Four years ago, I moved to Montreal, Quebec, without a job to land in. I gravely underestimated how important true bilingualism was in finding employment as a

Four years ago, I moved to Montreal, Quebec, without a job to land in. I gravely underestimated how important true bilingualism was in finding employment as a software developer. After a number of interviews where I was told, in as many words (or sometimes in not so many), that they would always give the job to a bilingual candidate over an English-only speaker, I took some time off from the traditional job search. During this time I played poker to sustain myself and support my girlfriend as she started her own business. I moved in with my Quebecois girlfriend and her six year old son. I worked in carpentry for 6 months, completely immersed in a French/Italian speaking environment. It was exhausting (I had a 90 minute commute each way and a 12 hour workday), I was working for a pittance (< $10/hour), I was broke and discouraged. I eventually landed some independent development work and quit construction. 12 months later I landed in a very stable situation. Without a savings safety net, I couldn't see myself doing that again. But I came out of it alright, learned a lot, and oddly enough, loved the perspective that working manual labour brought me.