Living in Montreal

[MetroStyles]

Hey peeps,

I was telling a Canadian friend of mine about my loathing of capitalism - about how all I want in life is to work 9-5, make enough to raise a family and travel a bit, and enjoy a decent house or apartment. Instead, I work pretty tough hours to make a lot of money and accumulate altogether too much stress in the process. Why do I bother? Well, duh! Because even though I could live a comfortable life on less, I don't want to be the poorest of all my friends. It can't be gratifying to be covertly looked down upon by peers. No - what I need is a place full of laid back people looking to enjoy life, not lose their mind fighting to make more. If everyone agrees to take it easy, no one loses. Socialism, baby.

Well, she told me Montreal would be the place for me. A cosmopolitan city with a hint of Europe and with a reputation for slackers. Sounds wonderful to me. Supposedly even people working at larger consultancies there check out at 5.

Canadian buffoonery, the annoying French, and a flawed healthcare system aside, is Montreal the lazy man's oasis that my friend makes it out to be!?

 

[holymadness]

It is lovely, though more cosmopolitan than European (for that, try Quebec City). The girls are beautiful and rent is cheap. Can't speak to laziness, though.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

Canadian buffoonery, the annoying French, and a flawed healthcare system aside, is Montreal the lazy man's oasis that my friend makes it out to be!?

Imo, yes. You will get props for working until 6.

FWIW, a while back The Economist did a study on the productivity of various states and provinces. Quebec was at the very bottom of the list. Quebecers work less hours and less efficiently. It is a great place to live though. I have mixed feelings about leaving, but the bottom line is that I think there are much better career opportunities in Toronto.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Imo, yes. You will get props for working until 6.

FWIW, a while back The Economist did a study on the productivity of various states and provinces. Quebec was at the very bottom of the list. Quebecers work less hours and less efficiently.

God that just gave me such a hard-on. Anyone know if the economic stress of ****** workers and socialist programs will collapse this slacker's haven in the near term?

 

[Alter]

I agree with your friend. Most of my artist friends live in Montreal. The rents are cheaper than other Canadian cities and it is fairly easy to find huge old warehouse space to use as studios. The cultural scene is great.
If I didn't need to make money to support my family...I would live in Montreal. But it is freakin' cold in the winter.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

God that just gave me such a hard-on. Anyone know if the economic stress of ****** workers and socialist programs will collapse this slacker's haven in the near term?

Don't know. I can only speak for IT and I think it's slowing down. I brought in a consultant from a large IT consulting firm today and he said they weren't getting any new business recently and that he was worried about his job. I'd imagine finance is in the tank as well.

One thing that's important to consider is that not knowing french could quite possibly be an issue for you. Quebec does have 2 official languages.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by Alter

I agree with your friend. Most of my artist friends live in Montreal. The rents are cheaper than other Canadian cities and it is fairly easy to find huge old warehouse space to use as studios. The cultural scene is great.
If I didn't need to make money to support my family...I would live in Montreal. But it is freakin' cold in the winter.

So when you say support your family, you mean rent/food/education/wife gifts? Wouldn't a comparably lower cost-of-living in Montreal offset this? I can see education being a problem if you want Ivy League and not McGill (which is supposedly $1000 a semester or something ridiculous).

 

[Neo_Version 7]

It's just so effin' cold.

 

[MetroStyles]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Don't know. I can only speak for IT and I think it's slowing down. I brought in a consultant from a large IT consulting firm today and he said they weren't getting any new business recently and that he was worried about his job. I'd imagine finance is in the tank as well.

One thing that's important to consider is that not knowing french could quite possibly be an issue for you. Quebec does have 2 official languages.

Very true. I took 4 years pre-university, and my mother teaches it, so getting fluent would be pretty easy I hope. Are there any hot AZN chicks there?

 

[JohnnyLaw]

Yes. Welcome to the 35 hour work week.

From what I understand, Quebec is one of the provinces least affected by the economic slowdown. Business as usual.

 

[GQgeek]

Your kids would probably be forced to go to french school, fwiw (not immersion). I think the public schools here suck. I went almost exclusively to private. McGill is obviously a good option for university though. Even if they go out of province, it's far far cheaper than in the states.

 

[MetroStyles]

So other than weather, why doesn't everyone want to live in Montreal?

EDIT: Sorry for the barrage of questions, but does anyone know how salaries compare to say, NY? I'm thinking finance or consulting? Even other industries would be interesting for comparison's sake? I'm guessing that salaries are quite a bit lower, but this is more than offset by a lower cost-of-living.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLaw

Yes. Welcome to the 35 hour work week.

From what I understand, Quebec is one of the provinces least affected by the economic slowdown. Business as usual.

not that it has a lot of business to lose in the first place. It all left for toronto years ago.

 

[Neo_Version 7]

I don't speak French.

 

[GQgeek]

Originally Posted by MetroStyles

So other than weather, why doesn't everyone want to live in Montreal?

EDIT: Sorry for the barrage of questions, but does anyone know how salaries compare to say, NY? I'm thinking finance or consulting? Even other industries would be interesting for comparison's sake? I'm guessing that salaries are quite a bit lower, but this is more than offset by a lower cost-of-living.

I can tell you why businesses don't want to have significant presence there. The political situation here scares them away. The Quebec union mentality probably doesn't help either.