After 1 year of leaving my homeland – Vietnam to study in Montreal, I must say that this city is such a wonderful place with diverse culture and opportunities for anyone who want to seek for a better future in Canada. With the perspective of an open-minded Asian student, I would like to share my own experience in view of living and studying in this amazing city.

1. The weather

Needless to say, Canada is known for the freaking cold winter. There is a slang that: “Winter in here lasts for 6 months, the other 6 months are for Spring, Summer and Autumn combined together”. Annually, winter starts from early November and it usually lasts until late April or early May. The peak is between late December to early March, when the temperature can drop up to minus 20-40 degrees Celcius. In those months, the city is covered with a heavy blanket of white snow, sometimes the thickness of snow can rise up to 1 – 2 metres. It is hard to survive with a pair of high quality boots and a thick winter jacket. If you drive, every morning you have to wake up early to shovel the snow and this process can take you half an hour. Other than that, spring is the most favoured season with cherry blossoms, the vividness of various colors that it brings. While summer is the most active season with different activities and festivals, autumn is a lot more silent when people enjoy the breathtaking beauty of yellow and red leaves.

2. The city

Montreal is known for its openness to change, multiculturalism, dynamic economy and multi-languages. It í home to over 17,000 international students studying in 4 universities and a wide array of CEGEPs. Students make up a large chunk of the entire Montreal population, with more than many coming from all around the world to study in the city. Immigrants from all over have been coming to Montreal for centuries to seek for a brighter future. Therefore, Montreal has a place for you no matter where you come from, and there’s no doubt a whole community of people who hail from the same nation already living in the city.

3. The lifestyle

Montreal is a truly unique city – safe and clean, vibrant and diverse, with new things to discover around every corner. Since the city is a Canadian city heavily influenced by the French culture, everything from the language to Montrealer’s lifestyle is decidedly French. People here work with great effort to make ends meet and head to a better future for their children. In my first days, I found this rhythm of life quite unfamiliar to me because I was born in Vietnam – an Asian county with humble economy. Everyone also work tediously but somehow we allocate more time for relaxing and spending time with the ones that we love. Once we get out of the office, we leave work behind to truly enjoy life without much thinking about deadlines anymore.

4. Life convenience

Montreal is not as developed as Toronto or Vancouver; however, you can find anything that you need at this new but old city. Going to Downtown Montreal (which is largely known as second New York City), you will be bombarded with a great variety of fashion shops ranging from affordable brands (such as Zara, H & M, Forever 21) to chic brands (such as Calvin Klein, LV, Michael Kors) in commercial buildings (Centre Eaton, Place Montreal Trust,…) located on Sainte Catherine Street. Bars, Clubs, Leisure centres and good restaurants also gather at the Downtown area. Public places such as libraries, swimming pools, parks can be found anywhere in local areas. Convenience stores (Couche Tard, Dollarama, Jean Coutu, Provigo,…) vary in their main merchandise and can be reached from anywhere.

5. Study in CEGEP + universities.

Montreal is known as the best destination for international students. Its education system is highly-ranked by experts around the world. There are around 100 cegeps / colleges in the province of of Quebec and 8 universities. Among them, McGill is ranked the 1^st place in Canada territory, Concordia University and Universite de Montreal are also popular for their credits. Students can choose to study at any schools that they want based on their strengths + career pursue, as long as they meet all the requirements that the school offers.

6. The food

Montreal is known as one of the best places in the world to find good restaurants with delicious dishes. You can find any European, Asian, African, American food in here ranging from cheap to expensive prices. Among them, Poutine is the most popular one for its unique flavour. Once you have arrived in Montreal, you should not forget to try out this special dish.

1. Education certificates

Make sure you bring all of your important education certificates/ records with you before departing (especially your high school graduation certificate). Bring them with you on first days at CEGEPS/ universities as well since the school board may ask you to submit the original ones. Furthermore, if possible, have them notarized and translated into English as it is quite expensive/ inconvenient for you to do it here.

2. Books/ Study equipment

Bring only important books that you think you can use as references in the future. Purchase some professional dictionaries translating from your language to English and French. Bring your laptop with you if you have already had one but make sure to purchase extra electricity converters. If you do not have one, you can always buy one here on websites such as BestBuy.com, Apple Stores for high-quality ones with affordable prices and reliable guarantee. Moreover, learning tools are quite cheap in Montreal so you do not need to buy too many. You can always visit convenient stores such as Dollarama, Jean Coutu, bookstores such as Indigo to find the ones that you like.

3. Clothing

Winter in Montreal is extremely tough (maybe it is one of your SCARIEST things when finding out about Montreal). Many other former students advise that people should buy winter clothes at their country because it is cheaper. However, from my experience, it can be less expensive for you but those winter clothes are not warm enough (especially during the minus 20 to minus 30 degree period). Therefore, it is highly suggested that just bring some of your summer clothing, 2 pairs of comfort sneakers at minimum, some formal clothes for special events, some nice dresses and a pair of high heels (for girls). Most important, prepare more pairs of jeans and thick pants for winter.

Useful tips for you: For winter coats, you can buy from brands such as Canada Goose, the North Face for good quality. For winter boots, you can visit stores such as Timberland, Sorel, UGG. Nonetheless, those brands are quite chic (coats vary from 500-1000 for coats, boots vary from 200-500), you can visit some second-hand shops situating near Jean-Talon metro area to look for good-conditioned but cheap ones.

4. Food

Buy some canned-food, fast noodles in advance before leaving for Montreal. In the first few days coming here, you may need them in case you are not used to the taste/ you do not know where to buy good food. Ask your mom to prepare some of your favourite flavours or conserve some of your specialties as you may get home-sick in those early days.

Useful tips for you: Montreal is famous for its diverse gastronomic market. You can find any food that you want from any where in the word (Asian, European, African, American,…) in different markets. If you are an Asian like me, you can go to Asian markets such as Kim Phat, Kim Hour locating near the Cote-des-Neiges and St-Michel areas. Eating at restaurants is not that expensive as well, a bowl of Soupe Tonkinoise costs you 10-11 $. However, do not forget to try Poutine – the most popular specialty of Quebecois – once you arrive here. It is very delicious with its unique flavour.

5. Medicine + Health Insurance

It is highly suggested that you bring some cold medicine, aspirin, indigestion tables, diarrhoea tablets with you for a period of 1- 2 years. You may need them in some emergency cases and it is costly to buy medicine here. Have medical check-up, dentist check-up and eye-sight testing before arriving here as well. For purchasing Health Insurance, you can get one from Allianz Insurance Company with good price (only 485$ including tax) for International students like me. The coverage includes the maximum amount of money aiding you in emergency cases, basic check-ups such as medical, dental, eye-sight testing annually.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton