# Moving to Montreal



## RatsOnMacAttack (Mar 5, 2005)

Hi everyone, I need a little advice. I am moving to Montreal in 5 months, and I was just wondering if you had any advice for a 24 yr old guy from Regina that doesnt know a lick of French. Im trying to learn French at the moment, but how fluent do I have to be? (btw, watching movies with french subtitles turned on beats any french audiobook anyday) Some people tell me Im going to have a very hard time if im not completely fluent, yet others tell me ill be fine just knowing a few phrases. And im also thinking about going back to school once im there. I love everything Apple, and my dream job would be to work on Macs, however, i have no experience whatsoever besides taking apart my own macs out of curiosity or doing upgrades. I have no tech education, but it is something that comes very naturally to me. ( when I was 4 years old I took apart my parents TV to see how it worked and put it back together perfectly.) I have no interest in programming, etc, I just like the hardware aspect of it. I guess my question is, how long is the road ahead of me, seeing how some of you are at the opposite end? I know this might be an odd thread to come across, but I dont usually hear this many intelligent opinions in one place, so i thought a few of you might have some words for me. Thanks.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

A little French will go a long way. I have a few uni-lingual friends, but making the effort to at least try a few words in French will go a long way.

If you are looking for an apartment, you will have better luck getting here early. Most apartments are vacated on the July 1st - it's a strange ritual. Movers will charge you a fortune, Plan around that.

Some areas of town are more Anglophone such as NDG. The more East you go, the more Francophone it will be.

If you have a specific question, I'm sure many will be able to answer you.


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## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

My advice would be to learn as much French as possible, and plan on learning more once you get here. While it's true that you can get by without speaking the language, those who do drastically limit their employment and social options. Speaking is obviously the first priority, reading is a close second, and writing is something you can probably do without for a long time, possibly forever. 

I don't think you will ever need to be completely fluent in the sense of passing for a native speaker, but IMO you should aim for a good working knowledge of the language. You will probably always have an accent and make mistakes, but people worth dealing with won't hold those things against you as long as you can communicate effectively. 

If you're going to use movies as an aid, I strongly suggest renting mainly Quebec films. Getting used to the sound of the language will be far more useful to you than picking up a little reading ability by watching English movies with French subtitles (if that's what you're doing; it's not entirely clear). Watching the news can also help, because newscasters speak a pretty basic, neutral French with no slang, and that kind of French goes a long way in most everyday situations, especially in the workplace. 

Also, AS is right about apartments. The July 1 thing is a little less true than it used to be, but it's still the big moving day. If possible, you should visit in April or May to try to find a place for July 1. It's hard to say what the market will be like, but in some recent years it's been very hard to find decent places. 

Finally, check out the Montreal Mirror's Student Survival Guide. The most recent one is at www.montrealmirror.com/2005/090105/survivalguide2005.html -- should be useful even if you're not going back to school.


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## Craigger (Aug 8, 2005)

I lived in montreal for 3 and a half months, with two buddys who have been there for 4 years, one doesent know anything more than allo/bonjour, the other doesent know a word of french. I know limited french but never once used it.


your results may vary


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## VNJ85 (Feb 24, 2006)

I'm from montreal, i think initially you will have problems getting used to things. However soon afterwards you'll quickly adapt, it really doesnt take long. You probably wont be fluent very fast, it will take a lot of work but you can get around with english very well. Visitors/americans love montreal because of this. You'll see you'll start picking up the language as you will need to say very basic things almost everyday. If your interested in learning through a program you can try

http://www.jexplore.ca/english/program.html


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## Jeepdude (Mar 3, 2005)

French can be pretty difficult to learn by a book or in a class--but once you're immersed in the environment and focus/practise using it, you'll pick it up. The key part is practising...

And MTL is a hell of a lot of fun!


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## Bud Bray (Oct 31, 2005)

You are SO screwed! WHY move to Montreal? Half of Toronto is EX-MONTREALERS, myself included. The French are ignorant, arrogant, obnoxious...and those are their GOOD points. Don't let anyone find out you're from Alberta!
Also there will probably be ANOTHER referendum soon, good luck being an anglophone THEN!
I was BORN & Raised there till I was 17, I KNOW what i'm talking about.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Bud Bray said:


> You are SO screwed! WHY move to Montreal? Half of Toronto is EX-MONTREALERS, myself included. The French are ignorant, arrogant, obnoxious...and those are their GOOD points. Don't let anyone find out you're from Alberta!
> Also there will probably be ANOTHER referendum soon, good luck being an anglophone THEN!
> I was BORN & Raised there till I was 17, I KNOW what i'm talking about.


That is an awful thing to say about your fellow Canadians.


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

Bud Bray said:


> You are SO screwed! WHY move to Montreal? Half of Toronto is EX-MONTREALERS, myself included. They are ignorant, arrogant, obnoxious...and those are their GOOD points.


If you say so...but surely there are some ex-Montrealers who aren't all that bad.

Edit: I see the poster's edit now. I withdraw this snarky comment.



> Don't let anyone find out you're from Alberta!
> Also there will probably be ANOTHER referendum soon, good luck being an anglophone THEN!
> I was BORN & Raised there till I was 17, I KNOW what i'm talking about.


Sorry to be blunt, but...the place has been much better since ignorant, arrogant and obnoxious attitudes like yours left town. The whole "angryphone" thing is sooo 1995, and most people get along very well now, including many thousands of Anglos who were born here or who came here from the States, the UK and the rest of Canada.


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## imachungry (Sep 19, 2004)

Montreal is a fantastic city, in so many ways immeasurably "better" than Toronto. However, I think it's a fantasy to think you can survive there without speaking French in a real way. It's not only not ideal, it will mark you as an outsider at every turn.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

iMatt said:


> Sorry to be blunt, but...the place has been much better since ignorant, arrogant and obnoxious attitudes like yours left town. The whole "angryphone" thing is sooo 1995, and most people get along very well now, including many thousands of Anglos who were born here or who came here from the States, the UK and the rest of Canada.


I would not say that there is no longer any tension between Anglophones and Francophones. I'm perfectly bilingual and speak French without any accent. Last November I was called: "Un maudit sale d'anglais" on the basis of my family name alone. I do feel a certain discrimination at times against "les têtes carées". From what we have experienced, the French school system seems better funded (we switched from Westmount English to a region just off the Island of Montreal). I still do hear anti-english slurs. 

Culturally in French entertainment, it's amusing that many villains are English (Lance et Compte and in the Le Matou) - but this is dying down. 
Quebec culture can both be a strange and wonderful thing. When it feel confident and at ease with their identity, they can produce wonderful things - at it's worst, it a pale imitation of American pop.

We decided to stay because it was important for our kids to know (and maybe understand) the dual culture of Canada. 

iMatt gave good advice here:
http://www.ehmac.ca/showpost.php?p=363187&postcount=4
If you come here open to new cultural possibilities, you may stay longer than you think.


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## iPetie (Nov 25, 2003)

Well, one thing I can tell you is this, moving from Regina you are in for one heck of a good time. Montreal is far and away the most social and fun loving city I've ever visited or lived in.

Ignore the cultural issues as much as possible, learn as much french as you can make an honest attempt to use it. French speaking Montrealers are far more forgiving than they are given credit for in my experience. That said, my experience has always consisted of an effort on my behalf. 

And lets face, when french speaking Montrealers hear my french, they usually prefer to speak to me in english. lol


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## iMatt (Dec 3, 2004)

AS, I agree that it's wrong to imply there's no tension at all, but in my experience there's much, much less than there was ten or 20 years ago. The main reasons are surely that the aggressively anti-French types have mostly moved away, and, on the flipside, that the ease and confidence you mention is now the default attitude more often than not. Are some people still bigoted/racist/xenophobic jerks? Sure. _Jerkus maximus_ is a subspecies found within every ethnic and linguistic group, and we have to refuse to let him spoil life for the rest of us. Education may even be a viable remedy in some cases.

BTW, I don't have a French name and I do have a slight accent, and I have only encountered anything nasty once in the last ten years -- a run-in with the kind of stupid drunk in the street that you can find in any city. 

Anyway, I think we completely agree on this much: if you want to stay here for the long haul, it's best to learn French. I know a handful of people who have been around a while without learning much of the language. I don't think any less of them for it, but it's clear that it holds them back in some ways. But despite their relative isolation and limited opportunity, I don't think they feel persecuted.


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## RatsOnMacAttack (Mar 5, 2005)

Bud Bray said:


> Don't let anyone find out you're from Alberta!



Last time I checked, Regina is not in Alberta. Grade 2 Geography class.


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## DP004 (Mar 9, 2005)

You have a great example here.
If you come to Montreal, stay away from people like Bud Bray. You will meet some but keep an open mind and don't be bothered. First, you can't change them: they will always feel offended when thy hear a french voice mail and second, they don't seem to know where Regina is. 

I am more worried at your leap of faith.
You will find difficult to get a job in any provinces without something to bank on.
I am not here to tell you what to do.
You are in a popular job bracket, offers outweighs demand and computer technicians need strong credentials (diplomas or achievements) before being hired.
Plan your huge move and enjoy yourself.
And yes, prepare a Plan B.


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## RatsOnMacAttack (Mar 5, 2005)

And dont worry, long ago I developed a tough skin for people like BudBray. I lived in Vancouver for 4 years so Im not nervous about the "big city" aspect of it, I have a job (not great but something to pay the bills for now) lined up and I am moving in with a few friends (plateau area?) So at least Ive got that.


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## ArtistSeries (Nov 8, 2004)

RatsOnMacAttack said:


> I have a job (not great but something to pay the bills for now) lined up and I am moving in with a few friends (plateau area?) So at least Ive got that.


You'll love the Plateau Area - it's rather the "in" place of late.


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## singingcrow (May 6, 2005)

RatsOnMacAttack said:


> And dont worry, long ago I developed a tough skin for people like BudBray. I lived in Vancouver for 4 years so Im not nervous about the "big city" aspect of it, I have a job (not great but something to pay the bills for now) lined up and I am moving in with a few friends (plateau area?) So at least Ive got that.



Looks like your set up pretty well. When I moved here 5 years ago, I didn't have a job, or an appartment, and my french was limited to being able to read a book for a 2 year old. Now, I speak french (well, my own version anyway - lots of english expressions... it's getting there), I work for myself - so I'm employed, and I have a lovely appartment in an area I love (my 5th neighbourhood here - took some time).

In moving to Montreal, despite the fact that you have a place to sleep and an income, do yourself a favour and learn as much french as you possibly can before you get here. The reason I suggest this is you'll definitely go through a form of culture shock, and not speaking french can create another form of isolation, whether you know people or not. Since you're 24, I suspect you want to go to some parties? My experience is, a lot of time people are polite enough to speak english for a while, but then they forget and begin to speak french, so you might find yourself in a situation where you have no idea what's going on. Also, knowing some french will help you understand the culture a bit better, and appreciate it. If you want to take some ultra cheap french lessons when you get here, email me.

Good luck!


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