Novocastrian

My Canada includes Quebec (but not necessarily Alberta).

Grah

ssssh they have won and it is a different country but the rest of canada doesn't know it yet and are still paying their bills.

I like the quote by the Quebec remier after a recent Premier meeting
" It is not right they are treating Quebec like everyone else"

Canada2006

Oww, I did phrase that badly didn't I? Canada wouldn't be Canada without Québec! (And without Québec my OH may have convinced me that 4yrs made looking at Australia worthwhile!)

Daedra

Quebec is a distinct society (Is that what the Fed gov finally conceded to calling it?) ... How very dare they!

Daedra

Well now that Steve Irwin isn't there to entertain at the Australian Zoo... not much to see anymore

Mind you, I was contemplating moving to New Zealand 4 years ago so I shouldn't talk

Liana

Montreal-a city still stuck in the 60s with horrendous roads/bridges/road planning/ugly buildings/crappy residential architecture and plenty of street filth and tacky sex shops. The fall starts early - compared to Vancouver and a cold, cold winter. Not too bad if people want to ski but that can be done at Vancouver too.
People are nice though because they are much more multi cultural than the rest of Quebec.

neill

A lot of the poorer infrastructure was thrown up for Expo '67, from what i understand. The Acadie interchange is _well_ below highway standard, probably one of the most dangerous intersections ever constructed.... mind you it's no longer as dangerous, as the traffic just crawls through there 24/7.

As for the Tacky sex shops, you mean strip clubs. That's what makes Montreal Montreal. And i take issue with the "plenty of street filth". The streets have plenty of holes for sure, but filth? it's not that bad.

Liana

Yes - the infrastructure is awful and have no idea how it came about being designed as such. Very poor standard of public works

The sex shops were on Saint Catherines Street and with a young family walking along there to go to Eatons we were shocked that such stores were allowed. This was back in the 90s and I believe some of them have gone now. Hopefully the habit of leaving garbage out on the streets has also disappeared; the only other city we had seen such a disgusting habit was Jeddah.

For us Montreal was not a place to live with a family, unless we had the money to live in Westmount, which we didn't, and as every other suburb was ugly too we decided to move on. And we do not visit there as tourists either.

Couldn't get over the attack we received from the tourist board employees when we first visited Quebec- because we did not ask the first question in French. Sad, because when we were last in Paris the French there were great at speaking to us in English despite our speaking to them in a decent standard of French.

Butch Cassidy

Sounds like Calgary in a lot of respects.

Daedra

Well my experience flying via Air France to Montreal 2 years ago was totally different. When I attempted to speak french to the air hostess, I was laughed at and belittled by the "real french" hostesses, they ignored my requests and my boyfriend had to call them and ask them for the drink I had requested 30 mins prior (in British English) before they responded.... I hesitate to say that "True French" or French from France are racist, but it certainly felt like I was being discriminated against because I spoke "Quebec French" when I travelled with Air France.

Liana

Yes - a big difference in the accent, but fortunately for us our French was not Quebecois. When I first heard the accent I thought I was listening to an unusual Italian language, not quite sure what I was listening to - Italian "r" not the French "r" and the "est-ce que" when asking a question-so it did not sound real French to me at all. I must say listening to the French news here is much easier than listening to a Quebec news reader.

I imagine it would be like a foreigner learning English outside the UK and then going to Glasgow to live- it would take a while to adjust but is certainly not impossible.

I can't imagine anyone preferring Montreal to Vancouver, the weather alone would lead me away from Quebec. And children can go to French schools in Vancouver but, as a new immigrant, would not be able to go to an English school in Quebec I believe.

montreal mike

I can summarise it succinctly.

If one speaks French then Montreal is an excellent choice, although I am sure Vancouver is a nice place.

I only settled down in Montreal in 1962 since I already spoke French like a native, although I never lost the European accent.

And Yes many 'French French' tend to be snobbish, looking down on their Quebecois cousins. Then again this is my personal experience. France is a beautiful country and has much to offer but many there are supremely arrogant.

On the other hand I found the Germans far friendlier.

I have lived in both countries as well of course as the UK.

(I am trilingual.)

Canada2006

Ah the French... I think they have a love-hate relationship with Québec. When I lived in Toulouse (itself noted for the French farmer style accent), I remember being told how it was perfectly impossible to understand the Québecois even though they speak French!

The French do believe the have the best language on Earth and it comes as a bit of a shock that not everyone speaks it. Remember too that Air France is a state owned company and is full of the dreaded "fonctionaires". A "fonctionaire" is a civil servant that is guarenteed a job for life - what an invitation to be arrogant, rude and lazy! Same system in Belgium and one reason we pay 50% tax & 55% marginal rate.

Interestingly, over the past 10 years I've noticed a big shift in attitude towards English. Most of the young managerial class is not learning English and can get by. French TV has more and more English influences... I think the younger generation are looking at globalisation, the relative success of the UK and being inspired!

montreal mike

I agree. When I came here in 1962 I found it hard to understand them but they could understand me.

Eventually I picked up little bits and pieces of the local accent and now, 44 years later, can easily pass for a Quebecois OR (if i try real hard) a Parisian.

There are many Haitians in the city. I can with some difficulty figure out what they are saying. But it is simple with those from West Africa, Algeria and Morrocco. They sound very European.

Canada2006

What I find really wierd... the French are always going on about how the "Francophonie" is really important... but are they interested in other parts of the French speaking world? Not really. You never see Québecois programmes on French TV (nor Belgian TV for that matter) - yet there's loads of dubbed American stuff...

... apparently the French can't understand the accent.

Not overly consistent I think.


BTW congrats on losing your English accent - mine will follow me around for ever.