Tim_in_SF

Anybody out there had any experiences moving to Montreal, as a uni lingual English speaker? When my Quebecois spouse and I are re-located/received PR card, I'm planning to take a year or so off to learn English (McGill or other uni or college). I'm a little anxious about learning fast enough to enable me to get a decent job. Any advice?

Ozzidoc

Hmmmm.....presumably you meant "learn French" not "learn English"?

Have you ever tried to learn another language? Don't be put off by the fact that you're a grown up, the fact is that you have a real desire to learn another language. Why not start now, at home with your spouse? The basics dont take usually take all that long. And how about a vocab-word-of-the-day, relating to the type of work you do? eg if in an office, then words such as phone, computer, or if you are a builder...hammer, shovel, brick etc etc etc....it all probably sounds a bit basic, but if you can learn a few words relating to your everyday life - and exactly how to pronounce them - then you'll feel comfortable speaking faster (IMHO).

Do u have broadband? My friend is learning French on-line via a free web site which has videos/speaking...try googling.

And have you tried reading online french newspapers? You'd be amazed at what u can understand with a vocabulary of about 100 words.

Hope this is of some help.

Tim_in_SF

Hi Ozzidoc - I've got the basics almost covered. I frequently travel to Montreal where I practice my limited vocab. I can order food, ask directions/time etc and understand the gist of newspapers etc. Funnily enough, my partner is a French Teacher but in the same way that mechanics have the worst car on the block and builders never get round to finishing their own house, the last think my partner wants to do is leave a bunch of rowdy kids to come home and start teaching me! I'm using a program called Rosetta Stone which is at least keeping that part of my brain active. As you may know, for informal day-to-day conversation is more hard to pick-up. I'm optimistic though.

johnehsmith

Im an englishman in montreal.

I've been here 6 months now, and i am working in a company where english
is the work language and really you can easily live in the city and not speak a word of French ever, as my colleague would attest.

Things are easier if you bi-lingual of course, and if you are an immigrant here
you receive free French lessons, so dont worry about signing up at McGill and
wasting your money on a course. The government wants you to learn
French and the courses are pretty good.

If you have any questions feel free to email me.

John

jonfrank123

Hi

I'm in the same situation as you, Living here for 1 month now in Montreal with a Canadian wife.

In that short time I must have learnt about 60 new french words just from watching the news and listening to people talk, and thats from a crappy GCSE level French baseline.

Even though 99 per cent of my work is in the UK I have taken a couple of tentative forays into the world of Canadian business and was suprised to see a huge amount of English being spoken.

My biggest problem has been to try and get quebecers to speak french to me so I can learn , they keep lapsing into English.

It also depends very much on what area you live in of the city. I'm in Westmount and I hear more french walking in the west end of london than here. The same applies to Cote st Luc, NDG< Hampstead and the West Island.

I havn't got my PR yet but I'm reliably informed that the Quebec government has some great free courses to get you on the road to being bilingual.

email me anytime

Jonathan

Tim_in_SF

Thanks John - it's encouraging that (at least at first) it's possible to get a job where English is the primary language. Are you making any effort to become bilingual? The motivation to learn French must be reduced if you can manage without it. Would it be true to say that the higher paid jobs would almost certainly require good grasp of both languages?

Regards, Tim

Tim_in_SF

Hey Jonathan - when visiting Montreal, I have the same problem - as soon as I mumble a few requests in French, people immediately switch into English. I know they are being helpful and I don't mind... but it does reduce the chance to practice!

How are you finding Montreal? If you have been living in the city for a month or two now, you must be starting to get the feel of the city as a resident rather then as a tourist. I only spend a week or so at a time either on the way or way back from the in-laws in Ottawa.

I have looked at a few condos to buy in the Old Montreal/McGill area. Some great apartments if you like that lifestyle (i do). Had a good look around Westmount during xmas and looked a nice place to live also, if a little pricey!

Getting used to the weather?

Regards, Tim

Souvenir

Gatineau is the same. Anything more than the most simple of conversations almost always ends up being conducted in English. I've told the people in my local depanneur to stop speaking English to me.

The key to it all, by the way, is to get rid of your shyness and fear of making a knob of yourself. If you can get yourself into the frame of mind where you can start a sentence without having thought about how you'll finish it, the battle is half won.

jonfrank123

[QUOTE=Tim_in_SF]Hey Jonathan - when visiting Montreal, I have the same problem - as soon as I mumble a few requests in French, people immediately switch into English. I know they are being helpful and I don't mind... but it does reduce the chance to practice!

How are you finding Montreal? If you have been living in the city for a month or two now, you must be starting to get the feel of the city as a resident rather then as a tourist. I only spend a week or so at a time either on the way or way back from the in-laws in Ottawa.

I have looked at a few condos to buy in the Old Montreal/McGill area. Some great apartments if you like that lifestyle (i do). Had a good look around Westmount during xmas and looked a nice place to live also, if a little pricey!

Getting used to the weather?

Hi Tim

I do like it here, compared with London the streets are very wide. Everything is such a short journey. In the UK I am used to leaving 1 hour at least to get somewhere. Here it is just 15 minutes.

The nightlife is very good. I'd definitely live in old montreal in a nice apartment if we didn't have kids but Westmount has everything on the doorstep. Supermarket, Coffee shops , restaurants etc. You can also walk downtown in 20 minutes. You really don't need a car around here

The other thing is how incredibly safe Montreal is. I'd never realised it before but nothing really seems to happen thats bad. People aren't wired up about terrorism all the time like they are back home.

My other fear of being cold in my house never materialised. I'm in a 100 year old upper duplex. Today its a windchill of -30 and I can wear a t shirt inside.

So all in all i'm impressed and a little homesick. However I have not experienced the job market as I run my business in the UK from here. I have heard various experiences from different people on this forum, some good and some bad.

I think you will be just fine in Montreal, when I think about how much French I have learnt simply from reading instructions, newspaper's and watching the news, in the last 5 weeks I know that I eventually I will speak like a native.

Email me anytime

Regards

Jonathan

Haggis de Montreal

Hi Tim,
I sympathise with your concerns. I moved to Montreal two years ago as an anglophone with rusty school French. I also have a bilingual franco-Ontarian spouse who prefers to use English at home. Six evening courses into a French-as-a-second-language program at the Universite de Montreal, I find I can make myself understood, albeit slowly, in most situations. Quebec French is, however, distinct from the European versions and sometimes I still have no clue what Quebecers are talking about when they start a conversation. I live in a pre-dominantly francophone neighbourhood and conversing with my neighbours and with local businesses has helped my street French. At least starting a conversation in French will generally assure you of a politer response in many situations. Do not be concerned if you have problems dealing in English with the Quebec bureaucracy, and you will. They can be equally rude and unhelpful in both languages!

As far as employment is concerned, most companies here prefer their service and middle-upper level staff to be bilingual, and you will be competing against Montrealers who, irrespectective of whether they grew up in French or English households, have a good command of both languages. Larger companies here often seem to have internal linguistic enclaves which might work in Arabic, Spanish, Russian or Chinese, for example, but use French and English to communicate with other departments or projects within the organisation. It makes for a really interesting work environment. The dominant working language is usually set by the senior management, so checking out their names will often provide a clue.

Another good reason to learn French here is to pick up on Quebec culture. As someone who has lived in two other provinces, I would say Quebec films, theatre, dance and TV are probably the most interesting in Canada. Maritime music is best however. Ask your partner to explain the thoroughly disreputable antics and humour of Les Bougons family on Quebec TV when you get here.

Toaris

Hi Jonathan
We have just come back from a fact finding trip to Ottawa. Whilst there my husband was advised that there were more jobs for him in engineering in Montreal as opposed to Ottawa. We haven't thought of Montreal at all as we were concerned about the french aspect. Do you think it is worth a try, can you suggest any english speaking areas on the outskirts of the city. We would prefer to be somewhere rural without being too far away in the winter! How did you find getting a property and dealing with setting up life over there? I presume it will be more complicated than settling anywhere else in Canada.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Rachel

neill

On occasions, i've found the best way to get quebecois to speak french is to ramble on in english, if you _start_ the conversation in french however, most switch to english almost immediately! Go off the island of montreal (laval probably too), and you are more likely to encounter people who really, really, only speak french and then you can practice to your heart's content.

I often find myself speaking louder in French to have myself understood, because as you know, french is all in the pronounciation.

jonfrank123

Hello Rachel

I think it's worth a try because it's a great city. My situation is a little different. I run a business purely in the UK and derive all of my income from there, so I havn't been exposed to the job situation in Montreal at all. However, just from reading the work section of the Montreal Gazette at least 80 per cent of recruitment ads ask for bilingual candidates only.

Looking at a closer level a few of my friends who have lived in MOntreal all of their lives reckon in many cases it's just a formality for the sake of appearances and that if you are the right candidate it doesn't matter that much. My wife who is a native anglo (english speaking) Montrealer thinks the same.

The property finding was great, estate agents are true proffesionals in Quebec, no spotty 17 yr old estate agents there. We found a giant apartment on the top floor of an Edwardian house (1500sq ft) in the best part of town (Westmount) for just over 800 quid a month. In London you'd pay 4k per month for the same thing.

I thoroughly recommend Westmount, Ok its not rural but its crime free, 1 mile from the downtown area, it has every ammeninty you will posibly need within 5 minutes walk and its a very wealthy area. 80 percent of people speak English there, It's usually 80% who don't speak it in other areas. However from a British perspective rents are surprisingly affordable.

If you fancy going out further there is Cote St Luc, very English but it has architecture like 60's council estate (without the crime). The West Island is even further out, this is an anglo area but its pretty soulless. You will need a car way out there in the sticks too. Where I am I havn't needed to buy a car yet, there are also great parks if you have kids.

Wherever you live in Montreal you are not to far from getting out of the city, it's a compact city and 20 minutes on the highway to leave town. IF you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask

Regards

Jonathan

tallperson

Hi Rachael

Just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. We live on West Island in Pointe Claire south and it is not at all souless! There is the beautiful lake, there are outdoor pools and parks around every corner, friendly people and beautiful homes on mature lots.

We do have a car but my oh uses the train to get to work downtown every day which is much easier than driving in the rush hour.

Even further out is St Lazaire where there is a lot of new build in forest lots. The population there has apparently doubled in the last 2 years. This is off-island so takes our friends who live there about 40 minutes to downtown as opposed to our 20 (non rush hour).

Hope this helps, good luck with any decisions.