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Living overseas

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What’s it like to live in Montreal if you can’t speak French?

10 replies

Itscoldouthere · 21/05/2019 20:58

Just that really, DH has been offered a very good job in Montreal, it’s a transfer from his UK company so not speaking French wouldn’t be a problem for his job, I work in a UK low paid sector so I’m assuming I’d find it very hard to find employment without speaking French ?
We wouldn’t need me to earn money but wondering what I would do if I can’t work!

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EatCheese · 22/05/2019 10:45

If you are wondering what to do with yourself in Montreal, you could spend your days..... learning French!

Itscoldouthere · 22/05/2019 11:50

Eatcheese well of course I know that, I’d be mad not to !

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EatCheese · 22/05/2019 12:30

^ Hahaha. Can’t really help with your question as I’ve only been on a short holiday to Montreal, but my impression was: it’s a lot better if you can speak French.

Itscoldouthere · 22/05/2019 13:46

I was hoping some people from Canada might come along and give me an idea.
I do think it would be a great opportunity to learn French although I know I wouldn’t find it easy, but I’d like to know if it’s possible to enjoy living there if you don’t speak French.
It would be a really big move for us and not being able to communicate properly would make it quite difficult.

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BorisBadunov · 22/05/2019 14:12

I’m from Montreal (though not lived there in nearly 15 years). Although I’m a French speaker, I have friends who relocated to Montreal from the UK, US and other English speaking countries. I’ve also emigrated to the UK and I’m now an expat in Asia, so I can see your question from a number of angles.

I think you can manage in MTL without any French at all, but you may find yourself slightly isolated. French speakers may also enquire (genuinely/forcefully depending on their political proclivities) why you don’t speak French; this is because of the province’s history, and as a newcomer you shouldn’t feel embarrassed, but I think it gets tiring after a while. Quebecers are very nosy.

Montreal has two English universities, English hospitals, English newspapers, theatres and so on, and most young people are bilingual to a degree. You won’t have difficulties being served in English in any store or restaurant. Several neighbourhoods/ arrondissements are majority English speaking (Westmount, NDG, Côte St-Luc, Côte des Neiges, and all of the West Island towns eg Beaconsfield, Kirkland, DDO etc).

Having said all this, it can be isolating to live somewhere where you don’t speak the language of the majority. Montreal is not an expat town, so it’s not like you’re moving to Dubai or Singapore where everyone is transient. Making friends is going to be more difficult because the locals already have their existing network of friends and family. Even if you join a local community club or group, odds are some of the socialising will be in French, so you may find yourself excluded from the conversation.

I’m sure you know that, but it’s also very, very cold. Brace yourself for a long winter and learn to love winter sports, shovelling snow of your car and taking 15 minutes to put extra layers on every time you go out.

Other than that, it’s a much more egalitarian society, no class system, less sexism. Unfortunately it’s also quite racist - the government is currently trying to pass a law banning headscarves (and all other religious signs, but the law is clearly targeting Muslim women.) It’s pretty appalling.

Oh and beware of the extremely complex street parking rules, and crumbling infrastructure (potholes everywhere). But glorious summers, very good food, generally good air quality, and lots of big parks.

You don’t say if you have children- French education is mandatory for all non Canadians (with very few exceptions), so if you have children they’d need to go to a French school, unless you go fully private for their entire education, which is not cheap, eg see here: www.lcc.ca/admissions/tuition-fees.

BorisBadunov · 22/05/2019 14:13

Golly, didn’t realise it was that long 😳

Teddybear45 · 22/05/2019 14:18

Honestly Montreal French is so different from proper French I wouldn’t bother learning it until you got there (unless you can get Canadian French courses here).

BorisBadunov · 22/05/2019 14:52

Honestly Montreal French is so different from proper French I wouldn’t bother

It’s just a different accent. Like the English spoken in Texas isn’t the same as in Glasgow. Everyone in MTL understands international French, they just speak it with a local accent.

Itscoldouthere · 22/05/2019 17:04

Thank you for the information, all very interesting, I really don’t know what I think, Montreal isn’t somewhere I’ve ever considered moving too really but it’s where the job DH has been offered is so we have to consider it.
I was hoping we could go to Singapore but that option fell through!
I have 2 DC but they are at university so they would only be coming for occasional holidays, we are thinking this would be a minimum 2 year stay.
I’m not sure what I think about extreme cold either.
I need to do lots of research and visit of course.

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bliminy · 26/05/2019 17:07

What is 'proper' French? Two of DD's friends have moved to Montreal and both speak French - one learnt by living in France, the other by living in a French-speaking part of the US. Neither has any problem making themselves understood.

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