Montreal, 18 months on - ask me anything

[kedrys]

A few j. random observations to kick things off... :)

1. When I lived in Houston, I never realized how much I missed having seasons. There is something ineffably *right* about the rhythm of the days getting shorter and longer, the leaves taking weeks to turn and bloom, all that stuff.

2. Pursuant to #1, what is the back porch on the other apartments in this block of 8 (4 in each building) is completely covered in ours. Windows windows everywhere, and a small landing on the way to the roof deck. The eaves are huge, so no rain falls on that couple of square feet unless there's a freakish wind. Perfect place to burn a doob late at night, get some fresh air, listen to the leaves rustle, and get a new perspective on your scene. :)

3. The cats love it. Each has his/her own favourite window sill.

4. Apparently, I'm still the only one in town who does not own a kaffiyeh. And apparently, many wearers of such apparel wear it as a fashion statement, not a note of solidarity for the plight of the Palestinians. Go fig.

5. We're in the home stretch with the s.o.'s immigration papers. :fingerscrossed:

6. Stephen Harper is still an idiot. :P

Anything else? :hi:

[applegrove]

1. Yes I love Montreal too. I lived in Lachine for two years. Loved the river and the parks and the

best little restaurants in that part of town.

[kedrys]

5. The hike/bike/skate trail in Lachine is awesome

I live in the Village, east of downtown, and if you trip and fall, you'll get up in a pocket park. Or a medium-sized park. Or Lafontaine Park. It's so cool.

[CreekDog]

2. Spent 4 days in Montreal this summer

First time in Montreal.

4 days wasn't enough.

The rest of my life wouldn't be enough.

Love that place. You lucky @%^(&$#

:hi:

[kedrys]

6. 4 days is short, but better than nothing

It rained a lot this summer, but there's so much to do during festival season, you almost don't notice - or get very damp if you use public transport.

Hope you make it back up here again! :hi:

[elleng]

3. Thanks for this!

Will plan a visit!

[kedrys]

7. First time in a loooooong time I've been able to say

"I love my city!!" and mean it. :)

[omega minimo]

4. Are you ready for snow or getting enabled by others who are?

Love the description of rooftops and windowsills. :thumbsup:

[kedrys]

8. Last winter was pretty mild

We have a Honda Element EX with all-wheel drive, so snow was no problem at all. As long as you're bundled up, you're fine. The downtown building where I work has direct access to the metro, so once I'm underground, no surfacing until I'm there, and it's like 5 long blocks to walk home coming back. There's also a bus that drops me off across the street, if I don't take the metro.

The roof deck is unbelievable. We can see the summer fireworks every Saturday night (for 2 months!), see downtown, surreal sunsets, and the party traffic late on weekend nights. We technically share it with the guys on 3, but they never use it, and it's quite private. We totally scored when we found the place, and even though parking is outside and not covered, at least it's off the street so we don't have to move the car every 20 minutes for the snowplows.

[PassingFair]

9. My husband "became Canadian" last February...

How hard is it for a graphic designer to find
work in Montreal...

He doesn't speak french, but he's a quick learner.

[kedrys]

10. It shouldn't be too hard

One of the local newspapers ran a little experiment and had one of their journalists apply for a boatload of jobs with an English resume and (supposedly) English-only language skills, and got 15 offers. It can be done. As long as your husband has authorization to work, he should be okay.

Good luck! :hi:

[Blue_Tires]

11. know anyone hiring?

there or maybe in Toronto??

[kedrys]

14. Not personally, but it seems the recession

is a bit milder up here.

I'll be looking myself come the end of my current contract in December, and I'm cautiously optimistic.

[Blue_Tires]

20. what's your field?

[kedrys]

24. IT project management

Anything having to do with web, I'm there. :D

[Blue_Tires]

25. so are you originally a canadian or american national?

not sure i have that straight...

[kedrys]

28. Canadian

The s.o. is American though.

[Gwereeya]

12. I have a question!

Who the hell cares?

[kedrys]

16. Wow! I don't think I've ever had a stone pizza recipient post in one of my threads before!

:rofl: I know you won't be reading this, but I would have told you: if you don't care, don't read it, assmunch. Thank you for playing.

[quakerboy]

13. how hard were the immigration papers?

That's one of the key things holding me back from moving. My wife is a US/Canadian dual, but we really need both incomes to stay afloat(student loans), and I don't know how hard it is to get approved to work, or having done that, how hard it is to find a decent job. And I hear Vancouver is pretty frantic for the upcoming Olympics, and hopefully will settle back down afterward.

[kedrys]

15. The federal paperwork takes forever

We had no idea that a deferred adjudication over a misdemeanor was "magically" transformed into a felony with TWO concurrent jail sentences being served on the s.o.'s file, so that took almost a year to sort out. The s.o. is here on a visitor visa but no work permit. We're almost done with the federal paperwork, and we're told the provincial paperwork never drags. It's a lot of connect-the-dots stuff. Your wife should be able to sponsor you a a member of the family class.

That said, once you're allowed to show up in the first place, there are tons of services available to new immigrants to get you settled in. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row, and good luck!

[quakerboy]

17. its a matter of time.

if real healthcare passes it will be about 10 years before we get serious about it. if not, it may be time to go before a mandate that is against my moral beliefs kicks again. how does one establish that one is a CO against an insurance system?

[jakefrep]

18. Better bagels....Fairmount or St. Viateur?

I spent a few days in Montreal earlier this summer. I would come back in a heartbeat.

[kedrys]

19. Oi...! In all fairness

I've not yet had Fairmount bagels. I must say I was blown away by the St. Viateur bagels, though, and sort of stopped looking :D. I'll check out the other ones - thanks for the tip! :hi:

[jakefrep]

21. Actually, I didn't make it to Fairmount, either.

I will try them on the next trip. I did make certain to try poutine and smoked meat while I was there this year.

[bikebloke]

22. Keffeyeh

Keffeyah's are the best bicycle scarves. Warm and comfortable. Plus, when I lived in Israel, I saw plenty of IDF soldiers wearing them for the same reason - warmth and comfort.

You can also hide under them when the socialized medicine death panels cruise the streets to fill their quotas. :evilgrin:

[kedrys]

23. I never thought of that...!

The death panels are busy eating poutine. I don't think we're in any danger from that. :P

[Sanity Claws]

26. Have you changed what you eat?

Just wondering whether you have slowly adopted a more Canadian style diet. Any caribou burgers? More maple syrup?

[kedrys]

29. Maple syrup on everything!

:rofl: Just kidding. Actually, I'm eating a lot more veggies and salad. We're just north and west of vast farmlands, and everything's fresh and pretty much chemical-free. Even the fast food tastes better.

[rurallib]

27. Are you cats speaking French yet?

[kedrys]

30. Sort of

Dave already speaks dog, and his French is coming along nicely. I'm sure they understand everything we say, even when it's in French.