Originally Posted by pdarwin

Civilisation, culture and affordable housing yes, but where are these decent veggies in grocery stores of which you speak?

Originally Posted by bats

Ps good cheese is available in Peterborough

Originally Posted by dbd33

I'd be gobsmacked if there were to be good cheese at sensible prices in Peterborough. How much is a pound of French raclet?

Originally Posted by bats

Will find out next week. The shop is called Chasing the Cheese. They've been open a couple of years and have just moved to a larger place. Very good selection, they even get Stinking Bishop in at Christmas.

Chasing The Cheese :: Select Cheeses

Originally Posted by dbd33

There's a Quebec raclet cheese. I haven't seen it offered for ages but it was very good, I'd choose it ahead of the Swiss one. Maybe they'll have that.

Originally Posted by Jimbo2012

Hi Twink. You probably already know the basics from your own research and will obviously be aware that it's not really a like-for-like comparison, so the answer to your question will probably depend on your own family needs and lifestyles.

For my part, we've lived in Peterborough for almost 4 years and we like it here. In a nutshell, it's a fairly small city and, as you'd expect with that, it's fairly laid back, generally speaking.
People are almost always polite and friendly, the "rush hour" here is laughably tame compared to just about anywhere in the UK of any size.
It's close to "cottage country" and there are plenty of nice places to visit within a reasonably short drive.
Downtown Toronto/Pearson Airport can be reached within 2 hours (traffic pending, of course) if you like big city activities/international travel.

The downtown in Peterborough itself can seem a bit "sketchy" in places, and it does seem to have its share of problems in terms of things like substance abuse/panhandling etc, but I have to say I've never found it particularly threatening. It is also reasonably "arty" with something of a student/hippy vibe (there is a large student population here).
There are also some decent, independent restaurants - as well as the usual chains you'd find in any Canadian city.

Obviously it can never be as cosmopolitan as Toronto or indeed Ottawa, but I've met a surprising number of people here from all corners of the globe (mainly through sports activities), not to mention quite a few of the obligatory Brits!
There is another BE forum user who has lived in Ptbo longer than me. He may also be along to offer an opinion or two.

As for Ottawa, we've visited several times, and would have been quite happy to live there (or indeed Kingston) 4 years ago had any job offers been forthcoming, but we're not too unhappy at how things have turned out.
Winters are decidedly colder in Ottawa than Ptbo so I believe, not that it's particularly warm here between December and March though!

Anyway, that's just a broad outline. Please feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.

Originally Posted by christmasoompa

One thing that you might want to consider is where you're more likely to be granted the LMIA, as that could have a big impact. I don't know which location is likely to have had more applications for the job, and where the job is more in demand, but it's worth checking out.

Has the job actually been advertised in Ottawa? They can't try and get a LMIA for you to work in Ottawa if the job advert has said Peterborough.

So whilst it's about choosing the right location for your family, it would also be worth considering which location you'd be more likely to get the LMIA granted for. So many are being refused at the mo that you want to give yourself the biggest chance of being successful, and presumably the company want to as well as they won't want to waste $1000.