Thinking about moving to Montreal. (car rental, real estate, city hall)

[k-sol]

Hello. I am thinking about moving to Montreal for various reasons. I presently live in one of America's most expensive states, and don't make much, so I would like to know about taxes, the economy, crime & safety and just whatever else I can find out about the city, province and country.

Presently under the American tax system, I am at the highest personal tax bracket: single unmarried with no kids. That's between 17.3% and 20% per check (state and federal combined). That's no (real) pension and no healthcare.

Thanks,
K-sol

[Acajack]

You won’t be moving to Montreal, Quebec for the taxes that’s for sure. You hit the highest income tax bracket (federal and provincial combined) in Quebec at around $70,000 per year. I think it’s around 45.7%. So my wife and I, for example, are in the same tax bracket as Céline Dion and multi-millionaire Montreal Canadiens hockey players.

For all of these taxes you get socialized universal health care (a system which has many problems but overall not as bad as some people make it out to be) and generally speaking more generous social programs than in most places in North America.

Violent crime in Montreal (and in the province of Quebec in general) is very low for a city of its size.

The economy is pretty good although not quite booming. Overall there isn’t as much wealth as in the States but poverty isn’t as extreme either. The gap between rich and poor is considerably smaller.

Your job prospects will be hampered (potentially seriously) if you don’t speak French. If you are from the U.S. note that knowing French in Montreal is much, much, more important than knowing Spanish in Miami or L.A. It should not be equated with Spanish in these places or with French in New Orleans.

[k-sol]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Your job prospects will be hampered (potentially seriously) if you don’t speak French. If you are from the U.S. note that knowing French in Montreal is much, much, more important than knowing Spanish in Miami or L.A. It should not be equated with Spanish in these places or with French in New Orleans.

Hey, thanks for your response. I figured the taxes would be higher because you just can't have your cake and eat it too. I mean, you can have 45% taxes and good social services Canada seems to have, or 17% and virtually no good social services, and a government that takes 10 years to hike the minimum wage to $7.25, but one week to give some banks $700 billion dollars.

As for the French: the part of the United States where I am from (and where I live) have few francophones. Only in Louisiana do you even begin to see words in French, such as "Bienvenue" on the otherwise bland "Welcome To Louisiana" road sign. I have studied a lot of French, and France-French speakers can communicate with me. I had a bit more of a hard time in Montreal. In fact, most people spoke English to my French except for a lady on the train, a prostitute, and some guys asking me for weed and papers. So I can read it fairly, I can write it fairly, but understanding is a little difficult; or maybe my ears are not yet used to it. What would you suggest to beef up my comprehension? You can even reply en Français si vous voulez.

(As for the Spanish thing, I can take you places right here in the United States where you cannot survive without Spanish. Start with the east side of Las Vegas...)

Also, the last time I was there, it was winter, so I wasn't able to get a good feel for the night life or other cool distractions. What does Montreal do to let its hair down?

And to Montreal's credit, it is exactly what I thought San Francisco would be.

Thanks,
k-sol

[Acajack]

People would switch to English with you because most of them thought you were a tourist. The French "bar" will be set higher if you move there and start looking for a job. I think I mentioned that it’s not impossible to find a job in Montreal speaking only English (depending on your field of work), but a person with no French is certainly limited in his or her possibilities, especially for medium/long-term advancement.

Nightlife-wise, Montreal is one of the livelier cities in North America. In the summertime, quite a few people actually (seriously) compare it to Barcelona. There seems to be a festival almost every weekend during the summer, so much so that some downtown residents complain about the incessant noise, crowds, street closures, etc.

[crazy.canuck]

I spent 1st 22 years in Montreal, the last 18 in Vancouver, I am currently moving back to Montreal with my wife and kids for the following reasons

1) We bought a newer house in Vaudreuil for $268k (30 minutes west of montreal) To buy a similar house 30 minutes from Vancouver would cost over $600k easily. We just sold our home there, thank god cause the market is tanking fast in Vancouver real estate ! Less financial stress for your home is a big reason !

2) I want my boys to go to French school so they can be bilingual and also being immersed in the culture will help as well.

3) Winter / rain in Vancouver sucks... and thats all it does for about 5 months. Have fond memories in Montreal as a kid: snowshoeing, skiing, snowball fights, forts, skating, tobogganing, etc.. waiting for school to be cancelled on heavy snow day ! Give me the cold weather and snow over pouring rain, and dark clouds any day, it gets very depressing when you get that climate day in and day out.

4) Montreal is FUN city ! Vancouver is NO FUN city in comparison. Energy, culture, restaurants, night life, events, friendliness, passion is biggest difference. Women in Montreal are the hottest in North America by far. Vancouver women for most part make me yawn, no energy / sizzle for the most part, I know I am generalizing... too bad, its the truth for the most part. They dont take the time to dress up, I find them VERY reserved. Dated many and took a vow I would only date non-Vancouver women.... That is why I married an incredible spicy Mexican woman

5) Day care is subidized heavily in Quebec about $7 day = $140 based on 20 days. In Vancouver you will be about $1000 a month per kid !!!!!!! IF YOU CAN EVEN FIND AN OPENING DUE TO SHORTAGES IN DAY CARES !

6) Habs of course rock, the Canucks mostly roll off a cliff every season.

7) Family are all in Quebec

8) Montreal Metro system although a little old, is safe, efficient and rocks ! In Vancouver we have overpriced skytrain that is modern, but very limited in geographic coverage. They don't even have manned stations to make sure you pay ! Its based on honour system with random ticket inspections, its a joke and very unsafe due to lack of staff.

9) Jazz festival, Comedy festival, Indy, St. Joseph Oratory, Schwartz smoked meat, poutine, bagels, best strip clubs, restaurants and night life in Canada for sure ! Clubs in Vancouver close at 2am and this is the only place you will ever see a Vancouver woman dress up a little outside of work. Yeah the truth is painful I know...

10) Architecture: Houses in Montreal are commonly made of brick, stone, etc... In Vancouver you get Stucco and vinyl siding for the most part. Not built to the same standards at all... I have owned 5 different houses in Vancouver, hardwood is only on VERY high end homes for example, but quite common in many homes in Montreal. European builders take a lot of pride in workmanship, in Vancouver lets just say a certain ethno group tends to congregate towards Construction industry, and they like to build it cheap and fast... even if house is over $600k... the quality I have seen on average is pathetic. No pride in workmanship in MANY cases. Not being racist, just factual, several inspectors I dealt with made same observation.

[k-sol]

Hey you guys, thanks for your responses. I'm asking questions as I think of them, and my roommate and I thought of this one (it involves some Canadian law, though): if a non-Canadian buys a house in Canada, how does that affect his chances to earn citizenship? To the American mind, it's a matter of "I have bought a stake in your country, so you should admit me" (roommate's opinion, not mine). How does Canada handle this?

[k-sol]

Originally Posted by Acajack

People would switch to English with you because most of them thought you were a tourist. The French "bar" will be set higher if you move there and start looking for a job. I think I mentioned that it’s not impossible to find a job in Montreal speaking only English (depending on your field of work), but a person with no French is certainly limited in his or her possibilities, especially for medium/long-term advancement.

Hmm, that's a wee bit disappointing, but I suppose that's just how it is. How is the job market -- or what kind of jobs are there -- for Anglophones?

Incidentally, I'm not anti-French; I've studied them quite a bit and it seems to be in their nature to be protective of their culture and lifestyle even in their former colonies.

And how is the environment for small businesses? The state I live in seems to hate small business, so the State is the largest employer. Disaster in the making...

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by k-sol

Hmm, that's a wee bit disappointing, but I suppose that's just how it is. How is the job market -- or what kind of jobs are there -- for Anglophones?

Incidentally, I'm not anti-French; I've studied them quite a bit and it seems to be in their nature to be protective of their culture and lifestyle even in their former colonies.

And how is the environment for small businesses? The state I live in seems to hate small business, so the State is the largest employer. Disaster in the making...

Important note: You didn't come across as anti-French AT ALL.

Regarding job prospects for an English-only speaker, I'd say they range mostly from the call centre/customer service field (serving clients elsewhere in North America) to jobs in the "anglo" institutions of Montreal (schools, colleges, universities, media, hospitals, etc.)

The anglo community does have a fairly extensive network, although many of the jobs within it also require French. For example, you can't cover city hall as a reporter for the English newspaper The Gazette if you don't speak French because city council meetings are in French...

Sorry, I can't help you on the small business side. Don't know anything about it.

[brooks5904]

Just because you buy a house in Montreal does not earn you a better chance at becoming a Canadian citizen. Immigration laws are just as strict as in the U.S. You would have to apply for a working Visa and would likely just receive a six month visa. A fellow I worked with at a car rental agency was American, married a Canadian girl, had a baby together, living in Montreal. The car rental agency would submit some type of form every six months to Immigration asking for an extension of his work permit, but they forgot to do so the third time 'round. Consequently, when the end of the six months came up, Immigration sent him a letter, hand delivered by an Immigration official, giving him 48 hours to return to the United States, otherwise he would be arrested. He had to leave his wife and child behind too, although I'm not sure why. Very sad. Not sure what's happened to him since.

[minibrings]

Check out this Canadian personal tax calculator
2008 personal tax calculator

Also I do not know what field you are in, but overall last I checked unemployment in Montreal is 7.2%, 7% in Toronto and a lot lower in the W provinces of AB, BC and SK...