bgpz

I visit Vancouver at least once a year, have a bunch of friends there who are 2nd/3rd generation Vancouverites (some of whom I knew from before I emigrated to Canada) and the at-least annual get-togethers with them probably skews my bias towards liking the place immensely.

I used to joke with my wife about us possibly moving there, but property prices aside, I think it's a place I am happy visiting (although could easily visit more often if circumstances would permit!).

What I have definitely noticed - and all my Vancouverite mates readily concede - is that there's very little incentive to really head out of their corner of BC. Whistler for skiing, Vancouver Island and its smaller brethren for summer getaways... have done a little of the latter, not tried the former (yet) but can see their point.

One of them is married to a Montrealer, and understands my love for that city very well. The current running joke in our house is once our daughter has flown the nest (best part of a decade before that happens), we'd aim to downsize and move to Montreal. Been there several times for work, a couple of mates (including one Brit that married a local) that live there definitely seem to love it, and it's only there and NYC that I've really felt "back" in a proper city that just makes me kinda glow inside... I appreciate not everyone feels like that but if that rings any bells, Montreal's worth a visit.

FWIW my French isn't great, pretty rusty, but binge-watching 19-2 on netflix (French version, English subtitles!) and "Bon Cop, Bad Cop" (which is well worth watching in its own right!) plus the excellent offqc.com website has helped me at least get a slight ear for the more "local" speakers on RDI when I can be arsed to have a go seeing how much I can keep up with (still pathetic, but feel like I can sometimes "tune in" a little from time to time).

So, on balance, I'd love to be able to spend more time in both - but would be more likely to make Montreal our next home.

xavier1955

if you do move, my guess is that it will be Montreal and you will not regret it

I moved from England to Montreal in 1962 and no regrets since

BristolUK

Excellent movie. I'm sure I'd have appreciated it even if I hadn't married into a Quebec family.

The sequel is on the way.

Souvy

Film or family?

You don't marry into a QC family, BTW. You marry the entire extended family.

dbd33

I think this is just being cradly rather than anything to do with Vancouver. Many people here, in Southern Ontario, just go to the cottage, to DisneySomething, to Buffalo.

otoh, my child in Vancouver (educated in Montreal) goes to Europe and Mexico frequently and has recently been to Honduras, Hawaii and the Okanagan. People living in Vancouver do sometimes leave Vancouver; although it may very well only be people who have seemingly endless maternity leave.

Shirtback

Agree with the bolded. It's not just a Vancouverite "thing". I know many Quebeckers who've visited Florida (some frequently), &/or Cuba/the DR, but who have never ventured outside Qc to other parts of Canada.

When we organised a visit to the Vancouver area for the Cadet squadron with which I was involved a few years ago, a majority of the participants were the first ever person from their families to visit another province.

MarylandNed

Quebec is a special case because of the language. I once had to spend some time in Quebec City installing a computer system and training people. My French wasn't up to the task so a colleague from their Montreal office who is bilingual went with me. I was amazed to discover that many of them rarely ventured outside Quebec to other parts of Canada and some had never even been to the US. When I asked why the response was "they speak English there".

Souvy

I don't actually think that is unique to Quebec.

Novocastrian

This is also true in France. It's nice at first....

dbd33

Vermont, upstate NY, NH, Maine are festooned with signs indicating that business owners parlons. I believed that to be because very many people drive between Quebec and Floribec and might want to buy stuff along the way, so I'm surprised to hear that people in Quebec City don't go to America.

Why do you think businesses in the North-East States advertise that the staff speak French?

Souvy

Quite. I'm never sure why I'm supposed to do the bisous with some wizened old hag I've never met before and probably won't see again until I'm summoned to her funeral.

At least some of the closer members of the herd have finally realised that we Englishmen are not that fond of being touchy-feely.

Souvy

Plattsburgh airport has a bilingual website.

At least one Qc bank has branches in Florida.

I believe the Surete has officers stationed down there.

Shirtback

Neither do I, & nor did I say it is . I was agreeing with another poster that insularity might not necessarily be confined to one particular place/city in Canada .

Although I've not been up to Quebec City for quite a while, I have, in years past, found it to be even more insular/"provincial" than some rural towns or villages here. People there *do* go to America, and elsewhere, quite willingly, knowing that English/or another language is spoken there .

They (Qc City people) do, or used to, get a bit of chip on the shoulder that other places in *Canada* might expect them to use English as Lingua Franca. They don't even like the French who visit or settle there very much, Even if they speak theoretically the same language, IME.

Novocastrian

I plead guilty M'lud. After spending a total of 26 years in Ontario, we only visited Quebec (several times) and Nova Scotia (once) for vacations. BTW the latter trip was hosted by ex-BE member Val50 and was where we met ex-BE members SAW04 and Tuppence, to whom we remain grateful for the hospitality.

Both of us have travelled more widely in Canada for business, BC, AB, NB in addition to the above and, independently, BC and AB for the OH (Other Half, not Ohio).

Our younger son now lives in SK so we might go there someday, but in the meantime it's preferable to pay for his airfare to visit us in Europe, just as in was when we lived in the GTA.

Shirtback

Doubly cursed here...