Montreal

[Rockslinger]

Since I am currently "between projects", I am thinking of moving back to Montreal.
1) Cost of living is cheaper.
2) Quebecois ladies are more open minded and less expensive.
3) My French is passable. Not good enough to earn a living but it's not like I have a job here now.
4) They actually remove the SNOW there. How do you like the snow in Toronto, nice eh?
5) Being in Quebec means that we can always get what we want by threatening separation.

 

[scouser1]

cost of living is cheaper but taxes are much higher and if you think the ladies in Montreal are sexy, spend a weekend in Quebec City, you will be doing a Roger Rabbit eye balls popping out constantly. I am seriously considering the move myself, just bored with Toronto.

 

[smiley1437]

What's the economy like in Quebec? Will you have an easier or harder time finding a new project?

 

[hamermill]

Also I think they give you more when you are on welfare

 

[redstorm]

I too, am trying to plan a move there.
Trying to get my French up to basic.
I had the opportunity to meet some very nice French teachers there.
The job situation is a little more dismal there than here.

True taxes are higher and cost of living is cheaper.
For me, it's a new change of scenary.
And I'm tired of telling women here, what I do, how much I make and what kind of car I drive.

 

[Rockslinger]

What's the economy like in Quebec? Will you have an easier or harder time finding a new project?

The economy in Quebec (a "have not" province like Ontario) is probably not great but things are tough all over (even in Alberta and Dubai). The "Big Guy" said that I will be welcome back if and when he signs a new contract but there is nothing even in negotiation yet. So, if I do move back to Montreal, I will return to Toronto when the "Big Guy" calls.

 

[Doctor Zoidburg]

Things are not like they use to be, most young people are not seperatist. You can speak english freely and not get the dirty look like you use to. Yes, SPs, massage and strip clubs are less expensive. There are negatives and positives, but you are better off in my opinion on Montreal. There are less traffic jams and they are less severe. Toronto is closer to an American style city. There are no street shooting in the streets of Montreal, mostly the bikers just kill each other off. ( which is a good thing ) There are many things in Montreal that are cheaper than in Toronto, and there are not many things in Toronto that are cheaper than in Montreal. The quality of life in montreal is a legacy of the separatist, they made all the head offices in Montreal move to Toronto. They gave Toronto the tittle of being the biggest city in Canada, a tittle that use to belong to Montreal. Thank you Rene Levesque

 

[Rockslinger]

And I'm tired of telling women here, what I do, how much I make and what kind of car I drive.

Having lived in both Montreal and Toronto I know what you mean. I love Toronto ladies (bless them all) but they seem overly impressed by money, career status and material things than Montreal ladies. Telling a Toronto lady that one is "between projects" is worse than saying one is infected with xxxx (Toronto ladies please forgive me). These are very general statements and I have met many wonderful individual Toronto ladies.

 

[redstorm]

Sorry to brush all Toronto women with one stroke.
I too have met some very nice women in Toronto but when I visit Montreal and just walking and talking normally. I manage to flirt much more easier in Montreal. The edge is off. They tend to want to have fun first and ask questions later. My past few experiences in Toronto seemed closer to a job interview than just getting to know one another.

 

[danibbler]

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence it seems. I know people from my childhood who are still in la Belle Province and they're not very happy. The economy is tough despite the boom of this decade and lacking a true grasp of the French language still limits you.

I certainly can move back there since my work is independent of location but would I be happy? Not sure...

 

[Doctor Zoidburg]

If you had roots in Calcutta maybe you would want to live there. All the people that have moved out of Montreal and are living elsewhere are waiting for Quebec to separate or Montreal to fail to justify their move some 20 years back. There are many things that are the same here, there are many things that are better here. I am not saying that it is a choice for you, it is best to put on a piece of paper what Toronto has that Montreal does not.

 

[torontojohn]

I'd think any English-speaking Quebec girl who wanted to aim for a man out of her league in Montreal could come to Toronto... as long as she found someone before she became acclimatized and was just as bad most woman under 30 in the GTA.

 

[dreamblade]

The sole reason I moved:

Montreal has jobs.
Toronto has careers.

Do I miss it? Sure, and I hope to move back within the next few years, but not unless I can continue my career there.

 

[ExoticSpirit]

I spent five years over there and I just came back here to Ontario a year ago. I couldn't wait to get outta there. Yes, the SP scene is way better there and the SCs are awesome. The skiing is also great. But that's where I leave it. The politics are brutal.

As for learning French, I got enough to get by but not fluent enough. There's a difference between knowing enough French and wanting to speak French all the time. The cultural sides between the anglos and the French are quite wide apart. They may get along at work but after the work day is over, both sides go off to their own.

If you want to fantasize about having a French girlfriend or wife, be my guest. But don't necessarily expect her to speak to you in English all the time. Even if she's bilingual, if she had her way, she would want the relationship conversations in at least 50% French. Most of her friends will also be French. So if you are willing to dive into that world for as long as the relationship lasts, then you will be okay. But if you think that you can get away with having a cutie French girl speak in English with a French accent all the time, you are dreaming because the PQ and their 'pride' has totally trained her to uphold their language.

The government over there on all levels are a pain to work with as they do not give the same level of service to anglos as the French.

Quebec is a great place to visit but living there as an anglo with limited French is very, very difficult. When I left Quebec, I felt this huge weight taken off my chest. I lived in four different provinces so far and Quebec was the only time I never felt like I was in Canada anymore. It was more like a separate country with a large anglo community that is made to feel very much like second class minorities over there if you don't get into their Quebecois ways. Just speak to all the anglo retail and business owners who deal with mainly English speaking customers but are forced to have all sorts of French signs as the major promotion.

Also, in moderate to large companies, it is now law that all internal communications must be primarily done in French.

 

[smiley1437]

I spent five years over there and I just came back here to Ontario a year ago. I couldn't wait to get outta there. Yes, the SP scene is way better there and the SCs are awesome. The skiing is also great. But that's where I leave it. The politics are brutal.

As for learning French, I got enough to get by but not fluent enough. There's a difference between knowing enough French and wanting to speak French all the time. The cultural sides between the anglos and the French are quite wide apart. They may get along at work but after the work day is over, both sides go off to their own.

If you want to fantasize about having a French girlfriend or wife, be my guest. But don't necessarily expect her to speak to you in English all the time. Even if she's bilingual, if she had her way, she would want the relationship conversations in at least 50% French. Most of her friends will also be French. So if you are willing to dive into that world for as long as the relationship lasts, then you will be okay. But if you think that you can get away with having a cutie French girl speak in English with a French accent all the time, you are dreaming because the PQ and their 'pride' has totally trained her to uphold their language.

The government over there on all levels are a pain to work with as they do not give the same level of service to anglos as the French.

Quebec is a great place to visit but living there as an anglo with limited French is very, very difficult. When I left Quebec, I felt this huge weight taken off my chest. I lived in four different provinces so far and Quebec was the only time I never felt like I was in Canada anymore. It was more like a separate country with a large anglo community that is made to feel very much like second class minorities over there if you don't get into their Quebecois ways. Just speak to all the anglo retail and business owners who deal with mainly English speaking customers but are forced to have all sorts of French signs as the major promotion.

Also, in moderate to large companies, it is now law that all internal communications must be primarily done in French.

The thing is, the way you felt as an Anglo trying to live in Quebec (i.e. language pressure) is probably how French-speaking Canadians feel when they try to live in any of the mostly-English speaking provinces/territories...even though Canada is officially bi-lingual. The way you described how you felt was enlightening, especially when I change the word 'French' for 'English' (and vice versa) in your post and then see the reverse situation from a French point of view.

 

[Rockslinger]

Hey guys, thanks for your comments and advice. I guess I am on a bit of a downer being "between projects" and with no prospects in sight and all this snow. I have a childhood male friend in Montreal who has a second bedroom in his condo, he said I could bunk with him for a spell. Remember that I did use to live in Montreal so I am familiar with the city.

 

[scouser1]

I spent five years over there and I just came back here to Ontario a year ago. I couldn't wait to get outta there. Yes, the SP scene is way better there and the SCs are awesome. The skiing is also great. But that's where I leave it. The politics are brutal.

As for learning French, I got enough to get by but not fluent enough. There's a difference between knowing enough French and wanting to speak French all the time. The cultural sides between the anglos and the French are quite wide apart. They may get along at work but after the work day is over, both sides go off to their own.

If you want to fantasize about having a French girlfriend or wife, be my guest. But don't necessarily expect her to speak to you in English all the time. Even if she's bilingual, if she had her way, she would want the relationship conversations in at least 50% French. Most of her friends will also be French. So if you are willing to dive into that world for as long as the relationship lasts, then you will be okay. But if you think that you can get away with having a cutie French girl speak in English with a French accent all the time, you are dreaming because the PQ and their 'pride' has totally trained her to uphold their language.

The government over there on all levels are a pain to work with as they do not give the same level of service to anglos as the French.

Quebec is a great place to visit but living there as an anglo with limited French is very, very difficult. When I left Quebec, I felt this huge weight taken off my chest. I lived in four different provinces so far and Quebec was the only time I never felt like I was in Canada anymore. It was more like a separate country with a large anglo community that is made to feel very much like second class minorities over there if you don't get into their Quebecois ways. Just speak to all the anglo retail and business owners who deal with mainly English speaking customers but are forced to have all sorts of French signs as the major promotion.

Also, in moderate to large companies, it is now law that all internal communications must be primarily done in French.

I dare anyone to come up with a more whiny, annoying and extremely irritating minority than the Quebec anglophone!!! wah wahh I have to speak French all the time, well you are in an entity called Quebec that has been French majority speaking for 4 centuries deal with it!!! The premise of Quebec is simple you come here, you learn to speak French and you respect our laws, and we will let you be, end of story!!!

as for the separatist nonsense, you want to instantly kill a conversation with a Quebecois under the age of 40, bring up that subject, the vast majority of them find it boring and so 1995!! They are too busy in their jobs, paying their taxes and mortgages and raising their kids, oh just like anywhere else on the planet.

 

[genintoronto]

If you want to fantasize about having a French girlfriend or wife, be my guest. But don't necessarily expect her to speak to you in English all the time. Even if she's bilingual, if she had her way, she would want the relationship conversations in at least 50% French. Most of her friends will also be French. So if you are willing to dive into that world for as long as the relationship lasts, then you will be okay. But if you think that you can get away with having a cutie French girl speak in English with a French accent all the time, you are dreaming because the PQ and their 'pride' has totally trained her to uphold their language.

How dare she?

 

[danibbler]

The thing is, the way you felt as an Anglo trying to live in Quebec (i.e. language pressure) is probably how French-speaking Canadians feel when they try to live in any of the mostly-English speaking provinces/territories...even though Canada is officially bi-lingual. The way you described how you felt was enlightening, especially when I change the word 'French' for 'English' (and vice versa) in your post and then see the reverse situation from a French point of view.

Actually, that's probably not true. There's no resentment over here in the "Anglo" part of Canada over dealing with a French-speaking person. It's more a case of being embarrassed or flustered over not knowing enough French to properly serve that someone. In Quebec, there's this attitude (not everywhere but primarily in the government services) that "this is Quebec, speak French or leave". Just look at scouser's post.

 

[redstorm]

If you want to fantasize about having a French girlfriend or wife, be my guest. But don't necessarily expect her to speak to you in English all the time. Even if she's bilingual, if she had her way, she would want the relationship conversations in at least 50% French. Most of her friends will also be French. So if you are willing to dive into that world for as long as the relationship lasts, then you will be okay. But if you think that you can get away with having a cutie French girl speak in English with a French accent all the time, you are dreaming because the PQ and their 'pride' has totally trained her to uphold their language.

Well, I think you are way out of line. If she is comfortable in speaking her language I think you should try your best in learning more of it. I don't expect a woman to drop everything that she lived and stood for because of me.
It's not just the people of Quebec who take pride in their language. It's what you are and are used to.

I know your opinion is based on your experience and it's good to hear the bad sides of things too. It isn't all rosy and I know what problems will arise if I do move there. But if you go in there with a positive attitude it will help.