Anyone semi-retire in Montreal or Quebec?

[Will]

Hello all-
I have visited Montreal and the Quebec area and have fallen in love with that part of N. America. Are any of you living there in your ER? If you are, is finding work out of the question as an American? I'm a single male here and about to retire with a pretty good amount of money but like the idea of living in that part of Canada but want to keep busy. I'm just wondering if any of you are doing that?
Are any of you in the upstate NY area as ER's? If so, what do you do, and is it expensive? Apreciate your input.

Will

[BUM]

Welcome Will,

I currently live in upstate New York (UNY). As I near RE I want to spend more time away from UNY, for 2 reasons only; snow and cold weather. I've endured it for 53 years and I'm ready for a change.

However if you enjoy the winters its a home run beacuse the other three seasons are among the very best anywhere. I like the mountainous areas in the eastern part of UNY. The Adirondacks and Catskills are hard to beat. I've spent a lot of time in Tompkins Co. Their motto is "TC is gorges". The rock formations and access to the finger lakes, not to mention Cornell U. makes it a cool place. St. Lawrence Co. could be THE place for you. Cost of living is relatively low, lots of wide open spaces. Same for parts of Sullivan Co., but watch out for "casino fever" there. Erie Co. read Buffalo (pronounced "buff-lo") is something else. The people I met there are positively convinced its the best place on the planet to live...must be something in the ice.

Here is a county-by-county link

http://www.nysegov.com/map-NY.cfm

Do your state tax and healthcare homework. These could be your biggest problems. But they likey will be only speed bumps not brick walls.

BUM

[Hyperborea]

If you want to live in Montreal on a full-time basis you'll need to immigrate to Canada. There are two basic categories you could apply under: immigrant worker where you'll need to have enough points on a questionaire to apply; or as an immigrant investor in which case you'll need to invest a set amount of money and start a business. There's a lot more information on the Government of Canada Immigration website - http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.html

Note also that since you would be immigrating to Quebec that the province puts a big premium on proficiency in French. You must be selected by Quebec first and then pass the federal immigration standards. http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.q...admission.html