Quote:
Originally Posted by Beedok
So, I was mostly interested in moving to Montreal, but I think there's got to be plenty of things that other cities can bring up. Is there local slang that folks need to know? Are there neighbourhoods that are really inconvenient to live in or really awesome but not well known? Are there odd things that out of province arrivals need to learn about? Are there other issues I haven't thought to mention?
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MONTREAL
1.- Local slang? You mean local language
Be prepared for conversations to switch seamlessly between English and French, or a mix of both.
Guichet = ATM
Dépanneur (Dep) = Convenience store
Cinq à Sept = Happy hour (5 to 7)
many more, of course.
2.- Learn French! This is not to sound douchy or anything. As a matter of fact, you live quite comfortably just with English, but learning French really opens up the city to many more cultural opportunities, events, music, bar scene, etc. There's also no excuse; the government classes are basically free ($60 a semester is free, yes it is) and the education is top notch. The schedules are super flexible (night classes, Saturday classes, morning classes) and you'll meet new friends. Tons of Canadians from other provinces take these.
3.-The more East you go, the more French you'll hear, with St. Laurent (The Main) dividing the city West-East.
4.- Hoods:
NDG (Vendome and Villa-Maria metro stations) is a good starting point for an Anglo Canadian. Pros: Rents are affordable (like pretty much anywhere in Montreal), it's a hip area with tons of things happening (Monkland Village) and English dominates a bit more than French, so you'll have no issues whatsoever. Easy to get downtown. Cons: Buildings are old.
Cote-des-neiges (Snowdon, Cote Ste Catherine, Plamondon metro stations) is an immigrant-heavy neighbourhood, about 50-50 English-French. Pros: Lots of students (University de Montreal is there), ethnic restaurants with very cheap food, relatively easy access to downtown. Cons: Can be a bit dumpy in some areas.
5.- Incredible nightlife. There's always something happening in Montreal.
6.- I lived in Hamilton as well, Montreal sometimes reminds me of it. You can find tons of quirky characters here.
7.- Cheap. Especially compared to the other major cities. really CHEAP.
8.- Our roads suck and our drivers are aggressive douchebags, but our bike paths are good, and you don't really need a car here. The transportation system, despite all the criticism you'll hear, is quite good and efficient.
If you wanna know more or have any particular questions, let me know and I'll do my best to answer them.
A lot of people don't give Montreal the opportunity due to the language, but all the ones I've met here (transplants) agree that moving here was the best decision they've ever made
It just takes courage to get past the whole I-don't-speak-the-language thing.