JD1990

Hi everyone, hard to believe I'm now considering where to live! our budget with a mortgage is roughly $558k

my nursing registration (which has now been approved!!!!) restricts me to work in Ontario so our choices are so far...

Ottawa - big place but seems rather boring and very expensive housing wise
Barrie - smaller than Ottawa but good links to Ottawa and what seems to be more affordable housing but apparently very dead in the winter.
Orillia - only a suggestion from a friend but know very little about it

we need a good social life, we are a young couple with a dog, we love to ice skate (it is my partners profession) and needs to be close to a healthcare centre for my work. We love the cold so snow is no issue and would rather have defined seasons. we ideally want a detached or semi detached house with the budget above. I'd welcome any of your valuable insight.

many thanks

Josh

bats

Everywhere is dead in the winter.look at Peterborough and area then you would have a choice of places to work. Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg, Trenton, Campbellford. Of those towns I would chose Cobourg to live in. Neve Lindsay or Trenton. Cobourg also gives you the choice of a commute up the 401 to the GTA

Jimbo2012

Seconded in that Cobourg itself is a nice enough town, but commuting up the 401 to the GTA is a hideous prospect!

To the OP, of the places you listed, in my limited experience of either passing through or visiting them ...

Yes, but not "big" as in Toronto-big. And it does have more of a feel of a large provincial city than a capital if you are not downtown near all the federal buildings. Some proficiency in French would also be very useful if you lived here.

Only passed through here a few times, but seems inordinately busy in the summer i.e. thanks to Hwy 400 North. Doesn't seem like an especially attractive place to live, but others may have more insight.

Like Barrie, gets a lot of thoroughfare in summer with cottage traffic. But much smaller than Barrie, and perhaps more picturesque. A little more isolated though and might feel like a bit of an outpost in the winter season.

I imagine Orillia would be the more affordable of the 3 for housing.

PM me if Peterborough interests you. I have 10 years experience of living here, my wife works in healthcare, and I'll happily share the good and the not so good with you :-)
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baxterboy

I worked in Ottawa.
It is a nice place to live and raise a family.
And it has the the Rideau Canal for skating in winter - the world's largest skating rink

Lychee

If you're concerned Ottawa's boring, I'm not convinced Barrie or Orillia are going to solve your problems. Ottawa has more going on immediately nearby than either Barrie or Orillia, and it has Montreal a two-hour train ride if you want excitement.

What sort of lifestyle are you after? A good social life as in, visiting one another at your home, hosting dinner parties, or a bar scene, live music, a nightlife district.? Aside from nursing, what sort of community do you want to immerse yourself in? What values do you want your community to have? If you want a good social life, you'll want to befriend the locals, and ideally not feel alienated by them or resentful of their attitudes. Generally rural areas of Canada are more conservative socially/politically and intolerant of differences, and the bigger cities are more open-minded and tolerant of differences. Obviously this is a big generalization, however I find it's an afterthought most British expats fail to factor in - they're only looking at Canada through a house/job/affordability lens, not the social values lens, and then they move to a community that was clearly never going to be a fit from the social standpoint, and culture shock sets in and grinds them down and they move back home.

Another point, can you elaborate, what sort of leisure pursuits and shopping and restaurants do you want immediately accessible, other than ice skating? Most areas will have an ice rink to skate on, indoors and outdoors.

Do you need a mortgage right away? Why not rent to get a sense of a place first before committing.

jaminsk1

Have a look at Collingwood.

It's west of Orillia & is growing at a pretty fast rate. Blue Mountain is the main resort there (all year) but the town has grown quite quickly & since the pandemic, even more so - always seems to be plenty going on in the area.

MB-Realtor

This is the best advice, flexibility is your friend.

h0bn0b

In Ottawa you will need French. A good neighbour is a fully qualified nurse, highest rank in the Ontario system, 15 years experience in GTA. Moved to Ottawa and just couldn't get a job. Now she works as an epidemiologist for the government.

So unless you speak French, probably not Ottawa.