Anyone living in Quebec?

[shootingstar]

Hi Guys,

Anyone living in Quebec? Would love to hear of your experiences. I see most people here from BC or ON, not anyone from QC.
Curious to see how life is. Although, my husband and me had planned to viist montreal this year, it has become diffcult now. so we might just skip it and wait till the PR comes through. In the meanwhile, I'm waiting to read from locals/newly settled residents.

 

[Keden]

Hi Shootingstar,

I have been living in Montreal, QC since May 2010, and my husband has been here since April, 2009. We are expats and are in the process of becoming Permanent Residents. Let me know what you would like to know!

Thanks.

 

[linni]

@ Keden,

Hi, I am planning to apply in Quebec. I am from the Phillippines. Is it easy to find job in there? Have you been thru any hardships living in Quebec? Thanks a lot.

 

[Keden]

Hello Linni,

Sorry for the delay. Haven't had a chance to log-in for a while.

Finding a job strongly depends on your education, experience and language, as far as I can tell.

Myself for example, I have an MA, had worked in the US for 3yrs and was a high-beginner French speaker. It took me 3 months to find a suitable job. By suitable I mean = fulltime, benefits, good salary, potential for career growth.

To get an idea of what's out there, I suggest visiting Jobboom. It's a Canadian job search site and has a wide variety of career options.

Hope this helps!

 

[couteausnob]

Hey there. I'm in sort of a similar boat, although I'm already in Quebec on a visitor record for now.

So Keden, you mentioned having a high-beginner level of French when you began job-hunting. I'm just curious about what constitutes that sort of level, and how you were with spoken vs. written French. I'm trying to learn it independently during the wait for PR, but oral comprehension is a particular struggle. Did you find one form more or less valuable than the other, or was it pretty balanced?

 

[Keden]

Hi Couteausnob...

Apologies for the delay!

Well using the TEFaQ scale of A1A2/B1B2/C1C2 (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced), I would have ranked myself as a B1 in Comprehension and an A2 in Oral. So not too bad but certainly not great.

Now I would say I have probably moved up a level in each category. That is my Comprehension is now B2 and my speaking now B1. My goal is to have both my Comprehension and Oral be a B2 = High Intermediate.

For me, listening is definitely easier. At my office a lot of the conversations are in French. Just by virtue of overhearig the conversations, sitting in at lunches or meetings and hearing French all the time - it has really made a difference in how well I understand. I also watch documentaries and listen to radio in French and that also helps.

My speaking is definitely lagging. I KNOW the words I need, but I am bad on my grammar and structure. And unfortunately many people who notice this simply switch to English for me and I don't really push them to push me.

So all I can say is surround yourself with French audio (tv, radio, podcasts etc) and push yourself to speak. If someone who you know can speak French always speaks to you in English - just continue speaking French back.

Good luck!