hi
we are a family with 3 kids, 8mth old, 4 year old and 6 year old and possibly making the move to Montreal.
Questions:

1. Schooling - private / public? is there a huge differences in standard of education (obviously a huge cost difference!)

2. Day care - what age do children start day care / preschool? What are the general costs of preschools?

3. Housing English speaking area - Looking for a great community english speaking area close to schools / shops / gyms etc Ideas???

4. French Lessons - we are not fluent in french but would like to become fluent - Is there some good choices for classes??

5. General costs of living: To live a good lifestyle (ie, 3 kids playing sports, baby sitter costs etc to enjoy going out for dinner, taking holidays and paying for bills etc) what should we expect to be spending each month (i know that is a very wide question depneding on where we live and what schools etc the kids would go to) but just generally.

   

Welcome. Before we can answer your questions a little more background is required.
Where are you currently living so we can compare the cost of living. It will also drive answers on schooling and language. Are you being transferred or moving on speculation of a job? I can tell you taxes are relativley high in Quebec. Housing is cheaper than some other areas and the economy is not a vibrant as other areas of the country.

   

Did they ever follow through with the idea that only English Quebeckers could
send their kids to English schools, if you moved in from out of province
your kids had to go to a French school ?

   

hi thanks for the response, we are from australia (have lived in a few countries in Asia as well) so taxes here are just as high. No transfer, just considering employment opportunity that has come up.

   

I will let one of the Quebecers answer the language question regarding children's education. You might find better employment and higher paying jobs in other provinces. The average wage in Alberta in considerably higher than Quebec, no provincial sales tax, the lowest income tax in Canada and if you pick Calgary you are close to the mountains.

On the negative side housing prices are higher than Quebec, but better than Vancouver or Toronto.

   

I'll do my best to answer your questions if I can.
Public schools are generally very good in Quebec. Don't waste your money on private, especially with kids that young.
We have $7 a day daycare, but there are long waiting lists. Sign up now if you can. Private daycare will cost considerably more.
There are no English-speaking areas per se, but you can get by in a bilingual area. Notre Dame de Grace and the West Island would be good choices.
Housing is inexpensive and there are many excellent and very reasonable restaurants if you want to go out. We have Festival after Festival in the spring/summer where many of the venues are free, and quite a few are geared towards kids. The Montreal International Jazz Festival, for example, has hundreds of free outdoor shows.
I absolutely adore this city and have met many tourists who would like to live here, but you will definitely have to learn some French to get by. No matter, a little more knowledge never hurt anyone. I'll be more than happy to help with whatever concerns you may have.

   

How firm is this job opportunity? Be forewarned...if it falls through, it will be very difficult, if not impossible to find another job if you don't speak the language. The vast majority of the population is bilingual to a degree, but life is lived in French.
(Yes, there are a lot of courses and classes, many of which are free)

   

When I read that Quebec has 7 dollar a day costs for licensed day care I wanted to know how that compared to other provinces and here's what I found.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dayca ... costs.html

Quebec is the cheapest but if you read the note, chances are you won't be getting that cheap daycare solution for a long long time.

So while 7 dollar a day, day care sounds great it isn't the norm and sounds more like a come on than a reality.

   

thanks for your responses. I will have some more questions i'm sure once the job offer is 100% sorted out and if we make a decision to relocate.

Australia day care costs are $70 - $110 a day and our taxes also high, many do not send their kids to day care because of the costs involved.

Winters - what to expect, what do you do with kids when its so cold (we are use to playing at the beach, going to playgrounds etc, our winters are not cold at all, they are like your early summer!). I can't even imagine taking kids to school in the snow as it is just so foreign!

   

I don't have kids but I've always thought you should throw them outside till they're frozen like popsicles, then bring them back in.............they should sleep like angels. As far as taking them to school in the snow? My advice is to drop them off at the school in December and pick them up in March. The bonus here is that you don't have to listen to them whine about their Christmas gifts.
Hope I've been of some assistance.

   

oh that would be great - drop them off in december pick them up in March! Catch up on some sleep possibly.

   

I've lived in the Tropics for quite a few years, and Christmas still doesn't feel like Christmas without the snow to me. Twelve months of summer gets dull after awhile. Our youngest hasn't been in the snow since he was nine months old. I'm looking forward to my first Christmas at home with snow since 2004. As for your kids getting used to the snow, they'll get over it real fast. -10 C on a sunny winter day, they'll likely be undoing their jackets and before you know it, runners and a light jacket because mittens, hats and boots just aren't 'cool' looking.

Where from in Oz? I have family in Cairns, Mt. Isa, Melbourne and Perth. Been there a few times too.

   

Don't forget to try outdoor activities during the winter, if not, winters will be long and boring... tobogganing, skating, winter hiking, snowshoeing, downhill and cross-country skiing.

   

Be aware Quebec is severely French and they do everything they can legally to keep it that way,including an entire police section of the government called the Office de la langue Francais or commonly known as language police who make sure the draconian language laws are obeyed. The English population is 8% almost entirely living in the western part of Montreal.
As newcomers to Canada/Quebec your kids will be going to French school unless you want to shell out the big bucks for private school.However you wont be doing the kids any favors by educating them in English as if they are to be relevant in future job market they better be fluent in French, that also applies to yourself if you ever have to look for another job,.
The present Quebec government is separatist to its core,they dont like the English,they dont like Canada and theres a good possibility of Quebec separating from Canada.
Not sure why Montreal strikes your fancy but you might want to do more research on the linguistic hostilities that are a reality in Quebechttp://www.bgcarlisle.com/montreal/2012/08/21/why-anglos-dont-vote-in-quebec/I would personally recommend a non French family to seek another part of Canada to settle down in.
Some more reading =http://www.mises.ca/posts/blog/quebecs-debt-problem-about-to-get-worse/

And more on the issue of Quebec http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2012/05/14/todays-letters-majority-say-its-time-for-quebec-to-go/

   

Ya, seeing palm trees wrapped with Christmas lights in Alicante was a little weird.

Nice for a couple years, but Christmas without snow isn't really Christmas.