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Ottawa: A good place to live?

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Entropia

No One Remembers
Hello GAF!

I am thinking of moving to Ottawa in the near future. Tell me about it. How's the cost of living(housing, groceries)? How's the night life? What's the job market like(I'm looking for tech. job, and I hear there are a lot of those there)? Tell me what neighbourhoods are good and bad? Is public transit any good there?
 
Don't live near the experimental farm. That area is full of drug dealers. Unless you know, you like drugs.

Nightlife is pretty decent, plenty of pubs and stuff to goto to (just got back from one!). The byward market is pretty much the place to be. Theres usually a lot going on around town, festivals, concerts etc.. Food is pretty great here too. It really feels like a hybrid between a big city and a suburb.

Transit is in many ways excellent, but in some ways pretty terrible.

Don't know anything about jobs however.

Ive only been here like six months so far tho.
 
I lived in Ottawa a few years ago. Public transit is great and usually on time - they solve the problem of not having a real rail system by basically having a highway system that is exclusively for buses. You can get to the train station/airport very easily and the bus station mostly easily.

I lived in the south end, near Carleton University and found it a nice neighbourhood to live. Nothing was close, but the bus solved that for the most part and you get basically find anything you need within one 10-15 minute bus ride away.

No idea about the job market though. I assume that all the tech companies are mostly government contractors? There was Corel and Nortel, but they're dead, aren't they?

I'm too much of a stooge for the nightlife, but culturally there's a lot going on. Not as busy as Toronto, of course, but there are still plays and ballets and whatnot that you can go to, not to mention the rotating exhibits at the National Gallery.
 
firehawk12 said:
No idea about the job market though. I assume that all the tech companies are mostly government contractors? There was Corel and Nortel, but they're dead, aren't they?
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IBM and Adobe are pretty big here.

Public transit is great and usually on time
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This is SOOO not true in my opinion.
 
been here nigh 20 years. it's in many ways a medium sized city. you got lots of good restaurants and bars, but you can pretty quickly exhaust them if you go out constnatly.

it's also a fairly quiet place due to the large number of federal employees :lol :lol

one benefit of that workforce though is that the economy is very stable.

ask more specific questions, i'll try my best to answer them.
 
Uh, that is in CANADA!!!! Socialism!!!! ( Yeah, it really does seem better than the US.) I wish I could get an interview....bleh.
 
Divvy said:
IBM and Adobe are pretty big here.
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Yeah, but I imagine the smaller companies would be the ones hiring now anyway?

This is SOOO not true in my opinion.
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Maybe it's gone downhill after I left, but when I was there, I printed out the schedules from their website and they always worked out for me.
 
been here pretty much my whole life. it's not a big party town but there is a club scene, but i'm too old for that anyways. it's a great place to live, and if you know french it's even better since there's tons of jobs for you.
 
I work as a Java Developer for the Canada Revenue Agency. :|

Not sure how easy it is to find a job atm...all of the government hirings are term hirings right now. If you want to be a contractor, the government sources through CGI.

Divvy said:
This is SOOO not true in my opinion.
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It's definitely true for my route. I take the 106 Hurdman at the Rehab center and it's there, every morning, at 8:42. Maybe if you're one of those poor saps that has to take the 95. :P
 
Thai said:
been here nigh 20 years. it's in many ways a medium sized city. you got lots of good restaurants and bars, but you can pretty quickly exhaust them if you go out constnatly.

it's also a fairly quiet place due to the large number of federal employees :lol :lol

one benefit of that workforce though is that the economy is very stable.

ask more specific questions, i'll try my best to answer them.
Click to expand...

What's the housing situation like? I'll be renting to start, obviously. What's the average rent for a single bedroom apartment?

Is it easy to get around with transit? I used to live in Calgary the past 4 years, and it prevented me from doing a lot due to how abysmal it was.

Job wise: I am looking to get into a tech/customer support role (I am not bilingual though!). My last job of 4 years was doing that for an e-Commerce solution provider(basically users built an e-Commerce storefront site using our system), and I want to work my way into a User Experience role.

Thanks for the info so far guys!
 
I hate the freaking buses. The 8 bus is always late and never comes on time. Tech jobs should be good in here. When I was in my coop session they said software engineering type of jobs are easy to find, but not hardware ones. So I think you should be fine.

Oh and know French. You will need it.
 
So Ottawa folks...where's everyone live? I'm near Alta-Vista / Industrial (close to the General Hospital and Hurdman).

Entropia said:
What's the housing situation like? I'll be renting to start, obviously. What's the average rent for a single bedroom apartment?

Is it easy to get around with transit? I used to live in Calgary the past 4 years, and it prevented me from doing a lot due to how abysmal it was.

Job wise: I am looking to get into a tech/customer support role (I am not bilingual though!). My last job of 4 years was doing that for an e-Commerce solution provider(basically users built an e-Commerce storefront site using our system), and I want to work my way into a User Experience role.

Thanks for the info so far guys!
Click to expand...

I don't think it's too bad. I have a bunch of friends that worked at Cognos as business tech support. Not sure how heavy they're hiring right now, but it's probably none of my graduating friends have really had any trouble finding jobs.

As for the housing situation...a friend of mine is renting a 1 bedroom apartment (in good condition) for $900/mo, with utilities paid. He's renting pretty close to downdown though (Bronson).
 
Been living here for 13 years. Doing my assignment now so Im just gonna go quick. Cost of living is cheap (can get a decent size house for a very good price), loads of tech jobs here (RIM, IBM, Adobe, ATI, government etc.), pretty much every neighborhood is good except for some areas around Vanier. But yea Barrhaven, Orleans, Kanata, Nepean etc. are all safe. Crime here doesnt really happen too often to be honest :P Nightlife is decent. It can get a little played out after you end up doing the same thing over and over. More variety would be nice. I think the city badly needs a real train system but the bus is pretty good. I hate taking the bus though. It can get really cold here.
 
Busing is totally fine if you are on a major route. Public transportation is actually pretty damn amazing here when I compare it to my time in Montreal. Other than the strikes and a few missed busses, I've never had a problem. People are friendly, and more importantly, they don't stink!

Still bugs me that the 96 to Kanata is always packed though. I've taken to busing to Hurdman from Carleton just so I can get a seat for the long-ass ride during rush hours.

I've only been in Kanata for 4 years now, but its a super safe place. I barely ever hear a sound coming from the outdoors at night. It's a suburb that pretty much has an unspoken 10 o'clock curfew.
 
firehawk12 said:
Maybe it's gone downhill after I left, but when I was there, I printed out the schedules from their website and they always worked out for me.
Click to expand...

Sometimes a bus just won`t come at all. Which sucks so much late at night when they only come once per hour.

TheExodu5 said:
So Ottawa folks...where's everyone live? I'm near Alta-Vista / Industrial (close to the General Hospital and Hurdman).
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I`m pretty close to you. I live across from Elmvale mall.

Entropia said:
What's the housing situation like?
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Pretty easy to find a decently priced place.

Though beware, there is a massive bedbug epidemic sweeping through the city. We just found an infestation in our place last weekend. Luckily our building managers are on top of it and we`re getting sprayed at the end of the week.
 
The only bad areas nearby I can think of are Russel Rd. and the Minto complexes off Heron Rd. And when I say bad areas, I just mean low income housing. I haven't heard of much crime in a while.

Divvy said:
I`m pretty close to you. I live across from Elmvale mall.
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Nice! Just an 86 away!
 
TheExodu5 said:
So Ottawa folks...where's everyone live? I'm near Alta-Vista / Industrial (close to the General Hospital and Hurdman).
Click to expand...

Westboro here. Takes me 5 minutes to get to work (I work at the Public Health Agency).

TheExodu5 said:
The only bad areas nearby I can think of are Russel Rd. and the Minto complexes off Heron Rd. And when I say bad areas, I just mean low income housing. I haven't heard of much crime in a while.
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Also, Bayshore area and south of the highway on Kirkwood/Merivale (which is pretty much experimental farm as mentioned in another post).
 
The only trouble with buses I had was... I think it was the 117 or whatever. It was a local bus that went to Carleton. The problem is that it would stop at 6pm, which makes absolutely no sense considering people have night classes.

By the time I figured out how to walk the canal, I already finished that night class so it didn't matter. :lol

I guess if you live off the beaten path, it'd be a pain... but I mostly stuck to the major routes - even when I ran across Ottawa tracking down Rogers Videos during their insane game deals back in 05/06. :lol
 
Oh, is there any social sports clubs like Calgary has? Figure that'd be a great way to meet people once I get out there.
 
TheExodu5 said:
So Ottawa folks...where's everyone live? I'm near Alta-Vista / Industrial (close to the General Hospital and Hurdman).
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I live right beside the Heron Gate mall. It's pretty awesome that I only need to take the 8 to get to university.
 
I live in Barrhaven. Getting to Carleton is a pain in the dick unless you drive to Fallowfield and get the express to Bayview. Or you can just drive there and hope that theres no traffic on prince of wales (probably one of the shittiest roads in the city in the morning)
 
Buba Big Guns said:
I live in Barrhaven. Getting to Carleton is a pain in the dick unless you drive to Fallowfield and get the express to Bayview. Or you can just drive there and hope that theres no traffic on prince of wales (probably one of the shittiest roads in the city in the morning)
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Prince of Wales and Hunt Club = Fuckin Hell
 
Buba Big Guns said:
I live in Barrhaven. Getting to Carleton is a pain in the dick unless you drive to Fallowfield and get the express to Bayview. Or you can just drive there and hope that theres no traffic on prince of wales (probably one of the shittiest roads in the city in the morning)
Click to expand...

I drove to Carleton from Barrhaven for 4 years man. At its worst, it was almost an hour each way. :lol To put that in perspective for anyone else - with minimal traffic it should be a 15 minute drive.
 
Dear Ottawans,

I just came back from a trip to O-Town. You folks have a cool city. Except for the gunfight that woke me up at 2AM. (On the Thursday of Remembrance Day? Really dudes?) Your transit system smells better than mine, too. I find it funny when people start speaking French in front of tourists because they think this tourist doesn't understand French. I know when you're calling me a doofus. I also know that sleeping with your best friend's boyfriend is a no-no, in any language. But it's all good, your market is cool and I like your Irish Quarter of pubs. And that everywhere I went, Strongbow was on tap.

But I'm not sure I could work in a city where basically everyone works for the government. Even though I want to work for the government.

Oh, and that War Museum? Ah-May-Zing.

Sincerely,

Torontonian.
 
Entropia said:
Hello GAF!

I am thinking of moving to Ottawa in the near future. Tell me about it. How's the cost of living(housing, groceries)? How's the night life? What's the job market like(I'm looking for tech. job, and I hear there are a lot of those there)? Tell me what neighbourhoods are good and bad? Is public transit any good there?
Click to expand...

Cost of living isn't too bad. Depending on the type of housing you want and location, you can get a bachelor apartment for $650. Night life is not bad, but commuting home is always a pain if you're relying on transit. For a tech job, you likely won't be downtown I reckon.

Good neighbourhoods: Glebe, Westboro, Centrepointe. Avoid Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven, Riverside South, especially if you'll be relying on transit. They're way too far.
 
Draff said:
Cost of living isn't too bad. Depending on the type of housing you want and location, you can get a bachelor apartment for $650. Night life is not bad, but commuting home is always a pain if you're relying on transit. For a tech job, you likely won't be downtown I reckon.

Good neighbourhoods: Glebe, Westboro, Centrepointe. Avoid Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven, Riverside South, especially if you'll be relying on transit. They're way too far.
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A lot of the tech companies are near Riverside South though.
 
TheExodu5 said:
So Ottawa folks...where's everyone live? I'm near Alta-Vista / Industrial (close to the General Hospital and Hurdman).



I don't think it's too bad. I have a bunch of friends that worked at Cognos as business tech support. Not sure how heavy they're hiring right now, but it's probably none of my graduating friends have really had any trouble finding jobs.

As for the housing situation...a friend of mine is renting a 1 bedroom apartment (in good condition) for $900/mo, with utilities paid. He's renting pretty close to downdown though (Bronson).
Click to expand...



I live right now in south keys, but in 3 weeks i'm moving to york street! months of planningn to finally get a place in the market =D

as for housing prices, i think ottawa is very expensive. 300 000$ if you want anything within the city. personally, i find there's a serious lack of reasonably priced starter homes. rent is decent though, especially if you want to live on the elgin strip, that's amazing location + very good rent prices.
 
TheQueen'sOwn said:
I drove to Carleton from Barrhaven for 4 years man. At its worst, it was almost an hour each way. :lol To put that in perspective for anyone else - with minimal traffic it should be a 15 minute drive.
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Yea it takes exactly 15 minutes from my house to drive to Carleton with normal traffic. Pretty much never go to anymore morning classes thanks to this shitty ass road (also laziness). Really shitty especially when your in engineering :lol


Lyphen said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrhaven_Centre_Station_(OC_Transpo)

When will Kanata get it's train? :<
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Jizzed my pants when this was about to be built.
600px-O-Train_Abandoned_Expansion_Plans_Map.svg.png


Seriously, fuck John Baird.
 
Draff said:
Good neighbourhoods: Glebe, Westboro, Centrepointe. Avoid Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven, Riverside South, especially if you'll be relying on transit. They're way too far.
Click to expand...



we have a few up and coming neighbourhoods in the west end of the city... centertown, wellington west village, mechanicsville. centertown is going to be amazing in a couple of years.
 
For me the 97 is usually late or absent once or twice every two weeks.

I live in the Britannia area.

Also...more like Farhaven amirite?
 
Lots of festivals and things to do.

For a stuffy government town, it's got a lot of personality.

I miss it. :(
 
Thanks for the tips so far everyone. I'll be visiting there early December so I'll be able to get a first hand feel for it. Moving will come a bit later though. :D
 
Personally, I'd never move to Ottawa. To me it's a very bland, boring, bureaucratic city.

People are generally very nice. Restaurants are decent, but nothing spectacular. Night life? Forget it, it sucks. I should mention that I'm from Montreal though, so that might play a part in my opinion of the city's night life.

I can't really comment on job market, but from what I've heard you shouldn't have too many problems finding something decent.
 
What's an exciting night life supposed to be? More clubs? :|

It's all the same shit.

My main complaint about Ottawa would be that the shopping isn't so great.
 
TheExodu5 said:
What's an exciting night life supposed to be? More clubs? :|

It's all the same shit.

My main complaint about Ottawa would be that the shopping isn't so great.
Click to expand...


As long as the city doesn't die at 9PM, there's an area where all the popular bar/clubs/pubs/etc are.

Basically - there's choice in where I can go on Friday night for a good time. It doesn't necessarily have to be clubs. I'm not much of a clubber, I prefer pubs or karaoke bars lol
 
prelude514 said:
Personally, I'd never move to Ottawa. To me it's a very bland, boring, bureaucratic city.

People are generally very nice. Restaurants are decent, but nothing spectacular. Night life? Forget it, it sucks. I should mention that I'm from Montreal though, so that might play a part in my opinion of the city's night life.

I can't really comment on job market, but from what I've heard you shouldn't have too many problems finding something decent.
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Ditto.
 
Entropia said:
As long as the city doesn't die at 9PM, there's an area where all the popular bar/clubs/pubs/etc are.

Basically - there's choice in where I can go on Friday night for a good time. It doesn't necessarily have to be clubs. I'm not much of a clubber, I prefer pubs or karaoke bars lol
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Uh...down-town? There's like 2 dozen bars and clubs within walking distance of each other.
 
Lard said:
Lots of festivals and things to do.

For a stuffy government town, it's got a lot of personality.

I miss it. :(
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Yeah. I mean, if you just want to get wasted and grind against girls, I suppose there are better places to be. It just depends on how you like to spend your time I guess.
 
Montreal somehow manages to have a worse road system than Ottawa.

Can't say I'd mind working at the new THQ dev studio though. :)
 
Vanier here (ugh, I know... don't make fun, im moving at the end of the month). Pretty good city, i'm originally from toronto but likely am staying after school.

And Ottawa has a rep as being boring... but it's mostly just a rep. It suffers in comparison to Montreal and Toronto because they're so close, but it's not nearly as big as either, so of course the nightlife isn't gonna be diverse. But there's still tons of bars, restaurants and clubs. Yeah, it's a government town, but it's also a college town, and even government workers liek to let off steam (and they have money!).
 
TheExodu5 said:
What's an exciting night life supposed to be? More clubs? :|

It's all the same shit.

My main complaint about Ottawa would be that the shopping isn't so great.
Click to expand...


I'm just talking about the general atmosphere of the city.. It's just not happening.

And for the record, I'm a bar type of guy. Can't stand clubs anymore.
 
TheExodu5 said:
What's an exciting night life supposed to be? More clubs? :|

It's all the same shit.

My main complaint about Ottawa would be that the shopping isn't so great.
Click to expand...

R.I.P. Record Runner :(
 
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