“Without Montreal, Canada would be hopeless.” said the celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. And even though the rest of Canada has lots to offer, there is a sense of truth to this. Montreal has long been the top pick for expats relocating to Canada and there are countless benefits of living in the “the City of Saints”. With the first European settlements appearing in the second half of the 17th century, Montreal has developed into a world-famous metropolis with an abundance of cultural diversity. Located in the French-speaking province of Quebec, you have to know French at least on a basic level to get around. On the other hand, Quebec welcomes more than 50.000 new immigrants each year, so you should easily be able to find someone to speak your local language with.
From the moment Montreal was founded (1642) immigrants in large numbers have been drawn to this remarkable city. Even though the area, which is now known as Montreal, has been inhabited as long as 4.000 years, the number of inhabitants only really started to increase after the European settlers came to the area. Located just an hour away from the American border and only 2 hours away from the Canadian capital Ottawa, Montreal has a beneficial geographical position. Montreal was built on a thirty-mile island beside the convergence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. A tunnel and many bridges connect the city with mainland Quebec. Nowadays, Montreal has a prosperous software and IT industry that attracts skilled workers from all over the planet. When you also think of making the step to live and work in Montreal, then join us when we explore all relevant information you need for making your dream become reality. Whether you are moving to Montreal from the USA, or from any other country on the globe, with the Eurosender removal guide you can be sure you come prepared.
Before you start arranging everything for your big move to Montreal, you should know at least know some basic facts about Montreal.
| Province | Quebec |
| Timezone | UTC-5. |
| Currency | The Canadian dollar (CDN$) |
| Population | Montreal has a growing population of 1.7 million inhabitants. |
| How do you call someone from Montreal? | Montrealer Montréalais(e) |
| Official language | French is the official language in Montreal. It is spoken at home by about half of the population, followed by English (22%) and various other languages. |
| International dialing code | +1 (country code Canada) 514 and 438 (area codes) |
| Emergency number | 911 |
| Driving | On the right side |
| Tipping | The standard is to tip 15-20% in a restaurant or cafe. |
| Unusual fact | The city of Montreal is named after Mount Royal, a mountain with 3 peeks with the highest point at 233 meters (764 feet). |
When you are thinking of relocating from the USA to Montreal, Eurosender can provide you with a quick and cost-effective solution. Shipping a few suitcases to your new apartment or shipping your entire household on pallets to your new townhouse? Then look no further. With Eurosender you can be sure that your goods will undergo a speedy delivery in perfect condition. When you have questions about your shipment you can always contact our team of logistics experts. They will provide you with all the advice you need for your international removals to Montreal. Create an account and get all the benefits of being a registered user at Eurosender!
Your new life in Montreal will take a little getting used to, so let’s have a look at some things that are unique for Montreal.
The first thing you will have to do is determine for which kind of visa you want to apply and to get your hands on your start-up visa as soon as possible. The Canadian visas are divided in:
TRP’s usually give permission to a person to stay up to 6 months in Canada and could also be single-entry or multiple-entry. These kind visas include among others:
PRP’s (Also known as “immigrant visas”, give you the right to become a permanent resident of Canada. There are many different visas in this group such as the Immigrant Investor Program, the Family Sponsor Program, the Entrepreneur Program, and others. Being a skilled worker, whose skills are in demand, have the biggest chance to get a work permit.
Canadian citizens enjoy free or low-cost universal healthcare, which does have differences from province to province. The organization responsible for healthcare in Quebec is Regie de l’Assurance Maladie du Quebec (RAMQ), where both locals and (temporary) residents apply for healthcare. Residents of Quebec, including those of Montreal, are obliged to have prescription drug insurance as medicine is not covered by regular healthcare.
Montreal is known as the student capital of Canada and the percentage of students in the city is even higher than in Boston. With world-class facilities, many students are drawn to the universities of Montreal. The reason for that is that the universities in Montreal offer ultramodern education infrastructure, a lively cultural scene, and many internationally acclaimed programs.
When you move to Montreal, you will find that there is a competitive job market, as you are not the only one who wants to live and work in Montreal. Some things that you should pay attention to are:
When you compare Montreal to other Canadian cities, you will notice that the prices for real estate are relatively low. The average price of an apartment in the center of Montreal will cost you a little under $1.000, whereas rent in other cities such as Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver may be 10-20% higher. When you want to save money on accommodation you can move to the suburbs where prices are lower. Another option is to share an apartment. A big advantage of sharing living space is that you easily meet new people, which is always good when moving to a new place.
When you have made up your mind about moving and you wonder how much is shipping from the USA to Montreal, Eurosender can help you find the cheapest way to move furniture to Montreal. In fact, the average moving costs to Montreal for any item are budget friendly. There are only several things you have to think about. These are:
When you have these things figured out, Eurosender takes care of the rest and you can sit back and relax. Besides the low cost of moving house to Montreal, Eurosender provides you with the following.
On average the cost of living compares favorably well against other cities in Canada. Accommodation, which usually takes the biggest part of your budget, is considerably cheaper than in other Candian cities. Things as healthcare and groceries all have about the same price as elsewhere in the country. However, the one thing that is more expensive in Montreal is taxes. Whether it is income tax, federal tax, sales tax or goods and services tax, they are all damn high.
Just like in the rest of Canaday, you can drive in Montreal when you have an Internation Driving Permit (IDP), which you can obtain at your local driving authority at a small fee. When you are staying for a longer period of time you can apply for a Canadian driving license.
Just like in any other metropolis, there are some peculiarities about driving in Montreal. Let’s take a look at some things that caught the eye of some of your fellow expats.
When you are thinking of bringing your own car, contact our team of logistics specialists to see what the possibilities and the prices are.
Disclaimer: The materials provided in this article were collected from other credible resources to be used for general information purposes only. Given that the legislative basis of the country and its economic development have a changing nature, the information provided in the article could be subject to change. Whilst we endeavour to keep the information up-to-date and correct, Eurosender will not be liable for any inappropriate, incomplete, or inaccurate information. Certain links will lead to websites which are not under control of Eurosender. Thus, Eurosender accepts no liability in respect of materials, products or services being not under control of Eurosender.