Living in Ottawa
 

Hi everybody,

Am looking forward to moving to Ontario in the coming months. Have seriously considered living and working in Toronto, but of late, I have been reading about Ottawa too. Which do you think is a better city in terms of employment opportunities and cost of living? Or, what features - including jobs, house rents, environment, weather, people - would outweigh one city over the other?

Thanks for all the help.

- KK.

Re: Living in Ottawa
 

As someone that has lived and worked in Ottawa for over 40 years I suppose I'm biased.
Having said that, the two cities are not comparable in size. Ottawa has about 1 million.
The cost of living is slightly less than Toronto.
Employment is similar to Toronto, except Ottawa has a larger civil service.
We do have a slightly colder winter.
I do like the fact that we are 2 hours drive from the most vibrant city in Canada, Montreal. Our daughter lives there.
I have been retired for 10 years and couldn't think of living anywhere else. The UK is a distant memory, last went back for a short visit ( 1 week) in 1982. I'm 100% Canadian.

Re: Living in Ottawa
 

I moved back from Ottawa to the UK a few months ago. Quite enjoyed my time there (apart from the last few months of unemployment). The cost of living is higher in Toronto, but there's a lot more things to do...a bit of a trade off I suppose. Depending on the type of person you are you may find Ottawa a bit restricting...a personal thing I guess. Ottawa has a reputation for being a friendlier city (at least among people who live in Ottawa;) ) but I never noticed much difference. In terms of employment...well I'm biased becasue I spent a few months umemployed there, but I think you may find the employment scene generally in canada not quite as strong as in the UK.
Incidentally I'm very happy back in the UK and have no intention of going back to Ottawa/canada.

Re: Living in Ottawa
 

hmm... well I am from toronto..

I guess it boils down to.. do you want the big city or medium city?

both are great..

and montreal is only 5 hours from here.. he he..

we have an international airport.. weeeeeeeeeeeee

tough call.

Re: Living in Ottawa
 

Ottawa to has an International Airport. ( Has US customs) And it doesn't involve long line ups. The new airport was opened a month ago. Direct flights daily to the UK and most major US cities.

Re: Living in Ottawa
 

wow, I obviously didnt know that.. thanks