Top 5 Reasons NOT to Move to OTTAWA Ontario Canada

I'm an old man now, have lived here in Ottawa ever since I married a Canadian girl thirty years ago and retired from the military. Winters are hard and I love the cold winters and the hot summers. Keeps the insects down. Keeps the alligators away too. When I miss Texas too much it is only a short flight away. I love it here.

Ottawa is actually pretty nice A good balance of a small town and big city I wouldn't want to live in Toronto though, grew up there when I was younger and it was chaos and unaffordable. Nice place to visit though

I'm an Ottawa native. The "downtown" you present is where all the government buildings are. Not many live around there, so you can't expect it to be lively. Places such as the Byward market are much livelier, and can be quite packed on Weekends.

I've been dealing with snow and ice for over 30 years, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It'a a good balance. Just when summer is getting too hot and sweaty, the witch of Novemeber comes by to make me remember why I look forward to summer year after year. Lol.

I m from Brazil. I look forward on going to Ottawa as my best canadian friend lives there, and I d like to have an experience of living abroad again. I know that the extreme cold and the big snow falls can be tough on the long canadian winter, and I m not used to it, but I still think it can be a good experience. The high cost of the real estate there is also another issue, but lets see how it goes. If I dont make it, I can come back here. Living here in Brazil is ok for me, but there are times that we are willing to try something different. I look forward on going to Ottawa next year. I wont say moving because I m still not sure if I ll move there permanently

Spent 5 years in Montreal and then 25 year in Ottawa after immigrating to Canada. Finally we moved to the west coast for the retirement. Ottawa has a tough winter but it’s a great place for the kids to grow up. I miss those friendly people, nice sunny winter days after big snow storms. Lol

I was born and grew up in Ottawa ,,, I always had things to do , somewhere to go , and a lot of clubs and bars , and night-dancing's either in Ottawa or Aylmer ,Hull,, Gatineay ,,etc, like I said there is always somewhere to go , even skating , or excursions , cabin a sucre and hay rides ,, like I said ,, just check out your local papers or website for activities to do in Ottawa ,, even though it is cold during winter , just wear two layers of clothing , protect yourself and keep warm , and in the summer , heaps to do ,, camping or more places to hang out to ,, just check around and ask around ,, even though I've been away from Ottawa for a long time , I'm sure there is still heaps to do ,, it's not just about Government workers ,, there is a lot more than you see ,, anyway ,, Canada is big ,, and it's your choice what you want to do with your time , hang out indoors or hangout outdoors ,, just check it out ,,

I grew up in Ottawa and lived in several cities around the world… Montreal, Paris, Edinburgh, Bangkok, Hanoi… I miss it dearly. The quality of life is the best I’ve experienced so far. Great summer city. No restaurant closes at 6pm and are closed on weekends. That was my line of business and Ottawa restaurants do extremely well. Packed on weekends. So, that was completely inappropriate to say this.

Your remarks about the temperature: it’s now 2024. The last 3 winters have been mainly warm, with the real cold hitting between Jan-Feb. We just received a blast of snow Jan.2024. We had a green December. It all warms up in March. Therefore, recent winters last from Jan-mid-April.

As somebody who thinks that Ottawa looks like a nice place to live, I like hearing the views of somebody who would advise against it. I still think that it might be worth considering, as I've never gotten along well with hot weather. It's also good to hear a local perspective on what the public transit is like.

You have some points

I've lived and worked in Ottawa for 35 years, so here are some rebuttals. According to the 2016 Census, 20.1 per cent of the employed labour force in Ottawa-Gatineau work in the Public Administration sector. Tech is burgeoning but I was delighted and privileged to learn French as an Adult. Ottawa ranks a mere 7th as coldest capital, ditto for snow load. Ottawa is a family town, so go to Montreal for nightlife, as you suggested. Cost of living, including accommodations is better than most Canadian Capitals. If you want Victoria or Vancouver, remember the earthquake risk. Sorry to say, you could come across as a bit of a whiner. Suck it up and munch on a beavertail!

Entirely understandable that the weather got to you that much. Winter ruins my morale every year in South Carolina, and I'm a New Jersey escapee. SAD is a thing.

If youre watching this, and heard him mention people go to Halifax to look for more affordable housing PLEASE DON'T, things in Halifax are insane, rent prices getting closer and closer to Toronto prices, houses tripled their price, there are not enough places to rent for everyone which makes the prices skyrocket, on top of that, the government restrictions that were preventing landlords to raise their prices were gone in Dec 2023, things are going to get much worse now in 2024... There are already people living in tents in downtown because they can't afford rent, imagine how much worse this will get... Halifax was a nice and affordable place 5 years ago, it is ridiculously expensive, without offering jobs, healthcare, transportation, etc etc etc, do not come to this city.

Just a quick correction: Ulanbataar Mongolia is the world's coldest capital. Deserts can get incredibly cold during the winter.

I’m confused because the other city you mentioned get snow before Ottawa

It is still a clean and pretty city. And diversity is good.Two official languages we are fancy. Love it or leave it I guess.

Very true

I'm going to subscribe to your channel based on this video alone, lol.

Is it cold more than St John's NL?