jaynie35uk

Hi Ya,

i'm a proud english women about to make the mistake of moving to Canada because my bloody husband is canadian!! LOL

Although I haven't the chance to see either London or Ottawa, Ontario, they do look like nice places according to the internet...and when we settle there, the choice at this time is between the both of them (unless I can talk him around to the quinte area which i actually did see and love! although that would depend on the career situation).

Anyone here have any experiences with either of the cities and like to share their thoughts? I'ld like to live in the outskirts, as i'm more of a country girl (just as long as i'm within earshot of the amenities of the cities lol)

ta,

jayne

Fluffy Boogie

Hello, Well, having visited and seen both places as a Canadian, I will say this: Ottawa is a much larger city - London much smaller. Ottawa is more of a metropol with a bit of European flair - London is more quaint and has great old English style houses and isn't far from the countryside and is located close to many universities. But so is Ottawa. Hmmm.... depends really. London is also great if you want to drive or take the train to Toronto or Niagra Falls or the US for the day as its more central (somewhat) - Ottawa is much more north and is closer to Quebec and great landscapes.

Hope this has helped a bit...
Leah

welshmountie

Not sure how much help I can be, but I used to live in Sarnia, Ontario. I now live in UK and thinking about moving back to Ontario, but not totally sure yet. However, I did spend some time in the Quinte area two years ago on hols and loved it too. I'd like to move to Prince Edward County for scenary and the fact that there seems to be a bit of Britishness there too.

Sarnia was not far from London. London is great in the sense it is a small city with all the benefits that go with it. It is in the Ontario snow belt which means it gets more snow than most. Very hot humid summers. Personally I prefer to be near large expanses of water. London being inland would not suit me even though it has lots of small inland lakes. I suspect that it would be good for jobs too though.

As for Ottawa. Many tell me that it is also, a great city. Even colder winters but nice hot yet less humid summers. Closer to Quebec and further from States. Advantages there from both sides. Can't really comment on Ottawa too much further, but it does have the attraction of being half way between most of the major Eastern Canadian cities. Also good for jobs.

Keep pushing for Quinte, I'd say, as a compromise.

Good luck.

jaynie35uk

Hi Ya,
Thanks for the information, now im in a dilhema !!!!!!, i sort of liked ottowa as it had quite a few rural places just a 20 minutes away of the city, but dont know the names so cant look them up on the internet, anyone know any place names>? either around the outskirts of ottowa or london? that would be so helpful in my ongoing quest to find a place as close to home as i can get, actually, the idea of moving so far from my family is quite daunting, as i see my mum and dad most days, although the move is about 6 yrs away, i get a panicky feeling when i think too long about it, but i have to go with my heart, and my heart is with my husband, also knowing others have been in the situation im going to be in is comforting... going to go to bed now, YES bed, we have 1 yr old twins Who get up at around 5.30am... i need my beauty sleep....lol

Taffia

Jesus, Taff (W/M) Here's me racking my few brains tryna come up for descriptions of the Quinte area.
Now i find out you've lived over here, & giving advice to others, about london, Ottawa et al. Feel right twp I do., with you probably knowing more about Ont. than I do
Just a minute. Sorry Boyo. I just realised you're one of these split personality guys, so half of you doesn't remember Canada, while the other hasn't a clue where he lives.
Once again. Genir pawb yn rhydd ac yn gydradd â'i gilydd mewn urddas a hawliau. Fe'u cynysgaeddir â rheswm a chydwybod, a dylai pawb ymddwyn y naill at y llall mewn ysbryd cymodlon.
Johnny

welshmountie

You may be right. Very confused. Lived there when very young, thus the many questions. Perhaps its a case of a little knowledge can be dangerous. All I'm seeking is what has changed since I was there. It would still be great to know more of Quinte as was only there on one week hol.

Only an english speaking Welsh guy fraid. You'll have to translate or do I wish to know?

iaink

What do you want to know? As far as descriptions go there are a few pics of my neighbourhood in the photopost area.

http://britishexpats.com/photopost/s...0&ppuser=16059

Ooops...I shouldnt highjack the Ottawa / London thread.

If it were me I would choose Ottawa..Capital city, so more jobs,more culture, museams, theater etc, but its also a lot colder in the winter. Would pick it for skating on the Rideau alone!

Tom Masters

Hi Jayne

Can't comment on Ottawa as I've only seen the inside of the airport!

We have lived in London since last April. We chose it as we didn't want to be in the GTA but still wanted a decent sized city for all the amenities/jobs etc. London is surrounded by farmland, but it is all flat - no rolling hills that I know about. I don't mind flat though.

There are various small communities on the outskirts. Property prices are reasonable so you get more for your money than places closer to Toronto. One of the main reasons I like London is that you are only an hour away from either Lake Huron or Lake Eerie. It takes us 45 mins to get to Grand Bend which is a touristy place by the lake. The best of all is that we don't get stuck in traffic on the way - it is all wide, country roads with hardly any traffic.

Let me know if there is anything else you want to know about the place and I will try to answer!

Chris

wizzard

One thing you might want to bear in mind with Ottawa is that being the capital and having a large amount of government and Canadian head office type work there is, as I understand, a large bias toward bi-lingual employment. So if your French isn't too hot you might have trouble getting a good job, or moving up into senior positions. I'm sure there are companies there that employ both English and French speakers but from what I have heard it helps a great deal if you are bi-lingual. I have been to Ottawa once for a couple of days when driving around a bit last summer but it rained a lot and apart from Parliament Hill and the museums and galleries I struggled to find anything really that interesting. My parents were with us visiting from the UK and they weren't too impressed, but that might be because we had just been to Toronto and Niagara Falls. Probably completely different if you live and work there, as with most places. Ottawa is a small city as far as Capitals go and has a repuation for closing down at about 9pm.
Can't say much about London as I've only been once for a wedding and didn't see much of it. It struck me as being fairly typical of the Southern Ontario town/cities I have been to, just on a slightly larger scale. Again good hub for employment as there are lots of other towns and cities near by. But with both London and Ottawa you cut out the GTA which is the main job market, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. Probably good if you like the country.

Drew

Taffia

You gotta be from S.Wales. Oh yeah,Swansea! We're not the greatest Welsh speakers, are we? I'm from Barry. But, I took the trouble to learn speed reading it. Translation follows:-

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Doesn't fit in with what we were discussing, but it sounds good especially in Welsh.
I should clarify one point.When I said speed read, it should have been speed copy. To be truthful, when anyone asks me to say something in Welsh, I usually say Amgueddfa (museum), as I used to pass it in Cardiff quite often.
In my lexicon,that one word can mean anything from a simple 'Good day', to
a spell cast by the Chief Druid. Just my way of spreading Welsh culture to the great unwashed.
By the way, I like London Ont. Even take a drive to Elmira,Mennonite Country.
Well it;s 1230hrs there, so I'll shut up now.
Nos da,
Johnny

JAJ

Also, federal government jobs normally require Canadian citizenship.


Jeremy

JAJ

If your husband hasn't got British citizenship he should consider applying for naturalisation as a British citizen before you leave the UK (if he's lived there for 3 years and has UK settled status).


Jeremy

jaynie35uk

Hi, wouldnt that complicate things for him getting me into his home country of canada though???

jaynie35uk

excuse my ignorance, but what is GTA????

kippa

Hi,
We are hoping to move to Perth which is about 1 hr from Ottawa, it's a lovely little town with a population of about 6000. It's very rural and has a real community spirit. We can't wait! If you want to know any more just ask. Oh by the way we loved Ottawa, it's quite small but seems to have loads happening.