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Dec 20, 07
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Living/working in Montreal?
Has anyone here lived or worked in Montreal, or know anything about the experience? I'm likely heading to Ontario mid-next year as I have friends and family (sister) there, but I don't want to discard the idea of eventually living in Quebec, because I absolutely love that province. I worked there for 3 months in my youth and have received bursaries to study french there, but they were all government sponsored programs, so I don't have any "real" living/working experience there.
I understand and speak a decent level of french due to french immersion since I was young, but I don't think that at this point I could carry out a very comprehensive discussion with a french-canadian. I will have my university degree by the time I move out east, so that will be a bonus. I guess my main question is, how big is the "french language" issue? I realize that people there speak english, but I know french speaking is more than an asset for decent jobs. I don't plan on starting my career there, but I would at least like to be able to pick up *a* job out there. 
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Dec 20, 07
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being born and brought up in montreal I can tell you one thing. You WILL be judged based on your first language. People will know what your first language is and will ultimately view you differently. The french immersion system in the west is absolute garbage. Sure it may be enough to get "around" but you have to understand that there are various dialects of the french language in Quebec. The people in northern quebec may speak a different then the one's in montreal and the same thing go's when you go more towards the east around the Gaspe region.
The other thing is the "culture shock". People speak loud and sometimes you think that they are in a argument or want to pick an argument with you. It really is abrupt, And alot of slang is used. Alot of people prefer to speak french even though the fact they are fully fluent in english. I miss home :(
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Dec 20, 07
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As in, if I were to move there, would I encounter problems even picking up a minimum wage job for example? A lady I talked to who went to McGill for her Master's in Psychology said that her and her husband have lived there for a while and were both not native speakers of french but that they picked up as they went along and took courses, and her husband had to take some sort of exam to test his level of french but after passing that exam he had no problems. Then again, I don't know the details of that story, he could be highly educated or have some kind of very valuable skill that makes his level of french a little less relevant. I keep hearing how beautiful Montreal is as a city to live in. Fuck, I may just have to wait until I have a solid career going.
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Dec 20, 07
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hey yoko a buddy of mine who wasn't french speaking moved there years ago. He says it didn't take long to pick up enough of the language to get by. He's doing great!
it's kind of funny because his speaking rhythm has changed to the very expressive quebec style hahaha.
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Dec 20, 07
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Yoko, being a product of BC's french immersion system myself and having lived in Montreal for a summer I can tell you that as long as your french is decent enough to carry a conversation...you should be fine.
Your french will improve a great amount in a very short time as long as you force yourself to speak french. You will pick up slang, you will pick up the rythm. When i first got there i was wary about my french as i hadn't used it in 5+ years...but the more i used it the better it got. By the end of it people would respond back to my French in French instead of in English. You will be judged as an "Anglophone", but that's more used for the people who people who move to Quebec and don't integrate into the Francophone culture. There were tonnes of English as first language people who ragged on "Anglophones" too...by the end of it I was one of them. Much in the same way I rag on "chinks or hongers" in Vancouver, which has nothing to do with race, but cultural differences and the lack of integration. I think b0ld's statement is a bit harsh. You shouldn't have a problem getting a job out there as long as your french is up to par. What kind of work will you be looking for?
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Dec 20, 07
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As per being judged.... Its really hard to explain. You don't know who's a seperatist/nationalist/ etc... People who are fluent in English and French and don't have a preference will be the one's who you will get along great with. As per the others... have fun.. The other thing that you will get judged is your heritage/race. Unlike this side of the country where you have a large asian and india population it is naturally accepted... Quebec is a completely different world. The only people that they won't mess with is The irish, italians, greeks, jews, muslims, russians, african's, haitian's... . They don't look upon asians or indian's all that good. Alot of discrimination.
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Dec 20, 07
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An example.. If you open a store... and you have a sign that is in both french and english. The letters in french have to be bigger. The government actually has a "language police" task force that go's around.
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Dec 20, 07
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Dec 20, 07
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i just went there
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Dec 20, 07
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and yes Yoko, they don't much care for asians out there from what I gathered from the two asian gals i met out there, so I'll agree with b0ld on that.
... also the chinese and japanese food sucks. I managed to find a couple decent Vietnamese places though :D If you are employable, there are always people who will need you for work. If you speak both languages fluently you shouldn't have a problem getting a job. If you want to go there....leave and make it work. You might have to struggle at first, but you'll survive and your situation will improve with time if you keep on the grind. Words to live by. Keep in mind Montreal is WAY cheaper than Vancouver and you can find nice places to live for $400 and beers are like < $1!. That alone would save me about $2000 a month.
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Dec 20, 07
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I'm considering moving there too.. Montreal is amazing! The night culture is so much better than here! If you are a DJ, it would be even easier to make it there being only fluent in english.
Luckily I'm officially bilingual, took french immersion my whole life. but yeah they will Judge you.. b0ld is right. they feel insulted when you aren't speaking their language. vancouver is a bit different because you see people speaking other languages all the time right.
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Jan 02, 08
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My best friend moved to montreal she doesnt speak a word of french. she now manages 2 bang on stores and loves it. she seems to do ok not knowing french so far:D made tones of friends. i was considering moving that way my self. i guess it all depends
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Jan 04, 08
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Ive seen the opposite here in Vancouver while working with french canadians. Some of them have a near impossible time understanding and communicating in english, yet seem to enjoy them selfs on the west coast and hold professional jobs. Although some of them have jobs witch often require french.
Montreal may not be as accepting, but look at how many ppl manage to find jobs who have english as a second language here in Vancouver. It may be a bit harder, but im sure it will be a fantastic experince. Good luck! Last edited by R Wellbelove; Jan 04, 08 at 01:55 AM.
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