ninaDGBCA

Out of your experience what's a nice rural area, with some shopping (independant,lcbo etc) around, maybe 10 mins drive. Or a Quickie in walking distance. Where houseprices are affordable. Got a 3 year old, an 18 months old and one due end Sept. I don't like Kanata or Barrhaven and found Carleton Place a bit rough and the beach quite dirty. Arnprior and Braeside are really nice but a very long commute esp. in winter. and we defo want some countryside and rural living. But don't fancy the 1.3M house lol
Cheers

TrishP

Depends on where your OH works and how much of a commute he's willing to put up with on a longer term basis. If he works in the west end or Kanata, out my way is a great area with a reasonable commute.If he works in the east, then I would look at the area just before you get to Rockland. Osgoode, to the south of the city is a nice small community with a good grocery store, post office, etc. and not a bad commute up Bank Street.

It all depends on your budget, how much of a city life you are wanting and the city amenities. If, like me, you're OK with just chilling at home in the evenings during the week, country livin' is where it's at. We generally tend to pick up groceries, attend appointment, etc. on the way home from work as we pass Kanata anyway, so it's no additional effort to commute. Our place has a small pool and woodland trail, so we find that all our city friends want to visit us!

It's worth just taking a day to drive around the outlying areas of the city and get a feel for what's there and see if it appeals to you both. Remember to add additional time to however long it takes to drive to account for increased traffic during the week for commuting.
If you want to check out Kinburn, c'mon over, bring swimming cossie!

OC123

Bilingualism is the necessity if you want a government job and there are plentiful gov. jobs. in ottawa. Ottawa is good place for french/english indeed.
Weather? forget your decision based on weather in this century... it is messed up everywhere. You may think you go to place with nice weather and for next 10 years it will be cold and rainy.
Winter is cold in ottawa and snowy, but unlike in europe everything seems to be working fine (roads, shops etc...). Summers are usually very hot. It used to be that spring and fall were nice, but that changed too.
I just came from western france, it was raining constantly for weeks and some days was 13 degrees during the day... I had literally buy warm clothes there... so don't make any long term decision on weather. It seems winter gets colder and summer warmer in some places and opposite in other.

TrishP

Take a look at Carp and outlying areas of Stittsville - be aware, though, that developers are still building in the area, so the lovely quiet country property you buy could end up one day in the middle of a very built up area! Best to buy property with acreage in order to maintain your peace and quiet, should that happen.

ninaDGBCA

Cheers Trish, I might take you up on that .
OH works near Vanier and Orleans-ish. So Osgood, Richmond, Winchester and Kemptville would be the better direction. But Winchester and Kemptville don't really grow on me. He'd be willing to commute about 1 hour and we'd like some land (1-2acres) and yes having a big garden with pool and playstructure is all we really need to chill.
My friend from Arnprior said that Kinburn was nice and it hasn't been on my list yet. She got the 2 acres and pool and everytime I am there I feel like moving in the basement lol and the kids just love it.
Stittsville is not rural enough esp. with the ongoing developement.

TrishP

If OH works in the east end, I wouldn't even look at Richmond or Kinburn as the commute will be long. Osgoode or thereabouts or Metcalfe would be a much better bet. Even the area between Orleans and Rockland (up Canaan Rd), nice properties with large lots, big enough for a pool

MillieF

Wow, I just wanted to say, as the OP, who's husband described Ottawa as 'magical' Thank you so much for these great posts! I am most assuredly heading there and the greater geographical areas, as they all sound great - maybe not 'magical' (he's a man, and a Canadian! he never quite knows what he means - plus the poor sod is married to me, so is doomed before he starts). I particularly like the idea of the linguistic mix as it might suit my family fine. I shall send him this link - many many thanks.

ninaDGBCA

Richmond would be 35 mins with OC Transpo to his work so it's fine. It's me that doesn't like Metcalf and Rockland and Orleans is too much city for us. Might have a look at Rockland tho I'd like to be more out. Everything near Kanata is ok as he could do the park and ride. That's how Kinburn came up. Yeah defo want the pool

TrishP

The park 'n' ride has certainly been a lifesaver for my OH, significantly cheaper to take the bus than drive and pay to park every day, never mind the long commute. Just announced this week about the new park 'n' ride with slip road onto the 417 for buses at Scotiabank Place, so we'll see if that's better. Good availability of routes from Eagleson, especially express buses, so maybe further west wouldn't be too bad for your hubbie.

I like where I am as the area is well settled - any more development in the area shouldn't affect us too much.

ninaDGBCA

You'd have to decide whether to stay in Ontario or go over to Outaouais/Quebec. http://www.tourismeoutaouais.com/en-...Outaouais.aspx
Generally houseprices are cheaper and it's more french. Like I said Aylmer is nice and parts of Hull. Healthcare is not as good as in Ontario and it's harder to find a doctor. But it's near the Provincial park and the areas around i.e. Chelsea are really nice.
If you'd go for Ottawa/Ontario then prob. Orleans, Cumberland and Rockland are more bilingual than the rest. Working for the governement or City will almost always require bilingualism.
As I said before people here seem less aproachable and it takes longer and more work to make friends but we all got there in the end. And for us it's worth it. I love the summer, can live with the winter and enjoy the proximity to the US and their cheap prices.
Good luck with your decision.

ninaDGBCA

That's what we thought. As long as it is not too far from Kanata, which Braeside unfortunatelly is. It'll be cheaper and quicker and thanks to the bus lanes and transit way not as much sitting in traffic jams. We should do a meet up some time again. Enjoy the long weekend