Hi there,
I was born in the area and lived there for 20 years. St-Jean is pretty french! But Montreal is great. And yes you will be able to find a job even if you don't speak french. in fact there are a lot of customer service job like call center type in the west End of Montreal. Yes you may be looking at a 45 minute drive from St-Jean and that is without traffic... Ya like that actually happens!! My BF is actually english, was born there and eventually learned french but my in-laws don't speak it have have live and worked there for over 50 years..... You may look for jobs on:
www.randstad.ca, www.jobbank.gc.ca, www.working.com, www.jobboom.com. Yes you may not find the greatest job but it will pay the bills for the short period of time you will be there. Hey a lot of people that own little shop's and that are self-employed can hardly speak english and can even start to comprehend french. Of course the closer to St-Jean (not in the town but surrounding area's) will be cheaper on rent but you will be further from Montreal. There are far more people that speak english in the Province of Quebec then some people think.
As far as you moving with your bf for his course, that is entirely up to you. If you think it is what you should do then go for it! I actually lived on the south shore of Montreal when my bf went through basic training. But when he went for his career course in NB, I did not move but visited quite a bit. Let's just say I put quite a bit if KM on my car!!! Was it worth it? ...yes. Did I feel like he would rather have gone bar hopping with the boys?... no cause we went together. Did I have his friends over and cooked and baked for them?... yes I did and I enjoyed every minutes I was able to spend with him. Did he worry about me?... Ok The area wasn't new to me and I had family around but besides the fact that I had a 18 months old son and another one on the way.....No he did not worry about me and it did not affect his training. Why? Because first, I did not let my day to day crap bother me and specially not him and second, He knows I am a big girl and I can take care of myself.
Some people choose to live their lives in the background, I choose to live mine right up there with my bf. Yes my career comes second and my Resume is 3 pages long but the experiences I have gotten from all of this is great. I don't know what line you have experience in or what interests you but drop me a line and maybe I know some places that would be great for you.
I hope the previous comments you received regarding this will not keep you from what you really want. Have a good one!
