Anyone in Ottawa?

[JollyTravels]

Hi there,

My family is making the move to Ottawa this year. We already have Visas, DH has a job with a Canadian company here in the UK and as part of his contract will emigrate to Ottawa this year to continue with that same company. We have visited Canada twice but have never been to Ottawa or within that vicinity, it’s been the opposite side; Alberta and Vancouver. We know a fair bit about the country itself and have obviously done our research etc in order to obtain our visas which we now have. We have also completed our IELTS which will contribute to our application for PR at some point in the not so distant future.
I would love to hear from anyone who has lived or does live there. Can you offer me any advice or helpful knowledge, do’s and dont’s. any areas we should avoid living. Also if anyone has any knowledge of the school system or has experienced the transition with their own DC’s from a British school to a Canadian one, i would love to hear how it was from a personal experience.
Basically any info you may have i would love to hear it, and if anyone needs a new friend who can bring them over some Twinings tea bags and British chocolate, come and talk to me! Haha.

[MrsZB]

Hi OP, we are moving to Toronto imminently so I will wave at you! Can't help with anything else yet I'm afraid.

[UKsounding]

Hi MrsZB
Welcome to Toronto! Bring your woollies as it is freezing-freezing-frozen-to-the-bone freezing atm, but it will soon be May. I live in the West End and happy to help if I can. Feel free to PM me if you need anything.

Hi OP
Sorry I can't help with Ottawa. Education curriculum, school board organisation etc. is pretty similar across the province so if you have any questions that aren't Ottawa specific I can try to answer them... Ottawa has the reputation of having a small-town feeling. It is a "company town" in the sense that a high proportion of people work for the federal government itself or a related organisation or the military. Beware that everyone knows everyone to some extent. We like visiting for the tourist stuff and find people more friendly to chat to than Toronto. Canadians generally are pretty friendly, on a superficial level though.

[MrsZB]

Hi UKSounding! I think you answered my threads before when we were deciding whether to move. It's all happened now and we are moving in around a month! I will pm you.

[JollyTravels]

Thanks for your replies. Good luck in Toronto MrsZB! How are you feeling about the move?

[Harvestmoonsobig]

Have family in Ottawa. They love it. Well educated, good social life, able to get around. It’s Canada - bone achingly cold. 😬

[MrsZB]

JT - I'm a bit stressed at the moment as it's gets closer to us leaving. But I'm ok. It's strange having to say goodbye to so many people but also I feel quite loved with goodbye meals and things! Which is nice.

I'm excited to get there and will also miss my folks. A real mix. Overall I'm glad we are doing it though.

[UKsounding]

Hi MrsZB

I replied - and it is pretty easy to fly back to the UK from Toronto in a day so it isn't goodbye forever...
You are arriving at a bad time of year as everything is going to appear very grey until the snow and associated debris gets cleared away in the spring. Hopefully novelty and a warm coat/hat/mittens will get you through and once we get past winter and everything turns green overnight you will love it!

[JollyTravels]

I can imagine how you feel as we have gone through similar feelings ourselves but agree with the overall positivity about the move! If it helps we have just visited in November just gone, although we were in Alberta, we wanted to go when it was getting colder although not as cold as it can be, so that we were not just viewing the country in the summer (when everywhere looks better!) we loved it! Despite the cold, it was sunny and dry and DC’s absolutely loved the snow!

[MrsZB]

Thanks both! Overall I am looking forward to it. Hoping it's not-22 by the time we come over!!!

[UKsounding]

MrsZB It could very easily be that cold into the middle of March. The unusual aspect is that it has been so cold since Christmas day.
It has come up to -9 this afternoon though so I left my coat at home when I went grocery shopping.

[MrsZB]

Wow! When it's so cold outside is it warm enough in your home? That's something I have been wondering about!

[Caprimulgus]

Hi, I've visited Ottawa a lot, not lived there.

It is lovely and a great place for families - manageable size, lots of green space, clean, easy to get around. It combines 'small town' provincial feel with capital city benefits - great museums, arts facilities and events. It could be viewed as a little bland and conformist - all those government employees - but from the pov of bringing up children, that's not a bad thing!

I've been told that Ottawa is the capital city with widest temperature range in the world - typically ranging from -30 to +35c (or even -40 to +40) in a year. It's temperature is not moderated by a water body in the way that Toronto's is. Yes, houses, shops and all buildings are kept really warm in winter. Fuel is cheap, insulation and building standards are good. Air conditioning in summer makes shops so cold you can feel you need a jumper - then step out into a wall of heat.

I'd recommend willingness to embrace winter sports. You might as well. You can skate on the canal - even skate-commute into town. There's good skiing less than an hour's drive into Quebec.

The grimmest time of year is the 'melt' when there's dirty slush everywhere, around March-April.

In summer, embrace lakes. It's much more usual for people to have holiday cottages (more, cheaper land) so you may get some weekend invitations, or can rent. Swimming, canoeing etc is lovely, plus lounging in the tranquility of course. If you feel active, you and the Toronto poster could meet for some canoe trekking and camping in Algonquin Park.

Autumn is beautiful, visit the Gatineau Park. It's great for cycling and walking too.

Schools, I don't know which is good but it will be linked to neighbourhood. Almost everyone goes to the local school, far fewer people are privately educated than here. There is the choice between French immersion or not. I'd go for it given suitable aged children as it's such a great way to learn but a personal choice.

[JAMMFYesPlease]

Not in Ottawa, but I can wave 8hrs West in Sarnia! Ontario is a beautiful province. We've been here for 18 months and not looking back. Just trying to decide if here will be our forever home or if well move a little closer to Torono or even Ottawa. I once looked at Peterborough!

Definitely embrace winter sports and have a good range of wardrobe throughout the year!