visit for a week to find out if my life is possible in Montreal

apply for jobs in Quebec, that is the key...







canadianus.blogspot.com

Hotels here are costly. I'd suggest you rent a room in a private home, check craigslist.com

The Plateau, Mile End areas are both quainty and walking distance to downtown.

Mtl is slowly getting bilingual again. I know dozens of Montrealers who've worked and lived here all their lives without a word of French. Don't be worried, if you're willing to do any work, you'll find it rather easily. To meet people, join groups like meetup.com

Good luck!

P.S. This reply applies to others seeking to relocate to Mtl.

I am really considering moving to montreal in the coming year. i am an esthetician in ontario. this is a very customer service based job. am I dreaming to think i could find a job without knowing french?

i would like to learn the language, my french is very basic.

I did visit Montreal for a week. I could not find a job in the east (french only) section of Montreal as my profession requires contact with the public. My french is Parisian and it is only intermediate. The Montreal French is not the same. The problem is in the listening. I also tried in the western side where both English and French are necessary. I couldn't compete as a bilingual. Maybe if I immersed myself for several months...
Good Luck,
Dan

Not being able to speak French well is extremely isolating here in Montreal. Pretty much everyone is at least bilingual, and I've met plenty of people who speak 3+ languages. So many people in Montreal are actually immigrants from somewhere else, and then speak English and French in addition to their parents' languages. Because there are so many fully bilingual people, being fluent in only English is a serious obstacle in the workplace, and will be a serious impediment when it comes to getting hired.

If you're checking out the city, I'd recommend getting a hotel in the area you'd like to live in, and just rent a car to get you to where you need to go if its off the beaten path. If you want to stick to downtown Montreal, Old Port is touristy and won't give you much perspective on what it is like to actually live here, though it is a lovely area. West Island is where many Anglophones live, and I like living in this area very much. For the esthetician, I'd imagine this would be the best place to set up your own business and cater to other Anglophones. However, most employers will expect you to be able to conduct your business just as effectively in French.

What I've found to be true is that businesses conduct transactions in the language the client prefers, so anyone working with people is expected to be bilingual. Any business you enter will greet you with "Bonjour, hi?" and your reply dictates the language of the rest of the conversation/transaction.