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Moving to Quebec - Advice?

M

MetroMan

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Hey everybody, I'm planning on moving to Quebec shortly and my French is limited.

I'm moving to Trois-Rivières. I imagine it'll be harder there than if I went to Montreal. The general idea I get is that if you're anglophone, you'll have a harder time getting work and francophones still tend to be unaccepting of english speakers.

Will I get the "Go back to Toronto" attitude or am I getting the wrong impression?
 
I studied 7 years of french through school but never really used it in practice. I understand written french and limited spoken french and can put phrases together but I'm missing a lot of vocabulary. I think that if I spent 1 year in an exclusively french speaking environment, I could become functional in french. The problem is finding work to sustain myself during that year.

Right now I'm an event photographer and graphic designer. I also speak at promotional retail events in department stores. Essentially, my professional life has always been in dealing directly with the public. I run a business and would like to do the same when I get to Quebec but since I'd be working with clients, I'm wondering if I'd be accepted as an english speaker.
 
It'll be difficult...even if you speak french well, if you are not "quebecois", then you'll get the cold shoulder alot. It may be easier to run your own business than to work for someone else though. In general..some people will shun you, most won't.
 
@ Maggie ... trust me, I'll miss Toronto. It's a tough choice but one I will make with conviction and a little bit of excitement for the adventure it will take me on.

@ urbandreamer... how did you know? haha

Yes, I've been dating a girl from there and due to her mom's diagnosis of a health problem, she wants to be close and moved back home. This is the woman I know without a doubt I want to marry so I will follow.

Is Trois Rivières that helpless for an anglophone? Keep in mind, I'm starting a business, not looking to work for an employer. What do you think makes it difficult in TR? The language barrier? Prejudice against anglophones?
 
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Hope you are okay being treated like a second-class citizen in your own country, and hope that infringements on your civil rights isn't a huge issue for you. If this is the case, bonne chance!

Also, insist on speaking like a Parisian it pisses them off no end.
 
I'm asking these questions because of what I've heard in conversations but I haven't really heard the opinion of anglophones who've made the move themselves.

What makes moving to Quebec different than say moving to France? I know plenty of people who've moved to France without speaking french and started a life there.
 
Tewder said:
Hope you are okay being treated like a second-class citizen in your own country, and hope that infringements on your civil rights isn't a huge issue for you. If this is the case, bonne chance!

Also, insist on speaking like a Parisian it pisses them off no end.
Click to expand...

Great... my 7 years of french education is Parisian....
 
Mine too. All joking aside, I've had people there compliment me on it and iinsult me on it.

Also, I have relatives who are completely anglophone but had to move to near Quebec City through work. They have basically gravitated to other 'expat' anglophones in the same situation, creating their own little marginalized cultural community that only mixes when absolutely necessary. They dream of returning to Ontario and will at the first opportunity.
 
MetroMan said:
I'm asking these questions because of what I've heard in conversations but I haven't really heard the opinion of anglophones who've made the move themselves.

What makes moving to Quebec different than say moving to France? I know plenty of people who've moved to France without speaking french and started a life there.
Click to expand...

National identity is as big issue in France as in Quebec, judging from the "Muslim question" being debated in both places. Quebec is more conscious on language though. I think as long you are white, Quebeckers outside of Montreal will not give you much trouble if you can speak French decently and make the effort.

My dad is non-white, speaks English poorly, let alone French, and even he was able to start a successful business in "exotic" non-Quebecois cuisine in Ste-Agathe-des-Monts , which is much smaller than Trois-Rivieres, and only slightly closer to Montreal, and he was able to attract mostly local Francophone customers. There are many others like him, so don't let people make you think the race or language barrier is insurmountable.
 
Thanks doady. That was the most optimistic opinion I've heard yet. It helps that you backed it up with real world examples.

I'm white with a spanish name.. Heck, I'd even be willing to adopt my girlfriend's very french last name if we get married...

Her family is in the sail boat business and I'm a graphic designer. One idea I have for employment is to start a boat graphics shop and do store fronts, cars, snowmobiles etc on the side.
 
Metro,

Why not move to Montreal and then just drive to TR every weekend? It's not the same as a long distance relationship, because you see each other every week, and sometimes even two or three times a week. It would be like having a girlfriend in Peterborough.
 
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