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I keep seeing Ottawa making top lists for being such a great city. Other than Government buildings and surrounding areas being kept clean and looking nice, why is this such a great city. From what I can tell it gets cold as F in the winter like many other cities so I'm a little confused at the draw. Really curious why people love it. Thanks
I keep seeing Ottawa making top lists for being such a great city. Other than Government buildings and surrounding areas being kept clean and looking nice, why is this such a great city. From what I can tell it gets cold as F in the winter like many other cities so I'm a little confused at the draw. Really curious why people love it. Thanks
It's got what a lot of people consider a good mix of big city amenities without most of the problems of a big city.
Just big enough, just small enough.
Also fairly well located within striking distance of Montreal, Toronto, Quebec City, New England, New York, lakes for cottages and swimming, ski hills, etc.
A nice clean city full of museums and festivals. It's a good, safe place to live for families. Nice bilingual culture as it is right next to Quebec. Very nice size too. Every city in Canada gets cold in the winter, so that's not a good point to make why the city is bad. It's very hard to find things to dislike about Ottawa. A lot of people say it is boring but I disagree with that too.
It's a very nice place for people who are raising kids--federal jobs pay well and have excellent benefits packages. Also, the schools are good, this includes the public schools for kids and the universities and colleges. Ottawa has the most highly educated population per capita in Canada--many gov't workers with graduate degrees and so on. Ottawa has quite a low crime rate, low unemployment, and there are lots of public recreation facilities that are close by. The national museums, plus outdoor recreation. We have music festivals like Bluesfest, a national hockey team and football team, etc.
Cottage country here is not very far away--generally up in Gatineau, but there are other areas in Eastern Ontario where people have cottages. It's multicultural (and quite bilingual), but fairly well-integrated. Housing is cheap compared to Toronto and Vancouver. You don't need to be a millionaire to have a detached house in Ottawa's suburbs. I'm going to add "walkable", if you live in the core of the city... lots of neighbourhoods with busy "main streets" full of cafes and boutiques and so on. Condo development in the core really took off over the past 15 years and is still going on.
Basically, Ottawa is a relatively affluent city, where most people have secure, high-paying gov't jobs. It's clean and safe. That might mean "dull" to some people. But crime, run-down housing, high unemployment, industrial filth, etc., are drawbacks that you will rarely see here.
What's the winters like in reality? I know it gets cold cause I believe people skate on the river like Winnipeg. Is there much to do compared to Toronto or more just suburbs and government jobs?
As someone who does not speak French whats the appeal of living next to Quebec?
What's the winters like in reality? I know it gets cold cause I believe people skate on the river like Winnipeg. Is there much to do compared to Toronto or more just suburbs and government jobs?
As someone who does not speak French whats the appeal of living next to Quebec?
Winters are cold, but there's not much wind. The snow falls lightly, but continuously. There aren't many blizzards compared to places closer to water (Toronto, the Maritimes). The coldest days of the winter would be around -30C.
There's not much to do compared to Toronto, no. Toronto's population is about 5x Ottawa's. No Raptors or Blue Jays or Drake... OTOH no Maple Leafs either...
Ottawa has some clubs and theatres downtown, around the Byward Market and in Little Italy and Chinatown. It isn't like Toronto's Theatre District or the clubs downtown there, though, by any means.
If you don't understand any French, that's too bad, it does help a little to be familiar with some Quebec culture... TV, movies, music, current events, etc. But it isn't a prerequisite for living in Ottawa. Gatineau has a very laid back atmosphere compared to Ottawa. Some nice restaurants and clubs. It used to be pretty racy compared to Ottawa, but that'd be 30 years ago or so, when I hear people being nostalgic about the old days.
Not all the French-speakers in Ottawa live over in Gatineau, though. The east end of Ottawa (Vanier, Orleans) has a lot of francophones. There are some predominantly English-speaking villages near Gatineau on the Quebec side, too (Wakefield). It's kind of a "hippie hollow" up that way.
You will hear a lot of French in Ottawa itself, so it helps to know french even if you just live in Ottawa. It may be easier to find work too, especially if you get a government job. But it isn't a requirement, just a nice-to-have. Ottawa has Winterlude in the winter, which is a very fun festival.
Winters are cold, but there's not much wind. The snow falls lightly, but continuously. There aren't many blizzards compared to places closer to water (Toronto, the Maritimes). The coldest days of the winter would be around -30C.
There's not much to do compared to Toronto, no. Toronto's population is about 5x Ottawa's. No Raptors or Blue Jays or Drake... OTOH no Maple Leafs either...
Ottawa has some clubs and theatres downtown, around the Byward Market and in Little Italy and Chinatown. It isn't like Toronto's Theatre District or the clubs downtown there, though, by any means.
If you don't understand any French, that's too bad, it does help a little to be familiar with some Quebec culture... TV, movies, music, current events, etc. But it isn't a prerequisite for living in Ottawa. Gatineau has a very laid back atmosphere compared to Ottawa. Some nice restaurants and clubs. It used to be pretty racy compared to Ottawa, but that'd be 30 years ago or so, when I hear people being nostalgic about the old days.
Not all the French-speakers in Ottawa live over in Gatineau, though. The east end of Ottawa (Vanier, Orleans) has a lot of francophones. There are some predominantly English-speaking villages near Gatineau on the Quebec side, too (Wakefield). It's kind of a "hippie hollow" up that way.
I agree with most of what you said, Ottawa2011, but have to disagree somewhat about the weather.
Coldest days of the winter tend to be bone chilling; -30 C is cold, but you really do have to factor in the wind chill, which can drop the temps down to the low -40's C. While -40 isn't a steady cold temp (yes, -30 would be more like a regular cold spell) we can get several days with wicked, wicked wind chills. And (I've found) that the snow falls erratically from year to year. Sometimes it's a steady light snowfall throughout the season; other times, we can get some major 'dumps'; storms that can leave one digging out for a couple of days. Compared to Toronto (where my son lives) Ottawa gets a LOT more snow, more blizzards, and a LOT more frigid days throughout the winter, in general.
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No Raptors or Blue Jays or Drake... OTOH no Maple Leafs either... 
