Canada! Canada People!

[Mo]

So, I don't know any other Canadians and I know there are a few of you on here, so I was hoping you could help me out.

A few days ago, in the spur of a moment, I applied for a job in Quebec, Canada, which was listed on a Norwegian website. I have made it past the first stage of selection, and while I can't imagine actually going there should they want to hire me, I'm not completely opposed to the idea, either.

So, I was hoping that some of you Canadians (preferably some who have lived or know about life in Quebec) could give me a little heads up on things I should consider in case I need to make a decision.

e.g., what is the average cost of living for a single person, as in rent (a simple one bedroom apartment would do), electricity, warm water, food, internet etc?
What is an average salary and how much do I have to pay in taxes?
Is Canadian French very different from France French?
Do they make good pizza?
Any important pro's / con's I may need to think about?

I don't know anything about the salary yet, all I know is that I just completed a test they sent me and mailed it to them, and should I pass it they will call me in a few days to interview me.

They do offer the following relocation support which I think is quite good:
* First month rent paid.
* Health insurance provided.
* Work permit provided.
* Reimbursement of the plane ticket to Canada.

The job location is in Sainte-Adèle, Québec.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Pimpette]

You will want to speak to Ti-Phil, he lives in Québec.
I can tell you, Québec French is different from France French in odd little ways, but I don't think it's enough to cause any sort of communication errors.

[Mo]

You will want to speak to Ti-Phil, he lives in Québec.

Ah, thanks! I'll have to go stalk him.

[MixedMyth]

I'm pretty sure all of North America has good pizza. But yeah, he gets on chat occasionally or there is always PMs.

[K-Dawg]

Talk to Phil.

If you do move there let us know, maybe if you're good I'll come visit you. And we can sit around in awkward silence for a couple hours.

[Ahaugen]

Come visit Alberta, we'll give you free beef!

[Ti-Phil]

Good day Mo/Cookie.

Glad to know you tried for a job in québec. I can give you some information depending of where this work is located.

Per instance, an appartment in Montréal usually cost more than one in Sherbrooke or Sorel, but you have everything next door.
Since you are probably mostly an english speaker, Montréal or Hull are town you might want to try since they both have a good number of english speaker (Montréal for the west part of the island, Hull beause it is next to Ottawa).
I can honestly tell you this, there are differences between french from France and french from Québec... we are a lot more warmer and don't really speak with that weird "cul de poule" accent. We do have some "particular traditions" thought :

On July 1rst (Canada day), we don't celebrate that, we call it moving day, for it is the day most people move from an appartment to another.
On June 24th is the Saint-Jean Batiste, the Québec day, everyone is welcomed to attend and we have lots of shows in the many, many parks in almost every town and village.
We have a national meal called the Poutine.... it's good once or twice per year.. but I suggest to try other meal of the terroir, especially in march at the sugar shack.
While there is the old "english versus french" debate, we appreciate being talked in french and most of us can speak in english. If you need a class, there are a few centers or I could help you.

If you move to Montréal, there are some parts of the town that are more.. .risky...depending of who you are.

Montréal-Nord/Ahunsic : Heavily populated area where there are some ethnic tension. But it's not everyone that is at war and most of housing there is cheaper there than in the rest of the island. (Per instance, I live in a 4 and a half (2 bedrooms) in a basement and it cost 455$ per month, add to that 120 for tv, net and phone and 75 for electricity, divide that by 2 since I am with a room mate and you'll see it's rather cheap for a good appartment). Unfortunately you need to take the bus to get to the subway.

Maisonneuve Rosemont : An older area of the city where there is a mix of rich housing and low budget appartments, But you can find some gems and it's closed to the subway. But beware, there are a few crackhouses in the area and some hookers on Ontario street (no gag intended to our ontarian friends, it,s just where they "work"), but on the plus side there is the Maisonneuve outdoor market and the Rosemont hospital nearby.

Hochelaga-Maisonneuve : A little more eastward to Maisonneuve Rosemont, it's another mix of old and news, but most of the appartments are from the 60s and 70s. It's possible to find some around 400-600 for a one bedroom with a supermarket next door opened 24 hours per day.

Westmount : Bunch of snobbish english speakers who still think they are before the 60s and still has laws so that french speakers kids can't play in their parks or pass halloween there. Cost a lot.

The transit system is mostly by bus or subway and you can get a monthly bus pass for 68,25. It's actually a good price for a single ticket cost 2,75.
We also got lots of cycling roads and, in spring, summer and fall it's a good mode of transportation.


And for your most important question, yes, we do have good pizza, even some extravagant ones! Ever tried a snail pizza? It's delicious!

If you have more question, I can answer them.

Edit : I reread and saw it was in Saint-Adèle, so I did a quick search for one bedroom appartments there and it's around 420/450 per month. Usually they are heated and have access to water.

[Mo]

Thank you for all the information so far.

I just came up with another question: What is the climate like in that area? I have of course heard about cold winters in Canada, but does it get hot in the summer? And just HOW cold are the winters? (If I move there it will probably be in the winter.) I imagine the weather in Saint-Adèle won't be very different from Montréal since it is only 70km north of the city, right?

Additionally, I wanted to say that I intend to learn French should I go there, so I'll be happy to be in a purely French speaking environment as that will force me to learn it faster heheh.

Do you know if there is a regular train or bus going from Saint-Adèle to Montréal? If I were to live in Saint-Adèle I imagine I would enjoy visiting the city every now and then.

Next week will show whether they consider me for the job and hopefully I will get some information on salary etc.

K-Dawg, I'm always up for awkward silence! And we can take silly pictures to post in the Alter Ego thread.

Oh and one thing SNAIL PIZZA UGH GROSS

[Heart]

Snail Pizza is delicious, but delivery can take up to a week.

[Joel Fagin]

Sheesh. Why don't they just rename Canada to "Comic Genesis"?

- Joel Fagin

[Ahaugen]

Sheesh. Why don't they just rename Canada to "Comic Genesis"?

- Joel Fagin

cause we're going to change Comic Genesis to Canada

resistance is futile, you will be turned into a hosehead!

[Killbert-Robby]

I've only been here a few months, and Molson Canadian ads make my heart swell.

[Terotrous]

Thank you for all the information so far.

I just came up with another question: What is the climate like in that area? I have of course heard about cold winters in Canada, but does it get hot in the summer? And just HOW cold are the winters?

Since it's so far from the Equator, Canada's weather is quite extreme. This means the winters are very cold, and the summers are very hot. For example, in the dead of winter, -15 (Celsius) is not uncommon (often -25-30 with the "wind chill"), and in the summer, the temperature is often in the low 30s (and there's always a few days each summer where the humidex exceeds 40).

This is Toronto weather, but I believe Montreal is pretty close to the same, usually just a couple degrees colder.

[Mo]

Sheesh. Why don't they just rename Canada to "Comic Genesis"?

Aww, for what it's worth, I still call Australia home.

[K-Dawg]

Thank you for all the information so far.

I just came up with another question: What is the climate like in that area? I have of course heard about cold winters in Canada, but does it get hot in the summer? And just HOW cold are the winters?

Since it's so far from the Equator, Canada's weather is quite extreme. This means the winters are very cold, and the summers are very hot. For example, in the dead of winter, -15 (Celsius) is not uncommon (often -25-30 with the "wind chill"), and in the summer, the temperature is often in the low 30s (and there's always a few days each summer where the humidex exceeds 40).

This is Toronto weather, but I believe Montreal is pretty close to the same, usually just a couple degrees colder.

Phil can confirm it, but yeah I think we're pretty much the same weather-wise. Although I think their winters might be a bit more cold and our summers a bit more warm. But that's just what I've heard. We need a true quebecois like Phil to confirm.

[Brockway]

If the snails on pizza are anything like the snails in escargo, I'm sure they are delicious with sausage.

[KWill]

Since it's so far from the Equator, Canada's weather is quite extreme. This means the winters are very cold, and the summers are very hot. For example, in the dead of winter, -15 (Celsius) is not uncommon (often -25-30 with the "wind chill"), and in the summer, the temperature is often in the low 30s (and there's always a few days each summer where the humidex exceeds 40).

This is Toronto weather, but I believe Montreal is pretty close to the same, usually just a couple degrees colder.

That has more to do with the continental climate than distance to the equator. You'll notice that Canada stretches further south than Germany, but a white Christmas is a rare occurrence on the North Sea and Baltic coasts due to the Gulf Stream.

[Ti-Phil]

Well, in Montréal it is usually around -15 to -20 in winter, with the wind it can get as low as -35 in winter. In the summer it's usually around 30... without counting the humidex factor which can increase the heat to around 38 to 40 Celsius.

But since you'd be in Sainte-Adèle, it will be a few degrees colder (in both summer and winter) but on the plus side, there is quite a few ski resorts around and also Saint-Sauveur's water park (and a little further, Piedmont's water park).

[MixedMyth]

Since it's so far from the Equator, Canada's weather is quite extreme. This means the winters are very cold, and the summers are very hot. For example, in the dead of winter, -15 (Celsius) is not uncommon (often -25-30 with the "wind chill"), and in the summer, the temperature is often in the low 30s (and there's always a few days each summer where the humidex exceeds 40).

This is Toronto weather, but I believe Montreal is pretty close to the same, usually just a couple degrees colder.

That has more to do with the continental climate than distance to the equator. You'll notice that Canada stretches further south than Germany, but a white Christmas is a rare occurrence on the North Sea and Baltic coasts due to the Gulf Stream.

The first colony that the British tried to install in North America was placed at a latitude equal to that of England because they figured that the climate would be similar. It did not survive the winter.

[Mo]

Since it's so far from the Equator, Canada's weather is quite extreme. This means the winters are very cold, and the summers are very hot. For example, in the dead of winter, -15 (Celsius) is not uncommon (often -25-30 with the "wind chill"), and in the summer, the temperature is often in the low 30s (and there's always a few days each summer where the humidex exceeds 40).

This is Toronto weather, but I believe Montreal is pretty close to the same, usually just a couple degrees colder.

That has more to do with the continental climate than distance to the equator. You'll notice that Canada stretches further south than Germany, but a white Christmas is a rare occurrence on the North Sea and Baltic coasts due to the Gulf Stream.

The first colony that the British tried to install in North America was placed at a latitude equal to that of England because they figured that the climate would be similar. It did not survive the winter.