Modern industrial cities in Canada can sometimes make it easy to forget our ties to history. As we’ve all experienced, modern skyscrapers, shopping centres, airports, and freeways can turn our cities into concrete jungles that lack individuality or a sense of deep cultural significance. With constant construction and demolition, it’s hard to imagine the way our settlements looked just a few decades ago, let alone a few hundred years.
So if you’re feeling the need to reconnect with one piece of our shared cultural heritage, remember that there’s still a place where the past meets the present in panoramic splendor. Make your next move to Quebec City, a place so redolent with the past that it’s listed as one of the CBC’s “seven wonders of Canada” and one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites!
Did you know that Quebec City’s ancient stone walls make it the only city in North America still boasting original fortifications? With The Quebec Citadel, Plains of Abraham, Notre-Dame and Holy Trinity Cathedrals, Museum of Civilization, Cartier-Brebeuf National Historic Site, Chateau Frontenac, Parliament Hill, and many more incredible and historical attractions within (or within walking distance) Old Quebec (made up of “Upper” and “Lower” Town), it’s no wonder that close to 5 million tourists visit the city each year. If the sound of cobblestone streets (dating back to the 1660s!), serene parks and trails along the St. Charles and St. Laurence Rivers, and dramatic changes in temperature and colours for all four seasons pique your interest, then you’ve definitely got to check out this remarkable gem in the heart of La Belle Provence.
As a medium-sized city (of just over 720,000 residents), it’s large enough to offer all the benefits of urban living without feeling overwhelmingly metropolitan. In fact, visitors and residents often report that living here means embracing a peaceful, relaxed, slower pace of life than in other urban centres. Some say it’s that old-world European quality meeting Canadian levelheadedness and courtesy; others thank the many parks, trails, and scenic riverside views, or opportunities to ski, hike, and cycle through nearby trails. Thankfully, the Quebec City housing and rental market is lower than in places of similar size and composition, meaning you’ll stay feeling peaceful without stressing about making rent!
If you’re looking for job opportunities, luckily Quebec has a lower unemployment rate than most other Canadian cities. Remember that tourism is always booming! If white-collar government, public service, and administrative gigs are more up your alley, Quebec City offers thousands of jobs as the provincial capital. Technology, telecommunications, health care, and the sciences are also major QC industries. Just remember that if you want to maximize your chances of success, you’ve got to commit to learning French! This is the centre of Francophone culture; nearly 95 percent of the population speaks French, but only 34 percent also speaks English. Time to dust off your cahiers et livres and get to work!
It’s time to embrace history and live in a place full of life and character! Our database boasts rental properties across all major neighbourhoods, such as Old Quebec, Montcalm, St. Roch, Saint-Sacrement, Sainte-Foy, Maizerets, Les Rivieres, and near Cap-Rouge. You can search for apartment rentals in Quebec by every rental size, from 1-bedroom and bachelors to 3-bedrooms and penthouses, while also narrowing things down to include only those apartments that might include on-site laundry, parking, management, security cameras, fitness facilities, pools, storage space, pet-friendly rooms, and so much more. Look for walk-scores, 3D floor maps, virtual tours, and landlord information — all ways to speed up your search and make finding the right home (or maisonnette) simple and straightforward!
