A notebook that became a guide for anyone immigrating to Quebec
I am Marco, Brazilian, 50 years old, living in Montreal since 2018. This space exists to spare you some of the troubles I faced myself.
How the project started
Você no Quebec was born from a real notebook, full of things I was learning (sometimes the hard way) during my immigration process to the province. Health documents, social security, school registration for the kids, rent, driver's license: everything that no one tells you before boarding and that you only discover by living it. At some point, I realized that these notes had value for other people besides myself, and the blog became this: a place of public utility for anyone thinking about, planning, or already living this change.
Almost Canadians
We are an immigrant family like so many others you'll find around here: me, my wife Alice, and our twin daughters. "Almost Canadians" because, even after years of living in Montreal, there is always some cultural detail, a word in French, or a local habit that reminds us that adaptation never truly ends—it just gets more comfortable over time.
A few more chapters of this change
Back to the classroom
One of the most challenging (and unexpected) parts of immigration was going back to school as an adult: French classes, local certifications, understanding how the educational system works here for my own children. If you are in your home country wondering if you will "have to become a student again" to settle in Canada, the short answer is: probably yes, in one way or another, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Trading warmth for a glacier
I am from Northeast Brazil, so the change in climate was perhaps the most visceral transition of all. Trading 35°C heat for a -20°C winter with snow up to your knees is not an exaggeration, it is the reality of the first few months. Today, I already know how to layer clothes properly and I even find the silence of a snowstorm falling at night beautiful, but I won't pretend it was easy at the beginning.
Returning to the job market
Restarting a career in another country, in another language, with different job market rules was another chapter altogether. Today, I work as a webmaster and e-commerce specialist, but I got here after rebuilding my resume, network, and confidence practically from scratch. It is one of the topics that appears most on the blog precisely because I know, firsthand, the weight of this change.
Who this space is for
This space is for you, who sees Canada, and more specifically Quebec, as a real life project—whether you are still researching the first steps, in the middle of the immigration process, or already living here and needing to handle the day-to-day. I am not a lawyer or immigration consultant; I am someone who has gone through this and wants to save the next person some of the troubles I faced myself.
Explore the blog Marco Vasconcelos
I am 50 years old, Brazilian, and have been living in Montreal since 2018 with my wife Alice and our twin daughters. I am a webmaster and e-commerce specialist by trade, a cyclist in my spare time, and the family's "official landscape hunter". I speak Portuguese, English, and French. Besides Você no Quebec, I also run the travel blog and channel Vale a Pena Visitar?, where Alice and I document our adventures in Canada and around the world.
If this blog helped you in any way, or if you have a specific question about your own journey, I would be happy to hear from you. Just get in contact.