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I really loved Montreal!!! The people, the scenery, the food, the overall vibe....just a great place. Although we wanted to do more touristy stuff, we were there to do our homework too. We went to the office where my husband will be working which is near the center of downtown Montreal. Then it was time to get to work!
Originally, I liked the idea of living in Point Claire, Beaconsfield or Kirkland. We visited each of those places and while the houses are big and beautiful, and the neighborhoods are quite nice....it was a bit too far from anything. Plus, we tried the drive in rush hour traffic. I don't think my husband wants to commute 35-45mins or more each way! Probably worse in the winter as well. So...we checked out Montreal West, CDN-NDG, Westmount, Outremount and Le Plateau Mont Royal. We fell in love with Westmount right away, though we also liked Outremount and Le Plateau.
We visited a couple of schools in Westmount to talk about registration and even got a tour of the schools! Since we'll be on a 3 year temporary visa, our daughter will be eligible to go to an English school. But once we become permanent, she'll have to go to a French school unless we want to pay for a private school (which we don't!).
Finally, we spoke to a real estate agent who is helping us find a place for when we move in July. I think we're going to end up in Westmount, but if not....then either Outremount or Le Plateau.
I hope I haven't bored you guys with all of this! Although I do hope that anyone wanting to move to Montreal (or any new area for that matter) visits the place and does their research. It's so much better when you can actually see what you are going into. Visiting city halls, schools/school boards, real estate agents, etc. really helps too.
If I can add one last thing.....I really felt much more confident and comfortable speaking French there, than I do here in France. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. Not only did people understand my accent, but they never made me feel like I was different or bad at speaking French. Unfortunately, I have encountered a bit of that a bit here in France and it's made me more reluctant to interact with others.
Final thought: Montreal is awesome and I can't wait to move there!!!!
I'm really glad you liked it here, and if you need any help or have any further questions, just Private Message me. I won't be too far from you, as I'm in NDG. My sister lives in Westmount, after moving from Dorval. She couldn't deal wth the Hwy20 or 40 traffic in rush hour.
I wouldn't choose the West Island, either. The commute is a killer.
Yeah, I was raised in Kirkland, not a fan of the traffic on those highways and would personally choose the more urban locale as well. Can you imagine if you'd kept up with your plan to commute in from Ontario? I thought you were crazy for that one, so the West Island had seemed like a more sane choice in comparison, but I totally get where you're coming from now.
As for the thing about the French being snooty about accents, I've definitely heard about that, you don't need to worry about that in Canada, French Canadians like their language but aren't that hung up about how you speak it. I think that comes partially from a bit of linguistic cringe about their own accents, which I've heard anecdotally the French treat almost as badly as an English accent when they come visit France, acting like they can't understand it. I think the other half of it is a bit more openness to difference that comes of being a new world locale and a city where a slight majority of the people are not native French speakers. That, and the whole culture is basically pretty laid back and informal about stuff compared to France where people seem to have strong notions about propriety.
@Welts - Thanks for the offer. I may take you up on that at some point! I'm sure I'll have more questions once I'm there.
@Bimbam - Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking about the Ontario idea either! I guess after living in France, I just really wanted to live in an Anglo area. But I actually feel comfortable speaking French in Montreal, and I can also speak a bit of English as well. It's the best of both worlds!
About the French and how they view the French Canadian accent...I think that's somewhat true. Although, my husband (who's far from snooty! lol) truly did have a difficult time understanding people at the hotel and in stores. He often asked people to repeat themselves. But it's just like when a Canadian or American speaks to someone who's British or Australian. It's the same language, but the meaning and the accent can be very different.
Funnily enough, there were even times when my husband switched from French to English in order to get through a conversation. Luckily, everyone was more than happy to comply!
About the French and how they view the French Canadian accent...I think that's somewhat true. Although, my husband (who's far from snooty! lol) truly did have a difficult time understanding people at the hotel and in stores. He often asked people to repeat themselves. But it's just like when a Canadian or American speaks to someone who's British or Australian. It's the same language, but the meaning and the accent can be very different.
I was born and raised in Montreal, but was taught Parisian French when I went to school.
To this day I STILL have trouble with some people when they speak joual, mostly when I go out of the city. The accent is very heavy.
I have unilingual friends from places like Morroco, and I understand every word they say.
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