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I've read posts on advices for ppl asking whether to move to Quebec or not and some say go for it, some say avoid it, so I'm a bit confused.
The one worrying comments were on extremely high living costs, taxes, bad health care and unacceptance of immigrants. In this case, I would be the immigrant since my husband is canadian (even though he was an immigrant as well before obtaining citizenship) and we have lived in Europe for the past 8 yrs, but now thinking about moving to Quebec. If we do, we'll have 2 small children by that time.
My french is lousy, I can hardly communicate on french and I'm worried I wont be able to interact with ppl unless there's a possibility of french tutorials there. My other more pressing worries is are we going to be able to get by with only one salary? His starting hour would be low, I'm guessing 15/hr, until it gets any higher, since he works in automotive industry as a car mechanic and electrician. I on the other hand wont be able to obtain work for some time after arriving, so I'm worried if we will be able to get by with such high living expenses and 2 small children??!
Quebec also has a universal $7-a-day daycare. Generally speaking, when you combine the federal and provincial stuff, Quebec is considered to have the most generous support programs for young families in North America.
Regarding earning a living, if you live in Hull, there is a good chance your husband will end up working across the river (border) in Ottawa in the neighbouring province of Ontario. This is especially true if his French is so-so (you didn’t say anything about your husband’s French). English is the main working language in Ottawa whereas in Hull (part of the larger city of Gatineau) it is generally French.
Living expenses for a young family will be lower in Gatineau (and in most areas of Quebec in fact) than in Ontario or even most other places in Canada. Taxes are very high in Quebec once you reach a certain level, but at $15 an hour with only one income and two small children, Quebec is a pretty affordable place.
Very few people will really care if you are in immigrant or not in this area, as there are lots of immigrants in both Gatineau and Ottawa. Any difficulties you will encounter will more likely occur if people feel you are not making an effort to speak French, and if you expect every single person you meet to speak English to you you won’t likely be making that many friends. Note that lots of people in Quebec do speak English, but in general they speak it as a second language and they expect people who are going to freely choose to live in Quebec (as opposed to tourists just passing through) to at least make some effort in learning French.
There are I believe free French classes for adults in most cities in Quebec. As for your children, they will learn French very quickly if they are exposed to other kids and within 6 months will be speaking French with an accent indistinguishable from any one else.
Finally, even if your husband is a Canadian citizen, if he didn't go to school in English somewhere in Canada as a kid your children will probably have to go to French schools if you are living in Quebec.
Thanks..I already checked those links. My husband wont work in english speaking part, but will probably stay on french side. I have no problem in learning french, so that's not an issue,since courses are provided free of charge.
I am a little confused by those child allowance calculations and whether we are eligible for them if he's net income comes to lets say 30.000$, which is not much and we probably will be. Guess we wont know until we go and fill up all the forms.
If your family income is around $30,000 with two dependent children, you should be eligible for everything, and usually in the higher levels ($) of support. With both the Quebec and Canadian programs, you usually only start becoming ineligible when your family income reaches the $70,000 range.
Oh..I didn't know that..thank you for the info
When you say that the border limit is 70.000$ per anu, do you mean netto or gross income?? I guess gross income..or maybe not?
I've also browsed through various advert pages on rentals and the prices vary from place to place..seems like Gatineau is pretty affordable in that aspect and we would probably move in there..but still u can't get remotely decent place even there below 800$ per month and I'm a bit apprehensive of how we will get by in beggining..but then if we are eligible for some support, then it should be ok I hope
Oh..I didn't know that..thank you for the info
When you say that the border limit is 70.000$ per anu, do you mean netto or gross income?? I guess gross income..or maybe not?
I've also browsed through various advert pages on rentals and the prices vary from place to place..seems like Gatineau is pretty affordable in that aspect and we would probably move in there..but still u can't get remotely decent place even there below 800$ per month and I'm a bit apprehensive of how we will get by in beggining..but then if we are eligible for some support, then it should be ok I hope
I think these are challenges you will likely face no matter where you move, as you will have to go to an employment transition phase anywhere you decide to go.
All in all, Quebec (and Gatineau, compared to Ottawa) is I think a very affordable place to raise a family.
Living in Quebec is not at all what you think it is. Every store, shop or whatever have English speaking people to serve you. Schools are now teaching both French and English and signs are in both languages also in most areas. As for the cost of living, my sister lives in Aylmer, friends live in Hull and other relatives live in various parts of Montreal. Like other cities the prices are comparable - you can find high end accomodations but also lower end ones . It depends on the part of the city you plan on living. Our friends are in Gatineau and far from wealthy, 3 kids, bought a huge home for $95,000 8 yrs ago. Lovely home with lots of character and was in move in condition.
Living in Quebec is not at all what you think it is. Every store, shop or whatever have English speaking people to serve you. Schools are now teaching both French and English and signs are in both languages also in most areas. As for the cost of living, my sister lives in Aylmer, friends live in Hull and other relatives live in various parts of Montreal. Like other cities the prices are comparable - you can find high end accomodations but also lower end ones . It depends on the part of the city you plan on living. Our friends are in Gatineau and far from wealthy, 3 kids, bought a huge home for $95,000 8 yrs ago. Lovely home with lots of character and was in move in condition.
I think you may be mistaking the Aylmer sector of the city of Gatineau for the entire province of Quebec or the entire city of Gatineau.
For my part, I wasn't saying that life would be a nightmare if one didn't speak French. Sure, there are enough people who speak English (especially in Gatineau) for you to be able to get by if you absolutely have to, but that doesn't mean that you won't run into situations where French is needed (such as, when they call out your name and the room number you have to go to at the medical clinic, when the bus driver yells out to everyone that he's taking a different route (away from your destination) because of an accident up ahead, etc.) Basic everyday life things.
The truth is that you will run into French-only speakers even in Gatineau, which is in fact the most bilingual city in Canada. (Nonetheless, about 40% of the people in Gatineau speak only French.) There are bilingual signs in Gatineau of course, but there also are tons of signs that are in French only.
So, yeah, you can probably manage most situations just in English in Gatineau. Many people do. But if you're going to be settling here long-term you will be much happier and feel much more at home if you do learn French. Telling potential immigrants to Quebec otherwise is just doing them a disservice, and puts one of their feet already halfway across the bridge to (anglo) Ontario before they've even arrived here.
I want immigrants to come here and I want them to stay, which is why I try to paint an accurate picture of the situation. Giving them the impression that it's just like Ontario or Massachusetts to draw them here and then have them ultimately leave for those places frustrated and bitter isn't a smart thing to do.
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