My wife is concerned about the weather there, we have read different things on this. From the photographs it looks to have plenty of snow fall, but how long are the winters ?

Also we would like some good links for schools for our kids, aged 12 and 3.

There may be a job opening for me in the granby area but i'm not sure if the best place to stay would be further away so that there was a higher % english speakers to help us integrate.

Any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

Winters are anywhere from early December to late March. Figure 4 months. Could be up to five in some years. Plenty of snow. This year it has been very mild although this week we have very cold temperatures. On balance much healthier than British winters. No ghastly humidity. Simply dress warm and face the elements.

Fewer and fewer schools about. You probably would be better off living in Montreal's West Island. Granby is fine but it is in the boonies. Well known for its zoo. It is 99% French so you, as a family, might find yourselves a little lost out there. I assume you all speak some French? If not then it will be an even greater challenge.

Good luck. Quebec is the most civilised place on the planet. I am 63 and have been here since 1962. No regrets!

here is weather info



http://www.weather.ca/weather/cities...s/CAQC0357.htm

Would i be able to commute from Bromont to West Island ? How long would that take ? What would sherbrooke be like for non-french speakers, i could survive on what i know but the rest of the family would have to learn.

Andrew

Bromont to the West Island is about 60 miles and, at some point, you'd need to take one of the bridges, probably the Champlain. That'd be a fun commute, maybe four hours a day.

I suspect your 3rd year old will be able to adapt to a bilingual enviroment easier then your 12 year old, not that it can't be done... I moved to Montreal knowing only the most basic french at age 11 and I managed to adapt after a couple of years.

Our family lived in the West Island of Montreal island (and still do except for me who ran off to England to live with a Brit) quite comfortably. Keeping in mind, chance of success is also greatly based on ability to adapt and willingness to learn about the culture & people. The school boards my brother and I went to used to be called Lakeshore School Board, but I think there has been a conglomoration and they are now called Lester B Pearson school board??

Here are some links to Quebec anglophone (English) school board websites:

http://www.qesba.qc.ca/

http://www.wqsb.qc.ca/ (Western Quebec School Boards)

http://www.mcgill.ca/ost/sites/englishschoolboards/ (McGill University is one of the largest & arguably most prestigous universities in Quebec for anglophones and is based in central area of Montreal City and has its own Metro/tube/subway stop)

Hope those links help you, the other responses covered the weather aspect and I just want to point out that it is very similar to Toronto/Ottawa weather as we are pretty much in the same jet stream affected area. Yes winters can get to silly cold temperatures (-30 cel) but summers are also brilliantly sunny & hot with fantastic thunderstorms atleast once or twice each summer I lived there. Personally, I miss the thick blankets of snow brightening the landscape, especially around X-mas, but to each their own, its a personal preference thing I think.

Daedra ... I have now reached the point where I don't really mind winter. I used to but no longer. Walking home this evening two long blocks from the nearest bustop with a windchill of 23 degrees Celsius below (actually it was 'only' minus 14) I am not complaining. Rather, I am more concerned with the super hot humid summers we have been having in the last ten years.

Strangely enough I now dread the summers but am least able to cope with the winters!

As far as working in Granby is concerned it seems it will be a commute from Montreal or one from Magog/Sherboooke. The Magog/Sherbrooke commute would be far easier. Straight highway all the way. No great bottlenecks.

In the mid/late seventies I used to do Montreal to Marieville (about 100 kms round trip) and I managed it for 4 years. Eventually I got fed up. There is only so much highway driving one can put up with.

But to each his own.

The natural season of Quebec is winter!, actually that's everywhere in Canada except Vancouver & Victoria

Right now the temperature is around -20, up to -30 these days, actual harsh winter is december, january, february, but the rest of the year is cold anyway (5 celcius in October, 10 in September, 5 in April), only during the summer is decent, however is still chilly, I went to Montreal in August, and was wearing only a shirt, however, still some fresh wind, which may be cold for you if you are not used to it

You have to wear proper clothes and get used to the weather, there is plenty of snow, but that's when it's warmer...

Montreal is a great place to stay if you don't mind french culture (really annoying) it has a great quality of life (a friend told me it's the best place in the world) and it is incredibly cheap compared to the rest of North America (I'm paying 700 can for an apartment downtown and consider to move because I feel it too expensive)

Exactly!

One presumes that

a) You have never heard of Calgary
OR
b) You have ignored Calgary
OR
c) You forgot Calgary

Bear in mind that in Quebec, children of immigrant parents (ie, permanent residents) are generally expected to join the French-speaking school system until age 16.

You've got to the place I got after 10 years in Quebec... in 1996 I started thinking, oh you know what, the winter cold & snow is alot easier to tolerate then the hot scalding summers. My mum argued til she was blue in the face why I shouldnt be going out & buying an AC unit for my bedroom... gues what happened when I moved to thew UK 3 yrs ago? Mum bought the AC unit off me for installation in her bedroom and was SO grateful for it the following summer after I left. Global warming and all that

That depends, I have heard of alot of momentum the anglophone rights groups have had recently in Quebec which theoraticaly would allow the choice of english parentage allowing children the right to anglophone schooling in Quebec.

Of course, I graduated from high school in 1992 and may be out of date with recent politics as I've lived in the UK the past 3 years, but that was the last bit of goss I was in on prior to my move.

My mum was a francophone (2nd language english) my dad was an anglophone (laughingly 2nd language french as he spoke even worse french then us kids!), they did have to fight with the schoolboards back in 1986 to get me into an english school instead of French immersion, but they suceeded as after all, English is one of the TWO official languages of Canada. I think pointing that out to over zealous francophone govt/schoolboards would probably only help the case. The english press would just love another scandal on how the French in Quebec are oppresing the English, so hell, what you got to loose?
EDIT: That applies mostly to 3rd language (not French or English speaking) immigrants, ie; you move from Brazil & only speak South American latin, your kids will be plonked straight into French schooling... least thats how I understood it 4 years ago when I left Canada.

As a general rule, Canadian citizen/PR children in Quebec may attend a government funded English speaking school if at least one parent is a Canadian citizen educated in English in Canada.



French is the official language of Quebec. The only officially bilingual province is New Brunswick.


There's nothing particularly new about these rules. In any case, most anglophone parents in Quebec want their children to be fluent in French even if they are educated in English.