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Aside from the obvious that you are pointing out here, I also have to shake my head at people who would rather physically move out of their own city (assuming the poster actually likes living in Montreal) as opposed to polishing up their French to an employable level.
I mean, I never ever hear people say "I am moving from Toronto to Montreal because I don't want to learn English sufficiently to get a job..."
I also never hear this about Hungarian in Budapest, Italian in Rome or Polish in Warsaw.
At least not from people who profess to love a given city, like I sometimes do for Montreal: "I l absolutely love the city but I can't deal with the French so I am moving to Ottawa, or Toronto, or Calgary."
I've heard that from Native Swiss people from Francophone Switzerland, and from Belgians. I've heard that from immigrants from the Spanish speaking world (Peru and Argentina) who immigrated to Quebec, were force fed Quebec French, somehow "manage" in it, speak English fluently from being from South America, and STILL would rather live in Anglophone Canada, somewhere out West.
Language barrier can cause you to NOT like the city you're in. Just because you're physically standing someplace doesn't mean that it's your home, that you like it there, or that you want to STAY there. Wow. That sounds like an Albuquerque mentality - "you're HERE so you must be FROM here originally, you must like it here and you must intend to stay here because you're HERE right NOW..."
And another thing: studying in one province and then relocating to another is COMMONPLACE in Canada. Until our student loan collection laws were changed recently, it's what people DID. Back when student loans were taken out at the provincial level and not the federal level, I mean.
I've heard that from Native Swiss people from Francophone Switzerland, and from Belgians. I've heard that from immigrants from the Spanish speaking world (Peru and Argentina) who immigrated to Quebec, were force fed Quebec French, somehow "manage" in it, speak English fluently from being from South America, and STILL would rather live in Anglophone Canada, somewhere out West.
Ah yes, the classic old yarn: Quebec is sooooooooo bad that even people from francophone parts of the world don't want to live there and prefer Anglo-Canada.
Well, I know people from the US, UK and even Australia or Western Canada who live in Quebec and wouldn't move (or move back) to Anglo-Canada for all the tea in China. It's every bit as anecdotal as what you posted.
Bottom line is that the vast majority of people from francophonie countries who move to Canada settle in Quebec and stay there. And the vast majority of people from the Anglosphere settle outside Quebec and stay there too.
None of this is really surprising when you think about it.
You're absolutely right. That and, it's not "real French" they speak there. Quebecois is broken, slang-French along the lines of Louisiana's Cajun. (I kid you not; it sounded identical when I heard both at the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal.) If you were to learn proper French, i.e. what you'd learn in college or in a Francophone country, you'd forever be treated by Quebec as "not French speaking." And, very rudely, right to your face. And being born in Canada (and thus a Canadian citizen) (in my case) doesn't help matters one bit. I was born in Canada; when I went to Montreal I got treated like a "foreigner."
Even teaching English requires that it be done IN French. Quebec has Canada's highest illiteracy rate; only about 50% of them can read or write in either language. Even French. I'd had people there tell me they were "French" speaking, but when I handed them the French-language newspaper they couldn't read it. And when I turned on the French-language news station broadcast from Ottawa, they couldn't understand it.
Quebec French is -- well, think "hillbilly English" like the US South and you'll understand.
You'd learn French better in a small town in rural Switzerland or Belgium than in Quebec. For another thing they don't have the attitude towards the English-speaking world that Quebec does.
You're absolutely right. That and, it's not "real French" they speak there. Quebecois is broken, slang-French along the lines of Louisiana's Cajun. (I kid you not; it sounded identical when I heard both at the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal.) If you were to learn proper French, i.e. what you'd learn in college or in a Francophone country, you'd forever be treated by Quebec as "not French speaking." And, very rudely, right to your face. And being born in Canada (and thus a Canadian citizen) (in my case) doesn't help matters one bit. I was born in Canada; when I went to Montreal I got treated like a "foreigner."
Even teaching English requires that it be done IN French. Quebec has Canada's highest illiteracy rate; only about 50% of them can read or write in either language. Even French. I'd had people there tell me they were "French" speaking, but when I handed them the French-language newspaper they couldn't read it. And when I turned on the French-language news station broadcast from Ottawa, they couldn't understand it.
Quebec French is -- well, think "hillbilly English" like the US South and you'll understand.
You'd learn French better in a small town in rural Switzerland or Belgium than in Quebec. For another thing they don't have the attitude towards the English-speaking world that Quebec does.
LMAO
so much falsehoods here I wouldn't even know where to start.
I agree, language barrier can cause you to dislike a city. And I don´t mean they should accept English as they accept French in jobs, but it should be just as difficult as it is in any other country in the world. It´s more difficult to live in Quebec without speaking French than in France, and that is so because people here want to prove that Quebec is a French-speaking country, not for practical reasons. OK, I´ll give you that, it is a French-speaking country, but I´m moving to Anglophone Canada because there's no way to find a job here if you don't speak French. And no, that does not happen in England, US or Australia if you don´t speak English, neither happens in Spain if you don't speak Spanish, in those countries you can at least have a cleaner job. Only in Francophone Canada you need to be "bilingual" to be a dishwasher. And that's not a communication issue, it is a political issue. I'm not Canadian, nor a native English speaker, and I felt 100 times more welcomed in UK when I couldn't speak a work in English: I could easily get a job and that allowed me to stay in the country long enough to learn the language. I don't know the war you guys have here, and I don't care, but I'd like to know how you expect people to learn French in Quebec if they can't afford to stay in Quebec.
It is sad, I'm on a one year holiday visa and would have liked to stay here a few months.
I agree, language barrier can cause you to dislike a city. And I don´t mean they should accept English as they accept French in jobs, but it should be just as difficult as it is in any other country in the world. It´s more difficult to live in Quebec without speaking French than in France, and that is so because people here want to prove that Quebec is a French-speaking country, not for practical reasons. OK, I´ll give you that, it is a French-speaking country, but I´m moving to Anglophone Canada because there's no way to find a job here if you don't speak French. And no, that does not happen in England, US or Australia if you don´t speak English, neither happens in Spain if you don't speak Spanish, in those countries you can at least have a cleaner job. Only in Francophone Canada you need to be "bilingual" to be a dishwasher. And that's not a communication issue, it is a political issue. I'm not Canadian, nor a native English speaker, and I felt 100 times more welcomed in UK when I couldn't speak a work in English: I could easily get a job and that allowed me to stay in the country long enough to learn the language. I don't know the war you guys have here, and I don't care, but I'd like to know how you expect people to learn French in Quebec if they can't afford to stay in Quebec.
It is sad, I'm on a one year holiday visa and would have liked to stay here a few months.
The jobs that are available for people who do not speak the main local language in Montreal are basically the same ones as they are anywhere else.
In fact, it's probably easier in Montreal than in most other places because the global lingua franca (English) that a lot of people speak has a significant presence as the second language of the city.
You say you are not a native English speaker but you have obviously learned it well and have also taken on the attitude that some English speakers have that it's all they need to live anywhere in the world.
Most of the Anglophones in Montreal were born there and learned the language growing up, while others came as students and started to pick it up over time, others came as the spouse of a local, or others were transferred there by their job into a niche where they could operate and then they learned French. Most big corporations have to be in French, but small businesses can operate in English and there are plethora of small English businesses where you can get by just speaking average levels of French to external people like delivery guys and such. Many people I knew growing up in the West Island worked in small businesses like these. There are plenty of jobs like these, but it's not super easy to hear about them, often the hook ups are within the community and they prefer to advertise for bilingual people as that's more useful to have and then if your French isn't good it can be worked around. It's actually not as hard as it sounds at all, if you get to know some local Anglos they can help you adjust and break into the city more easily.
Not everyone speaks the french fry language and many anglos don t as they all have English jobs and Waste Island is for the millions of Anglos living there. Many jobs require English as you deal with USA and CANADA! French is a dying language and they will realize it as soon as this rude awakening hits them
There seems to be a lot of animosity in this thread... bit of a shame.
It can be done. You just need to know where to look and potentially make some sacrifices (then learn French as you go).
To me the main issues are going to be your profession and the type of businesses/companies you'd be working in.
I moved to Montreal a couple of months ago and my level of French is not great (it's something I'm fixing!) but I was able to find a job in my profession that is English based. I'm in marketing, specifically digital, so I knew if I was going to get a job it would have to be a company that has english customers. So my time and energy turned to companies with a global focus. These ranged from large companies to early tech startups.
It takes a fair bit of time but you'll need to read through every potential position you come across to see if they ask for bilingual candidates. Those that don't mention it or include French as a (nice to have) are the ones to spend your time on. If you do see a potential dream position that does ask for bilingual candidates, get in touch with them personally (I haven't done this so I can't guarantee you'll get a reply but it's an option).
I found that LinkedIn's job board became my best friend. Easy search and the majority of legitimate companies will post jobs there.
Initially it was hard to find positions but I definitely did find more once I knew what I was looking for.
I was thinking of starting a weekly email digest of english based jobs to help those new to Quebec or those already here wanting to work in english. I know how it was to feel a bit lost and overwhelmed so if I could help ease that for others I'd definitely consider it.
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