GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

We are looking to sell our place come spring and move somewhere else because the cost of living in Calgary is too crazy. How do you people like living in Ottawa? I checked on MLS and house prices seem pretty reasonable. I'm not bilingual so how much will this hold me back? What are some new communities being built? Who are the home builders? Any other info you could provide would be appreciated.

Well I never lived in Ottawa but have been there many times. I'd say not being able to speak french is not going to become anything you'll find as an obstruction to living there. Now if you planned on moving to Quebec... that could unless you were only sticking to the english areas like Dorval MTL.

Quote, originally posted by shane_c »We are looking to sell our place come spring and move somewhere else because the cost of living in Calgary is too crazy. How do you people like living in Ottawa? I checked on MLS and house prices seem pretty reasonable. I'm not bilingual so how much will this hold me back? What are some new communities being built? Who are the home builders? Any other info you could provide would be appreciated.I moved here about 7 years ago from Kingston Ontario, so I'm definitely not bilingual. The only time that caused me a problem (and really only a minor one) is when I worked at Chapters on Rideau St and someone spoke to me in English and told me it was unacceptable that I couldn't serve them in French. My employer didn't seem to mind, only her who spoke perfectly good English to me. But anyway I digress... Homebuilders to stay away from... almost all of them unless the house was built pre-2000 when everthing boomed and people were buying real estate like mad, so home builders were putting them up like mad and cutting corners. My house is a Claridge house and its not too bad - built in 1998. Most new communities are either in Ottawa South or Orleans or out Kanata way. Stay away from the Avalon community in Orleans. I've heard they are sinking and now Minto has to float the houses on styrofoam. What the accuracy is in that I have no idea, but I have seen the giant styrofoam blocks outside the houses out there. I work with many people who live in Orleans (and we work downtown). The bus system is pretty darn good, with a transitway for buses only. So you can get from one end of the city to the other fairly easily. So how do I like living in Ottawa? You know I prefered Kingston to Ottawa for a long time, but Ottawa's not too bad. It kinda feels like a larger Kingston. The canal area is beautiful and the Christmas lights on Parliament Hill are amazing.

Oh and how could I forget the canal in the wintertime is the world's largest skating rink! And BEAVERTAILS.... SO YUMMY on the canal on a cold winter's day.

I was at the clock tower under the clock at parliment watching people skate on the canel... it was like -30 that day... wow... brrr. first time I ever experienced that cold of weather.

Quote, originally posted by shane_c »We are looking to sell our place come spring and move somewhere else because the cost of living in Calgary is too crazy. How do you people like living in Ottawa? I checked on MLS and house prices seem pretty reasonable. I'm not bilingual so how much will this hold me back? What are some new communities being built? Who are the home builders? Any other info you could provide would be appreciated.well, have you checked out the cost of living including what the pay for your job or industry is there too? i'm sure it's similar to the US where places that have lower housing costs also have lower pay. Like here, we pay more for housing or food items, yet we have little to no state taxes and are paid much higher (usually) than the rest of the US. the housing market is high, but not completely out of whack like in parts of California. Just make sure if you make such a move, you do all your research first, get a good paying job, then move... best of luck to you!

I lived in Ottawa for 42 years and now live 50 miles north in Quebec. If you really want to save a bundle on buying a new house, cross the river into Gatineau, Quebec. A house of the same size and quality will cost you about 30-35% less. The only drawback is your income taxes are higher in Quebec. I lived in the Alta Vista area most of my life. The homes were well built in the late fifties and early sixties for the most part. It is quiet and very convenient. Close easy access to the transitway and commuter routes. The houses have been shooting up in price quite quickly in the past ten years though. Our house which sold for $150,000 in 1996 is now worth about $250,000. It's a beautiful, clean city with great recreation close at hand. There are bike paths everywhere and Gatineau National Park is only 15 minutes away. Decent ski hills as close as 20 minutes, 3 rivers (Ottawa, Rideau, Gatineau) offer great fishing within the city limits. Being bilingual is not a problem unless you are looking for employment with the Federal Government, where it is a definite plus.

if you ever want to get into a high position in the government work you'd have to be billingual....its a pretty english town though...ive never had a problem when i go to visit friendswhat kind of work do you (and your wife?) do? thought about anywhere else in ontario to live?would gatineau be more english or french?from my experiences visiting montreal, i wouldnt really want to move to quebec unless i new some decent french.....my gf is from montreal and is acutally ESL, but visiting her parents in montreal and laval is always tough for me as i dont really speak much frenchbut now im moving to fredericton, nb, so i really want to learn more french

i've been to ottawa once in a school trip, was pretty fun, we didnt do much cuz i was only in grade 7 at the time, we did a cruise down the canal on some ferry

Quote, originally posted by thebarber »but now im moving to fredericton, nb, so i really want to learn more frenchThanks for all the replies. We've decided to pass on Ottawa. Our first choice is to go to Halifax since we're both from Nova Scotia. Other than that I'm not sure where we'd like to go. Maybe up north for some much needed peace and quiet. BTW, you'll love Fredericton. We lived there for 3.5 years before moving to Calgary and absolutely loved the place. Definately learn french though because it seems it was needed for almost any decent job. It really held me back there not being bilingual. I was sitting on 2 degrees and the only thing I could do was work in a call centre there. If it wasn't for the French thing there holding me back I'd move back there in a heartbeat. Great little city!

Heh - an old Ottawa thread back to life.I just wanted to lightheartedly vent about this winter we're having. I'm all for snow on the ground, and outdoor winter activities, but I think I've had enough! It's been snowy and below freezing all the time I've been around town since Christmas Eve, and I for one have had my annual winter fix. (And then some!)I've beached my car on frozen rutted ice parking downtown a couple of times, bottoming it out regularly going over/off packed/rutted ice, and got stuck once a few weeks ago on an unplowed residential street. Friendly, understanding pedestrians are always around to help, thankfully. :-)I'm also tired of the snow tires, and winter gas. / End rantBring on spring!

Wow do I hear you on this! They say this year is milder than normal and less snow but honestly I'm sick of it. I went to Jamaica last week and I think this made my longing for summer even worse. I really want to park my Rogue on the street so I can put the Leaf in the driveway and hand wash the darn thing! And the ploughs on this street are worse than normal... sometimes its taken 4 days to clear the street! Used to be they'd do it within 24 hours of snow! We don't drive the Leaf on snowy/icy days because its lack of snow tires, so we are driving the Rogue more than we really want to (although I have only put gas in twice since Christmas and the tank is still full from that second fill up).

I'm in Ottawa and it's the city of no fun. It's a great place if you want to raise a family, but that's it. Stay away from Quebexico. They won't like you and good luck getting your kids into an english school. Ottawa is very nice, but full of fuddy duds.