Living in montreal

Category: Local Questions & Answers

•  
• 51 friends
• 0 reviews

2/9/2010 vanessa d. says:

Hi everyone,

im actually from toronto and was thinking of moving to montreal for a while,
but i dont speak french.

is this even possible? any thought?

vanessa

1. 

   •  
   • 70 friends
   • 37 reviews

   2/11/2010 Ashley B. says:

   It's definitely possible, I don't speak french and have lived here for a year. You'll have to learn some simple stuff to make life easier for yourself ie. food items so that you can read a menu at a restaurant.
   
   But, it's only possible if you don't need to work. Absolutely every job requires some degree of french. I know a couple people that moved here from BC and had to return after not being able to find any work that didn't demand french.
   
   So, if you don't need to work or you already have a job lined up that allows you to speak English, then the language barrier is not an obstacle.

2. 

   •  
   • 0 friends
   • 1 review

   2/11/2010 from Yelp for iPhone Danny F. says:

   West island is pretty much all English. Downtown is bilingual. The eastern side is mostly French.

3. 

   •  
   • 0 friends
   • 2 reviews

   2/14/2010 from Yelp for iPhone Juliana Y. says:

   Danny's right, Downtown is COMPLETELY bilingual. Alot of people in Westmount (where I live but I do speak French) don't speak french so That's a good area for youbut it's expensive.

4. 

   •  
   • 0 friends
   • 2 reviews

   2/14/2010 Tanya G. says:

   ...West Island is also bilingual but our first language, and the one we tend to speak is mostly English.

5. 

   •  
   • 9 friends
   • 3 reviews

   2/22/2010 Mathieu L. says:

   absolutely, without french you are fine here. it's not like in the 70s and 80s anymore, english is really strong here. good luck!

6. 

   •  
   • 30 friends
   • 23 reviews

   2/28/2010 Alexandra D. says:

   My bf and I just moved to Montreal from Ontario. I speak French, he doesn't. Thankfully he already had a job lined up that didn't require French, and I'm still looking but hopeful that I can find something. In terms of day to day living, you can totally get by with just English.

7. 

   •  
   • 0 friends
   • 0 reviews

   3/14/2010 from Yelp for iPhone Troy T. says:

   I think it sucks to come here and you don't know French it's hard

8. 

   •  
   • 1 friend
   • 0 reviews

   4/1/2010 from Yelp for iPhone Bob S. says:

   Vanessa,
        I would say that French isn't mandatory but it sure does help. Where you live is important because certain areas are definately more English than others.  You should at least be open to learning the language and most jobs here will require some knowledge of French. Good luck to you. Montreal is a great place to live. ;)

9. 

   • Elite '12
   • 29 friends
   • 169 reviews

   4/10/2010 Mathieu "MJ" B. says:

   You need to learn. It's the law. The first language at work is French. I'm from the WestIsland, my neighbor don't speak french but she's in web design, so doesn't really matter since all her client are english. other neighbor is a Mechanic Teacher. If you are in that field, this can be a good thing; english schools or in an english field. I'm in banking, and it's mandatory to speak both but most of communication is in English and same thing for e-mail and stuff.
   
   So yeah, you can get by, but what's your profession?

10. 

    •  
    • 30 friends
    • 33 reviews

    4/16/2010 nikki "wanderlust" c. says:

    Hey Vanessa, I'm thinking about moving back to Montreal too! Lived there for about 6 months after I finished university in Ontario. The reason I moved back was yes, because my French was not up to par and finding decent-paying work was tough (being fresh out of uni with no experience didn't help much either).
    
    SO what I'm doing is keeping my eyes open for English-speaking jobs when I browse job posting sites. If I'm able to move the first thing I plan on doing is taking French classes.
    Good luck, and let me know if it works out for you :)

11. 

    • Elite '12
    • 29 friends
    • 169 reviews

    4/16/2010 Mathieu "MJ" B. says:

    nikki it would be could if we had a event for Montreal and we do some French for Yelpers lesson .  It's pretty easy if you get to have one french friend.

12. 

    •  
    • 21 friends
    • 33 reviews

    6/15/2010 V "The Unpredictable SOCIALITE" B. says:

    I'm glad to hear all the honest responses b/c I'm from Charlotte, NC (U.S); I have played with the idea of moving to Montreal. I hear its a great city and I would like a fresh start somewhere new after I finish Grad school. I am familiar French and Spanish, although I'm not fluent in either. I can read and write the languages more quickly than I can speak/respond in conversation.  Does one have to get a work visa for Montreal or canada? Any advice would be helpful.

13. 

    • Elite '12
    • 29 friends
    • 169 reviews

    6/21/2010 Mathieu "MJ" B. says:

    The first thing to do when you want to apply on a visa with another country is to visit the Embassy website. Therefore I'd strongly suggest you get in touch with your local embassy bureau to see what is required and what will make it easier. The easiest way to get a visa is to be employed by an international business that have some business in montreal to be transfer so they can help you get your visa. This is usually the main issue when you move from a country to another. If you don't work for that kind of enterprise, if you got some family in Canada, it will help get your visa. As soon as those thing are done, you need some proof of asset. Usually you need enough fund for 3 mths in Canada. So they'll request something like 5-10K in your checking account and the more solid proof you can bring to the desk that you will have an adress, income soon and proper job qualification will make it easier for you to move in Canada.

14. 

    •  
    • 0 friends
    • 0 reviews

    6/26/2010 from Yelp for iPhone Olee D. says:

    Dont worry we french ppl are nice! Well halp u

Page Top ↑

This conversation is older than 2 months and has been closed to new posts.