Montreal info

Hey guys,
I have an opportunity to possibly relocate to montreal for 3-4 years for work and was just wondering if anyone would give me info on the area as I've never been there. Housing isn't a concern because it would be provided by my employer. I am married and have 2 small children. What are the pros / cons from those that live there? thanks.

It's going to be a totally different world than cali, that's for sure.

I gotta say, honestly, other than the pretty good nightlife...montreal's a pretty shitty place.

IMO, i find there's a lot more negatives than positives...

The weather's not the greatest, govn't is terrible, taxes are really high, and it's a fairly dirty city as well as a lot of hardcore quebecers that think french is a godly language. Salary scales are lower than other provinces (might not be an issue for you). You haven't seen real riots and anti-police gangs until you've been to montreal.

A lot of people run away from Quebec, towards Ontario. I plan to do the same in the near future.

But like any other city, you have your good & bad areas. You have any idea where you'll probably be located?


Oh and....registration for your R6 will be $1034 each yr soon to be $1400!

Not sure where I'd be located, but some of the issues may not apply to me as I work for the US gov't (ie taxes if you are referring to income or real estate). thanks for the insight though. I knew it would be totally different than where I am. And the only thing I knew about it was supposedly awesome night life which doesn't matter too much to me (married w/2 kids)

Well i just recently moved to montreal and yeah it was a big change. I guess it depends on where you want to live and how far you want to commute. What area will you be working and what kind of lifestyle do you wan tto live. I live about 15 mins from downtown montreal across the bridge in a very rural area so i dont deal with any of the crap but get all the benifits of living close to the city.

Originally Posted by dHanoon6

It's going to be a totally different world than cali, that's for sure.

I gotta say, honestly, other than the pretty good nightlife...montreal's a pretty shitty place.

IMO, i find there's a lot more negatives than positives...

The weather's not the greatest, govn't is terrible, taxes are really high, and it's a fairly dirty city as well as a lot of hardcore quebecers that think french is a godly language. Salary scales are lower than other provinces (might not be an issue for you). You haven't seen real riots and anti-police gangs until you've been to montreal.

A lot of people run away from Quebec, towards Ontario. I plan to do the same in the near future.

But like any other city, you have your good & bad areas. You have any idea where you'll probably be located?


Oh and....registration for your R6 will be $1034 each yr soon to be $1400!

+1.

I totally agree with what dHanoon said about the language even if I`m a french guy born in quebec... Most of the time they make a big deal out of this. But in Montreal you won`t have any problem to get serve in English. The problem starts when you get out of montreal and pass the 75-100 km radius...

A french person is pretty easy to get on your side. Just learn few bad words in french and you`ll be his best bud (stupid but almost true)

I`m in Ontario and I like it but where I am is very very boring (no really good restaurant other than big fast food things. I moved to get a real decent salary, get a good challenging job and learn more English.

Where did you move in ontario?

And yeah i dont speak english and i can manage in montreal no problem. Shit the only place i had trouble with french was in gatineau and thats 5 mins away from ottawa.. the girl there didnt speak any english. I ordered chicken and a baked potatoe. I ended up with chicken and a water... wtf?

And the riots.. yeah those are wierd here. You didnt know there was a riot in the city until i saw it on the news then your like.. meh.. i wasnt there.

Also the cops dress like fags with thier florecent camo pants and will probably beat you for bugging them before they help you cuz you got robbed.

So if any of you can weigh in on these options: montreal, toronto, ottawa? Which would you choose and why? Obviously, I'm american and therefore don't speak french. Housing costs don't matter as it will be provided by my employer as well as private school for my children.

TO = very similiar to any big American city but cleaner and relatively safer. Starbucks everywhere, traffic and road rage is the norm. You'd better like hockey

Mtl = the city has a European flare to it. They know how to enjoy life. If you go there, you might not want to tell the locals you from America!

QC = I'd only go there for a vacation, so enjoy and get the fck out!

Out of those three places id probably pick montreal if money isnt a problem.