I am currently considering emmigrating to Quebec.

Most people think I am mad here in London because they do not understand why I would want to leave for Montreal.

I want to live in a bilingual city and live and work in French and English. This is ultimately my reasoning.

This might seem odd to some but identity is uniquely bound with language and as long as I live in the UK or in France as I have for many years, I feel a significant "linguistic" gap. You may understand this if English is not your first language.

Anyway, is there anyone out there who understands this. Or could you tell me more about life in Quebec as a British expat. Do you have any strong feelings about Quebec that I am currently blind to.

Get back.

Luke

Hello, Luke,

I am not British and am not planning on Quebec, but I do understand what a language
gap is, although English is far from being my mother tongue. I am a Ukrainian and
aspiring after settling down in Canada. I have a friend living in Montreal and he
strongly recommends me to join him there. I speak French, so this won't be a
problem for me.

I am translator from Kharkiv, Ukraine, working with English, French, Russian and
Ukrainian and I have heard scores of goood things about Montreal and Quebec in
general - the lowest level of prices is just a small bit of the whole bulk of those
things. If you are familiar with French, this will facilitate your passing the
interview, that's what I have been told.

Good luck to you,

Igor

lukedulaq ïèøåò â ñîîáùåà ƒÂ­ÃƒÂ¨ÃƒÂ¨ ...
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The several times I've vistied Montreal,I didn't see a whole lot of English- speakin'
goin' on,that's for sure.

In fact,I saw a whole lotta hostility to the English language and those who speak
it...so much so that it will be a snowy day in july before I return!

lukedulaq wrote:

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_Your_ problem! ;)

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Montreal (MTL) is the best city in Canada. Period. And anyone who suggets otherwise,
is tasteless!

But I live in TO (Toronto). There are jobs in TO, and none in MTL. As good as life
can be in MTL, it can be mighty hard if you, say, DON'T HAVE A JOB! :)

MTL is, to use the cliche, more European and may be more to your tatse. TO is the
most Americanized city that we have. It sucks. 'Toronto The Good', they used to call
it. 'Wasp City'! It no longer is WASP, but it's still tedious.

MTL has life. As for the 'bilingual' thing, it's decreasingly so. Many anglophones
and allophones (non-(French/English)) have left, and the younger generation is
increasingly intolerant of non-Francophones. But I still love that city. It _is_ the
best city in Canada ... *if* you can find a job.

You really don't need to rub it in! :)

--
We build our computers like we build our cities: little by little, on
top of ruins.

Hi

I am a Scot who lived in New Zealand for 12 years before immigrating to Quebec. I
spent 3 months in Montreal before moving to Quebec City. I had visited the city
before in the 1980's

I feel alot of it is about comfort zones. You appear ready to move out of your
comfort zone and good on you. Though if you move to Montreal you will have a distint
choice of the community and social circles you wish to move
in.

Its only natural I suppose that we seek companionship in people who share something
similar, whether that be race, language, supporting the same soccer team or
what-ever. I used to find it funny that if you met someone from your own country
traveling abroad, there was that common bond initially and often you would end up
hanging out together. But if you had met that same person in your home country would
you really be as friendly with that person? Would you really have so much in common
apart from where you come from? I have never deliberatly avoided Brits or Kiwis in my
travels, but dont generally make a habit of getting too close to them.

If you speak French well as it appears that you do, then you will find it easy to
integrate with Francophones. The general rule of thumb I found in Montreal whatever
language you spoke to people then they would reply in that language. There are
exceptions of course, and also there are certain parts of Montreal that are distintly
anglophone, Westmount, West Island for example. There most people will address you in
English and only speak French if they have too. I lived in NDG which is about half
anglo, half francophone, and the next door neighbour had lived in Montreal the whole
of his life yet could not speak a word of French! Where as now here in Quebec City
with the exception of Vieux Quebec(for the tourists), very few people speak English.

Montreal is not all that its cracked up too be though, its the industrial centre of
Quebec and outside the dity centre, if its not suburbs there are mile upon mile of
industrial parks with very few services nearby, unless you have a car. Its just like
any other large North American City, though it is the language thing that makes it
different.

All I can say really is go live your dream, just like many other people.

Good luck

Ashley Watson

Bullshit. My girlfriend lives in Montreal for two years and she doesn't speak french.
She doesn't have any problems there with her english.

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I am sure the problems of bilingualism are not unique to Quebec. While the language
and culture of francophone Quebec should be encouraged and preserved, the reality is
that English is becoming the major international language of communication.

Cameroon is a small central African state that is probably the only other officially
French-English bilingual country in the world. There the shoe is on the other foot,
ie the Francophones are in the majority.

Suffice to say that the anti-francophone behaviour experienced by the French
Quebecois is remarkably similar to that experienced by the Anglophone minority
in Cameroon.

Again there appears to be a realization by middle-class Francophones that their
children had better be fluent in English if they want to thrive beyond the borders of
the "metropole". They send their kids to Anglophone secondary schools and
universities to compete for available British Council and US scholarships.

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It depends on where in Montreal you live.

> Bullshit. My girlfriend lives in Montreal for two years and she doesn't speak
> french. She doesn't have any problems there with her english.

It depends on where in Montreal you live.

YOu can live anywhere in Mtl without speaking French and you can easily SURVIVE!Montreal is the Bilingual City!