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I am pretty much in the same situation; except my husband will be working in Gatineau. We're not sure where we should buy a house. Our kids are young teens, so the Quebec daycare plan wouldn't apply to us.
We speak English mostly and some French. I want to be near good schools and shopping and be able to find myself a part-time job during the day.
I lived in Ottawa years ago and enjoyed it, although the cost of homes has risen (double what we paid for our present home).
Help!! Please give me any info. you can.
-all new neighbourhoods in gatineau have to have buried utilities
-standard lots in gatineau are premium lots in Ottawa 50 ft X 100 is the standard in Gatineau
-in Ottawa you pay for water usage in Gatineau its part of your taxes and is a flat rate an extra bill does not come
-you can get your gas when your at work if you work in ottawa-so thats null
--you can shop for groceries in ottawa if you think they are cheaper there which there is no difference in reality
-beer is cheaper in QC and way more readily available
-embrun, russell and rockland should also be considered as they have real estate price advantages over ottawa as well-while remaining in comfortable ON environs
-the transit switch is not easy you have to switch transit systems in dwntwn ottawa-ottawa transit is better
-bridge traffic is bad
-qc taxes are higher on income but with daycare of one child are null and void
Sounds as though you are using some of the advantages of Ottawa (cheaper gas, groceries) w/o having to pay for the costs of it (higher housing prices) by living there.
Due to the apparent larger lot sizes etc, I fear for the sprawl in the City of Gatineau (the part of Aylmer south of the Gatineau Park seems pretty wide open to future sprawl, plus areas of the former City of Gatineau). The QC side of the National Captial Region seems to appeal to francophones plus anglos/bi-lingual who want a city close by but none of the supposed 'evils' of a city. High density housing, integrated commercial/residential areas, don't seem to be a priority in the Outaouais these days.
I am pretty much in the same situation; except my husband will be working in Gatineau. We're not sure where we should buy a house. Our kids are young teens, so the Quebec daycare plan wouldn't apply to us.
We speak English mostly and some French. I want to be near good schools and shopping and be able to find myself a part-time job during the day.
I lived in Ottawa years ago and enjoyed it, although the cost of homes has risen (double what we paid for our present home).
Help!! Please give me any info. you can.
If you don't speak at least passable French you will likely have trouble finding a part-time job close to home if you are living in Gatineau.
Hi - thanks for all the info on the area. We are looking to possibly move to Ottawa / Gatineau. My wife is Canadian, speaks fluent french and our kids are going to a french immersion school here in New Zealand.
We want to live in Gattineau for the French and therefore will place our kids in a french speaking school. Kids ages will be 7 1/2, 6, and 5 1/2.
We want to know the best French speaking school there and also would like to know what areas to live, while not being too far from Ottawa City? I will most likely need to work in an English environment because of my lack of french and for career reasons. I would like to know:
* what areas would be the best for a French experience, so my language can improve and which would be considered great areas for kids
* what areas in Gattineau are considered as "undervalued" from a housing perspective and which are likely to grow considerably in value over the next few years,; i.e., growth areas which will benefit from infra-structure and what fringe rural areas are up-and-coming or areas closer to Ottawa?
Your help here would be much appreciated!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NYSinger
If you live on the Quebec side, you will pay income taxes for Quebec regardless of where you go to work, so you will not be able to access the health system of Ontario, unless you pay (I believe it is about $57 per walk-in clinic visit and the Quebec government may reimburse you). There is a big lack of doctors in Gatineau because they get paid more in Ottawa. For transportation, there is the STO bus system in Quebec and they have buses that go to Ottawa.
Aylmer is a very nice area and 40% of its population is anglophone. Hull is OK as well, just not in certain parts of the downtown area at night. The Gatineau sector is a little far from the bridges, as well as Buckingham. FWIW!
Hi! I also speak French and am part French Canadian.
I can't really tell you what are the best schools and which areas are growing, but I know that Aylmer is a very nice place to raise a family. It is close to Ottawa (about 15 minutes or so) while being close to lots of parks and nature. You're also more likely to hear English around you there than other arias of Gatineau, but you will still be able to practice your French as it is a very bilingual area. Ottawa is a bilingual city and you will need French if you want to work for the government. And you will get free French classes once you arrive with your permanent resident visa.
The Quebec Ministry of Education keeps statistics on its schools. Although it sounds a bit elitist, the reality is that schools in more affluent areas more often than not offer better learning environments.
Here are the links for the three French-language school boards that serve the Gatineau area:
Aylmer, as someone mentioned, is a pretty nice area. You will pick up a bit of French there, though not as much as you would if you went further east. Generally speaking, the further east you go in Gatineau, the more the % of English speakers drops. The percentage of French speakers in Gatineau ranges from 65 to 70% in Aylmer (west), and then rises progressively to above 90% as you move further east. In fact, most areas of Gatineau (except for older areas of Aylmer) are 80% French-speaking or more. Don’t let the names like Hull, Cantley and Buckingham fool you. These are predominantly French-speaking areas. The exception is Chelsea, a semi-rural exurban municipality due north of the city (along Autoroute 5), where the population is about evenly divided between francophones and anglophones.
We want to know the best French speaking school there and also would like to know what areas to live, while not being too far from Ottawa City? I will most likely need to work in an English environment because of my lack of french and for career reasons.
In spite of what many people say, even by Canadian standards most areas on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River are a relatively easy commute from central Ottawa, where most of the capital's jobs are. Downtown Ottawa is actually not in the centre of the municipality but rather at the northern end, on the river`s edge just across from Quebec. Though it may be a longer commute to the centre from Quebec than from inner city Ottawa, Ottawa the city is quite large and most of the suburban areas in Gatineau are much closer to central Ottawa than many parts of Ottawa itself. Of course, there is the issue of bridges, but generally speaking it’s not so bad, especially if you’re not going to work too ‘deep’ into suburban Ottawa. All areas of Gatineau (and even outlying municipalities like Chelsea, Cantley) have regular direct bus service into central Ottawa.
Gatineau is also set to begin construction on a new busway (called the Rapibus) in the eastern part of the city. This should alleviate some congestion in the eastern area, where commuters often have two rivers to cross (the Gatineau and then the Ottawa).
what areas would be the best for a French experience, so my language can improve and which would be considered great areas for kids
As you discuss this move with people from the Ottawa area, invariably some will point to so-called francophone areas on the Ontario side such as Orleans and Vanier, which are part of the city of Ottawa. (They may also strongly advise/warn you not to move to Quebec.) Now, my opinion is that if brushing up on your French is one of your goals, you won't learn hardly any French at all if you settle on the Ontario side. Granted, there are public French-language schools all over the place in Ottawa and your kids will maintain and even enhance their knowledge of the language. But as an adult, you will have relatively few opportunities to speak it unless you enroll in evening language classes. Once you exit the front door of your house, you'll almost always be speaking in English. Trust me.
Aside from that, well Vanier is an inner-city area relatively close to the centre. Historically it was a working-class French-Canadian neighbourhood but lately it has fallen on hard times and much of the traditional population has moved out and its French character has diminished. People say it's the next place that will become hip in Ottawa, but it's still waiting for the rejuvenation to happen.
Orleans is a booming suburb about 15-20 km east of the city. It used to be completely francophone but suburban housing developments have swamped the original population with newcomers. The population here is about one quarter to one third French speaking these days. It has excellent schools, shopping and recreational facilities, but is sorely lacking in good local jobs.
* what areas in Gattineau are considered as "undervalued" from a housing perspective and which are likely to grow considerably in value over the next few years,; i.e., growth areas which will benefit from infra-structure and what fringe rural areas are up-and-coming or areas closer to Ottawa?
The fastest-growing part of Gatineau is known as Le Plateau. If you want to look it up on a map it extends west from the intersection of Boulevard du Plateau and Boulevard St-Raymond. This is a massive suburban-style development. It is considered a very nice area to live, and its two elementary schools (Deux Ruisseaux and Du Plateau - I think) have very favourable rankings. It is only about 8 km from central Ottawa, and a new road leading directly towards central Gatineau and an existing bridge to Ottawa just opened last fall. It also has pretty good peak hour bus service and lots of big box shopping. I do find it is a bit lacking in infrastructure: for example it has no library, no public pools, no indoor ice rink (a big deal in Canada), and no high school for the French-speaking majority. And none are planned, as far as I know! (There is a new English language high school at the extreme far end of this area however.) It also has no places to eat a sit-down meal other than fast food places a la Subway, Tim Hortons, etc. One plus is that it is very close to Gatineau Park, a huge, fantastic recreation area with hundreds of km of cross-country ski trails in winter, mountain biking and hiking in summer. Some of the park`s hills actually tower over parts of the neighbourhood. On the other hand, no part of Gatineau is really that far from Gatineau Park.
But I wouldn`t call the Plateau underrated. It`s probably one of the most expensive places in Gatineau to buy a house.
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Moving from New Zealand to Gatineau
