Folks, I’m moving out.
It’s been long in the coming, but I’m relocating to Montreal, Canada, in a few days, where I’ll be working as Lead Editor for a publishing house. And it’s not just any job either: I’ll be managing a handful of more junior editors. I’ve met them (two guys, three girls) and they’re a cool bunch.
It’s exciting and scary at the same time. I’m going to be leaving behind a lot of good friends, but also a lot of weirdness. Attitude and Minx are coming along, but that’s about it. Brooke promised he’d visit. (Did I mention he’s back as a “full” man? Apparently, that was one curse that didn’t last…)
So please accept my apologies if I’m silent for a few days (not that you’re not used to this by now), while I pack my things and make my way to the Cold White North.
Anyone has been to Montreal before? Suggestions on DO’s and DON’T’s?
–Jaycee
“I’m doing it.”
22 thoughts on “Big Move: Montreal”
Rob G
Lived here all of my life, one of the best cities to live in IMHO.
Best DO I can think of is hunt around for an area you like, the city is a collection of villages, each with its own personality all quite different from one another.
As for DON’T best to keep your own council on anything to do with language and politics (they are more or less the same to outsiders) the fewer opinions you voice on this matter the better until you understand all the nuances in play.
On that note, to get better service from anyone, always apologize first for not being able to speak French, (unless you can of course) it’s a small thing but you will be surprised how most francophones will bend over backwards for you if you make this small gesture.
Andy
My wife and I love montreal as a vacation destination. Frankly, I’d probably love living there too. 🙂 Assuming you can see the emails, email me, and I’ll send you a link to our google map o’ food and stuff.
Alaska Close
DO enjoy the food. Montreal is one of the best foodie cities in the world. So, so many good places to eat. And then there are the cheap little casse-croûtes as well for fries and steamed hot dogs…
DON’T wear a Boston or Toronto hockey jersey near the forum. Hockey in Montreal is Serious Business. Do go see a game, though. Seeing hockey at the Bell Centre is like seeing baseball in Yankee Stadium.
DO try to learn French. Take classes, do what you need to to learn. I’ve noticed that people in a relationship with someone who speaks the local lingo seem to learn faster.
DON’T try to lose Attitude in the airport when you move. It won’t work, and you’ll just get punished for it. 😀
Arkonbey
Just want to say, I like the Little Ego mirror thing.
Also, don’t forget to try some poutine in Monteral 😉
Alsaska Close is right. Do NOT wear anything Leafs.
Emma
Good luck in Montreal! I live in Quebec City so I don’t know much about Montreal beside the fact it’s a very multicultural city and lots of activities. I hope you’ll have fun there and fun in your job! Oh and…. it’s not that cold you know? 😉
Max
I’m from Quebec city, Montreal is a nice place to live. The guys are right: if you don’t speak french and live in a french-speaking area, try to learn a little bit of it or just be a good sport about apologizing that you do not speak it. 🙂
Anyway, it’s just good manners; I do the same thing every time I’m in an english-speaking country (“Sorry about the accent…”).
Poutine is the most AMAZING meal on Earth. No joke 😉
Max
By the way, good luck and I hope you’ll love your new job! 🙂
Noviticus
One: Learn French, FAST.. and be good at it.
Two: As read before, DO. NOT. WEAR. ANYTHING. WITH. THE. LEAFS!
Hockey is serious shit up here in Canada
Three: Do not let on that you’re American… just trust me on this.
gr8tek
So you are moving to Montreal, Quebec, Canada?
First, welcome to Montreal!
Second, you ask Do’s and Don’ts.
Ok so Montreal is my native city. I was born here and have lived for 46 years here. Do I know what I am talking about? Less than some, more than many but!;
– If you want, you can learn french. As a rule, if we know you are american and are moving here, we will give you some leeway but if you learn french, this will be appreciated by just about everyone you meet.On the flip side, you can and will receive service everywhere in english except with the most rabid 101 law followers. ( the 101 law is the law to preserve the french language). The farther north-east you go, the less english there is and the closer you get to the Ontario and United-States border, the more there will be.
– As stated by Rob G, the city is a mix of neighborhoods. Some are “hipper” than others, I guess, by some definitions but you can see them this way;
— the East area of Montreal (technically, the North east if you look at a map) has more french speakers than the west area (which is more south-west, again according to a map). The center is a mix of both, divided by neighborhoods.
— the north of the island (north-west on a map) has a few poor areas which are more subject to crime.
— the south of the island is near the old port which is the oldest part of Montreal. As you can guess, appartments there can be fairly expensive.
The rest of his comments are accurate as well.
Getting around.
You did not specify where this job will be. The transit system is fairly extensive but;
– the metro system is old. Till the new wagons come in in a few years still, there are a few mechanical failures per month and this can cause an hour of delay or more.
– Location. If you stay fairly close to the city core, getting where you need to go is easy and fairly fast. The metro spans almost all the city. I say almost because I live at the extreme east end and getting to a metro station takes about 40 minutes by bus. Then it takes another 20 minutes to more or less reach downtown. This is not too bad but if you need to go farther, this of course increases transit time. There is a metro station that goes to Laval, which is the city north of Montreal. Just the one though.
Housing
– Electricity is relatvely cheap in Quebec and as such, most houses are heated electrically. That being said, power failures seldom happen but summer storms have been getting more fierce in the last few years and a power failure in winter means no heating, which can be a pain at -20 degrees celcius.
– House prices are fairly stable now and no big rise is planned or in sight. It is a buyers maker right now with more houses for sale than buyers. Of course, this is not my area of expertise but having recently sold a house, this is what have seen and been told.
Cold
Emma states that it is not that cold. And she is right. But then, an inuit would tell you that as well for Alaska, where he has lived all his life. The point being, yes it can be cold, but if you get here in summer, end of summer or beginning of autumn, you will get used to it and winter should be fine. What is harder to get used to and this is what makes it cold for many is… the humidity. Winter on a island (Montreal is an island) surrounded by water (which freezes solid but still) is more humid than in Manitoba where -20 C in winter is fairly common. The coldest period is around middle of january till about end of february. -15 to -17 C is fairly expected but like anywhere else, can vary greatly.
Food
You can find just about every kind of food in Montreal;
– Poutine is basically a large bowl of french fries, with cheese (this is a special kind of cheese mind you) and a rich brown sauce. you will find few people here who do not love the thing. Of course, as you can guess, it is good to eat it sparingly for it will go straight to your heart and clog everything up really good.
– As an aside between food and alcohol, many restaurants are of the bring your own wine type. Remember to check because they will sell wine but it will be more expensive than the SAQ and will probably not be as good.
Alcohol
Let’s face it, we all want a small libation of alcohol once in a while. You can get beer out of corner stores (called “dépanneur” here) or big food stores like IGA Metro and Loblaws to name a few. Those same stores will also sell some wines. But for the real stuff, you need to go to the SAQ which is the “Société des Alcools du Québec” or Quebec Liquor Society, loosely translated. Rhum, Vodka, good wines, Scotch and so on can only be bought there and their opening hours are only in the day. None of them are open at night.
Hockey
Many are rabid fans of hockey. But still, not all the inhabitants of Montreal will burn you at the stake for wearing the Leafs colors. Or the Bruins, for that matter. It is no different than wearing a Yankees shirt in the appropriate enemy city. That beeing said, why antagonize? If you can go see a game, try it! But expect this to be an expensive night as tickets are about 125$ and up each! I do not know the food prices onsite, but I expect them to be quite costly for the fare offered (beer and hotdogs).
As for not letting anyone know you are not american, I do not know. I would hope that we, as a people, are more open than that. I have met more than my share of people and I remember that an american I once met was one of the nicest man I have met and he learned french in a year. He didn’t have to, he was returning to the US in a year but he thought that this was important. On the flip side, I met a guy from Alberta around the same time. He was here 2 years and never learned a word of french.
Emma
I think we can summarize as: there a nice people and not-so-nice people as in everywhere, we just hope you’ll meet plenty of nice one!
@gr8tek: I’m from Africa originally and you’re right, arriving at the good time is the best to acclimate! 😉
Jaycee
Wow, a LOT of really good advice. All duly noted.
* French… check
* Poutine… check
* Hockey… check
* Weather… check
…but what about the women? No one said anything about the women! Are they as pretty as the rumors say? 😉
–Jaycee
“I’m doing it.”
Robert Gaspar
I live in Windsor (South of Detroit – check a map) Ontario, Canada. I’ve probably been to Montreal every two to three years. As others have said, the food there is outstanding and you can get just about anything you wish. Once you meet a few of the local people and can get around, try Le Pied de Cochon (The Pigs Foot). It requires reservations but you won’t believe how packed the place can get even late at night. I’ve never met a taxi driver there who didn’t know all the great places to go and they speak English. Welcome to Canada.
Matt
3 words. Smoked. Meat. Sandwich.
roderick brown
Don’t taste the yellow snow. Learn to say “eH” at the end of every other sentence. Take a moment now to adjust to how often the word “beaver” will turn up in day to day conversation with no sexual connotation to it. As for the women, you’re going to save so much money at bars. They come pre-intoxicated.
gr8tek
Yes, smoked meat sandwiches are quite good at many places in Montreal but for the great smoked meat, go to Shwartz’s Deli (http://schwartzsdeli.com/ca/en/) where they have been doing it for 80 years.
eric
Dont worry about the women, its all true and more my friend. You will have to pace yourself, cause they are everywhere! And the weather thing is the most important when you are not used to our nordic climate. Now the comment about not saying you are from the US is kinda weird since it doesn’t really insult anyone here, unless you are talking with an anti-US person, which frankly are everywhere as far as I know ;).
Anyhow welcome to canada, where good beer is ;P
Lancinator
I’ve visited Montreal a number of times – yes, the women are gorgeous, I think it’s the whole French thing; I’ve visited France a half dozen times, and there’s something different about the women. I think they’re not afraid to be sexy, without being slutty.
Speaking of girls, try to avoid the strip club strip on Rue Sainte-Catherine W – the last time I was there for a course, my company put me in a hotel within walking distance of “Club Supersexe” (a big strip club) and my bank account is still recovering. Tabernac!
Oh, regarding swearing: some Franco-Quebecers will swear frequently in English, believing that REAL swear words are those against the church. So you end up with someone hitting their thumb with a hammer who yells “Tabernac, hostee, chalice!” Of course, people from France think this is insane, to them, it’s like yelling the word “church” as a swear word.
Also, there’s French from France, and French from Quebec – if you take a course in French, as I did, you’ll find major differences. Parisian French is like a BBC announcer speaking English – Quebec French, especially if you get someone from the boonies speaking it, is like trying to understand a hillbilly. People from France often look down on the Quebec accent and pronounciation (which I’ve observed personally several times) and I’ll admit that when you get someone speaking “joual”, a highly slangy truncated version of French, with the endings of words cut off, I can’t tell what the hell they’re talking about half the time.
Oh the American thing – I don’t think Quebec or Canada is any more anti-American than anywhere else, as long as you don’t start being the classic “ugly American”. Not saying “Hey boy, you speak American here?” Would be a good start. ;-)))
I’ll agree with the comment on avoiding discussions of language or Quebec politics. Some quebeckers are very sensitive about these subjects, and if you of them says “Tabernac, what do you thing about Bill 101?” I’d fake a heart attack or something. I think Bill 101 is an insane fascist atrocity, but I wouldn’t share that opinion with some of my friends. 🙂
You’ll have a great time – try to experience the culture as much as possible. If you’re looking for a painless way to start understanding Canada, I’d strongly suggest watching “The Rick Mercer Show”. It’s funny as hell, and he travels around the country talking to politicians and doing insane things. A few years back, he was interviewing the Prime Minister (he’s like your president) and took him to Harvey’s for lunch. When he met the newly-elected opposition leader (like the leader of the Republican Party) they went zip lining together and talked politics.
Lets see, never insult hockey, beer, or often bizarre Quebec culture, you’ll do just fine.
Bonne chance, mon ami!
Lance
meachy
Can’t be anymore yolk-ish then the French we hear down here in the southeast. Honestly, I like the way Cajuns sound in comparison to the French speaking people you see on TV.
Jake
How is Brooke adjusting to having male equipment again? After having girl part for so long, he must be out of practice. And how did Meghan take it?
I also wonder whatever happened to his female body, the one Mandy ended up witj
Jaycee
Having a penis is like a bike. Once you know how to use it, you never really forget. As for Meghan, well… Brooke has a way with women. Meghan was a little upset in the beginning, but he played the card of “it’s what’s inside that matters,” and she eventually came around. (I make it sound more manipulative than it really was, but hey, it’s Brooke—you know what to expect.)
I have no clue what happened to Mandy’s body. I would guess she got her body back when the curse ended. I hope it wasn’t too… traumatic for her.
–Jaycee
“I’m doing it.”
Jake
Upset? So Meghan actually enjoyed having Brooke with a vagina? Still, good for him and i was really impressed with how he handled the curses he had, especially when he had Mandy’s old curses.
He must be enjoying having his old identity back. After all, he was pretending to be a female relative a his and then later he was stuck with Mandy’s body and her identity.
I do worry about Mandy. I know you two did not part on the best of terms, but i have to wonder what became of her. Being stuck with the curses she was previously freed from could not have been fun.
jack
How long was he stuck as Mandy? At least over a year, right? It must be nice to be himself again.
And i am guessing the reason Attitude waited to give his penis back was because she didn’t want people to think she had gone soft. But i think she must respect Brooke on some level, he did handle being a girl rather well after all.