Might move to Ottawa need advise

[jackal2006]

Hello all,

I might relocate to Ottawa for one year. I have visited before but never lived there. I was wondering if some of you could give me any and all advise on life there. Things like where to live? What areas to avoid? How reliable is the public transit? I am functional in French does that help? Also what would be good ways to meet people as I will not know anyone.


Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[nobody123]

Frank magazine used to call Ottawa "the Town that Fun Forgot". Since it's the capital, it's got lots of civil servants and bureaucrats, so there is a huge "stuffy dullard" contingent. But it also means lots of good spas and SPs (all those politicians and foreign trade delegations wanna get some!). Some nice sidewalk pubs/restaurants on Elgin, good place for a summer evening. The canal in winter is a blast, even if you do not have skates. ummm, what else... Oh! Ottawa has almost as many stupid and counterproductive one way streets in and around downtown as Montreal, but fewer shit drivers. And we got a big Ikea, so you just KNOW we've made it.

 

[Gobroncosgo]

If you are staying in Ottawa for a year, a few differences with TOR:

-if you have a car then it's way easier to get around, you can rent in suburbs. If you rely on public transport though it's probably better to be in a central location. Smaller city by a mile but their bus system is also underdeveloped. Then you have to consider paying more to rent centrally if long transit commutes aren't your thing.
-Lots of great downtown restaurants & bars. Other areas to see are Glebe / OTT south (where the football stadium is), and Westboro/Edinborough areas.
-Main area to avoid - Far East end. Not much happens there for the young people scene, higher B&E, etc.



-SP wise the selection is a lot smaller. Agencies are down to 1 reliable one. Indy SP are where you need to look. On the plus side the price is cheaper than TO.
-One thing you need to plan while in OTT - visits to MTL. Via ticket costs 70 round trip if you book early, 1.5-2h trip depending where you go. SP Mecca.

 

[Anynym]

The "snooty" neighbourhood would be Rockliffe Park.
Nice areas to live include The Glebe and Westboro.
The suburbs tend to be very livable, and a reasonable commute to downtown by bus for most areas.
French folks tend to live in Orleans (eastern suburbs). High tech is more concentrated in the western suburbs (Kanata). Barrhaven is more of a family community. All three see a large migration in commuters to downtown.

There are a number of bars along Elgin Street, in the Byward Market, in the Glebe (towards the renovated Lansdowne Park - our RedBlacks CFL team did very well last year), and into Wellington West / Westboro, with all areas of the city having some local nightlife. Hockey fans might want to choose a location where it's easier to get to the arena, which is in Kanata (there are special game-day buses, but they're packed).

There are a number of seedier areas of the city, too, but you should be able to recognize whether you're looking at a dive. Vanier comes to mind (although you can be fine just across a street).

If you have something more specific to ask about, feel free to do so.