Information about Quebec city, we're interested in moving... (2009, apartments)

[myItalianlovesSnow]

Yes, we know that it is very cold and snows a lot up there and we LIKE it. So, first point crossed..let's talk about something we don't know....lol.

My boyfriend is Italian and speaks 4 languages fluently and he is brushing up on his French too, we currently live in Oklahoma. We have 3 boys and would be wanting a 3-4 bedroom house and 2 bathrooms for rent. If you could give us insight on what the costs are and any websites to check rental houses and apartments. Schools are obviously important.


His degree is in linguistic mediation and wants to teach Italian or Spanish or work in the field of tourism, and I am studying interior design and architecture. We are wondering what the job situation is? If there are any papers or websites we could visit about employment opportunities and also any Universities in the area. If someone knows the requirements for teaching in public schools such as high schools and such things that would be wonderful.

We have seen that most apartments offer, hot water, heat and hydro, is this the norm?

What a normal cost of groceries is a month for a family of 5 and utilities?

What are the crime rates in the area. If there is a link we don't mind looking ourselves but we are interested in serious crimes, murder, robbery, etc. We want a very safe area...lol.

How much does it snow in a year, my boyfriend would love to know what the annual snowfall is.

What are the taxes that we have to pay. Taxes from paychecks, taxes on houses (when we buy one) and any other taxes we should be aware of. Taxes on the products we buy. Anything you think is pertinent.

Public transportation, area activities for kids and/or adults.


We thank you in advance and appreciate any information.

Michelle & Gianfranco

[skchi]

Quebec City is beautiful! I can't answer any of your questions (maybe check wikipedia for the climate information), but I do know a little about Quebec. You do know that French is the primary language in Quebec City, right? I would love to live in Quebec City, but the language issue is a big barrier.

It's my understanding that most jobs will require one to be fluent in French, since business is conducted in French in Quebec City. Also, I believe all public education is conducted in French (with an exception for the children of Canadians who were taught in English.)

[ThroatGuzzler]

Originally Posted by skchi

Quebec City is beautiful! I can't answer any of your questions (maybe check wikipedia for the climate information), but I do know a little about Quebec. You do know that French is the primary language in Quebec City, right? I would love to live in Quebec City, but the language issue is a big barrier.

It's my understanding that most jobs will require one to be fluent in French, since business is conducted in French in Quebec City. Also, I believe all public education is conducted in French (with an exception for the children of Canadians who were taught in English.)

OK city is a very french oriented place, I don't think they'll have much of a problem with integration.

[ponchoape]

Indeed, Quebec City is very french. Montreal is known more as a hub of immigration and cultural diversity. That being said, I would assume that there would be more opportunities to teach Spanish/Italian in Montreal than Quebec.

However, that's not a question that you asked.

For how to become a licenced teacher in Quebec, you'll need to contact the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport (MELS). Start here: DFTPS

The crime data shown on citystats.ca shows Quebec to be relatively safe and low in crime rates. As far as specific areas in the city, you'll need to get advice from a local.

Income tax rates for Quebec can be found here: TaxTips.ca - Quebec 2008 and 2009 Personal income tax rates

Sales tax (on all purchased items) is 12.8%

Annual snowfall is 124 inches.

Really, you need to do some reading at wikipedia and citystats.ca, as most of the questions you asked could have been answered on your own.

Quebec City - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quebec, Quebec - Detailed City Profile

[myItalianlovesSnow]

Thanks for the responses. I have read the city profile on wikipedia. I have read a few things on city data but I don't know my way around here very well so I didn't really know how to look up crime on here, so thank you. We have read a number of things and different websites, GF happily translates things for me...

I do understand about the language as I have said my boyfriend does speak French and by the time we moved would, I am sure, be close to fluent in French as well. I took 2 years in high school which doesn't mean much but I have Rosetta Stone and will brush up on mine as well, I don't really worry about the language and my kids learn italian so they can always learn French too. Kids are more resilient and pick things up faster in my opinion and actually it kind of makes me happy that they will know a few languages and be so cultured, that is our hope anyway.

We really just love the city and all the things that we have read, we just wanted to get local opinions about everything. Of course Montreal has a lot more opportunities for both of us but we have fallen in love with QC. I hope to work a lot from home and will have to travel I am sure with my design work so Montreal or NY even isn't that far away. As for GF adding fluency in French to his list of languages is always just a plus and would obviously afford him more opportunities and this is our plan.

Thanks again and we look forward to more responses.

[J'aimeDesVilles]

Originally Posted by ThroatGuzzler

OK city is a very french oriented place, I don't think they'll have much of a problem with integration.

What???

[Acajack]

To answer your questions about crime, Quebec City is probably the safest city of its size (500,000 in the city, about 750,000 in the metro) in North America. Consider that it went 18 months without a single murder from about the fall of 2007 to the summer of 2008. You should have no safety concerns about moving there - at all.

What others have said about schools is true. There are a handful of English-language public schools in Quebec City but they are generally for Canadians only. Contrary to the Montreal area where there are private English schools in addition to the public ones, in Quebec City there are no private English schools. So expect that children will go to school in French, with English taught as a second language as Spanish is taught in most U.S. schools.

Pretty much 99.9% of jobs in Quebec City will require a knowledge of French.

FYI - we had a pretty good thread on this very issue in this forum last year:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/canad...e-usa-new.html

[myItalianlovesSnow]

Originally Posted by Acajack

To answer your questions about crime, Quebec City is probably the safest city of its size (500,000 in the city, about 750,000 in the metro) in North America. Consider that it went 18 months without a single murder from about the fall of 2007 to the summer of 2008. You should have no safety concerns about moving there - at all.

What others have said about schools is true. There are a handful of English-language public schools in Quebec City but they are generally for Canadians only. Contrary to the Montreal area where there are private English schools in addition to the public ones, in Quebec City there are no private English schools. So expect that children will go to school in French, with English taught as a second language as Spanish is taught in most U.S. schools.

Pretty much 99.9% of jobs in Quebec City will require a knowledge of French.

FYI - we had a pretty good thread on this very issue in this forum last year:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/canad...e-usa-new.html

I checked out the link you posted, thank you. As I have previously stated, my boyrfriend speaks many languages he is an italian native speaker his regional Sardo language, he studied in Spain and has a near-native fluency in Spanish and he is fluent in English (he learned UK english) and moderate to intermediate in French as well, he did study French in the University as well. We live in Oklahoma (which is next to Arkansas) and he has no problems having learned UK speaking to anyone. I'm assuming the person who made the post about Arkansas is meaning the southern slang I am sure, but there are slangs in all languages. I don't understand Italian slang at all, it is a matter of being exposed to it and practicing and learning. He is European and we are quite aware of how European culture is and this is part of the reason we are so interested. The debate about Spain spanish and Central American Spanish is questionable, it is a matter of mostly accent like everyone has been talking about, my best friend is Puerto Rican and GF and her and her family speak spanish with no problems of understanding each other with the different accents. I've been to italy and when you are exposed to something all the time you (I) would pick up on it quite quickly.

When we move, we will obviously have our papers in order, what I need to most know for sure 100% sure from someone with children or someone I can call is if only "CANADIAN RESIDENTS" children can go to the public English schools. If we migrate and btw with his degree (in a couple years) we are going to try and do the fast-track residency that the government offers (if it is still like this). We qualify to apply, I've already checked into it. So, if we are approved with that and typically have our residency within the 12 months, would my children would be able to attend such schools. I just don't understand this exactly and sounds a little absurd to me. lol. But that is why I am asking.

Another possibility is migrating to Montreal and then moving to QC...we have fallen in love with QC but are open to all ideas.

[Acajack]

There are a few ways to immigrate here. If your husband already speaks passable French this may win him points within the Quebec process:
http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/index.html

There is also the Canadian federal immigration process of course:

Immigrating to Canada
The official line on English school eligibility is here:
http://www.mels.gouv.qc.ca/daasa/rens/banque/fiches/F95a.htm

Now, I do personally have children and they do go to school (in French) in Quebec.

Here is the situation is layman’s terms.

If you are an American and your husband is Italian and neither of you has ever gone to school in Canada, then your children if they go to public school in Quebec must go to school in French. (Unless you were to home school them I suppose.)

The only exceptions to this for your situation would be if you were to immigrate to another part of Canada first (say Ontario or Alberta) and your kids had gone to school in English there for some time. Then you could move to Quebec and use the fact that your kids had been in school in English in Canada to get an exemption.

You can also get an exemption if you are coming to work in Quebec temporarily, which does not sound like it would be your case.

Now, there are no restrictions at all on the Quebec private schools that teach in English (or other languages, of which there are a few), but as I have said before there are none of these in the Quebec City area. And moving to Montreal and sending your kids to *private* school there for a few years won’t give you access to *public* English schools in Quebec City anyway.

The bottom line is that the province of Quebec, even though it is part of Canada, is a foreign language immigration destination for Americans and other English-speaking people, just the same way Italy or Brazil would be.

Recognizing that fact is the best way to avoid disappointment and intense frustration, and an essential step to building a new, happy life here.

[kkgg7]

French French is quite different from Quebecois French. A French friend of mine had trouble communicating in Quebec and eventually gave up and decided to speak English for public services.
Quite a shock to me. The fact that people say Bonjour to indicate goodbye puzzled him and then his grandma said it was OK in the old days.