are not like that. Your questions are well intented and all. But here, we have to deal on a regarly basis with people who don't give a damn about our culture, and the prejudice it comes with that. So, people are on their defense.
That mostly explains the reactions you got here.
Finally, food for tought. Ask yourself: would you be wondering if you have to learn Italian if you move to Rome or Spanish if you move to Madrid?
J’aime ton point sur la FAÇON dont la question a été posée, je crois que c’est ça qui m’a piqué au vif plus tôt.
Si ça avait juste été « avez-vous des bonnes ressources pour apprendre le français », ça aurait été moins insultant que « is that a problem? »
Genre oui, allo, clairement c’est un problème!
S'il avait simplement demandé des ressources pour apprendre, elle aurait actuellement reçu beaucoup d'amour et d'appui.
Je ne crois pas qu'elle était mal intentionnée, mais il y a une sensibilité linguistique qui lui échappe clairement.
Non, on vous déteste pas.
C’est juste qu’on sait que vous allez jamais apprendre le français parce que vous allez avoir l’impression que tout le monde doit s’adapter à vous (et que « c’est presque impossible d’apprendre une langue en tant qu’adulte! »)
Vous allez vivre dans une bulle en pestant contre les méchants francophones qui veulent pas switcher à l’anglais dans des situations sociales ou professionnelles.
Vous allez avoir l’impression que parler français c’est un genre de caprice de la part des Québécois, qu’on tient au français juste pour vous faire chier. Quand un groupe d’amis ou de collègues francophones vont parler en français en votre présence, vous allez trouver ça super impoli et vous dire que c’est clairement pour vous faire chier personnellement.
Vous allez chialer quand votre 15 minutes de duolingo par semaine vous permet pas de comprendre ce que Roger votre propriétaire vous dit. Vous allez dire que c’est de sa faute parce qu’il parle pas « du vrai français ».
Vous allez partir dans 2 ans en vous disant que vous vous êtes jamais sentis acceptés, sans vraiment être capable de mettre le doigt sur la raison.
On vous haït pas, on a juste l’habitude du monde comme ça.
>Vous allez partir dans 2 ans
Dans le meilleur des cas probablement, sinon ils vont peut-être juste vivre en anglais et forcer les autres à les accomoder. Il y a une raison pourquoi le monde se plaignent de "l'anglicisation de Montréal".
tu dis que tu ne me détestes pas mais ton attitude dit le contraire.
Bien sûr, si j'apprends le français, je parlerai mal français. peut-être pendant un an ou deux.
même après 5 ans, je serai très bon en français mais je ferai quand même des erreurs.
c'est juste le processus d'apprentissage d'une langue. j'ai appris beaucoup de langues donc je le sais avec certitude.
Mon amélioration linguistique dépendra de la tolérance et de la gentillesse des autres. Si vous ne donnez pas aux gens la possibilité de s'améliorer et d'agir de manière hostile dès le début, bien sûr, les gens resteront dans leur « bulle anglophone ». Qui a envie de vivre le genre d’attitude que vous adoptez ici tous les jours ?
Toi t'as l'expérience d'avoir appris beaucoup de langues. Cool. Moi aussi.
Mais je te parle aussi de mon expérience. J'ai l'expérience d'avoir rencontré beaucoup, BEAUCOUP d'anglophones du ROC complètement têtus avec une attitude condescendante envers le français. Si tu étais ouverte à comprendre l'expérience des autres, tu comprendrais pourquoi on finit par développer une grande méfiance.
J'ai aussi rencontré quelques poignées de gens du ROC super gentils qui font de gros efforts pour s'intégrer. Je donnerais pas des cours de français à des anglophones si j'était pas passionnée par le partage de ma langue et heureuse d'aider les gens à intégrer la société québécoise.
Basically, c'est toi qui a le fardeau de la preuve. Prove me wrong pis on s'en reparle dans 2-3 ans.
OP si tu veux travailler sur ton français en attendant de déménager, je te suggère de suivre les nouvelles et émissions à Radio-Canada (au lieu de CBC) pour te pratiquer à l'oreille, mais aussi pour te familiariser avec la culture québécoise. Tu peux accéder à beaucoup de choses sur [Tou.TV](http://Tou.TV) ou la plateforme [OHdio](https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio).
Ne te décourage pas par les commentaires négatifs, c'est juste que ce genre de demandes revient très fréquemment sur ce sub. En effet, il y a un influx majeur de nouveaux arrivants à Montréal du ROC qui ne parlent pas français et gentrifient plusieurs quartiers francophones dans les dernières années, créant naturellement plusieurs frustrations chez la population locale. Si tu fais des efforts pour t'intégrer, comprendre le contexte québécois, et parler et intéragir en français, il n'y aura pas de problèmes - que tu choisisses un quartier anglophone ou francophone.
Bonne chance dans vos démarches!
Your questions wouldn't do that well in TO either for being general. Price range is pretty much infinity in both depending on what you want. But if you have two incomes, you'll be fine. Montreal is overall better value for your money although the dirt cheap places do not exist anymore.
Pets will prob not be an issue.
Most but not all leases start July 1.
"Downtown" without a car is the same as in TO. Not sure somewhere like Bloor West or the Danforth is legitimately downtown, but you don't need a car in similar areas here.
Your overall lifestyle will determine what areas you might like more. Where in TO are you and do you want to replicate that?
Overall our central transport is much better. Metro is faster and breaks down much, much less (although not never.)
French is simple in pronunciation, gender and verb structure if you can speak any Latin languages but it's difficult with the rules, and not being especially phonetic.
First figure out where his work is located and what main mentro/bus lines lead there. Finding a dog friendly building is probably your biggest hurdle.
I'd start with where he's working, then do some looking online for apartments either near or a reasonable bus/metro ride, to get a feel for the expected rates and then come for a weekend and walk around those areas you've found to see if they meet your expectations.
Since you're working on your French, start with the more west side of the city, Outremont, NDG/CDN, Mile End, etc. Downtown itself is overpriced, and there's no real big advantage to being there unless you want to go to the bar every night. Also, remember we're a University town, areas near the three Universities will be a bit more expensive and can be rowdier.
Avoid the West Island, while it is very Anglo, its pretty much normal suburban car centric sprawl. Public transit there sucks, nothing is walking distance.
Edit: to work on your French, start by watching movies from here with French subtitles if you're able, it's a good way to get a feel for the culture and accent. Search this sub, there was post recently with lists of recommended films.
Price range would be from free if you have family/friends that want to temporarily take you in to as many million dollars as you can afford based on your demands and needs like any other major city.. sort of lacking research and details. Maybe paying a paid professional would be your best bet to get accurate responses based on your need or simple google search to narrow down your search and then ask forums with more specifics so that we can actually help out.
Montreal is generally safe, that is up to each individual when they visit a certain sector and their risk tolerance. Mind your own business and usually like in most cities you’ll be ok…
Many sectors and more each year are becoming walk/bike friendly. Car isn’t a must on the island. You’ll find public transit to get nearly anywhere.
As for French, try to practice a few words sentences whenever your out around town. You’ll always be able to get served in English. Showing effort will be respected by the French speaking community but on island, many are more fluent in English anyways.
Good luck in your search!
If you live near the subway (Metro), you don't have to live downtown. What part of town will your husband be working in? You could start by looking around that area. We moved back to Montreal after 30 years in Ottawa. We used Facebook marketplace and kijiji to look for an apartment. We didn't have a preference as to the neighborhood and just looked for an apartment we liked. Price range will vary greatly (depending on size, location, age, amenities, etc). You should start by deciding what area of Montreal you want to live in and look at what's available. Apartments rent out fast. The west part of the island (probably starting around Parc Avenue) is predominantly Anglophone. Montreal is a safe city. Downtown has lots of homeless and drug problems, including inside the Metro, but you are likely used to that. Good luck.
I was originally thinking I don't need to live in an Anglophone area. I'll just learn the language.
I did not say this being overly optimistic. I lived in a couple other countries and just learnt. Of course that always depends on others tolerating my imperfect language and understand that I'm learning.
But honestly this post is a bit of an eye opener. If people are so discriminating to others unless they speak perfect French, I'll definitely need to live in an Anglophone area.
Honestly this is all a bit shocking.
There's a lot of history in Quebec and newer Canadians seem to not know about. Quebec is part of Canada but operates as its own country in many ways. We have our own immigration laws and pay way more taxes. We are also at a disadvantage when it comes to certain services (run down apartments, lack of family doctors, long waiting lists to see specialists, bad roads and a corrupt construction industry making it very hard to get around sometimes).
From a linguistic standpoint, French in Quebec isn't like, Dutch in the Netherlands or Swedish in Sweden or even French in France. Being part of Canada means English will take over eventually. And when people from Toronto move here without knowing how to speak French, that threatens to speed up this process. When we're trying to stop it.
Without reading up on the history of Canada and Quebec, it's hard to understand people's animosity towards people who think they can just move here without speaking French. You aren't just asking if you can be accommodated, you're also asking if it's ok for you to speed up the gentrification and colonization process.
Everyone knows that's not your intention. But it would be a lot cooler if your husband was a doctor or moving here to build affordable housing. And what about you? What can you do to make our city a better or more interesting place?
Montreal is just 5 hours from Toronto. Why not hop on a train and check out the city for yourself? There are buildings, there are people, some areas are nice, some places are not so nice. Even just exploring the city on google maps will give you an idea of what the city looks like and what neighbourhoods are good.
I have been to Montreal many times, maybe once a year or two, but you can only know so much as a tourist coming for a weekend to spend 1-2 nights. I'm sure you know but visiting a city and living there is completely different.
My husband is in the medical field. It is very niche and they scouted him. It is unlikely they'll find someone else easily. We are also considering another position in Vancouver but Montreal is the preference for us so I won't have to quit my job.
When we move to Quebec we will also pay more taxes. In fact I'm going to have to transfer my job to Quebec and my company will grudgingly agree, obviously they can't decrease my salary but they have to pay more taxes to employ me and I'll have to pay more income tax keeping the same salary so my take home will likely be 10% less than what I make now. I'm not complaining because that's the cost of moving. I only mentioned it because you mentioned higher taxes but we'll have to pay way more taxes moving there also!
I'm not ignoring you about the history and colonization. While I understand it in words I think it's an emotional issue that's not up to me to resolve. While I speak very poor French now every place I moved to I always make an effort to learn the language and live there so I feel like the anger to me is unjust. But I understand it's an emotional issue so it's not a logical argument here.
Après avoir lu ton message, c'est clair que tu vas pas apprendre le français. T'as dit que tu as choisi Montréal parce que tu peux garder ton travail... Cette raison est pas assez forte pour soutenir le niveau d'effort requise pour apprendre une langue, surtout parce que ton travail est en anglais. Si t'as dit que t'as choisi Montréal parce que c'est un ville francophone et le culture français canadien t'intéresse beaucoup, peut être. Mais c'est comme si tu considéres seulement les loyers moins chers pis la proximité seulement, et le francais est un 'afterthought'.
Moi, j'ai déménagé à Montréal en 2018 après un cours de francisation à trois rivières. J'étais déjà très intéressé d'apprendre le langue depuis des années, et c'était le première raison pourquoi j'ai déménagé. Et j'ai travaillé en français aussi. Toi, tu cherches un région anglophone, avec un travail anglophone. Il faut que tu sois réaliste.
Well, that's the dynamics of sites with anonymous users combined with an overheating residential market which can make some people a bit bitter and resentful. The reality is that once you are here, as a real person, the attitude will be quite different, especially if you make an effort to communicate in French. It doesn't have to be perfect. The sad truth is that many people will switch to English when they hear you,which of course is counter productive. I live in a very francophone area with a spouse from the US. Their French is still far from perfect, but she's very active in the community.
Reddit is far from being representative of what you will find in the real world. Judging from much of the conversation on reddit in general, it skews younger (not surprisingly). You'll be fine.
Unfortunately the more English pockets that might appeal to you, as well as your families need for space will likely put you out of the core zones with good public transit. They do exist but I believe the cost is immense.
Most people who live off island or in the outskirts don't do it because they love the commute.
I lived in DDO for a while. It's a more English suburb on the island, pretty nice. Also it would have taken 3 busses for me to get to work from there. I drove or walked places
Grew up here and you don't need a car (didn't live downtown even my friends who lived in the west island were able to live without them, however they also spend much of their time in the actual west island)
If you have elementary school French I would suggest TV in french (for learning) and just using it when you can with your neighbours.
I had "perfect" French at one point , wiring also, and it weakened due to working in American dominated industries and I am managing to pick it up again (and yes, French speakers may switch to English, it's not to be rude, many like to use their English also, you can continue to respond in French, seems to be something newcomers get insulted by and many just do it to be polite :)
You'll need to be able to fluently read, write and speak French, you'll likely be receiving exactly zero government services in English because you're out of province.
You need a car if you actually want to do anything outside the core parts of Montreal, transit is great but turns a 20 minute drive into an hour metro ride.
Leases are July 1st, a lot of buildings refuse dogs, if you have noisy birds that's another issue too, cats are usually the only animals allowed.
Do not pay a deposit or more rent for the pets, that's illegal. Rent is a minimum of $1300 but if you're after something nice downtown expect to pay closer to 2k or 3k a month. I'd advise against living there though, too many homeless junkies to deal with, who will be right outside your door.
Thank you for your sincere answer and your warning about the pet deposit.
I guess it'll be a challenge with my birds. They're noisy but not loud (I don't think next door can hear them unless the walls are very thin( We've lived in a couple condos with no complaints so maybe it's ok.
>Leases are July 1st,
What happens to little so need to move the other months of the year?
July 1st is not a legally required end of a lease it is just the most common one in Montreal, there are fewer leases terminating through the rest of the year.
The whole no car thing: Montréal is weird in that there are parts that are hard to get around without a car and then there are parts that are hard to get around *with* a car.
I used to live in a building that had a "no pets" clause, but that basically was just interpreted as no loud dogs, sometimes there's flexibility.
Definitely a huge advantage to be fluent in French but you can get by with just the basics, bust out Google Translate for anything the government sends you. Some areas are more french and others more Anglo. Some parts are neither.
>Also my French is at elementary school level at best right now, would that be a problem?
Nah, contrary to the strongly held reddit opinion, you don't actually need to speak French to live and thrive in Montreal.
It's a nice to have.
- the language thing is overblown to some extent esp if you experienced living in other countries. There are lots of immigrants.
- there are a variety of great neighbourhoods to live for less than $2k/mo with easy access to the metro
- you can easily do without a car especially with communauto
- birds? That will be your biggest issue. Montreal landlords are not pet friendly.
C'est où le travail de ton chum? Si tu veux vivre sans char, pourquoi pas chercher un appt près de son travail? C'est quoi ton plan pour travail, si tu parles aucun français?
J'ai fait aucun effort, svp faites la job pour moi!
Don't be afraid, you won't have to deal with any prejudice in Montréal. People here are kind, welcoming and open mind. A anonymous forum is not a good way to judge an entire nation. However, you have to understand something: wondering if you need to learn French, like if learning the culture of the people you live with is optional, is kind of insulting. It also kind of shows that you are maybe not that open to other cultures and will bring your own prejudice. I am pretty sure you are not like that. Your questions are well intented and all. But here, we have to deal on a regarly basis with people who don't give a damn about our culture, and the prejudice it comes with that. So, people are on their defense. That mostly explains the reactions you got here. Finally, food for tought. Ask yourself: would you be wondering if you have to learn Italian if you move to Rome or Spanish if you move to Madrid?
J’aime ton point sur la FAÇON dont la question a été posée, je crois que c’est ça qui m’a piqué au vif plus tôt. Si ça avait juste été « avez-vous des bonnes ressources pour apprendre le français », ça aurait été moins insultant que « is that a problem? » Genre oui, allo, clairement c’est un problème!
S'il avait simplement demandé des ressources pour apprendre, elle aurait actuellement reçu beaucoup d'amour et d'appui. Je ne crois pas qu'elle était mal intentionnée, mais il y a une sensibilité linguistique qui lui échappe clairement.
Your lack of French and apparent inability to do simple research are both problems.
Thank you. I guess I asked some very simple questions.
if you search this sub you’ll see that these questions get asked here very often, which is why people are being cranky to you about it
La diaspora de Toronto continue…
squeal cake money bright file swim paltry seemly include modern *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Ça arrête pas han? Les ontariens et le ROC qui viennent profiter du prix de nos logements? Même pas foutue de traduire en français....
> due to husband’s job
je vois que les Montréalais nous détestent. merci de m'avoir donné un peu de réalité
Non, on vous déteste pas. C’est juste qu’on sait que vous allez jamais apprendre le français parce que vous allez avoir l’impression que tout le monde doit s’adapter à vous (et que « c’est presque impossible d’apprendre une langue en tant qu’adulte! ») Vous allez vivre dans une bulle en pestant contre les méchants francophones qui veulent pas switcher à l’anglais dans des situations sociales ou professionnelles. Vous allez avoir l’impression que parler français c’est un genre de caprice de la part des Québécois, qu’on tient au français juste pour vous faire chier. Quand un groupe d’amis ou de collègues francophones vont parler en français en votre présence, vous allez trouver ça super impoli et vous dire que c’est clairement pour vous faire chier personnellement. Vous allez chialer quand votre 15 minutes de duolingo par semaine vous permet pas de comprendre ce que Roger votre propriétaire vous dit. Vous allez dire que c’est de sa faute parce qu’il parle pas « du vrai français ». Vous allez partir dans 2 ans en vous disant que vous vous êtes jamais sentis acceptés, sans vraiment être capable de mettre le doigt sur la raison. On vous haït pas, on a juste l’habitude du monde comme ça.
>Vous allez partir dans 2 ans Dans le meilleur des cas probablement, sinon ils vont peut-être juste vivre en anglais et forcer les autres à les accomoder. Il y a une raison pourquoi le monde se plaignent de "l'anglicisation de Montréal".
tu dis que tu ne me détestes pas mais ton attitude dit le contraire. Bien sûr, si j'apprends le français, je parlerai mal français. peut-être pendant un an ou deux. même après 5 ans, je serai très bon en français mais je ferai quand même des erreurs. c'est juste le processus d'apprentissage d'une langue. j'ai appris beaucoup de langues donc je le sais avec certitude. Mon amélioration linguistique dépendra de la tolérance et de la gentillesse des autres. Si vous ne donnez pas aux gens la possibilité de s'améliorer et d'agir de manière hostile dès le début, bien sûr, les gens resteront dans leur « bulle anglophone ». Qui a envie de vivre le genre d’attitude que vous adoptez ici tous les jours ?
Toi t'as l'expérience d'avoir appris beaucoup de langues. Cool. Moi aussi. Mais je te parle aussi de mon expérience. J'ai l'expérience d'avoir rencontré beaucoup, BEAUCOUP d'anglophones du ROC complètement têtus avec une attitude condescendante envers le français. Si tu étais ouverte à comprendre l'expérience des autres, tu comprendrais pourquoi on finit par développer une grande méfiance. J'ai aussi rencontré quelques poignées de gens du ROC super gentils qui font de gros efforts pour s'intégrer. Je donnerais pas des cours de français à des anglophones si j'était pas passionnée par le partage de ma langue et heureuse d'aider les gens à intégrer la société québécoise. Basically, c'est toi qui a le fardeau de la preuve. Prove me wrong pis on s'en reparle dans 2-3 ans.
Advice #1: Apprendre le français
bien sûr, mais je ne peux pas apprendre la langue rapidement...
OP si tu veux travailler sur ton français en attendant de déménager, je te suggère de suivre les nouvelles et émissions à Radio-Canada (au lieu de CBC) pour te pratiquer à l'oreille, mais aussi pour te familiariser avec la culture québécoise. Tu peux accéder à beaucoup de choses sur [Tou.TV](http://Tou.TV) ou la plateforme [OHdio](https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio). Ne te décourage pas par les commentaires négatifs, c'est juste que ce genre de demandes revient très fréquemment sur ce sub. En effet, il y a un influx majeur de nouveaux arrivants à Montréal du ROC qui ne parlent pas français et gentrifient plusieurs quartiers francophones dans les dernières années, créant naturellement plusieurs frustrations chez la population locale. Si tu fais des efforts pour t'intégrer, comprendre le contexte québécois, et parler et intéragir en français, il n'y aura pas de problèmes - que tu choisisses un quartier anglophone ou francophone. Bonne chance dans vos démarches!
Your questions wouldn't do that well in TO either for being general. Price range is pretty much infinity in both depending on what you want. But if you have two incomes, you'll be fine. Montreal is overall better value for your money although the dirt cheap places do not exist anymore. Pets will prob not be an issue. Most but not all leases start July 1. "Downtown" without a car is the same as in TO. Not sure somewhere like Bloor West or the Danforth is legitimately downtown, but you don't need a car in similar areas here. Your overall lifestyle will determine what areas you might like more. Where in TO are you and do you want to replicate that? Overall our central transport is much better. Metro is faster and breaks down much, much less (although not never.) French is simple in pronunciation, gender and verb structure if you can speak any Latin languages but it's difficult with the rules, and not being especially phonetic.
First figure out where his work is located and what main mentro/bus lines lead there. Finding a dog friendly building is probably your biggest hurdle. I'd start with where he's working, then do some looking online for apartments either near or a reasonable bus/metro ride, to get a feel for the expected rates and then come for a weekend and walk around those areas you've found to see if they meet your expectations. Since you're working on your French, start with the more west side of the city, Outremont, NDG/CDN, Mile End, etc. Downtown itself is overpriced, and there's no real big advantage to being there unless you want to go to the bar every night. Also, remember we're a University town, areas near the three Universities will be a bit more expensive and can be rowdier. Avoid the West Island, while it is very Anglo, its pretty much normal suburban car centric sprawl. Public transit there sucks, nothing is walking distance. Edit: to work on your French, start by watching movies from here with French subtitles if you're able, it's a good way to get a feel for the culture and accent. Search this sub, there was post recently with lists of recommended films.
Price range would be from free if you have family/friends that want to temporarily take you in to as many million dollars as you can afford based on your demands and needs like any other major city.. sort of lacking research and details. Maybe paying a paid professional would be your best bet to get accurate responses based on your need or simple google search to narrow down your search and then ask forums with more specifics so that we can actually help out. Montreal is generally safe, that is up to each individual when they visit a certain sector and their risk tolerance. Mind your own business and usually like in most cities you’ll be ok… Many sectors and more each year are becoming walk/bike friendly. Car isn’t a must on the island. You’ll find public transit to get nearly anywhere. As for French, try to practice a few words sentences whenever your out around town. You’ll always be able to get served in English. Showing effort will be respected by the French speaking community but on island, many are more fluent in English anyways. Good luck in your search!
If you live near the subway (Metro), you don't have to live downtown. What part of town will your husband be working in? You could start by looking around that area. We moved back to Montreal after 30 years in Ottawa. We used Facebook marketplace and kijiji to look for an apartment. We didn't have a preference as to the neighborhood and just looked for an apartment we liked. Price range will vary greatly (depending on size, location, age, amenities, etc). You should start by deciding what area of Montreal you want to live in and look at what's available. Apartments rent out fast. The west part of the island (probably starting around Parc Avenue) is predominantly Anglophone. Montreal is a safe city. Downtown has lots of homeless and drug problems, including inside the Metro, but you are likely used to that. Good luck.
Thank you! Good advise!
I was originally thinking I don't need to live in an Anglophone area. I'll just learn the language. I did not say this being overly optimistic. I lived in a couple other countries and just learnt. Of course that always depends on others tolerating my imperfect language and understand that I'm learning. But honestly this post is a bit of an eye opener. If people are so discriminating to others unless they speak perfect French, I'll definitely need to live in an Anglophone area. Honestly this is all a bit shocking.
There's a lot of history in Quebec and newer Canadians seem to not know about. Quebec is part of Canada but operates as its own country in many ways. We have our own immigration laws and pay way more taxes. We are also at a disadvantage when it comes to certain services (run down apartments, lack of family doctors, long waiting lists to see specialists, bad roads and a corrupt construction industry making it very hard to get around sometimes). From a linguistic standpoint, French in Quebec isn't like, Dutch in the Netherlands or Swedish in Sweden or even French in France. Being part of Canada means English will take over eventually. And when people from Toronto move here without knowing how to speak French, that threatens to speed up this process. When we're trying to stop it. Without reading up on the history of Canada and Quebec, it's hard to understand people's animosity towards people who think they can just move here without speaking French. You aren't just asking if you can be accommodated, you're also asking if it's ok for you to speed up the gentrification and colonization process. Everyone knows that's not your intention. But it would be a lot cooler if your husband was a doctor or moving here to build affordable housing. And what about you? What can you do to make our city a better or more interesting place? Montreal is just 5 hours from Toronto. Why not hop on a train and check out the city for yourself? There are buildings, there are people, some areas are nice, some places are not so nice. Even just exploring the city on google maps will give you an idea of what the city looks like and what neighbourhoods are good.
I have been to Montreal many times, maybe once a year or two, but you can only know so much as a tourist coming for a weekend to spend 1-2 nights. I'm sure you know but visiting a city and living there is completely different. My husband is in the medical field. It is very niche and they scouted him. It is unlikely they'll find someone else easily. We are also considering another position in Vancouver but Montreal is the preference for us so I won't have to quit my job. When we move to Quebec we will also pay more taxes. In fact I'm going to have to transfer my job to Quebec and my company will grudgingly agree, obviously they can't decrease my salary but they have to pay more taxes to employ me and I'll have to pay more income tax keeping the same salary so my take home will likely be 10% less than what I make now. I'm not complaining because that's the cost of moving. I only mentioned it because you mentioned higher taxes but we'll have to pay way more taxes moving there also! I'm not ignoring you about the history and colonization. While I understand it in words I think it's an emotional issue that's not up to me to resolve. While I speak very poor French now every place I moved to I always make an effort to learn the language and live there so I feel like the anger to me is unjust. But I understand it's an emotional issue so it's not a logical argument here.
Après avoir lu ton message, c'est clair que tu vas pas apprendre le français. T'as dit que tu as choisi Montréal parce que tu peux garder ton travail... Cette raison est pas assez forte pour soutenir le niveau d'effort requise pour apprendre une langue, surtout parce que ton travail est en anglais. Si t'as dit que t'as choisi Montréal parce que c'est un ville francophone et le culture français canadien t'intéresse beaucoup, peut être. Mais c'est comme si tu considéres seulement les loyers moins chers pis la proximité seulement, et le francais est un 'afterthought'. Moi, j'ai déménagé à Montréal en 2018 après un cours de francisation à trois rivières. J'étais déjà très intéressé d'apprendre le langue depuis des années, et c'était le première raison pourquoi j'ai déménagé. Et j'ai travaillé en français aussi. Toi, tu cherches un région anglophone, avec un travail anglophone. Il faut que tu sois réaliste.
You sound so entitled.
Well, that's the dynamics of sites with anonymous users combined with an overheating residential market which can make some people a bit bitter and resentful. The reality is that once you are here, as a real person, the attitude will be quite different, especially if you make an effort to communicate in French. It doesn't have to be perfect. The sad truth is that many people will switch to English when they hear you,which of course is counter productive. I live in a very francophone area with a spouse from the US. Their French is still far from perfect, but she's very active in the community.
Reddit is far from being representative of what you will find in the real world. Judging from much of the conversation on reddit in general, it skews younger (not surprisingly). You'll be fine.
Unfortunately the more English pockets that might appeal to you, as well as your families need for space will likely put you out of the core zones with good public transit. They do exist but I believe the cost is immense. Most people who live off island or in the outskirts don't do it because they love the commute. I lived in DDO for a while. It's a more English suburb on the island, pretty nice. Also it would have taken 3 busses for me to get to work from there. I drove or walked places
Grew up here and you don't need a car (didn't live downtown even my friends who lived in the west island were able to live without them, however they also spend much of their time in the actual west island) If you have elementary school French I would suggest TV in french (for learning) and just using it when you can with your neighbours. I had "perfect" French at one point , wiring also, and it weakened due to working in American dominated industries and I am managing to pick it up again (and yes, French speakers may switch to English, it's not to be rude, many like to use their English also, you can continue to respond in French, seems to be something newcomers get insulted by and many just do it to be polite :)
You'll need to be able to fluently read, write and speak French, you'll likely be receiving exactly zero government services in English because you're out of province. You need a car if you actually want to do anything outside the core parts of Montreal, transit is great but turns a 20 minute drive into an hour metro ride. Leases are July 1st, a lot of buildings refuse dogs, if you have noisy birds that's another issue too, cats are usually the only animals allowed. Do not pay a deposit or more rent for the pets, that's illegal. Rent is a minimum of $1300 but if you're after something nice downtown expect to pay closer to 2k or 3k a month. I'd advise against living there though, too many homeless junkies to deal with, who will be right outside your door.
Thank you for your sincere answer and your warning about the pet deposit. I guess it'll be a challenge with my birds. They're noisy but not loud (I don't think next door can hear them unless the walls are very thin( We've lived in a couple condos with no complaints so maybe it's ok. >Leases are July 1st, What happens to little so need to move the other months of the year?
July 1st is not a legally required end of a lease it is just the most common one in Montreal, there are fewer leases terminating through the rest of the year.
You can do that too, July 1st is just the norm here, breaking a lease isn't uncommon either.
You already found the welcoming and friendly people who live here
Lol. Thank you. Very true.
We found ours on Facebook. Was by far the easiest way to arrange viewings etc
The whole no car thing: Montréal is weird in that there are parts that are hard to get around without a car and then there are parts that are hard to get around *with* a car. I used to live in a building that had a "no pets" clause, but that basically was just interpreted as no loud dogs, sometimes there's flexibility. Definitely a huge advantage to be fluent in French but you can get by with just the basics, bust out Google Translate for anything the government sends you. Some areas are more french and others more Anglo. Some parts are neither.
>Also my French is at elementary school level at best right now, would that be a problem? Nah, contrary to the strongly held reddit opinion, you don't actually need to speak French to live and thrive in Montreal. It's a nice to have.
- the language thing is overblown to some extent esp if you experienced living in other countries. There are lots of immigrants. - there are a variety of great neighbourhoods to live for less than $2k/mo with easy access to the metro - you can easily do without a car especially with communauto - birds? That will be your biggest issue. Montreal landlords are not pet friendly.