Hi,
We were planning to move to Toronto, but my wife is near to get a job in Ottawa, so I would like to have more information about that city.
How is the traffic in Ottawa like?
Is there free French immersion courses in Ottawa for immigrants?
Is it possible to move around the city without car? how good/bad is the public transport system?
Is there any advantage of living in the Quebec side instead of the Ontario size?

I am crossing my fingers that my wife will secure that job....
All comments will be welcome.

Thanks a lot.

Hi

We have just come back from a fact finding trip to Ottawa. We loved it, especially Byward Market area. It seemed to have lots of green spaces and lots of people were out jogging,cycling etc. You can be out in the country within 5 minutes of leaving the city. It didn't really have a big city feel at all. We have decided to move over in August and are really looking forward to it. We like the fact you can do kayaking on the rivers and lakes in the Summer and ski (within 40 minutes) during the winter. I have heard the winters are pretty cruel, so lets hope global warming keeps happening!

Apparently our Bed and breakfast host said that Saturdays are "learn a language for free" days, but we have yet to find out about that.

I think houses are a little cheaper on the Quebec side but I presume all the paperwork and schools are all French.

Hope this helps a bit.

Rachel

Plus you will pay Quebec tax rates (over 4k more tax than Ontario on an income of $70k), and there is a lovely 1% "welcome" tax on your first property purchase in Quebec too I believe. Nice!

Be careful what you wish for! I've heard the summers can already get pretty hot there.

Global warming is a disaster for the ski industry too!!

We're looking to go to Ottawa ourselves, probably in October/November of this year. I have some relatives in the area who we were quizzing last month while on a recce. They said that unless the bridges are out for some reason (accident, etc.) you can get anywhere in Ottawa (central) within 30 minutes. My cousin commutes from Orleans to downtown (and occasionally over to Quebec) by public transport, and says the links are great.

We were undecided between looking for jobs in the GTA or Ottawa (we're both in IT, me as a software tester, OH as a systems admin/network manager), and spent time in both. Personally, Ottawa just "felt" right...the GTA felt a bit soulless (particularly Mississauga, although we did like Guelph and Georgetown). Plus the idea of travelling on the 401 every day was not appealing...we've had to travel on the M6 every day for the last 3 years, and hate it!

Traffic in Ottawa is not bad at all - depending what you're comparing with, of course! Compared with Montréal and TO, there's no traffic at all here. The main reason of delays around where I live right now, is roadwork, but hopefully they'll finish that soon, and everything will be back to normal.
It is absolutely possible to move around without a car. People run and bike everywhere, and the bus system is good. There are bike lanes on a lot of roads, and an excellent path system where you can ride without worrying about cars.
As for living on the Quebec side...I wouldn't - mostly because it means you'd have to deal with French bureaucracy...
I haven't found a French immersion course here, but I'm not saying they don't exist, I might not have looked in the right places...

I moved to Ottawa from Norway 6 months ago, and I must say I absolutely love it here! As some others noted, it's got a smalltownfeel, and I really love how I can get in the car and be out in the woods in less than 30 minutes, for hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, biking or whatever I feel like doing. People here are really friendly and helpful, and there are lots of things to do in your spare time.

Welcome to Ottawa!

Thanks to everybody for the replies.
My wife received a call yesterday and has just secured the job... It has been one of the best news in my life
For my part, I am going to take a postgraduate degree. I have been admitted in both the Carleton University and the University of Ottawa . Now, I have to choose one of them.
My wife and I are Telecommunications Engineers, and we visited Ottawa and Toronto last year. Although, we spent only 2 days in Ottawa, we felt in love with the city since our taxi exited from the airport and we began to contemplate the red trees and the rivers.
I was very excited and I am more excited now after reading your posts.
Thanks again for your help.
Best regards,

I somehow doubt that there are free French immersion classes in Ottawa. There would be/could be if you were coming to Quebec.

Getting around by public transport is pretty easy. I do it all the time.

It is certainly much cheaper to buy a home on the Quebec side. However, personal taxes are also a lot higher than in Ontario. In my last tax return, I paid four times as much to the province as I did to the federal tax-grabber.

The general rule is that a couple, both working, with young children will be financially better off in Quebec than in Ontario (tax advantages and cheap daycare for kids).