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“The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

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Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#111

Post by Keyframe »

dmurray wrote: post #56
Keyframe wrote: post #17

If you want to see another example of urban 'planning' against powerful winds, see Mediterranean coast. It's littered with densly packed narrow streets.

More so than inland towns of the same age and size?

Yeah, coast can get a bit intense https://youtu.be/_rf9Jtgc1mE where there's a strong cold northern wind rushing down the coastal mountains (bura) and then there's a strong southern moist and warm wind coming from the open sea (jugo).. the interplay of the two dictated coastal settlements to be built like that where within the settlement you can barely feel it (as much).

Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#112

Post by 908B64B197 »

ramchip wrote: post #97
tharkun__ wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do not let them fool you. If they recognize you as a tourist they will happily switch to English, however broken theirs may be, however much trouble they might have speaking it. If they recognize you as a 'local' (i.e. immigrant) and you don't speak French you will get into trouble in most places in Quebec. Even in Montreal though not everywhere in Montreal. If you aren't aware, Google about the referendum and the "O…

When I lived in a dorm in Montreal, a pizza delivery guy passed by and asked my neighbor for directions to a room, in English. He replied that he doesn't know. Obviously he does, so after helping the guy I asked my neighbor why he'd say that. He said essentially if the guy lives here and can't speak basic French he doesn't deserve an answer. Most people aren't like that, but there are assholes out there...

I had to let someone go at a company we had just acquired in Montreal a while ago. The guy was underperforming and had a huge attitude problem. One of the frequent arguments he had with everyone was that he insisted he didn’t need to learn French to live in Montreal and was somehow hostile to the language.

Despite being born and raised in America and having lived the last 20+ years in the Bay I somehow spoke more French than him. But I honestly questioned why he immigrated there in the first place when there’s 50 states and 9 other provinces he could go to and live exclusively in English? I get he probably couldn’t pass the higher bar for US immigration but that still leaves 2/3rd of Canada to go to.

Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#113

Post by tharkun__ »

908B64B197 wrote: post #112
ramchip wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I lived in a dorm in Montreal, a pizza delivery guy passed by and asked my neighbor for directions to a room, in English. He replied that he doesn't know. Obviously he does, so after helping the guy I asked my neighbor why he'd say that. He said essentially if the guy lives here and can't speak basic French he doesn't deserve an answer. Most people aren't like that, but there are assholes out there...

I had to let someone go at a company we had just acquired in Montreal a while ago. The guy was underperforming and had a huge attitude problem. One of the frequent arguments he had with everyone was that he insisted he didn’t need to learn French to live in Montreal and was somehow hostile to the language. Despite being born and raised in America and having lived the last 20+ years in the Bay I somehow spoke more Fre…

This is a guess but Quebec and even Montreal are quite unique in North America. There's influence from both North America but also Europe. It may sound cliche but it is true. E.g. try to ignore or cut through the language politics of various parties and it will be hard to find equivalents in many other places in NA. Maybe some of that is something that spoke to him and made him go there. If he went to Montreal specifically it is even true what he said: He didn't have to learn French to be able to live and survive in Montreal, depending on the area he lived in and frequented.

Side note: apparently there are "agencies" in some countries that let you pick an equivalent city in their own country as a "benchmark" for the kind of lifestyle you'd like to have and they tell you which North American city to immigrate to and how to do that (i.e. how to meet the legal requirements, paperwork etc.). Maybe he used one of those services.

Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#114

Post by 908B64B197 »

tharkun__ wrote: post #113
908B64B197 wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to let someone go at a company we had just acquired in Montreal a while ago. The guy was underperforming and had a huge attitude problem. One of the frequent arguments he had with everyone was that he insisted he didn’t need to learn French to live in Montreal and was somehow hostile to the language. Despite being born and raised in America and having lived the last 20+ years in the Bay I somehow spoke more Fre…

This is a guess but Quebec and even Montreal are quite unique in North America. There's influence from both North America but also Europe. It may sound cliche but it is true. E.g. try to ignore or cut through the language politics of various parties and it will be hard to find equivalents in many other places in NA. Maybe some of that is something that spoke to him and made him go there. If he went to Montreal specif…

> Maybe some of that is something that spoke to him and made him go there. If he went to Montreal specifically it is even true what he said: He didn't have to learn French to be able to live and survive in Montreal, depending on the area he lived in and frequented.

Maybe. He seemed to really want to come to the US but the performance and behavioral issues made it a big no. I don’t think he would have passed the stricter requirements anyways.

One of the things he ranted about was how his kids attended public school in French. I mean, here in California public schools operate in English because it’s what the people speak. In Quebec it’s logical they would operate in French in a French province.

Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#115

Post by ramchip »

908B64B197 wrote: post #114
tharkun__ wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a guess but Quebec and even Montreal are quite unique in North America. There's influence from both North America but also Europe. It may sound cliche but it is true. E.g. try to ignore or cut through the language politics of various parties and it will be hard to find equivalents in many other places in NA. Maybe some of that is something that spoke to him and made him go there. If he went to Montreal specif…

> Maybe some of that is something that spoke to him and made him go there. If he went to Montreal specifically it is even true what he said: He didn't have to learn French to be able to live and survive in Montreal, depending on the area he lived in and frequented. Maybe. He seemed to really want to come to the US but the performance and behavioral issues made it a big no. I don’t think he would have passed the stric…

There are English schools in Quebec, it's just that there are conditions for eligibility:

http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/en/parents-and-guardians/ins...

So by law you may not be able to send your kids to English school even though there's one down the road, which I guess can be a bit surprising. Not sure if that was the case for that person though, or if they were just complaining about lack of English schools in general...

Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#116

Post by TulliusCicero »

manholio wrote: post #110
TulliusCicero wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah the setup they got there is weird. > The next, even higher density option I've seen in some european cities is to squeeze the frontal street, remove all parking there and move it in the back yards. I lived in Munich and it seemed like the default was almost always having underground parking. Our first place was in an apartment complex of maybe 10 units, and it had its own underground parking garage. Next place w…

In high density cities, the idea of covering the unsightly parking and keep the people and greenery out into the sun is a no brainer. It's even better for the car. But in some cities, for example highly priced London areas, people have been starting to do the opposite: they dig lavish basements at enormous expense and keep large front lawns and wide streets with ample parking spaces, all in the name of preservation o…

> In high density cities, the idea of covering the unsightly parking and keep the people and greenery out into the sun is a no brainer.

I get the impression that this style of development is common even in somewhat lower density areas. People in Germany just don't like the seas of asphalt so common in the states.

Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#117

Post by 908B64B197 »

ramchip wrote: post #115
908B64B197 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe some of that is something that spoke to him and made him go there. If he went to Montreal specifically it is even true what he said: He didn't have to learn French to be able to live and survive in Montreal, depending on the area he lived in and frequented. Maybe. He seemed to really want to come to the US but the performance and behavioral issues made it a big no. I don’t think he would have passed the stric…

There are English schools in Quebec, it's just that there are conditions for eligibility: http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/en/parents-and-guardians/ins... So by law you may not be able to send your kids to English school even though there's one down the road, which I guess can be a bit surprising. Not sure if that was the case for that person though, or if they were just complaining about lack of English schools in ge…

> they were just complaining about lack of English schools in general...

I'm still not sure what he was complaining about. French in general it seemed.

Re: “The Wall” Housing Structure In Fermont, Quebec

#118

Post by tharkun__ »

ramchip wrote: post #115
908B64B197 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Maybe some of that is something that spoke to him and made him go there. If he went to Montreal specifically it is even true what he said: He didn't have to learn French to be able to live and survive in Montreal, depending on the area he lived in and frequented. Maybe. He seemed to really want to come to the US but the performance and behavioral issues made it a big no. I don’t think he would have passed the stric…

There are English schools in Quebec, it's just that there are conditions for eligibility: http://www.education.gouv.qc.ca/en/parents-and-guardians/ins... So by law you may not be able to send your kids to English school even though there's one down the road, which I guess can be a bit surprising. Not sure if that was the case for that person though, or if they were just complaining about lack of English schools in ge…

From the previous answers it seems like he was an immigrant to Canada. As such he would not be eligible to send his kids to public English school in Quebec. All immigrants have to send their kids to French public school. That changes only if you pay for private school in which case you are free to choose the language even as an immigrant. Quebec has been trying to limit access to English schools even for Quebecers as many Francophones are sending their kids to English schools.
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