Gales (Online)  

it rains in pittsburgh
it rains in wales

we have so much in common.

i've decided to be welsh...

what's wrong with that?

How delightful of you.

No it had never occured to me... I was more interested in why you disagreed with it.

any special reason for the neg on my post..?

As for the cultural influence, it is definitely greater here than in the rest of America. However, Quebec did develop it's own culture that is distinct from France's: the film industry here is growing exponentially every year, a lot of very good local musicians are very successful, etc. More importantly, our culture is distinct from the rest of Canada (as anyone in the country will tell you; not only Quebec nationalists!) The rest of Canada resembles the US a lot more, and they don't really have anything setting them apart. Quebec produces great literature (I'll give you a few authors' names if you're interested!) and movies that are not US copycats. A lot more emphasis is put on culture here than in, let's say, the Prairies, and we are proud of it.
I don't know about next elections to be honest. They might be sooner than we expect them, with the huge student crisis that is going on right now; it's hard to see who will come on top. If the Parti Québécois did win, I don't think that a referendum would happen just now, as the economy isn't stable enough, and the movement needs to regain its lost momentum. However, I do strongly believe that Harper is a blessing is disguise for us, as he is showing on a day to day basis to Quebecers that their values and his are incompatible. The more dissatisfaction against him, the stronger the national feeling gets. I've actually had friends from Ontario tell me that if Quebec did become independent, they'd consider moving here! I don't think independence would be a viable option for us right now, but I think that considering the widening gap between us and Canada's conservatism, it might be something to look forward to in the future.

I hope that answers your question!

Thanks for the accommodation link! I'll look into it, although I am more leaning toward Oxford right now. Accommodation here varies greatly depending on the university. Most people coming to McGill stay in halls in first year, then move out. At UdeM and UQÀM there are a lot more local students, and many live in apartments from their first year. The halls at UdeM are, I am sorry to say, very bad: tiny rooms in tall towers, not the most friendly places. A lot of students live in shared houses right in front of campus, and that seems to me to be the best (and often cheaper) option.

No worries! I am glad I can be of some help!

Most international students are French from France, as they pay our home fees because of some sort of educational agreement between France and Quebec. There are a lot of Haitians, who also speak French, and some Belgians too. The others (Romanians, Greeks, etc) are likely to speak French too. I actually don't know a single international anglophone student studying at UdeM!
If you just tell people that you want to speak French, they'll be really happy and they won't answer you in English. It's really out of politeness and because we want to make the other feel at ease that we do that!

I have friends from New Brunswick and they speak what we call "franglish," a mix of both! People often joke and say that they can't speak either language properly. And you're right, their accent is really strong! It's a lovely place though, and people are incredibly friendly.

I am glad to hear that you're so interested, and I am sure that you won't be disappointed if you come here!!!

As for my own uni choice, I did visit both (spent my year abroad at Bristol!), and I liked both a lot. Can I ask you how you managed for accommodation at UCL? What I have seen is insanely expansive for quite low standards!

What a coincidence, I might be heading to UCL myself next year! I am debating between UCL and Oxford for postgrad in archaeology, it's so hard to choose!

UdeM is better than UQÀM in academic terms for sure. UQÀM is a lot less international, and its reputation isn't as good as UdeM. And it doesn't have a 'campus' per se, it spreads on a fairly large area and doesn't have the same community feel. UdeM campus isn't pretty in terms of buildings, but it is mostly self-contained and, as you say, it is near Mont Royal and Outremont, which is a lovely residential area. It might not be as clear-cut francophone only, but I think that in the long run it won't impact how much your French will improve.

Public transportation is cheap when you are downtown, the metro and buses are about $2.50 per ride if you're a student. You need to get an OPUS card, which is the equivalent of the oyster card in London; your uni will print out a slip for you proving that you're a student that you need to bring to the public transportation office (STM), and you'll get reduced fares.
If you're looking to travel out of Montreal a bit, the buses are definitely cheaper than the trains, and more convenient too. A student return ticket to Quebec city is $60, and it takes about 2 and a half hour. The cheapest option is Allô Stop, a company with which car drivers register, and then the company matches them with people needing rides. It's really safe, and very cheap.

If you're brave enough to explore more remote parts of the province, Gaspésie is gorgeous and worth seeing. The local accent isn't really easy to understand though, so it can be quite a challenge!

No problem!
If you are close to McGill or the business centre of town, you'll hear a mix of both. Around UdeM, however, you'll mostly hear French! In shops around the Plateau Mont Royal (where you're likely to hang out) it's also mostly French. As soon as you go a bit east, if you lived near Papineau or Rosemont for example, you wouldn't hear any English at all.
The events are pretty bilingual - the museums have signs predominantly in French, but there's always an English translation available, the movies are shown in both languages (French ones in French and in dubbed version, and vice versa for English ones), and there's a good mix of fanco and anglo artists performing in the city. In the summer, for example, the Jazz Fest is slightly more anglophone, but the Francofolies celebrates French music only. Montreal is really amazing when it comes to the cultural scene, there is a ton of music festivals every year, great film festivals, etc. Most things are available in both languages, you just have to make the right choice and go see a French movie instead of an English one!
If you want to make sure you don't hear a single word of English though, have you considered Quebec city? Laval University is pretty good, and having grown up there I can tell you that most people barely know how to order a meal in English!

As for McGill, I chose it for the same reasons you chose UdeM! I consistently got top marks in French at school, and I wanted to learn something different, so I went to CÉGEP (the equivalent of your A-levels or 6th form) in English to see if I could handle it. I absolutely love French (my family is francophone - none of them know English), but I felt like I needed to learn English if I wanted to work or live abroad eventually. And McGill is one of the best universities in Canada, so it only made sense to go there!