chris-joe
26.02.06, 15:18
All of you here have relocated –for good, or for an extended period of time-
from one country to another, one culture/mentality/language to a different
one. Some of you have done so not for the first time in your lives.
How do you find the change? What toll does it take on different aspects of
your lives?
I, too, have lived in various places: from Poland (23yrs) and Greece (2yrs),
to Vancouver, BC (14yrs) and –lately- Montreal, QC (4 yrs).
Have to admit that my latest move has pretty much turned into nearly a disaster.
The general quality of life in Montreal proved to be a very looong way down
from that of Vancouver.
My stabs at local French render me pretty helpless and excluded- Montrealers
are pretty welcoming and tolerant towards holiday visitors, their attitude
changes dramatically though when the newcomer is an Anglo-Canadian with his
French a “work in progress” who’s trying to settle here permanently.
An American week-end visitor marveling at the fun-sides of Montreal will be
made feel more than welcome here, an Anglo-Canadian though, appalled by the
quality of life, of the roads, the filthy streets, the lack of respect for the
most basic rules of traffic and for one another, the incompetence of local
services (the police notably included) will be advised more than often to “go
back” wherever, that “Shakespeare (!) is not welcome here” (meaning English…

,
and “va chier avec ton Anglais” etc.
(When you try communicating in your broken French, however, the locals will
instantaneously switch to English, thus creating catch 22…
Yes, I know… some cheese would do nicely, thank you
How about you?