Asked a couple weeks ago, but didn't get much of a response, thought I'd try again.

I know a few generalities about the subject, though I can't vouch for the accuracy of said knowledge, but I'm interested to find some more in depth information on the topic whether through answers here or any good sources that can be recommended.

The first question is rather simple. Why the move south for so many in Quebec? I've been told about land shortages (seigneurity inheritance practices vs. primogeniture) but were there other factors? I can guess that with the industrial revolution blossoming in cities like Lowell and Woonsocket (a huge French-Canadian population to this day) that there may have been the draw of urban jobs, but I don't know that for certain.

The second question is what the general experience was like for an emigrant from Quebec. I've heard of name changes to sound more Anglo (ex. changing last names from Roy to King, Levesque to Bishop, my own family has a branch where the -eau was changed to -o). When I was growing up my parents told me that the reason some relatives spelled their names differently was because "a long long time ago Frenchies couldn't get jobs'. How much discrimination was there and how vicious could it be? How much of it was anti-Catholic vs. general anti-foreigner?

It might sound like it, but it's not a homework question. Mainly interested in emigration to New England, but I know that many left Quebec for other destinations south of the border as well.

tl;dr I was one of the hundreds of thousands who left Quebec for America in the 19th and early 20th century. Why did I leave and what was my life like once I settled in my new home?