I used to speak ok French, I went to school in Paris for a brief while. But it was long ago and my French is embarrassing these days. I'm sure it is all in there somewhere.
Hey I was born in 78 too! Or maybe your name is ref. to 78rpm vinyl records
― European Bob (admrl), Thursday, 22 July 2010 20:41 (thirteen years ago) link
xpost- I lived there for 7 years and barely spoke any French. I think it matters in the rest of Quebec but almost not at all in Montreal (unless it's a really francophone neighborhood).
― the subject of many men’s thoughts (daavid), Thursday, 22 July 2010 20:52 (thirteen years ago) link
it matters if you want to live there as an immigrant.
yay, 1978, xpost.
― kate78, Thursday, 22 July 2010 21:02 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah my French is embarrassingly bad... grew up in the west and haven't had the chance to take classes here but I get by quite easily. But yeah, immigrating is another issue. Have a friend here who did it though (from the USA). She had to do an interview in French, for which she studied like mad for about a month, and passed quite easily.
― sofatruck, Thursday, 22 July 2010 21:03 (thirteen years ago) link
for some reason montreal attracts the coolest anglos from the rest of canada, and has a pretty thriving english cool kids community. a lot of the less corny bc dudes move here, loads of haligonians and nova scotians. they're a good crowd. many of my friends live fulfilling and happy lives without significant contact with francophones.
that's not to say you're not missing out, though. french girls are way cuter and often more fun and outgoing than english ones, and although quebecois culture in general is not as appealing to me they are a people who have deep reverence for the sanctity of the leisurely life. lots of drinking beer and just hanging out and cracking jokes goes on.
there are some radical-minded francophones who can be unpleasantly forceful and militant about it, but generally speaking people do appreciate any polite attempt at speaking french. you probably have a better chance of kissing french girls if you've got a bit an accent, anyways.
― young monet (samosa gibreel), Thursday, 22 July 2010 21:58 (thirteen years ago) link
LOL I'm married and this is an entirely hypothetical situation so...
― European Bob (admrl), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:01 (thirteen years ago) link
sounds fun though!
lol, well your future children will kiss many a cute french girl should you choose to born & raise them in mtl
― young monet (samosa gibreel), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:05 (thirteen years ago) link
also u guys might find your attitudes get more liberal in this swinging city of bons vivants
― al-goreda (s1ocki), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:10 (thirteen years ago) link
Is it full of vice and delicious sin?
― European Bob (admrl), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:13 (thirteen years ago) link
thinkin bout movin to montreal with bad french
― conrad, Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:17 (thirteen years ago) link
full of copies of vice magazine tbh xp
― young monet (samosa gibreel), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:23 (thirteen years ago) link
I love Montreal so much...just been there passing through to and from Victoriaville (2x), but I'd live there in a heartbeat based on a couple of days.
― Grisly Addams (WmC), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:29 (thirteen years ago) link
Reading this article while in the process of deciding whether to take up McGill on their last-minute law school offer (and thus the possibility of staying in the city for the foreseeable future, instead of moving to Toronto) is probably a bad idea.
I mean, theoretically I should be picking the best program, not which city is more wonderful. Because, seriously, Montreal in a walk.
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:43 (thirteen years ago) link
― young monet (samosa gibreel), Thursday, July 22, 2010 6:23 PM (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
Really? I am missing out on this distinct aspect of our culture! My life has had less Vice and more Vices&Versa these days. (which, btw, A++ place for drinks when you are up around St Zotique)
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:45 (thirteen years ago) link
quebecois culture in general is not as appealing to me
Except...man. There is something so unself-consciously wonderful about monster truck rallies and souvereigntiste rap music and Celine and Caribou.
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:47 (thirteen years ago) link
that was just a joke really, vice is actually totally less ubiquitous nowadays and i am grateful for it
attitudinally speaking quebec culture is pretty awesome, but i can't say i'm interested in it in any genuine or active way
― young monet (samosa gibreel), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:56 (thirteen years ago) link
u youngsters prob don't remember when VICE was based here
― al-goreda (s1ocki), Thursday, 22 July 2010 22:59 (thirteen years ago) link
^^^grateful of this, tbh.
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 22 July 2010 23:24 (thirteen years ago) link
it was like the wild west
― al-goreda (s1ocki), Thursday, 22 July 2010 23:24 (thirteen years ago) link
everyone lived on the plateau
listening to ninja tune records
― al-goreda (s1ocki), Thursday, 22 July 2010 23:25 (thirteen years ago) link
drinking an espresso on a patio on avenue parc + reading french legal writing and surprisingly content with the arrival of a true montreal summer after that weird may/june false start.
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 22 July 2010 23:25 (thirteen years ago) link
ninja tune records? quelle horreur!
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 22 July 2010 23:26 (thirteen years ago) link
i think we've had a least a solid month of real summer tbh
― al-goreda (s1ocki), Thursday, 22 July 2010 23:26 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah. And it was all in july! And those two weeks in April.
― Alex in Montreal, Thursday, 22 July 2010 23:29 (thirteen years ago) link
My life has had less Vice and more Vices&Versa these days. (which, btw, A++ place for drinks when you are up around St Zotique)
WHAT this place looks amazing. i was seriously walking to work today thinking "man i wish i knew a bar where they served a bunch of that qc micro stuff but like... not just their own stuff like ddc etc."
speaking of dieu du ciel though i went there on... wednesday? and had their summer solstice beer (i think) which is a sour wheat beer w/ cherries. it is like neon red with pink head and is so fucking good TRY IT MTLERS
― Quantic Dream, So Hard To Beat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 12:57 (thirteen years ago) link
Whoa and all of those V&V beers are en fut?!?! Awesome.
― Quantic Dream, So Hard To Beat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 13:02 (thirteen years ago) link
thoght that said TRY IT HITLERS
― al gore vidal gore (s1ocki), Friday, 23 July 2010 13:08 (thirteen years ago) link
how weird would it be if i called all montrealers "a buch of hitlers"
― Quantic Dream, So Hard To Beat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 13:11 (thirteen years ago) link
or a bunch tbf
a bushel
― al gore vidal gore (s1ocki), Friday, 23 July 2010 13:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Oh hey here's a question for the Montreal people: my French is garbage, how do I make it good w/o having to actually meet people? Everything on the internet that's all "LEARN FRENCH" is like "LEARN TRANSATLANTIC USELESS IN QUEBEC FRENCH."
― Quantic Dream, So Hard To Beat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 13:24 (thirteen years ago) link
You could try the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec at Berri. They have a section of language tapes/CDs etc.
― sofatruck, Friday, 23 July 2010 13:38 (thirteen years ago) link
it is such a good library and also nice to be in
man, i went through a few harsh months this late-winter/early-spring of 'oh, mtl, r u 4 me rly' but thankfully that has passed. i guess that happens in every relationship re people, places, jobs, etc. right now this town is rulin, so i'm glad i hung in there - like, where else is there to go in canada that is as good? srsly! i think i'm finally going to winterize a bike this year even. (lol now watch me get a great job in like mali or something)
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Friday, 23 July 2010 14:11 (thirteen years ago) link
I seriously spend 6 months a year wondering why I live here and 6 months a year wondering why I'd live anywhere else. It's so completely true.
― Cold Poutine, So Hard To Eat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 14:24 (thirteen years ago) link
If I weren't a non-real-winter person Montreal would be on a short list of spots to live for sure.
― Ned Raggett, Friday, 23 July 2010 14:26 (thirteen years ago) link
that travel&leisure article is pretty great! and well-written! (haha yeah, even i want adam to show me around and i live here) (he actually ended up in the group of people i went to see lou reed jazz fest show with! he lasted longer than the others)
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Friday, 23 July 2010 14:54 (thirteen years ago) link
is that after-hours at parc & beaubien still a thing or did it clse after the magical "6 motnhs and it's fucked" timeline that seems to exist for mile-end party jamz?
― Cold Poutine, So Hard To Eat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 14:58 (thirteen years ago) link
si1ver door? yeah, haven't heard anything abt it for a bit.. prob was a bit too talked-about..
yeah, the thing about montreal is that living through winter is key to summer bliss and key to serious love of this place. also: metaphor for life.
― obliquity of the ecliptic (rrrobyn), Friday, 23 July 2010 15:23 (thirteen years ago) link
i always wondered if there was a trick ie. finding a job that spent half the year anywhere but here. my bosses at my old job used to basically spend all winter in the dominican republic. but then again they spent the rest of the year never, ever leaving DDO. kind of defeats the purpose of mtl summers.
― Cold Poutine, So Hard To Eat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 15:24 (thirteen years ago) link
I think Si1ver Door is opening a cafe or something actually. Or maybe I'm thinking of a different seekrit party hideout.
― sean gramophone, Friday, 23 July 2010 15:31 (thirteen years ago) link
last time i was there a very high girl talked my ear off abt how i should buy a coffee because they make it sooooooooo good there (it was like 4am) and i was like "maybe next time :S"
― Cold Poutine, So Hard To Eat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 15:36 (thirteen years ago) link
so it is very possible that that's teh cafe place.
Is the DDC house beer Kriek (i.e. belgium style cherry beer)? cause that would be awesome.
i didn't even know about si1ver do0r and it is already non-existent? MTLFAIL. so bad at being in the know. i'm still all the way back at e4stern bl0c vis a vis mile-end party jamz.
― Y /\/\ /\/\ \/ (Alex in Montreal), Friday, 23 July 2010 19:02 (thirteen years ago) link
gah so many scummy nights at the door. Kinda hate that place
― al gore vidal gore (s1ocki), Friday, 23 July 2010 19:12 (thirteen years ago) link
i've had some wonderful nights there but i know what ya mean
― young monet (samosa gibreel), Friday, 23 July 2010 19:16 (thirteen years ago) link
someone offer me a job in montreal
I'm qualified
― dill hai to mango aur (cozen), Friday, 23 July 2010 19:19 (thirteen years ago) link
Is the DDC house beer Kriek (i.e. belgium style cherry beer)?
The site says "German inspired sour wheat beer," I don't think it's a Kriek style but from the sound of that it's not that far off! You should really really really check it out before they run out.
― Cold Poutine, So Hard To Eat (Will M.), Friday, 23 July 2010 22:24 (thirteen years ago) link
OMG I still have dreams about DDC.
― Sundar, Friday, 23 July 2010 22:51 (thirteen years ago) link