Over the years, I have developed a huge admiration for murals. At first, I saw them as purely decorative, something colorful to brighten up a dull corner of any given city, but the more time I spent in different cities, the more I amassed a photographic collection of their murals, and that’s when I started to notice different themes emerging. Whether the artists were telling a story, alluding to history or social issues, or just having fun, as a collective, murals seem to embody the culture around them. Here are a few of my favorite examples from some of my favorite cities:
Québec City
Québec is still new to me, but upon my first observations, I’d say Québec is proud. This city is proud of its unique history, its industrious people, and even its imperfections.
Ottawa, Canada
Ottawa is inclusive. This capital city is basically a microcosm of Canada’s Mosaic – there’s a little something from everyone on display here.
Guadalajara, México
Guadalajara is vibrant. This city, and much of the country really, is so alive and so fun, and that is immediately evident in its street art.
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is colorful. The people here are about as colorful as they come, and all those different cultures and backgrounds come together to make the beautiful rainbow that is Orlando.
Hefei, China
Hefei is prudent. This is a place where art and function collide. Like the city and its inhabitants, the art here is generally purposeful as well as captivating.
Łódź, Poland
Łódź is quirky. The dark events of its past are evident, but the people here are experts at remembering the past while still enjoying the present.
Of course, it’s easier to see these patterns and make these connections when living in the heart of a city, experiencing the culture day after day. But I think if you look carefully, you can pick up the vibes of any city from even just a glance at its art. Here are some more examples of murals that I think capture the spirit of their homes.
Athens, Greece
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Bogotá, Colombia
Cancún, México
Denver, Colorado
Hong Kong
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Montevideo, Uruguay
Paris, France
Pisa, Italy
Quito, Ecuador
Reykjavík, Iceland
Singapore
Tampa, Florida
Tokyo, Japan
Toronto, Canada
Townsville, Queensland, Australia
So, what do you think? Do the murals match the vibes?
We’re almost halfway through April, and we’ve now officially been living in Québec for six weeks, which is crazy since it feels like the move was just last weekend, but that’s how the first few months always go. We get caught up in a daze of setting things up, collecting documents, making appointments, etc. But luckily, this isn’t our first rodeo! Not only are we completely on top of all our paperwork and logistical tasks, but we’ve also made good progress on our observations list. So how different is Québec from Ottawa? Well, here are the first few things that have caught our attention:
The French
Of course, the absolute first thing on the list has to be the use of French. While Ottawa is fairly bilingual, and we definitely got quite a bit of French exposure there, English was still absolutely the reigning language, sometimes even in Gatineau (which is technically in the province of Quebec). In Québec City, however, we’re not only expected to use French 100% of the time, we’re actually legally required to after six months of living here, which is honestly really great motivation!
The Salutations
Living in multi-story apartment buildings means we tend to have a lot of neighbors, so we’re usually pretty quick to notice how (and how often) acquaintances interact, like in an elevator, the lobby, the parking garage, etc. In Ottawa, most people kept to themselves or smiled politely in passing, but here in Québec, it’s a steady stream of “bonne journées” and “bonne soirées” no matter how brief your interaction is. It reminds me so much of all the “buenos días” and “buenas tardes” we got in Mexico, and it immediately feels so welcoming!
We’re in a Port City
Ottawa is definitely a water city of sorts with two major rivers and a canal running through it, but Québec is even more water-forward. The Québec City icon is fittingly a ship, and with ferries being a common means of transport, international cruise ships docking nearby, and whale watching tours every weekend, we’re not just between rivers anymore, we’re practically seafaring. At least the seagulls make more sense here.
Bizarre Hours
I have no idea if this is a French thing or a Quebec thing or a Québec City thing, but we have noticed that stores, restaurants, and pretty much every kind of business here has bizarre hours. Monday 8:30-4, Tuesday 9-6, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10-2…I mean, what? Do they just like to keep us guessing or is there some hidden meaning behind these choices? We definitely need more time to investigate.
Definitely not easy to remember…
Laidback Vibes
This might have more to do with Ottawa being the nation’s capital and less to do with Québec, but we’ve definitely noticed things are a little less official here. Our car registration (ou immatriculation) is printed on regular printer paper rather than fancy cardstock, our lease paperwork was submitted while we were still missing a few things, and we’ve gotten several messages along the lines of “X will be sent to you at a later date”. Definitely feels like a slower pace here in general.
Flashing Green Lights
Another thing we immediately noticed (and subsequently had to google) are the flashing green lights or “advanced greens”. Very often in Québec, you’ll come to a stop light and the green light will be flashing, which we learned means it’s basically both a green light and a green arrow. Apparently, this is common in a lot of Canadian provinces (including Ontario), but we had never seen it or at least not regularly enough to really register a difference.
Pedestrian-friendly
Ottawa is pretty pedestrian-friendly as well, but in Québec (at least downtown) the crosswalks are set up to allow for regular double crossing. Instead of waiting for the lights to change and basically taking your turn to cross when the flow of traffic changes direction, cars will be stopped in all directions allowing people to cross diagonally if they want/need. This and the no-touch crossing sensors make this particular pedestrian so happy!
Vestiges from France
I didn’t know how else to label this one, but smoking is much more common here. And by smoking, I mean cigarettes. We went from smelling a lot of marijuana in Ottawa to smelling a lot of cigarettes in Québec, and I can’t help but feel the cultural influences in that.
Drinking Culture
In a similar vein, Ontario seemed pretty strict when it came to alcohol sales/consumption. It was rare to see alcohol (even beer and wine) sold in stores, but in Quebec, that’s the norm. BYOB is also more frequent here, and it’s custom to bring wine to a park for a picnic.
Food Culture
We’ve also noticed a lot differences when it comes to food. The groceries here are overall cheaper, yet the selection of “fancy” food is definitely wider. There are like three types of caviar sold at the grocery store right next to our building, and if you wanted to try each type of cheese sold there, you’d need a few years. Restaurants here also seem to be a bit fancier – for example, there are fewer fast-casual options than in Ottawa, but way more multi-course menus.
Still a hard “no” from me though.
Louder
We lived downtown in both cities, and we’re used to hearing a fair amount of shouting, singing, and laughing (especially on the weekends), but I think Québécois voices are literally just louder. Now we can hear the actual words being said, and even the volume of regular conversations here seems to be louder than what we grew accustomed to in Ottawa. Probably still not as loud as our country of origin, but a noticeable difference from the last two years nonetheless.
Colder, Windier, & More Humid
We had our suspicions about the weather being more extreme in Québec. I mean, we are further north and east, both of which usually get hit pretty hard, but we kind of thought we’d need a few months before we noticed if it was really much different. Turns out, we didn’t need long at all. The added humidity and constant wind means that the same temperature feels quite a bit colder. We keep seeing temperatures slightly above freezing, and then step outside only to realize that the real feel is significantly lower. Damp, windy cold is definitely tougher.
Snow-ready
Of course, both Ottawa and Québec are great at handling large amounts of snow, but it seems that they tackle the problem in different ways. Ottawa LOVES salt. The city and its inhabitants go hard on salting everything. Québec uses a mix of salt and sand, meaning that things are a bit slushier here. And maybe for that reason, it’s really common for buildings and houses here to put up tents in their driveways/entryways to keep the slush (and additional shoveling) at bay.
So that’s what we have on our list so far, but as usual, we plan to keep learning and sharing as we go. I’m sure by now it’s pretty apparent that these little differences are one of our favorite things about moving to a new place. Even one province over, there are just so many things to observe! How cool is that?
Happy 2025! How strange to think we’re already a quarter of a century into this millennium. As I’ve shared before, I absolutely love this time of year, not only because I love winter, but also because I love beginnings. I find it really exciting to think about the year ahead and all the things we’ll do and see, and since we’ve got a few bigger changes on the horizon (as well as exciting travel plans, as usual), I thought I’d share a little life update for those who are trying to keep track of us, especially if you want to keep your address book current…which, honestly, good luck! 😆
Our Next Move
So, as you might have deduced, we are in fact moving again! We’ve been in Ottawa for just about two years now, so my feet are definitely starting to itch. Plus, I’ve been feeling extremely lazy as far as my language use is concerned. I mean, I could use French in Ottawa, but English is more common and obviously much less work for me; therefore, in addition to having a new home base to explore, I’m also looking forward to being forced out of my linguistic comfort zone much more frequently. So, with those things in mind, we have chosen to move to…drumroll, please…Québec City!
Look how pretty!
The good news is this move doesn’t feel quite as tricky as past moves because we’re only crossing provincial borders, not international borders, so there’s infinitely less paperwork! Hooray! The bad news is we decided on March 1st as our move-in day, so we only have 50-odd days to make this happen. Oh, and it’s the dead of winter. Good thing I like a challenge!
You might be wondering why we chose Québec City instead of Montreal or pretty much any another city in Quebec since they’d all meet our very basic requirements of A) somewhere we’ve never lived before and B) French-speaking, and, honestly, you wouldn’t be alone in that. Just like when we chose Ottawa over Montreal or Toronto, people were a little confused, and well, I guess we’re doing it again. What can we say other than I think we must just be drawn to over-shadowed cities. Also, Québec City is even further north, so I’m hoping for even more snow and longer, colder winters! Who’s with me?!
On the Job Front
The next most common question we get after “Why QC?” is “What about your jobs?” Well, Tucker will be keeping his current job, just as a fully remote employee (again). He was actually hired as a remote employee back in 2023, but it just so happened that the umbrella company of the team that hired him had an office in Ottawa, which is how he became a “hybrid” employee in the first place. Anyway, since his entire team is remote (and spread quite far across the US and Canada), he doesn’t expect much of a difference for him aside from no more snowy commutes.
My job situation is a little less obvious at the moment. Duolingo is…going through…some…things right now, and they have not opted to renew my contract (at least not yet…but also, maybe never…?), so I’m in somewhat of a transitional phase. I’m not sure if I want to continue freelancing/working remotely or if when we move, I might want to teach in-person again. Honestly, I’m also playing around with the idea of applying for literally anything bilingual in an effort to improve my workplace French, so really, who knows what I’ll be doing this spring, but if you happen to know someone who needs a Quebec-based linguist/teacher/writer, do let me know!
Guess it’s time to update all the things…
What about Jenn?
Obviously, Jenn will be coming with us to Québec City, and I doubt the slight change in climate and scenery will matter much to her. She’s definitely got her snow legs now, and her much-loved heating pad will be making the journey with us as well, so no worries there. We’re also only looking at apartments that have balconies, entirely so she can sunbathe in the summer months. Plus, we have promised her that we’ll choose somewhere nearer the equator after Canada, so she can officially start her retirement somewhere warm and sunny (as she should).
Looking Ahead
Of course, where that next place might be is still a bit of a mystery, even for us. We’re planning on spending at least another two years in Canada, which will hopefully allow us to gain citizenship, enabling us to come and go as we please (without having to keep up with the paperwork). However, to complete this process, we’ll have to reside in the country for over three years, apply, take, and pass an exam and interview, and then wait a bit longer for everything to process. So, for now, we’re keeping track of the various deadlines, continuing to learn what it means to be Canadian-American, and just enjoying our time in the Great White North.
Actually, with all this time on our hands, we’re now toying around with the idea of buying property here, fixing it up, and then renting it out when we leave. Unfortunately, I have such a fear of commitment and strings that I’m really not sure we’ll go through with it, but we do love a good project and doing anything new, so stay tuned! We’ll most likely rent for at least six months to a year before we’d take that particular step, but if we do, I’m sure I’ll have a lot to share about the process!
Other Fun Things
We have plenty of other fun plans for 2025 as well! Tucker is going to be putting in more effort on his French now (he basically has no choice); we both dabbled in running a bit more last summer and are eager to start that up again when the temperatures rise a bit; and as a surprise to no one, we’ve got a plethora of trips planned for this year. Next month, we’re off to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories to hopefully see some more aurora and find out how much colder -40 feels. Then we’re looking at Newfoundland in the spring, Peru in July, Maine after that, and a family trip to Central America in the fall if we can swing it! And as always, our offer of hosting anyone who’s interested in visiting our home city is still good, so maybe we’ll see some of you in Québec City later this year!
Honestly, 2025 has a lot to live up to, but it’s off to a great start, and I can’t wait to see how it all shakes out! Happy New Year everyone!
Dani Francuz Rose 