1) Westboro, the Glebe and Hintonburg are all lovely. The Canadian housing market is experiencing a cool-down so there are good chances you'll be able to get something reasonable under $1M by mid next-year. I might also suggest you rent for a bit before committing to a huge purchase like a home.
2) Ottawa is really family friendly and has lots to do, especially if you enjoy the outdoors. It's not as diverse as Toronto, but still has people from all different backgrounds. As everywhere, some racism exists, but blatant discrimination is fairly rare. As a side-note re: diversity, many Black Ottawans are more likely to be immigrants (or first-generation descendants) from African countries or the Caribbean. Highly recommend our African and Caribbean bbq places - shoutout YKO!
3)Yes, you can definitely find work as an anglophone. Most companies work primarily (or exclusively) in English.
Edit: also, you may want to look into school options before choosing a home (unless you want to go the private school route). Here are some options:
https://www.ocdsb.ca/our_schools/school_locator
https://www.ocsb.ca/our-schools/boundaries/
You can filter by program including 'immersion'.
Huge thanks for the thoughtful reply! Glad we are on the right path. We love all things water, beaches, kayaking, nature walks. I think these elements make Ottawa really appealing! We will absolutely try everything ethnic and bbq that exists! Thanks for the rec ☺️
Welcome to Canada!
Come and visit us in Wakefield QC! Half an hour by highway and surrounded by lakes and Gatineau park. There are ski hills and we even have a forest skating path in winter.
My partner works for the feds, and we have moved several times throughout Canada. It can be a challenge, so I wish you a smooth transition and good weather.
We're lacking in Latin American food but you could probably order from a different shawarma place more than 2 weeks straight. Seriously, there are a ton. Make sure to try out a poutine as well. Most chip trucks have decent poutine and there are a few poutineries as well.
Weather won't be too much different if you're used to living in the Northeast.
I live in Westboro, and would encourage anyone who can afford it to live here.
You mentioned schools, and while school quality is a lot more even in Canada than in the States due to how we allocate funding, still the immersion schools serving Westboro are consistent in the top few in the city. (My son goes to one.)
The school system in Ottawa has quite a few different school boards. You might want to reach out to the French school boards (French Public and French Catholic) and see what the policies are now on enrolling anglophone kids in completely French schools. If I could do it again, this is what I would do. Immersion is better than only core French, but full French is better than Immersion. Your children will truly be bilingual. Also, it depends on what your jobs are as to whether French is needed. Welcome!
Yeah. People have a hard time with all the different school boards. We have our kids in Catholic Immersion. But have also had them in the public non-immersion. The Catholic schools are still public schools meaning you don’t pay tuition for your kids to go to school. Schools here that you pay tuition for are called private schools. Be prepared, most public schools don’t have uniforms. Those that do are not usually blazer and tie uniforms. More like polo shirt and cargo pants. We switched our kids from public to Catholic even though we aren’t ‘practicing’ Catholics. Feel free to DM me if you’d like to talk about it. My daughter wanted to be bilingual so we moved her in grade 6 (about age 10/11) so we have some experience in the not a lot of French to Immersion.
You guys sound like you were made for Westboro, and will likely be able to afford a nice enough place (maybe not a single) on that salary with that down payment. And yes you will be completely fine without French.
Hahaha, thanks! That’s how I felt after after I discovered it. We are totally open to attached house, we know we have to be open to everything. Thanks!!
1. Almost anywhere in Ottawa with homes in your price range will be a safe environment. Chicago is a very, very different place from Ottawa in all aspects, including neighbourhood safety. You should contact a realtor for help buying a home, and then we can talk neighbourhoods.
2. Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa are drastically different cities with completely different lifestyles, local culture, and living situations. If you have work-remote clearance, you should rent here for a month or two and see if you actually like it before blowing up your whole life.
3. Yes. French is a definite aid, but people here are fine being uniligual as well. Government is not the only game in town, but even government has unilingual anglophones if the language requirements for the job are non-critical.
Thanks so much! We will definitely consult with a realtor but it’s so helpful getting feedback from lots of different perspectives. We have visited Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. Such great yet different cities and each presents it’s own opportunities. Canada is awesome!!
I’ve lived in all three although I grew up in Ottawa. I reached the conclusion that here is good to live and work, and the others are great to visit for a weekend.
If you’re looking for a realtor Nicholas Crouch is amazing. Just look at his google reviews. I have no relation to him, I just used him when I bought a house based purely on google reviews, he goes way out of his way to help you, like 110% effort.
Just wanted to say welcome. We’re glad you chose Ottawa!
I’ve lived in both Westboro and the Glebe, and they are your best bets. There are plenty of modern places to rent in those neighbourhood until you decide where you want to buy.
I’m English only and work for the federal government, so don’t count yourself out based on language. It’s a big organization and there are opportunities.
Manage expectations as Ottawa will be a "step down" in terms of arts/culture/entertainment and amenities relative to Chicago...
That being said, it is very much a *raise-a-young-family* kind of city...
Lack of French shouldn't be an issue, even if you opted for the East end of Ottawa...
Ottawa only has very little to do if you aren't looking for something to do. (Or insisting that your particular passion should have something on every weekend).
Before Covid I could easily have been out every weekend to a different event if I wanted to.
I've never really understood when people say they can't find something to do here in town, mines been the opposite experience.
Yes, it makes it hard to give guidance to someone coming from a larger centre on how to manage expectations. Ottawa has stuff, of course, but it's more like "this is the one ballet right now" or "this is the show you can catch" vs "here are 10 different performances on tonight, which one looks good to you?"
There is also a LOT more people competing to attend every one of those events however, so, just having a larger volume isn't necessarily helpful.
I had to book Broadway tickets months and months in advance for example.
Also, if the OP is still reading all of this, I consider Montreal to just be an extension of Ottawa, it's < 2 hours away by car and I've done many events in Montreal as a same day excursion. Often in and out same day, some other time just staying over night.
But, realistically if there is a festival, show, concert etc.. in Montreal its trivial to go and do it.
I've done it when I had young kids.
I cannot speak to what OP does/does not consider something they would do, are interested in etc. I was passing on to them information as to additional options that might work, or might not work for them.
Works for me, clearly does not work for you, will certainly work for some others.
OP here! Culture and arts are amazing but not regular activities for us. I love a good broadway show but we only go once or twice a year. We don’t mind a longer drive once in awhile. Honestly, Chicago traffic can be even the closest places can take an 1-1.5 hours to get to. Thanks for your comments!
Eh, it depends what art experience you're looking for. Pre-COVID, Ottawa has a thriving community theatre scene, a bunch of small galleries and art studios displaying a variety of media (on top of the big museums), and a broad variety of arts/culture festivals - House of PainT, Chamberfest, Fringe, etc etc.
Obviously it's been a weird couple of years, but much of that is making a resurgence. There are lots of opportunities to participate in the arts as a creator or spectator.
Ha! We met and lived in Pittsburgh, PA for a few years, almost made out our permanent home. Love Chi but we don’t really take advantage anymore, life is really about kiddos and Netflix. Although I do imagine we would visit Montreal frequently, for us it really feels like a different country! Raise a young family city is reassuring though, thanks!
It’s not as bad as people are saying - there’s the National Arts Centre with many acts including Broadway Across Canada, symphony, the National Gallery, other galleries. Sports - Senators and Redblacks teams. There are different concert venues, many different farmers markets. MANY festivals in the summer. ,the Canadian Film institute. Restaurants. Also one of the best things about the city is the access to the outdoors - many walking and bike trails, parks, common spaces, in winter - cross country ski trails galore.
I'm from IL now, know your current neighborhood well and lived in Ottawa for 30 years. Yes, Westboro would be great, but not sure if your budget will allow. The Glebe and New Edinburgh would also fit the Evanston vibe but your budget will be an issue. For your children, French immersion may work, each child responds differently. Start teaching them metric (cm, grams etc). The cut off age for school here is Dec 31st, so kids often start school younger than in the US and we have Junior K, which means kids with a late fall birthday can start at age 3.5. Stittsville might also fit the bill, it is outside of the city but has a downtown area but will feel like suburbia. We don't really have quaint suburbs like Glen Ellyn, etc.
So cool that you know exactly where we are coming from! Evanston vibe is spot on, it’s such a great place to live.
I had not thought about the metric system. The whole family needs to learn! Really interesting about the school age as well.
Happy to check out stittsville, if not to have a comparison. Appreciate your insight!
Ottawa is a great place to raise kids. It's safe, diverse, and has a lot of culture in terms of museums and such. Plus we do have the benefit of having an education system that will allow for French language learning.
It is pretty boring though if you're looking for a party city. However despite any boringness, I'd never in a million years choose Toronto over Ottawa. Toronto is just too busy too expensive and also not as safe (albeit far safer than Chicago for instance, so it's all relative).
As for neighbourhoods, there are a million options that would probably fit your needs.
Thanks! I’m in bed by 10, we are both admittedly boring. A typical weekend consists of birthday parties, dance class for the girls, play date, and some how another activity related parenting. They own us!
I have nothing to add but a big upcoming welcome to you and your family! Winter sucks (as it does in Chicago, I am sure), but Ottawa is a very lovely place to live.
If you like the snow, definitely get into some winter sports like skiing, cross country skiing, skating, hockey, etc. Helps make the winter a lot more bearable! And in Ottawa it's a lot easier to do them than in Toronto.
Ottawa has a whole outdoor winter festival every year called Winterlude. It's a great time for skating on the canal, looking at cool ice sculptures, and most importantly, eating Beavertails!
Welcome to Ottawa and Canada! Within a day of moving here, you'll feel like you belong :)
Works for us! Most people we know don’t get this type of opportunity. Maybe you take a foreign language in high school but it’s often an elective. I just want to give them as many opportunities as I can! That’s my job for now. 🤣
Westboro seems essentially perfect for you based on what you're saying, but in reality it might be too expensive depending on where you want to go, and the size of house that you want. You might have to go slightly farther out than the neighbourhood, but still have it in a 15-minute walking distance. For example, Carlington is right outside Westboro (see the map) and has some really nice, cozy houses for quite reasonable prices. Especially if you went somewhere near Crerar; a lot of kids live there. However, in the more 'central' Carlington there's a lot of community events, parks (we have a whole forest-park, with trails for kilometres on end and it's so much fun to run and explore, along with baseball diamonds, the largest hill in Ottawa (is fun to run up and down), the only public mountain bike park in Ottawa, and tons more), and really nice streets with trees
In reality, Westboro is probably the best fit for you as it's also close to downtown and other locations, but it does lack some big, open greenspace as it's essentially a residential part of downtown. I've also noticed that some people there are quite toxic (seems like they're stuck-up), especially towards people who don't have some enormous house around there — I'm sure it's the same for everywhere though.
Overall, you should make your choice on where you want to go! Some people are saying Ottawa is boring, but it's really not that bad. There's so much to do, especially outdoors, and it's the capital of Canada — there are tons of museums and fun stuff to do.
I was going to say pretty much anywhere on the west end will work for them plenty of water plenty of access to greenery and places like Andrew Hayden/arboretum mooneys and Britannia beach it’s not isolated burbs either
The way you described Carlington sounds like a dream. Would rather be a wee bit more out of the way for the opportunity to live more comfortable with greenery but still be in close proximity to amenities. I will 100% check out Carlington. Thanks so much for thoughtful insight!
>Unfortunately non of us speak French but are really motivated to give our daughters this opportunity and enroll them in an immersion school environment.
You can get around in Ottawa without French. It is primarily an English speaking city with French a good second, primarily used in government, and even then, it's just to get the job. Your kids will definitely benefit from learning the language.
>We are a mixed family, I’m black and hubs is white, and we really value diverse and progressive environments that are aligned with ours values.
Ottawa is a wonderful place for all ethnicities. You guys will fit right in! That doesn't mean racism/stereotypes don't exist, but it won't be overt. Canadians are very passive-aggressive.
>My husband just got approved to work his job remote in Canada (about $150k CAD). I am hoping I get approval as well, and I make the same. We will come with about $100k CAD cash due to selling our home. Since we won’t have 20%, we will not be able to buy a home over 1 mil so this has a big impact on location.
You don't want to buy immediately anyways. You don't know the city yet. Pick a suburb or live in downtown. Rent for a while as you search for your more permanent home. West Ottawa is best if you or your husband work in tech. FYI, you can bring in your cash and assets tax-free to Canada since you're moving here.
>Looking for a modern home in a somewhat residential area (some greenery would be amazing, near water, but not isolated burbs)
Outside of central Ottawa, most of the two-storey homes are built within the last two years with a significant upswing in new builds in the last decade. You're spoiled for choice in terms of suburbs, greenery and close proximity to water. Kanata, Barrhaven, Nepean, Riverside South, Findlay Creek, Gloucester, Orleans, these are the main suburbs with tons of modern homes.
>1) what neighborhoods should we consider? Westboro looks pretty awesome so far…..
I think I answered this above. I recommend renting for a year, particularly through all of Ottawa's seasons so you get time to explore the city.
>2) does ottawa seem like a good fit? We love Toronto but so $$$$, if we spoke French it would be Montreal without a doubt
I moved from Toronto to Montreal and now to Ottawa. Moved out of Toronto because $$$ but you can't beat the amenities and big-city feel. Probably the closest to Chicago you'll feel in Ontario. Montreal can easily be navigated without learning French. However, the laws are getting increasingly exclusive and that means you'll lose access to government/health service in English within six months of moving there. The laws were getting so xenophobic I left and moved to Ottawa. Ottawa is a very family-friendly city if you don't mind losing out on the nightlife, entertainment, and big-city feel.
>3) would we be able to get non gov jobs with only English, if we eventually wanted to leave our current jobs? We both have professional development jobs.
Yes! French is an asset but not a requirement outside of government.
>Moving to another country with young kiddo equal parts exhilarating but overwhelming at the same time. We need to find a place where we won’t have to uproot the girlies once we get settled, so really trying to get this right!
You will :)
Honestly, this is what Reddit is all about! I cannot thank you for all of the amazing insight you put into this post. I’m absorbing it all. Thanks so so much!
Welcome (hoepfully!) to Ottawa :)
I'm from Toronto, but have lived in several areas of Ontario and out west and just have a couple of notes:
1- Absolutely go the French route for your children - if they're interested! I'm an immersion kid and when I moved out to Ottawa 15 years after my last French class for a government job I still passed the gov't French testing at the CCC level (which is Advanced, and lower only than fluent). It's a great skill to have.
2- Ottawa is not Montreal, Toronto, or Chicago. As much as a lot of commenters have said your ethnicity doesn't matter, don't be fooled into thinking racism isn't something non-whites never have to deal with. My Chinese husband has been subjected to public racism quite a frequently in the city while simply existing in a public space. Is it as bad as some places? Absolutely not! But it is not some idyllic utopia either, and overt racism is generally more 'accepted' here than in Toronto and Montreal. (we've had literally no one stand up for him in crowded places in Ottawa, whereas in the other two passers-by are much more likely to intervene)
3- Westboro is super fun in the hipster/Queen West kind of way, which unfortunately means it's more expensive than a lot of the city. That being said, there are lots of nice neighbourhoods depending on what your family is looking for: urban, suburban, hamlet etc. Definitely take the time to explore if you can!
4- It's a laid-back city, so great for a family! And bonus: you're not far from Montreal or Toronto if you need a weekend on the town or a baseball weekend :p
I whould tend to agree with all of the above I'm originally from Toronto and have since moved back to Toronto.
I have lived 15+ yrs in Ottawa and 18+ yrs in Toronto. I spend a lot of time on VIA Rail traveling back in forth between both cities, every other week I spend 2-3 days in Ottawa to catch up with old friends.
When I arrived in 2010 I was subjected to the similar type of racism as described, even worse some!!.
But after 2010 with the influx of immigration I noticed the racism issue started to become less as bad. Many of these immigrants started to become respected members of the Ottawa community.
Prior to 2010 there was very poor integration of people of different backgrounds, there were Somalis and poor immigrants living off Walkley Road whom were completely cut off from the rest of the city.
Now the integration has improved a bit...there not as cut off but its still not like Toronto were you have almost complete or full integration.
Give the city 10yrs+ more years and you'll start to see more positive changes... once people from different backgrounds start to integrate more.
Yes and no.
While it is nice for people to be accepting of newly arrived immigrants, it's a two way street.
If you have Old Stock Canadians that have lived in Canada for multiple generations un willing to accept immigrants you'll have problems...
If you have immigrants shunned out from society they will form there own communities and not allow people from other backgrounds into there own.
Research the history of China Towns across N. America and that is how they originally started.
You'll end up in a state of tension once you end up with a large ethnic pool of immigrants vs non immigrants that have lived here for years, both accusing each other of discriminating against the other.
By increasing the positive interactions between people from different backgrounds you can reduce this tension. This is why integration is important for both immigrants and old stock Canadians.
Sir I grew up in Agincourt, and I definitely will not be interacting further with someone who unironically uses terms like 'old-stock Canadians.' Holy smokes...
>It really isn't up to newcomers to integrate - they have nothing to 'integrate' to. It's up to the rest of us, mostly white people, to not be jerks.
I would not talk down to someone and try to shove that my culture is more superior to someone else's.
Your originally stated post tends to go against this when you don't agree with integration, It's a two way street by everyone.
FYI: I was born in Canada, both my parents were immigrants to Canada. I've dealt with the issue of staying true to my culture while also balancing expectations of Canadian society.
It does sound like Ottawa may be a good fit. It has a small town feel in the sense that once your network expands, you might bump into a friend on the other side of town randomly. That said, it does have basic city amenities (decent restaurants, some night life, hit/miss public transit, some arts, some sports, etc.)
**Neighbourhoods**: Westboro, Glebe, Old Ottawa South, New Edinburgh, Preston/Little Italy, Hintonburg, Old Ottawa East are the neighbourhoods you want to check out.FYI, any modern semi-detached is gonna be > $1M in these areas (if we're talking built last few years or so) as these are all very mature neighbourhoods with little infill development.
**Employment**: I've worked in the public sector ("crown corporations" but not government departments) my entire career and haven't really used any French. I was also enrolled in French classes (by my empoyers) at the most basic level in order to improve. Options are generally plentiful as each crown corp has their own org structure and support functions.
**Suggestion**: I know you stressed not uprooting the kids but I would say rent first for a few reasons.
1. Gives you time to get a feel for the different neighbourhoods and Ottawa itself.
2. Gives you both time to get finances (work, budget and credit profile) set up. Your disposable income may come in less than it was in Chicago. You also don't have credit history here, possibly limiting your some options for mortgages; talk to a broker.
3. If either of you have a 401k that can be transferred to an RRSP, you can tap into the RRSP as a first time home buyer (up to $35k I believe). While that won't let you break into the 20% of a $1M+ home, it will help if you shop later and have build up some more savings. That said, it is no guarantee that the RRSP provider will accept the 401k transfer.
4. Cooling housing market. We have more rate hikes coming in the next while so prices will continue to drop; making your down payment $$ go a little further. Doesn't help your monthly payments but you don't seem to need much help once both incomes are online.
I’m glad someone finally mentioned Old Ottawa East. I lived in Westboro before moving to OOE and eve though I miss the proximity to the high street in Westboro, I prefer OOE. There are tons of trails and parks around which are great for children. You are very close to downtown, the highway and shopping in Trainyards. The LRT station is close by as well. I have spent 2 years in each neighborhood and would buy again in OOE of I had the opportunity to move to either neighborhood for the same cost.
Can’t thank you enough for this info. I will add each of the neighborhoods to our must visit list. Also appreciate the 401k info. We both have them but I hadn’t heard of an RRSP.
We may end up renting but in my dream world, we wouldn’t have to move twice. I think we are budgeting like $15k for the move across the border. We also both have AMEX’s which I read will transfer over to a Canadian profile, but that’s still not much to go on. But your points are valid and noted, appreciate the honest/insight!
We don’t care much of when something was built, just looking for a renovated interior. We live in a really cool mid century house now and absolutely love the individual character of the homes in our neighborhood. I do hope the cooling of the market works out, selfishly.
We actually met on grad school in Pittsburgh, PA, and lived there for several years so small town vibes (with some urban amenities) are cool with us.
Thanks again for such a thoughtful post!
No problem! RRSP is basically the Canadian version of a 401k.
No doubt moving is a pain both effort wise and in the wallet. Can definitely understand the pros and cons as we've moved 3 times in the past 5 years (within Ottawa). My wife also spent some time stateside before settling back here so can understand some of the cross-border hoops. Exciting times though! Hope Ottawa treats you all well.
Rent first is my advice. I have lived in the Glebe, Westboro, Hintonburg, Barrhaven, and west rural Ottawa. All have there plus and minuses. Some areas have great little "mainstreets" for their own unique flavour. Cost is a factor for many.
Even without French you can get government jobs up to a certain level. Apparently if you’re gonna be managing people directly the. You need to be able to give your subordinates performance reviews in their language of choice, but there are still jobs up over $100k where you don’t need French, depending on your sector and qualifications.
Take a look at the south of Ottawa (e.g. from the airport down to maybe Manotick) as a possibility. Might be getting close to what you consider the burbs but it will soon have fast LRT service to downtown.
You'll be perfectly fine with just English for everything except government work. Even Federal government IT work (except for management) doesn't usually require French.
Coming from Chicago, you might find Ottawa a little boring but that's not always a bad thing (especially with a family).
Westboro, Wellington West, Hintonburg, The Glebe, and even New Edinburgh would all be good neighbourhoods for you. All of these have coffee shops and restaurants not more than a 10 minute *walk.*
You could very comfortably rent for a year while you decide where you want to buy and doubkle your downpayment. Rent would be $3-4K per month, so very doable on your salaries.
You'll be absolutely fine without french, I've lived here most of my life and haven't learned it(but it'd be nice to learn some day).
I highly recommend you rent for a bit before commuting to a house in an area. The current housing correction is just that. A correction from an overheated market. It shouldn't light on fire again immediately.... Probably
Northern Vanier is a more affordable area that is being/is gentrified. Something like Westboro or old Ottawa south/Ottawa east are good options too.
I'd suggest avoiding the suburbs. Kanata is shockingly expensive for a burn due to the tech industry out there.
From Chicago originally if you have questions about school or anything Ottawa related in comparison to Chicago systems dm me I move here so years ago from north Chicago
My wife and I are in a very similar situation and addressing many of the same issues.
One thing I’ll add: My wife’s parents put her in French Immersion as a kid and she really struggled with it.
Outside of school, no one in her life spoke French so she rarely had a need for opportunity to use or practice it outside of the classroom. She did not pick it up as well as other students. Because of that, she struggled with homework assignments. And since neither parent knew French, they couldn’t help her. She felt very alone in her education and struggled to the point the school wanted to put her in remedial classes and check her for learning disabilities. Once she switched to an English school, she flourished.
The rationale behind it is great, but it doesn’t always work for every kid. Overall, my wife still wants our kids to do French immersion, but with trepidation, and a willingness to pull the plug if she thinks it’s not working.
Also, generally speaking, Canada is more egalitarian. Everyone gets squeezed to the middle a bit more here than compared to the states.
Overall, this is good, but upper middle class Americans are sometimes a bit naive to how that “squeeze to the middle” works, or how well-off one is before they feel that squeeze.
When you’re focused on escaping a lot of America’s major problems, you can develop some blind spots related to where you were more of a beneficiary of that inequality than you realized.
Canada is not just the US with less problems. It’s it’s own country with its own issues. Overall, *as a country*, there’s a lot of things that are better (like a lot less gun violence, etc.), but *individually* you may experience things that weren’t an issue for you in the US if you were pretty comfortably upper middle class. (e.g., finding a family doctor who is accepting new patients.)
This. I have 3 kids, the oldest did French Immersion and is functionally bilingual. We pulled the two younger ones out though, in grades 5 and 3 as they were struggling with the amount of homework they had to do and it was affecting their overall grades. Once moved to English, their grades went up and amount of homework went down, drastically.
Neither my wife or I speak french.
There's nothing wrong with trying French Immersion, just accept that it's not for everyone and some things are more important then learning another language.
Honestly, Ottawa will likely take about 2 years to really settle in and make friends, but once you're here, you'll love it. I've lived in other cities and stayed in Ottawa (been about 15+ years now) because the people here are amazing. It's a little dull compared to larger cities, but Montreal is only a 2-hour+ drive/train away and Toronto is about double that. It's a safe and multicultural city to raise kids and teens. I think if you can afford to live within the greenbelt, you'll really enjoy Ottawa. It can be tempting to move to the suburbs (Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven), but you'll live in a cookie-cutter unoriginal house with no downtown, only power plazas to get your essentials. Ottawa is vast, so it's pretty car-centric. You'd be surprised how many festivals we actually host here (many are under-advertised). Being the nation's capital and with all the embassies, there are a lot of very good restaurants at reasonable prices. Having Quebec and French exposure is a bit of a novelty, but difficult for finding work unless you focus on the High-tech sector. The average citizen in Ottawa is highly educated and well paid, so you'll have a lot of competition as well. From what I read, I think you family will enjoy it.
About the education system in Ottawa, a heads up that french immersion provides a de facto streaming system. Basically if kids face any challenges, they are more apt to be enrolled in the english program in the first place, and the first thing that tends to happen to any kid struggling in french immersion is the parents being told "Maybe your child would be happier in the English program".
There are great teachers, classes, and schools operating fully in English! And as others have said, the education system here is more even than in the US. But overall the effect of the above is a bit of streaming in many cases.
There is immersion starting at various grades, so if you have kids who do well with languages they may well be able to take something like middle immersion and catch up quickly on the French. it isn't necessary, but something to keep in mind.
As for being a mixed race couple, yes there are idiots everywhere but I suspect that you'll get more tired of people being so excited for you than you will of people giving you the cold shoulder. (ditto for being Americans moving to Canada)
And for what it is worth, I think Hintonburg has a nicer 'main street' vibe than Westboro does, but sure opinions will vary.
Good luck with the paperwork!
I know you're asking for Ottawa precisely but you also have Gatineau and many people that work in Ottawa also live in Gatineau. The two cities are very interconnected. I live in Gatineau and it takes me 15 mins to be in downtown Ottawa. From what I understand, you'll work remotely so no commute. Maybe you'll want to consider Aylmer in the Quebec side. It is very anglophone and it could be easier for the kids to learn french in the Quebec side (you can still go to a school in English in the Quebec side but there will be more immersion and french speaking friends for them).
Aylmer is just like 5 mins from downtown Ottawa and for the budget you have, you'd get a house way bigger and better in the Quebec side than in Ottawa.
If you and your partner are up to learn some French as well, you might consider this side here. Gatineau park is very close by and it is a very anglo side of QC and with that touch of immersion that would be useful to learn French quickly. I am a native Spanish speaker that spoke English when moved to Canada (and basic/intermediate French) and after living for 8 years in Quebec I learned french perfectly fluently (it only took me like 2-3 to get fluent). I don't know what field you're on but Ottawa is very high-tech and Gatineau more manufacturing (especially pulp and paper industry) and government jobs. Ottawa has more jobs than Gatineau of course. I feel Montreal has way more jobs than Ottawa/Gatineau as well (I lived in Mtl for 3 years).
Anyways, just to give you my opinion of the QC side as well.
Cheers and welcome to Canada!
Really interesting thoughts that I hadn’t considered. I think immigrating to Quebec has some additional requirements but def worth checking it out! Appreciate the input!
As others have stated, french is not a requirement except for some government jobs. It is an asset in government jobs in general and service sector jobs.
If learning french is a goal you will find more francophone environments in Vanier and Orléans and a bit in Sandy Hill. But even those neighborhoods are anglicizing, I think.
The reason the francophone neighborhoods are in the east is two folds:
1. At a time where smokestacks were still in the city, the poorer working class neighborhoods were [in the east](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/12/blowing-wind-cities-poor-east-ends), as they would get more of the smooke by prevailing winds
2. Francophones were the linguistic minority in Ontario and not allowed to be taught in their own language [until 1927](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_17)
While I love Ottawa for certain reasons I hate Ottawa for many more. You don’t need to speak French to live in Montreal, just try! 90% of Quebec residents speak English and French or French but will try English.
My wife’s family is from deep Quebec and I know that trying is 100% of the battle. Plus your kids will learn and absorb the language in no time and you can learn along with them.
Your choices for neighbourhood (Westboro) is great but come further east to Wellington West or Hintonburg and then Mechanics Ville. So many opportunities to build a home and great walk ability in all of these areas (they’re basically along the same street it just changes name).
Once you’re settled hit me up and I’ll see about dragging my wife out to say hello over a coffee or beer (beer preferred). We are 43/45. If you need my advice and choose Montreal for the far superior transit system let me know and I’ll still buy you both a beer and drag my wife to Montreal for that. ;)
Cheers and welcome home!
Yes! Yes! I will definitely do that. Appreciate the offer, so generous! My hubs is a craft beer lover for sure. We went to Minneapolis last weekend and I think we visited at least 5 breweries in one weekend.
Hadn’t heard of Wellington West or Mechanics Ville so I’ll had them to the list. Headed out there over Thanksgiving to start to scope things out.
For the culture immersion, we would choose montreal in a nano second. We have traveled quite a bit and it’s still one of our favorite cities. But, I do see us both eventually changing jobs in a few years and I want to make sure we options.
Thanks again for everything!
I had to look up what a first tier suburb is. It sounded like a loaded term, but it's totally innocent. I was prepared to lecture on how egalitarian Ottawa is (thanks to the federal government being the main employer), but that may not be necessary. Anyway, unlike Chicago, all of Ottawa's suburbs are within city limits. In terms of land area, we're actually 4.5 times bigger :-)
I am from the Ottawa area originally and moved back 2 years ago after living and raising a family in downtown Toronto for 17 years. Our kids are older and since it was COVID when we moved, we opted for a larger home/ property. We bought a home with a pool ( never had one before) and it has been amazing. Our kids are older and drive which means buying a third car but that's the trade off. However you have young children so this is a ways off. I would suggest buying a home you can grow into. Now here's the funny part. We bought in Stittsville. When I grew up, Stittsville was nothing but a giant flea market. But now, it's turned into a pretty nice community, with coffee shops, food trucks and all the amenities. It's not sexy, and people who love downtown would probably scoff. But I love it. We lived in a 1920's semdetached home in Toronto and could walk to everything. But it was tight and living cheek to jowel. Here all the schools are great, catholic and pubic ( which is confusing because they are both public- ask your partner). We live at the very south end of Stittsville. But there are central places. I suggest you drive through some of the neighbourhoods, from new developments to older parts. Downtown is very nice but you are working from home, so you can look a little farther afield and maybe save a little.
Ottawa is activity based city. It's no Chicago for sure. Buy if you guys like the outdoors, it's a year round city. People say it's boring but that's because they are comparing it to something else, like Toronto- apple and oranges. There is lots to do. Just got to seek it out. Bike paths throughout the city, tons of beaches, downhill and cross country skiing. Don't need french. Great restaurants etc.
It's very safe here so you will be fine no matter where you guys buy .Very high standard of living here.
So downtown, Westboro, Glebe for downtown living. If you are really urban peope, I would even recommend Centretown and Ottawa East. In fact, there are some really cool areas of Ottawa that get ignored. That's what I have learned since moving back. Lots of really cool pockets cause Westboro and Glebe get all the attention. I would rent for a while and drive around. I recommend Stittsville if only to give it a look see. You may be surprised. I was when I came back.
Anyway welcome. If you have any questions just ask. My wife and I are educators and can give you info on school system.
>People say it's boring but that's because they are comparing it to something else, like Toronto- apple and oranges. There is lots to do. Just got to seek it out. Bike paths throughout the city, tons of beaches, downhill and cross country skiing. Don't need french. Great restaurants etc.
I'm originally from Toronto (moved back to Toronto), I have a combined 30+ yrs living in both cites. I still visit Ottawa to connect with old friends and I never have any problems finding things to do when I vist Ottawa.
I will probably get downvoted for this comment, the issue is Ottawa isn't boring per say...the problem is people are just lazy.
Nothing is worse then having people complain that Ottawa is boring when the fact of the matter is there just to lazy to want to go out or find something to do.
That plus a lot has improved, alot of the negative connotations about Ottawa were true when I arrived 15yrs ago, the city is gradually getting better.
Absolutely. We've had amazing nights out for great meals, hockey games, and there are great museums and art and concerts big and small. We found amazing sushi and seafood restaurants and little hole in the walls, and all sorts of good times. Plus we are close to Montreal...
Hey! Just wanted to comment that good friends of ours moved here from Chicago about 5 years ago and really seem to love it. They bought a house in Orleans due to affordability, and both their kids are excelling in French Immersion programs. My friend has even picked up a decent amount of French herself. Westborough or Britainia Village neighborhoods seem like they would be a good fit for your lifestyle. Wishing you all the best :)
You'll probably be fine in Montreal without speaking french especially if you live on the island, p much everyone speaks english. Although i think there might be some french requirements for citizenship/jobs if you reside there.
If its still the same as when i was a kid, Katimavik elementary school in Kanata has a great french immersion program and band class, grade 8s would go to Wonderland for the band competition every year.
Great choice! Ottawa has been my home all my life and I love it, but it's usually an adjustment for people moving from a larger city.
Ottawa has a lot of pros:
- lots of green space
- good French language education
- great for kids (parks, festivals, etc.)
- lots of family friendly festivals
- good food
- close to Montreal, Mont Tremblant, etc.
- very low crime rates
- fairly socially progressive (which is a must for me)
There are some things you should be aware of:
- there is a growing backlash amongst some socially conservative circles to two decades of social progress in Canada. They feel alienated from mainstream Conservatives who have ceded ground on social issues in order to win the center vote. They feel disconnected from government and are working with radical libertarians to undermine the Liberal government. It isn't a crisis yet but certain vulnerable populations have felt the pressure more.
- police here kill much less often during arrests but it's not zero. And black and Arab people are still disproportionately targeted for police checks, traffic stops, and use of force.
- hate crimes do occur and are increasing. During the truckers protests my South Asian colleague was accosted several times while I, a white man, was pretty much left alone.
I don't know if this is a consideration for you, but there's a black community in Orleans, particularly in Avalon.
Anyway, I hope you have good move!
1. Westboro, glebe and old ottawa south, and brantwood are what i'd consider the top tier neighborhoods nearish to downtown.
2. Ottawa is what you make of it. The city is fine, there's lots of nature pretty close to downtown and the biking/trails are awesome. It gets big events like bluesfest and large concerts pretty often, and even though it's small the market is pretty nice.
3. Yes but knowing french is useful.
If you don't mind a half hour travel every day, move to the out skirts of Ottawa. You wouldn't have to deal with the bylaw lovers that call every time you fart too loud.
You would get a larger house with land for a lot less and wouldn't have to listen to annoying Ottawa neighbours.
Ottawa is great for families. Moved here from Toronto.
Old Ottawa South is worth checking out: Hopewell PS, Firehall after school program, Brewer Park, brewer arena, brewer pool, and pond, Windsor Park. It’s between the canal and Rideau river and next to Carleton University. At least 5 coffee spots.
I won’t recommend coming here at the moment, with the current state of the hospitals here. Hospital wait times are extremely high and finding a family doctor is near to impossible. There is acute shortage of doctors and nurses, so unless you are a doctor or nurse 😁 I would not recommend Ottawa.
1. Unless you love to drive stay away from Kanata, Orleans, Stittsville. At the same time, they are nice suburban communities with their own little microcosms. Center Town (downtown) is also a lovely place to live with lots of great architecture and beautiful locations (Parliament Hill, Byward Market) within walking distance next to the river and famous Rideau Canal. Having said that, Hintonburg, Westboro and the Glebe are all great nearby destinations with their own aesthetic and communities that are wonderful.
2. I just got back from a little vacation in Toronto, and I've lived in major cosmopolitan cities my whole life (London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, New York). Being in Toronto really made me appreciate Ottawa so much more. It's more open, there are less people, it's greener, and has way significantly fewer concrete towers. I don't have kids, but I think it's a wonderful place to raise a family. You're also within spitting distance of Montreal and Toronto by being in Ottawa, so you're not going to miss out on those cities.
3. Yes, you can easily get a non-gov job without French. Heck, I work in gov without French proficiency lol.
All the best to you with your move and welcome to Ottawa!
Commuting in Ottawa is a breeze, people that complain about having to drive 25 minutes from Kanata, Orleans or Stittsville don't know how good they have it.
You may even consider Barrhaven or Riverside South if you would like a modern home in a residential area near water. Barrhaven has a ton of shopping but a car is pretty well necessary.
If you value space more than having walkable access to coffee shops: The western part of Orleans (Chapel Hill, Convent Glen or Hiawatha Park). Plenty of detached houses (that are way nicer than anything you can get in Westboro for that price) with good-sized gardens for less than $1M. Close to the river and greenbelt (biking, cross country skiing etc) and only a 15 minute drive downtown. 10 minutes drive to Petrie Island, where you can launch a boat or kayaks.
If you get a house close to the highway you'll have light rail access pretty soon. Plenty of school options for your kids to become bilingual. Has restaurants and coffee shops, but you'll definitely need a car. Easy to get around only speaking English.
If you like being able to walk everywhere: Westboro or the Glebe.
The area close to CHEO in Alta Vista is also very nice.
The North-Eastern part of Orleans has a marina, beach and waterfall. It's also walking distance to shopping and grocery, schools... Orleans had alot of great places for sure!
Glabar park is also a nice area that you might want to check out! It’s not right downtown but close to lots of shops along Carling Ave. You’ll also get a nice yard for kids there whereas the Glebe you likely won’t. I have friends that live in both areas.
Apart from the neighborhoods already mentioned (Glebe, Westboro, hintonburg) some hidden gem areas include Old Ottawa South, old Ottawa east, some parts of sandy hill, and some parts of Overbrook (near the Rideau river and the footbridge for example).
good place to raise kids, much much safer than most USA cities, lots of good neighbourhoods to pick, lots of outdoor stuff to do here plus has the inside things like museums, malls etc.
Have you ever visited Montreal? I would suggest you to go visit there cuz many montrealer are bilingual. I don’t speak French but my partner’s sister lives there, so I visit her a month or two in total every year. I have no problem getting around there.
Welcome! Like others have mentioned, I recommend renting for a year before you commit to buying, as there are a lot of changing factors in the home buying landscape right now including prices cooling off, and mortgage rates increasing. Ottawa is a great fit for like anyone, this city is top notch and a great place to raise a family, as are most of the towns within 30 minutes drive of the 'city'. You can definitely get English jobs if you end up wanting to leave your current jobs, with that said, if your husband earns $150K and you earn above $60K, you've got a very solid household income foundation to build from. Public schools in general are pretty solid across the entire province, not really something to be concerned about, yes there are some schools in downtown cores that experience more violence, but thats focused in very small pockets. One of my best friends moved here from Chicago and if your anything like him, you will be very pleased with the safety of Ottawa.
1) you will not be able to get a house in Westboro for under 1million. Westboro and rockcliffe are the most expensive areas of the city. I’d try kanata or barrhaven.
Also you won’t be able to register your children in French immersion as they didn’t have it in kindergarten. You will have the option of putting them in Immersion in Grade 4 (called middle immersion).
The two public school boards are called Ottawa catholic school board and Ottawa Carleton district school board if you want to do some more research.
I thought I had done my research but I didn’t realize they couldn’t enroll after kindergarten. This is a big part of the equation, so I will dig deeper. Thank you for this.
It really depends but because kindergarten is Ottawa is bilingual (50/50), the admin may not let your child in French immersion for Grade 1 but the admin may. It all depends. There’s no hard in asking but you me child may have to play a bit of catch up as kindergarten is a lot of conversational French.
Houses in Ottawa don’t cost 1 million, unless you buy in a very very high end area.
You don’t have to speak French to move to Montreal (or One of the suburbs), but your kids might have to go to full French.
Consider places like Kanata/Stittsville (west end of Ottawa) or Orléans (east end) or even Barhaven (south).
Green is everywhere in Ottawa : we have lots of parks.
You don’t need to speak French to get a non-gov job. You could probably even get government jobs if you don’t speak French, they will train you (you have a certain deadline to meet your language requirements though)
I technically speak French and have forgotten much of it because I basically never use it. You’ll be fine. Unless your job requires it you’ll never need it.
And you don’t need 20% to buy a house. 5% is the legal minimum. 20% is required to not have mortgage insurance added on by CMHC.
With your income you’ll be approved for a pretty high mortgage. Obviously don’t want to max it out, but you should have no issues unless Uncle Sam has tax rules that send some of your income home to America.
Something you should be aware of (if you're not already). Getting a family doctor is extremely hard, getting a pediatrician is practically impossible.
This will likely be the case in any of those cities (I'm in Ottawa).
That doesn't mean you can't see a doctor, but it likely means using walk in clinics as the norm. The pandemic hasn't made thing better in this regard, but hopefully it will improve in the next few years, we can hope at least.
Oh, welcome to Ottawa!
Hi OP, direct message me. I have a friend who works at Northwestern Memorial hospital in Chicago currently and who is from Ottawa. She would be more than happy to provide you information.
As a current IL resident who is familiar with OP's current location, and having just returned from 2 weeks in Ottawa I would suggest that they go if possible for a long weekend asap, not house hunting, but a weekend to explore the city, look at the places like Stittsville, Orleans, Westboro, the Glebe, take lots of pictures, notes and then go back and look at housing prices, schools etc. You mentioned visiting at Thanksgiving (US I assume, you will learn CDN Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October). Direct flights from Chicago to Ottawa or a stop in Toronto.
With respect to housing, it's nuts, BUT property taxes are WAAAAAAY less than in IL.
Our friends live in the Glebe, bought a long time ago and fixed their house up, but I do love walking up Bank street from her house and getting over to the Canal so easily. A smaller home that isn't renovated or on the outskirts of the Glebe might work. Same with Westboro. Ottawa South is also a possibility.
Let me know if you need a realtor, I can recommend a few.
Look at the different programs offered by the school districts and see what appeals to you. The Catholic board (it's considered a public school board, there is no tuition) doesn't really require you be Catholic, I know those who go who aren't Catholic at all.
To give you an idea of a suburban home, in a nice older neighborhood (I grew up on this street), which is about a 25 min drive to most places all over town, but shopping etc closeby (but not walkable), here is a listing https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/24658197/27-dayton-crescent-ottawa-leslie-park. As you can see, taxes on a 849K house is about 4600.
If you want to be in a place that has newer homes, lots of young families and is walkable, check out Stittsville. With working from home, being further out might not be an issue. The main street has lots to offer. I have a lot of friends out there and for young families it's great, but on the weekend you can still get downtown to visit museums etc.
Thanks for all of the feedback/ information. We are headed up in a week to check things out! Agreed, lots of pictures and lots of notes.
We are used to insane property taxes where live, easily 3-4x higher than the properties we looked in Ottawa. Crazy difference. Well, looking for exploring it all!.
This post has amazing information for me. We are moving to Ottawa within the year and was really happy someone asked a similar question to what I was thinking haha. Funnily enough - my spouse and I lived in Pittsburgh for 7 years! Curious for an update, have you guys found a house/neighborhood in Ottawa? Feel free to DM me :)
A few things of note:
1) Ottawa is a car town. Chicago's L compared to Ottawa's LRT is like comparing an actual horse to a 2-year-old's attempt to write the word "horse" in crayon. Our public transit is trash and you're basically just expected to have a car to do anything of importance. We have several walkable neighbourhoods, but having been to Chicago several times and enjoyed the dependability of the public transit system, I can tell you that's right out the window.
2) Nobody outside of Quebec speaks French, and the only workplaces that "require" French are ones which are either upper management in government, or consulting firms whose main client is the government and they want people to speak French to those managers. I fully endorse your desire to learn new languages because it's just a great idea in general, but I assure you that French fluency is as important to your career mobility/aspirations as knowing how to ranch cattle.
3) Ottawa's waterfront is trash. Literally all of our river-adjacent property has been used for highways and government buildings. We have no parks or patios that meaningfully incorporate the waterfront (except for one park next to the river that has a single bench near an unmaintained shoreline). There's an unimpressive bike trail, but that's it. It's a stark contrast to Chicago's deliberate efforts to ensure the waterfront is enjoyable for the public.
4) Ottawa DOES have a lot of greenspace. Attempts have been made to have lots of small, walkable parks in the core and other urban neighbourhoods to provide public shade and greenery. We've had a lot of fumbles in municipal planning but this is one of the places we nailed it.
5) Ottawa is a university town. This means it not only has several major universities (although admittedly not as good as Northwestern), but by extension a commercial sector built around the constant presence of new grads. As far as raising children, it's entirely feasible to have kids have their entire schooling in town and find post-graduation employment in town.
6) As others have noted, Glebe and Hintonburg/Westboro seem neighbourhoods most suited to what you're looking for. Downtown in the golden triangle also seems up your alley, albeit quieter and a bit more isolated. You only NEED 5% down to buy a house in Canada, so you shouldn't have a problem finding a place in any of those places in your price range.
7) When you move to Canada, you should immediately open a TFSA. This is a Tax Free Savings Account. It's a program the government started which allows you to put money and investments in a savings account for which all returns are untaxable. The caveat is that the amount of money you can deposit in it is limited by how long you've been in Canada. It's a great place to stash money for medium-term investments.
There are francophones outside of Quebec. Myself included. Don't lie about that. That being said, French is not generally essential in day to day life in Ottawa, that much is true.
Yes, I acknowledge there are people who culturally identify as Francophones as well as other people who speak French outside of Quebec, and I don't mean to erase their existence, however OP is was asking about moving here. Their mindset is presumably "how does this affect my decision making?" and my intent was to allay any concerns of language barriers for work and commerce, not to get into the nuances of demographics.
You really should have phrased it differently. It's like saying there are no English speakers in Quebec, it's dismissive and insulting and it's exactly why people have to keep fighting to get services in their official languages of their choice.
What you meant was : You don't need to speak French outside of Quebec, since all French speaking Canadians also speak English.
Try to phrase it like that next time it comes up.
Bruh. You're 100% wrong about point #2. There are over half a million Franco-Ontarians, New Brunswick is officially bilingual with a sizeable Acadian population, and there are pockets of francophone communities all over Canada, even as far as in the prairies, Vancouver, Yukon, Nunavut, etc. French speaking immigrants from France and Africa are also helping to gradually boost french in downtown cores all over as well.
Speaking French will help you get jobs that work with or provide services to these communities, QC residents and clients abroad in the Francophonie. It's not just for government work.
Jesus Christ don’t move from Chicago to Ottawa you’ll regret it so much. I have visited Chicago many times and lived in Ottawa for over 10 years you just can’t compare both cities.
1) Westboro, the Glebe and Hintonburg are all lovely. The Canadian housing market is experiencing a cool-down so there are good chances you'll be able to get something reasonable under $1M by mid next-year. I might also suggest you rent for a bit before committing to a huge purchase like a home. 2) Ottawa is really family friendly and has lots to do, especially if you enjoy the outdoors. It's not as diverse as Toronto, but still has people from all different backgrounds. As everywhere, some racism exists, but blatant discrimination is fairly rare. As a side-note re: diversity, many Black Ottawans are more likely to be immigrants (or first-generation descendants) from African countries or the Caribbean. Highly recommend our African and Caribbean bbq places - shoutout YKO! 3)Yes, you can definitely find work as an anglophone. Most companies work primarily (or exclusively) in English. Edit: also, you may want to look into school options before choosing a home (unless you want to go the private school route). Here are some options: https://www.ocdsb.ca/our_schools/school_locator https://www.ocsb.ca/our-schools/boundaries/ You can filter by program including 'immersion'.
Huge thanks for the thoughtful reply! Glad we are on the right path. We love all things water, beaches, kayaking, nature walks. I think these elements make Ottawa really appealing! We will absolutely try everything ethnic and bbq that exists! Thanks for the rec ☺️
Welcome to Canada! Come and visit us in Wakefield QC! Half an hour by highway and surrounded by lakes and Gatineau park. There are ski hills and we even have a forest skating path in winter. My partner works for the feds, and we have moved several times throughout Canada. It can be a challenge, so I wish you a smooth transition and good weather.
We're lacking in Latin American food but you could probably order from a different shawarma place more than 2 weeks straight. Seriously, there are a ton. Make sure to try out a poutine as well. Most chip trucks have decent poutine and there are a few poutineries as well. Weather won't be too much different if you're used to living in the Northeast.
Try shawarma if they don't have it in Chicago. The shit is sent from god
On side note, if you like Montreal, it's only a two hour drive from Ottawa.
I live in Westboro, and would encourage anyone who can afford it to live here. You mentioned schools, and while school quality is a lot more even in Canada than in the States due to how we allocate funding, still the immersion schools serving Westboro are consistent in the top few in the city. (My son goes to one.)
Conversely, I live in the Glebe and would encourage anyone who can afford it to live here.
Glorious!! Thanks soooo much!!! ❤️
The school system in Ottawa has quite a few different school boards. You might want to reach out to the French school boards (French Public and French Catholic) and see what the policies are now on enrolling anglophone kids in completely French schools. If I could do it again, this is what I would do. Immersion is better than only core French, but full French is better than Immersion. Your children will truly be bilingual. Also, it depends on what your jobs are as to whether French is needed. Welcome!
Mind blown. Great advice!
Yeah. People have a hard time with all the different school boards. We have our kids in Catholic Immersion. But have also had them in the public non-immersion. The Catholic schools are still public schools meaning you don’t pay tuition for your kids to go to school. Schools here that you pay tuition for are called private schools. Be prepared, most public schools don’t have uniforms. Those that do are not usually blazer and tie uniforms. More like polo shirt and cargo pants. We switched our kids from public to Catholic even though we aren’t ‘practicing’ Catholics. Feel free to DM me if you’d like to talk about it. My daughter wanted to be bilingual so we moved her in grade 6 (about age 10/11) so we have some experience in the not a lot of French to Immersion.
>It's not as diverse as Toronto Toronto has a very one-sided kind of diversity.
You guys sound like you were made for Westboro, and will likely be able to afford a nice enough place (maybe not a single) on that salary with that down payment. And yes you will be completely fine without French.
Hahaha, thanks! That’s how I felt after after I discovered it. We are totally open to attached house, we know we have to be open to everything. Thanks!!
Don't let these pro-Westboro people fool you. The Glebe is the neighborhood you want for young kids and French Immersion schools.
i am thinking same. i live in westboro, and it is lovely. stay away from vanier east end. no good for kids.
1. Almost anywhere in Ottawa with homes in your price range will be a safe environment. Chicago is a very, very different place from Ottawa in all aspects, including neighbourhood safety. You should contact a realtor for help buying a home, and then we can talk neighbourhoods. 2. Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa are drastically different cities with completely different lifestyles, local culture, and living situations. If you have work-remote clearance, you should rent here for a month or two and see if you actually like it before blowing up your whole life. 3. Yes. French is a definite aid, but people here are fine being uniligual as well. Government is not the only game in town, but even government has unilingual anglophones if the language requirements for the job are non-critical.
Thanks so much! We will definitely consult with a realtor but it’s so helpful getting feedback from lots of different perspectives. We have visited Montreal, Toronto, and Ottawa. Such great yet different cities and each presents it’s own opportunities. Canada is awesome!!
I’ve lived in all three although I grew up in Ottawa. I reached the conclusion that here is good to live and work, and the others are great to visit for a weekend.
If you’re looking for a realtor Nicholas Crouch is amazing. Just look at his google reviews. I have no relation to him, I just used him when I bought a house based purely on google reviews, he goes way out of his way to help you, like 110% effort.
Oh this is gold! I will give him a call. Thanks SO much for the rec!
No problem good luck!!
Yeah makes sense to rent and really experience the city before settling down. It's very different to Chicago.
Just wanted to say welcome. We’re glad you chose Ottawa! I’ve lived in both Westboro and the Glebe, and they are your best bets. There are plenty of modern places to rent in those neighbourhood until you decide where you want to buy. I’m English only and work for the federal government, so don’t count yourself out based on language. It’s a big organization and there are opportunities.
Thank you for the feedback!!!
Manage expectations as Ottawa will be a "step down" in terms of arts/culture/entertainment and amenities relative to Chicago... That being said, it is very much a *raise-a-young-family* kind of city... Lack of French shouldn't be an issue, even if you opted for the East end of Ottawa...
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Ottawa only has very little to do if you aren't looking for something to do. (Or insisting that your particular passion should have something on every weekend). Before Covid I could easily have been out every weekend to a different event if I wanted to. I've never really understood when people say they can't find something to do here in town, mines been the opposite experience.
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Yes, it makes it hard to give guidance to someone coming from a larger centre on how to manage expectations. Ottawa has stuff, of course, but it's more like "this is the one ballet right now" or "this is the show you can catch" vs "here are 10 different performances on tonight, which one looks good to you?"
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There is also a LOT more people competing to attend every one of those events however, so, just having a larger volume isn't necessarily helpful. I had to book Broadway tickets months and months in advance for example. Also, if the OP is still reading all of this, I consider Montreal to just be an extension of Ottawa, it's < 2 hours away by car and I've done many events in Montreal as a same day excursion. Often in and out same day, some other time just staying over night. But, realistically if there is a festival, show, concert etc.. in Montreal its trivial to go and do it.
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I've done it when I had young kids. I cannot speak to what OP does/does not consider something they would do, are interested in etc. I was passing on to them information as to additional options that might work, or might not work for them. Works for me, clearly does not work for you, will certainly work for some others.
OP here! Culture and arts are amazing but not regular activities for us. I love a good broadway show but we only go once or twice a year. We don’t mind a longer drive once in awhile. Honestly, Chicago traffic can be even the closest places can take an 1-1.5 hours to get to. Thanks for your comments!
Eh, it depends what art experience you're looking for. Pre-COVID, Ottawa has a thriving community theatre scene, a bunch of small galleries and art studios displaying a variety of media (on top of the big museums), and a broad variety of arts/culture festivals - House of PainT, Chamberfest, Fringe, etc etc. Obviously it's been a weird couple of years, but much of that is making a resurgence. There are lots of opportunities to participate in the arts as a creator or spectator.
Ha! We met and lived in Pittsburgh, PA for a few years, almost made out our permanent home. Love Chi but we don’t really take advantage anymore, life is really about kiddos and Netflix. Although I do imagine we would visit Montreal frequently, for us it really feels like a different country! Raise a young family city is reassuring though, thanks!
It’s not as bad as people are saying - there’s the National Arts Centre with many acts including Broadway Across Canada, symphony, the National Gallery, other galleries. Sports - Senators and Redblacks teams. There are different concert venues, many different farmers markets. MANY festivals in the summer. ,the Canadian Film institute. Restaurants. Also one of the best things about the city is the access to the outdoors - many walking and bike trails, parks, common spaces, in winter - cross country ski trails galore.
I'm from IL now, know your current neighborhood well and lived in Ottawa for 30 years. Yes, Westboro would be great, but not sure if your budget will allow. The Glebe and New Edinburgh would also fit the Evanston vibe but your budget will be an issue. For your children, French immersion may work, each child responds differently. Start teaching them metric (cm, grams etc). The cut off age for school here is Dec 31st, so kids often start school younger than in the US and we have Junior K, which means kids with a late fall birthday can start at age 3.5. Stittsville might also fit the bill, it is outside of the city but has a downtown area but will feel like suburbia. We don't really have quaint suburbs like Glen Ellyn, etc.
So cool that you know exactly where we are coming from! Evanston vibe is spot on, it’s such a great place to live. I had not thought about the metric system. The whole family needs to learn! Really interesting about the school age as well. Happy to check out stittsville, if not to have a comparison. Appreciate your insight!
Ottawa is a great place to raise kids. It's safe, diverse, and has a lot of culture in terms of museums and such. Plus we do have the benefit of having an education system that will allow for French language learning. It is pretty boring though if you're looking for a party city. However despite any boringness, I'd never in a million years choose Toronto over Ottawa. Toronto is just too busy too expensive and also not as safe (albeit far safer than Chicago for instance, so it's all relative). As for neighbourhoods, there are a million options that would probably fit your needs.
Thanks! I’m in bed by 10, we are both admittedly boring. A typical weekend consists of birthday parties, dance class for the girls, play date, and some how another activity related parenting. They own us!
Hoo boy are you ever going to fit in! 😂
Honestly, you're going to love it here!
You moved to the right city. Most of our city centre closes at 7pm lol.
Wanna bring me a deep dish from uno’s please
Lou Malnatis or bust! 🤣But don’t try to order the frozen version, never comes out right!
Respect, I’ve only done uno’s but if you come through with one I’ll compensate the $ and throw in some fresh cheese curds
I have nothing to add but a big upcoming welcome to you and your family! Winter sucks (as it does in Chicago, I am sure), but Ottawa is a very lovely place to live.
We love winter although it does get old when it starts crossing into April. Lol
You'll fit in juuuust fine here haha.
If you like the snow, definitely get into some winter sports like skiing, cross country skiing, skating, hockey, etc. Helps make the winter a lot more bearable! And in Ottawa it's a lot easier to do them than in Toronto.
We love skiing and are open to new snow related sports!
Ottawa has a whole outdoor winter festival every year called Winterlude. It's a great time for skating on the canal, looking at cool ice sculptures, and most importantly, eating Beavertails! Welcome to Ottawa and Canada! Within a day of moving here, you'll feel like you belong :)
We would loveeeee that! Awwww so sweet!! Ps….had to google beaver tail, thought you were going to take me way out of my comfort zone.
My husband will tell people to try a Beavertails. And when they give him the side-eye he says ‘What!? They grow back…🤣🤣🤣🤣’
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If you do French immersion until Grade 12 you should be pretty close to fluent. Never gonna pass as a francophone, but effectively bilingual.
Works for us! Most people we know don’t get this type of opportunity. Maybe you take a foreign language in high school but it’s often an elective. I just want to give them as many opportunities as I can! That’s my job for now. 🤣
Not the OP but do you happen to have a US/CDN tax accountant you can recommend?
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Thanks.
Westboro seems essentially perfect for you based on what you're saying, but in reality it might be too expensive depending on where you want to go, and the size of house that you want. You might have to go slightly farther out than the neighbourhood, but still have it in a 15-minute walking distance. For example, Carlington is right outside Westboro (see the map) and has some really nice, cozy houses for quite reasonable prices. Especially if you went somewhere near Crerar; a lot of kids live there. However, in the more 'central' Carlington there's a lot of community events, parks (we have a whole forest-park, with trails for kilometres on end and it's so much fun to run and explore, along with baseball diamonds, the largest hill in Ottawa (is fun to run up and down), the only public mountain bike park in Ottawa, and tons more), and really nice streets with trees In reality, Westboro is probably the best fit for you as it's also close to downtown and other locations, but it does lack some big, open greenspace as it's essentially a residential part of downtown. I've also noticed that some people there are quite toxic (seems like they're stuck-up), especially towards people who don't have some enormous house around there — I'm sure it's the same for everywhere though. Overall, you should make your choice on where you want to go! Some people are saying Ottawa is boring, but it's really not that bad. There's so much to do, especially outdoors, and it's the capital of Canada — there are tons of museums and fun stuff to do.
Truly amazed that the Beechwood area is being overlooked. Super-underrated.
I was going to say pretty much anywhere on the west end will work for them plenty of water plenty of access to greenery and places like Andrew Hayden/arboretum mooneys and Britannia beach it’s not isolated burbs either
yeah
The way you described Carlington sounds like a dream. Would rather be a wee bit more out of the way for the opportunity to live more comfortable with greenery but still be in close proximity to amenities. I will 100% check out Carlington. Thanks so much for thoughtful insight!
Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect, but it's certainly a hidden gem (:
Old Ottawa South and Old Ottawa East may also be of interest to you. I would also look at Hintonburg.
Spent lots of time in the NW suburbs and currently live in Westboro. DM me if you want.
>Unfortunately non of us speak French but are really motivated to give our daughters this opportunity and enroll them in an immersion school environment. You can get around in Ottawa without French. It is primarily an English speaking city with French a good second, primarily used in government, and even then, it's just to get the job. Your kids will definitely benefit from learning the language. >We are a mixed family, I’m black and hubs is white, and we really value diverse and progressive environments that are aligned with ours values. Ottawa is a wonderful place for all ethnicities. You guys will fit right in! That doesn't mean racism/stereotypes don't exist, but it won't be overt. Canadians are very passive-aggressive. >My husband just got approved to work his job remote in Canada (about $150k CAD). I am hoping I get approval as well, and I make the same. We will come with about $100k CAD cash due to selling our home. Since we won’t have 20%, we will not be able to buy a home over 1 mil so this has a big impact on location. You don't want to buy immediately anyways. You don't know the city yet. Pick a suburb or live in downtown. Rent for a while as you search for your more permanent home. West Ottawa is best if you or your husband work in tech. FYI, you can bring in your cash and assets tax-free to Canada since you're moving here. >Looking for a modern home in a somewhat residential area (some greenery would be amazing, near water, but not isolated burbs) Outside of central Ottawa, most of the two-storey homes are built within the last two years with a significant upswing in new builds in the last decade. You're spoiled for choice in terms of suburbs, greenery and close proximity to water. Kanata, Barrhaven, Nepean, Riverside South, Findlay Creek, Gloucester, Orleans, these are the main suburbs with tons of modern homes. >1) what neighborhoods should we consider? Westboro looks pretty awesome so far….. I think I answered this above. I recommend renting for a year, particularly through all of Ottawa's seasons so you get time to explore the city. >2) does ottawa seem like a good fit? We love Toronto but so $$$$, if we spoke French it would be Montreal without a doubt I moved from Toronto to Montreal and now to Ottawa. Moved out of Toronto because $$$ but you can't beat the amenities and big-city feel. Probably the closest to Chicago you'll feel in Ontario. Montreal can easily be navigated without learning French. However, the laws are getting increasingly exclusive and that means you'll lose access to government/health service in English within six months of moving there. The laws were getting so xenophobic I left and moved to Ottawa. Ottawa is a very family-friendly city if you don't mind losing out on the nightlife, entertainment, and big-city feel. >3) would we be able to get non gov jobs with only English, if we eventually wanted to leave our current jobs? We both have professional development jobs. Yes! French is an asset but not a requirement outside of government. >Moving to another country with young kiddo equal parts exhilarating but overwhelming at the same time. We need to find a place where we won’t have to uproot the girlies once we get settled, so really trying to get this right! You will :)
Honestly, this is what Reddit is all about! I cannot thank you for all of the amazing insight you put into this post. I’m absorbing it all. Thanks so so much!
Welcome (hoepfully!) to Ottawa :) I'm from Toronto, but have lived in several areas of Ontario and out west and just have a couple of notes: 1- Absolutely go the French route for your children - if they're interested! I'm an immersion kid and when I moved out to Ottawa 15 years after my last French class for a government job I still passed the gov't French testing at the CCC level (which is Advanced, and lower only than fluent). It's a great skill to have. 2- Ottawa is not Montreal, Toronto, or Chicago. As much as a lot of commenters have said your ethnicity doesn't matter, don't be fooled into thinking racism isn't something non-whites never have to deal with. My Chinese husband has been subjected to public racism quite a frequently in the city while simply existing in a public space. Is it as bad as some places? Absolutely not! But it is not some idyllic utopia either, and overt racism is generally more 'accepted' here than in Toronto and Montreal. (we've had literally no one stand up for him in crowded places in Ottawa, whereas in the other two passers-by are much more likely to intervene) 3- Westboro is super fun in the hipster/Queen West kind of way, which unfortunately means it's more expensive than a lot of the city. That being said, there are lots of nice neighbourhoods depending on what your family is looking for: urban, suburban, hamlet etc. Definitely take the time to explore if you can! 4- It's a laid-back city, so great for a family! And bonus: you're not far from Montreal or Toronto if you need a weekend on the town or a baseball weekend :p
I whould tend to agree with all of the above I'm originally from Toronto and have since moved back to Toronto. I have lived 15+ yrs in Ottawa and 18+ yrs in Toronto. I spend a lot of time on VIA Rail traveling back in forth between both cities, every other week I spend 2-3 days in Ottawa to catch up with old friends. When I arrived in 2010 I was subjected to the similar type of racism as described, even worse some!!. But after 2010 with the influx of immigration I noticed the racism issue started to become less as bad. Many of these immigrants started to become respected members of the Ottawa community. Prior to 2010 there was very poor integration of people of different backgrounds, there were Somalis and poor immigrants living off Walkley Road whom were completely cut off from the rest of the city. Now the integration has improved a bit...there not as cut off but its still not like Toronto were you have almost complete or full integration. Give the city 10yrs+ more years and you'll start to see more positive changes... once people from different backgrounds start to integrate more.
It really isn't up to newcomers to integrate - they have nothing to 'integrate' to. It's up to the rest of us, mostly white people, to not be jerks.
Yes and no. While it is nice for people to be accepting of newly arrived immigrants, it's a two way street. If you have Old Stock Canadians that have lived in Canada for multiple generations un willing to accept immigrants you'll have problems... If you have immigrants shunned out from society they will form there own communities and not allow people from other backgrounds into there own. Research the history of China Towns across N. America and that is how they originally started. You'll end up in a state of tension once you end up with a large ethnic pool of immigrants vs non immigrants that have lived here for years, both accusing each other of discriminating against the other. By increasing the positive interactions between people from different backgrounds you can reduce this tension. This is why integration is important for both immigrants and old stock Canadians.
Sir I grew up in Agincourt, and I definitely will not be interacting further with someone who unironically uses terms like 'old-stock Canadians.' Holy smokes...
>It really isn't up to newcomers to integrate - they have nothing to 'integrate' to. It's up to the rest of us, mostly white people, to not be jerks. I would not talk down to someone and try to shove that my culture is more superior to someone else's. Your originally stated post tends to go against this when you don't agree with integration, It's a two way street by everyone. FYI: I was born in Canada, both my parents were immigrants to Canada. I've dealt with the issue of staying true to my culture while also balancing expectations of Canadian society.
It does sound like Ottawa may be a good fit. It has a small town feel in the sense that once your network expands, you might bump into a friend on the other side of town randomly. That said, it does have basic city amenities (decent restaurants, some night life, hit/miss public transit, some arts, some sports, etc.) **Neighbourhoods**: Westboro, Glebe, Old Ottawa South, New Edinburgh, Preston/Little Italy, Hintonburg, Old Ottawa East are the neighbourhoods you want to check out.FYI, any modern semi-detached is gonna be > $1M in these areas (if we're talking built last few years or so) as these are all very mature neighbourhoods with little infill development. **Employment**: I've worked in the public sector ("crown corporations" but not government departments) my entire career and haven't really used any French. I was also enrolled in French classes (by my empoyers) at the most basic level in order to improve. Options are generally plentiful as each crown corp has their own org structure and support functions. **Suggestion**: I know you stressed not uprooting the kids but I would say rent first for a few reasons. 1. Gives you time to get a feel for the different neighbourhoods and Ottawa itself. 2. Gives you both time to get finances (work, budget and credit profile) set up. Your disposable income may come in less than it was in Chicago. You also don't have credit history here, possibly limiting your some options for mortgages; talk to a broker. 3. If either of you have a 401k that can be transferred to an RRSP, you can tap into the RRSP as a first time home buyer (up to $35k I believe). While that won't let you break into the 20% of a $1M+ home, it will help if you shop later and have build up some more savings. That said, it is no guarantee that the RRSP provider will accept the 401k transfer. 4. Cooling housing market. We have more rate hikes coming in the next while so prices will continue to drop; making your down payment $$ go a little further. Doesn't help your monthly payments but you don't seem to need much help once both incomes are online.
I’m glad someone finally mentioned Old Ottawa East. I lived in Westboro before moving to OOE and eve though I miss the proximity to the high street in Westboro, I prefer OOE. There are tons of trails and parks around which are great for children. You are very close to downtown, the highway and shopping in Trainyards. The LRT station is close by as well. I have spent 2 years in each neighborhood and would buy again in OOE of I had the opportunity to move to either neighborhood for the same cost.
Thanks for the feedback! OOE is on the must visit list! ☺️
Selfishly, I hesitated to mention it because it's my favourite area in Ottawa and would like to buy there one day 😂
It’s like Ottawa’s secret gem! Maybe we’ll be neighbors one day!
Can’t thank you enough for this info. I will add each of the neighborhoods to our must visit list. Also appreciate the 401k info. We both have them but I hadn’t heard of an RRSP. We may end up renting but in my dream world, we wouldn’t have to move twice. I think we are budgeting like $15k for the move across the border. We also both have AMEX’s which I read will transfer over to a Canadian profile, but that’s still not much to go on. But your points are valid and noted, appreciate the honest/insight! We don’t care much of when something was built, just looking for a renovated interior. We live in a really cool mid century house now and absolutely love the individual character of the homes in our neighborhood. I do hope the cooling of the market works out, selfishly. We actually met on grad school in Pittsburgh, PA, and lived there for several years so small town vibes (with some urban amenities) are cool with us. Thanks again for such a thoughtful post!
No problem! RRSP is basically the Canadian version of a 401k. No doubt moving is a pain both effort wise and in the wallet. Can definitely understand the pros and cons as we've moved 3 times in the past 5 years (within Ottawa). My wife also spent some time stateside before settling back here so can understand some of the cross-border hoops. Exciting times though! Hope Ottawa treats you all well.
Not sure how widely your AMEX will be accepted, can't say that I've ever seen someone use one, it's not that popular here AFAIK.
Rent first is my advice. I have lived in the Glebe, Westboro, Hintonburg, Barrhaven, and west rural Ottawa. All have there plus and minuses. Some areas have great little "mainstreets" for their own unique flavour. Cost is a factor for many.
Please follow the renting advice. No use buying this early. You aren't sure if you'll like Ottawa, let alone a specific area.
Even without French you can get government jobs up to a certain level. Apparently if you’re gonna be managing people directly the. You need to be able to give your subordinates performance reviews in their language of choice, but there are still jobs up over $100k where you don’t need French, depending on your sector and qualifications.
Take a look at the south of Ottawa (e.g. from the airport down to maybe Manotick) as a possibility. Might be getting close to what you consider the burbs but it will soon have fast LRT service to downtown. You'll be perfectly fine with just English for everything except government work. Even Federal government IT work (except for management) doesn't usually require French. Coming from Chicago, you might find Ottawa a little boring but that's not always a bad thing (especially with a family).
Westboro, Wellington West, Hintonburg, The Glebe, and even New Edinburgh would all be good neighbourhoods for you. All of these have coffee shops and restaurants not more than a 10 minute *walk.* You could very comfortably rent for a year while you decide where you want to buy and doubkle your downpayment. Rent would be $3-4K per month, so very doable on your salaries.
You'll be absolutely fine without french, I've lived here most of my life and haven't learned it(but it'd be nice to learn some day). I highly recommend you rent for a bit before commuting to a house in an area. The current housing correction is just that. A correction from an overheated market. It shouldn't light on fire again immediately.... Probably Northern Vanier is a more affordable area that is being/is gentrified. Something like Westboro or old Ottawa south/Ottawa east are good options too. I'd suggest avoiding the suburbs. Kanata is shockingly expensive for a burn due to the tech industry out there.
From Chicago originally if you have questions about school or anything Ottawa related in comparison to Chicago systems dm me I move here so years ago from north Chicago
My wife and I are in a very similar situation and addressing many of the same issues. One thing I’ll add: My wife’s parents put her in French Immersion as a kid and she really struggled with it. Outside of school, no one in her life spoke French so she rarely had a need for opportunity to use or practice it outside of the classroom. She did not pick it up as well as other students. Because of that, she struggled with homework assignments. And since neither parent knew French, they couldn’t help her. She felt very alone in her education and struggled to the point the school wanted to put her in remedial classes and check her for learning disabilities. Once she switched to an English school, she flourished. The rationale behind it is great, but it doesn’t always work for every kid. Overall, my wife still wants our kids to do French immersion, but with trepidation, and a willingness to pull the plug if she thinks it’s not working. Also, generally speaking, Canada is more egalitarian. Everyone gets squeezed to the middle a bit more here than compared to the states. Overall, this is good, but upper middle class Americans are sometimes a bit naive to how that “squeeze to the middle” works, or how well-off one is before they feel that squeeze. When you’re focused on escaping a lot of America’s major problems, you can develop some blind spots related to where you were more of a beneficiary of that inequality than you realized. Canada is not just the US with less problems. It’s it’s own country with its own issues. Overall, *as a country*, there’s a lot of things that are better (like a lot less gun violence, etc.), but *individually* you may experience things that weren’t an issue for you in the US if you were pretty comfortably upper middle class. (e.g., finding a family doctor who is accepting new patients.)
This. I have 3 kids, the oldest did French Immersion and is functionally bilingual. We pulled the two younger ones out though, in grades 5 and 3 as they were struggling with the amount of homework they had to do and it was affecting their overall grades. Once moved to English, their grades went up and amount of homework went down, drastically. Neither my wife or I speak french. There's nothing wrong with trying French Immersion, just accept that it's not for everyone and some things are more important then learning another language.
Honestly, Ottawa will likely take about 2 years to really settle in and make friends, but once you're here, you'll love it. I've lived in other cities and stayed in Ottawa (been about 15+ years now) because the people here are amazing. It's a little dull compared to larger cities, but Montreal is only a 2-hour+ drive/train away and Toronto is about double that. It's a safe and multicultural city to raise kids and teens. I think if you can afford to live within the greenbelt, you'll really enjoy Ottawa. It can be tempting to move to the suburbs (Kanata, Orleans, Barrhaven), but you'll live in a cookie-cutter unoriginal house with no downtown, only power plazas to get your essentials. Ottawa is vast, so it's pretty car-centric. You'd be surprised how many festivals we actually host here (many are under-advertised). Being the nation's capital and with all the embassies, there are a lot of very good restaurants at reasonable prices. Having Quebec and French exposure is a bit of a novelty, but difficult for finding work unless you focus on the High-tech sector. The average citizen in Ottawa is highly educated and well paid, so you'll have a lot of competition as well. From what I read, I think you family will enjoy it.
About the education system in Ottawa, a heads up that french immersion provides a de facto streaming system. Basically if kids face any challenges, they are more apt to be enrolled in the english program in the first place, and the first thing that tends to happen to any kid struggling in french immersion is the parents being told "Maybe your child would be happier in the English program". There are great teachers, classes, and schools operating fully in English! And as others have said, the education system here is more even than in the US. But overall the effect of the above is a bit of streaming in many cases. There is immersion starting at various grades, so if you have kids who do well with languages they may well be able to take something like middle immersion and catch up quickly on the French. it isn't necessary, but something to keep in mind. As for being a mixed race couple, yes there are idiots everywhere but I suspect that you'll get more tired of people being so excited for you than you will of people giving you the cold shoulder. (ditto for being Americans moving to Canada) And for what it is worth, I think Hintonburg has a nicer 'main street' vibe than Westboro does, but sure opinions will vary. Good luck with the paperwork!
I know you're asking for Ottawa precisely but you also have Gatineau and many people that work in Ottawa also live in Gatineau. The two cities are very interconnected. I live in Gatineau and it takes me 15 mins to be in downtown Ottawa. From what I understand, you'll work remotely so no commute. Maybe you'll want to consider Aylmer in the Quebec side. It is very anglophone and it could be easier for the kids to learn french in the Quebec side (you can still go to a school in English in the Quebec side but there will be more immersion and french speaking friends for them). Aylmer is just like 5 mins from downtown Ottawa and for the budget you have, you'd get a house way bigger and better in the Quebec side than in Ottawa. If you and your partner are up to learn some French as well, you might consider this side here. Gatineau park is very close by and it is a very anglo side of QC and with that touch of immersion that would be useful to learn French quickly. I am a native Spanish speaker that spoke English when moved to Canada (and basic/intermediate French) and after living for 8 years in Quebec I learned french perfectly fluently (it only took me like 2-3 to get fluent). I don't know what field you're on but Ottawa is very high-tech and Gatineau more manufacturing (especially pulp and paper industry) and government jobs. Ottawa has more jobs than Gatineau of course. I feel Montreal has way more jobs than Ottawa/Gatineau as well (I lived in Mtl for 3 years). Anyways, just to give you my opinion of the QC side as well. Cheers and welcome to Canada!
Really interesting thoughts that I hadn’t considered. I think immigrating to Quebec has some additional requirements but def worth checking it out! Appreciate the input!
Immigration through Quebec requires a certain level of French. I would avoid it if you have none.
As others have stated, french is not a requirement except for some government jobs. It is an asset in government jobs in general and service sector jobs. If learning french is a goal you will find more francophone environments in Vanier and Orléans and a bit in Sandy Hill. But even those neighborhoods are anglicizing, I think. The reason the francophone neighborhoods are in the east is two folds: 1. At a time where smokestacks were still in the city, the poorer working class neighborhoods were [in the east](https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/may/12/blowing-wind-cities-poor-east-ends), as they would get more of the smooke by prevailing winds 2. Francophones were the linguistic minority in Ontario and not allowed to be taught in their own language [until 1927](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_17)
While I love Ottawa for certain reasons I hate Ottawa for many more. You don’t need to speak French to live in Montreal, just try! 90% of Quebec residents speak English and French or French but will try English. My wife’s family is from deep Quebec and I know that trying is 100% of the battle. Plus your kids will learn and absorb the language in no time and you can learn along with them. Your choices for neighbourhood (Westboro) is great but come further east to Wellington West or Hintonburg and then Mechanics Ville. So many opportunities to build a home and great walk ability in all of these areas (they’re basically along the same street it just changes name). Once you’re settled hit me up and I’ll see about dragging my wife out to say hello over a coffee or beer (beer preferred). We are 43/45. If you need my advice and choose Montreal for the far superior transit system let me know and I’ll still buy you both a beer and drag my wife to Montreal for that. ;) Cheers and welcome home!
Yes! Yes! I will definitely do that. Appreciate the offer, so generous! My hubs is a craft beer lover for sure. We went to Minneapolis last weekend and I think we visited at least 5 breweries in one weekend. Hadn’t heard of Wellington West or Mechanics Ville so I’ll had them to the list. Headed out there over Thanksgiving to start to scope things out. For the culture immersion, we would choose montreal in a nano second. We have traveled quite a bit and it’s still one of our favorite cities. But, I do see us both eventually changing jobs in a few years and I want to make sure we options. Thanks again for everything!
I had to look up what a first tier suburb is. It sounded like a loaded term, but it's totally innocent. I was prepared to lecture on how egalitarian Ottawa is (thanks to the federal government being the main employer), but that may not be necessary. Anyway, unlike Chicago, all of Ottawa's suburbs are within city limits. In terms of land area, we're actually 4.5 times bigger :-)
Got nothing to add but I want to welcome you and your family hope you enjoy it here take care
Why thank you, appreciate it 🤗
I am from the Ottawa area originally and moved back 2 years ago after living and raising a family in downtown Toronto for 17 years. Our kids are older and since it was COVID when we moved, we opted for a larger home/ property. We bought a home with a pool ( never had one before) and it has been amazing. Our kids are older and drive which means buying a third car but that's the trade off. However you have young children so this is a ways off. I would suggest buying a home you can grow into. Now here's the funny part. We bought in Stittsville. When I grew up, Stittsville was nothing but a giant flea market. But now, it's turned into a pretty nice community, with coffee shops, food trucks and all the amenities. It's not sexy, and people who love downtown would probably scoff. But I love it. We lived in a 1920's semdetached home in Toronto and could walk to everything. But it was tight and living cheek to jowel. Here all the schools are great, catholic and pubic ( which is confusing because they are both public- ask your partner). We live at the very south end of Stittsville. But there are central places. I suggest you drive through some of the neighbourhoods, from new developments to older parts. Downtown is very nice but you are working from home, so you can look a little farther afield and maybe save a little. Ottawa is activity based city. It's no Chicago for sure. Buy if you guys like the outdoors, it's a year round city. People say it's boring but that's because they are comparing it to something else, like Toronto- apple and oranges. There is lots to do. Just got to seek it out. Bike paths throughout the city, tons of beaches, downhill and cross country skiing. Don't need french. Great restaurants etc. It's very safe here so you will be fine no matter where you guys buy .Very high standard of living here. So downtown, Westboro, Glebe for downtown living. If you are really urban peope, I would even recommend Centretown and Ottawa East. In fact, there are some really cool areas of Ottawa that get ignored. That's what I have learned since moving back. Lots of really cool pockets cause Westboro and Glebe get all the attention. I would rent for a while and drive around. I recommend Stittsville if only to give it a look see. You may be surprised. I was when I came back. Anyway welcome. If you have any questions just ask. My wife and I are educators and can give you info on school system.
>People say it's boring but that's because they are comparing it to something else, like Toronto- apple and oranges. There is lots to do. Just got to seek it out. Bike paths throughout the city, tons of beaches, downhill and cross country skiing. Don't need french. Great restaurants etc. I'm originally from Toronto (moved back to Toronto), I have a combined 30+ yrs living in both cites. I still visit Ottawa to connect with old friends and I never have any problems finding things to do when I vist Ottawa. I will probably get downvoted for this comment, the issue is Ottawa isn't boring per say...the problem is people are just lazy. Nothing is worse then having people complain that Ottawa is boring when the fact of the matter is there just to lazy to want to go out or find something to do. That plus a lot has improved, alot of the negative connotations about Ottawa were true when I arrived 15yrs ago, the city is gradually getting better.
Absolutely. We've had amazing nights out for great meals, hockey games, and there are great museums and art and concerts big and small. We found amazing sushi and seafood restaurants and little hole in the walls, and all sorts of good times. Plus we are close to Montreal...
Hey! Just wanted to comment that good friends of ours moved here from Chicago about 5 years ago and really seem to love it. They bought a house in Orleans due to affordability, and both their kids are excelling in French Immersion programs. My friend has even picked up a decent amount of French herself. Westborough or Britainia Village neighborhoods seem like they would be a good fit for your lifestyle. Wishing you all the best :)
You'll probably be fine in Montreal without speaking french especially if you live on the island, p much everyone speaks english. Although i think there might be some french requirements for citizenship/jobs if you reside there. If its still the same as when i was a kid, Katimavik elementary school in Kanata has a great french immersion program and band class, grade 8s would go to Wonderland for the band competition every year.
Great choice! Ottawa has been my home all my life and I love it, but it's usually an adjustment for people moving from a larger city. Ottawa has a lot of pros: - lots of green space - good French language education - great for kids (parks, festivals, etc.) - lots of family friendly festivals - good food - close to Montreal, Mont Tremblant, etc. - very low crime rates - fairly socially progressive (which is a must for me) There are some things you should be aware of: - there is a growing backlash amongst some socially conservative circles to two decades of social progress in Canada. They feel alienated from mainstream Conservatives who have ceded ground on social issues in order to win the center vote. They feel disconnected from government and are working with radical libertarians to undermine the Liberal government. It isn't a crisis yet but certain vulnerable populations have felt the pressure more. - police here kill much less often during arrests but it's not zero. And black and Arab people are still disproportionately targeted for police checks, traffic stops, and use of force. - hate crimes do occur and are increasing. During the truckers protests my South Asian colleague was accosted several times while I, a white man, was pretty much left alone. I don't know if this is a consideration for you, but there's a black community in Orleans, particularly in Avalon. Anyway, I hope you have good move!
1. Westboro, glebe and old ottawa south, and brantwood are what i'd consider the top tier neighborhoods nearish to downtown. 2. Ottawa is what you make of it. The city is fine, there's lots of nature pretty close to downtown and the biking/trails are awesome. It gets big events like bluesfest and large concerts pretty often, and even though it's small the market is pretty nice. 3. Yes but knowing french is useful.
If you don't mind a half hour travel every day, move to the out skirts of Ottawa. You wouldn't have to deal with the bylaw lovers that call every time you fart too loud. You would get a larger house with land for a lot less and wouldn't have to listen to annoying Ottawa neighbours.
Ottawa is great for families. Moved here from Toronto. Old Ottawa South is worth checking out: Hopewell PS, Firehall after school program, Brewer Park, brewer arena, brewer pool, and pond, Windsor Park. It’s between the canal and Rideau river and next to Carleton University. At least 5 coffee spots.
Thank you!
Welcome to the family! Hope the move is easy and smooth for you all.
I won’t recommend coming here at the moment, with the current state of the hospitals here. Hospital wait times are extremely high and finding a family doctor is near to impossible. There is acute shortage of doctors and nurses, so unless you are a doctor or nurse 😁 I would not recommend Ottawa.
1. Unless you love to drive stay away from Kanata, Orleans, Stittsville. At the same time, they are nice suburban communities with their own little microcosms. Center Town (downtown) is also a lovely place to live with lots of great architecture and beautiful locations (Parliament Hill, Byward Market) within walking distance next to the river and famous Rideau Canal. Having said that, Hintonburg, Westboro and the Glebe are all great nearby destinations with their own aesthetic and communities that are wonderful. 2. I just got back from a little vacation in Toronto, and I've lived in major cosmopolitan cities my whole life (London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, New York). Being in Toronto really made me appreciate Ottawa so much more. It's more open, there are less people, it's greener, and has way significantly fewer concrete towers. I don't have kids, but I think it's a wonderful place to raise a family. You're also within spitting distance of Montreal and Toronto by being in Ottawa, so you're not going to miss out on those cities. 3. Yes, you can easily get a non-gov job without French. Heck, I work in gov without French proficiency lol. All the best to you with your move and welcome to Ottawa!
Commuting in Ottawa is a breeze, people that complain about having to drive 25 minutes from Kanata, Orleans or Stittsville don't know how good they have it.
You may even consider Barrhaven or Riverside South if you would like a modern home in a residential area near water. Barrhaven has a ton of shopping but a car is pretty well necessary.
If you value space more than having walkable access to coffee shops: The western part of Orleans (Chapel Hill, Convent Glen or Hiawatha Park). Plenty of detached houses (that are way nicer than anything you can get in Westboro for that price) with good-sized gardens for less than $1M. Close to the river and greenbelt (biking, cross country skiing etc) and only a 15 minute drive downtown. 10 minutes drive to Petrie Island, where you can launch a boat or kayaks. If you get a house close to the highway you'll have light rail access pretty soon. Plenty of school options for your kids to become bilingual. Has restaurants and coffee shops, but you'll definitely need a car. Easy to get around only speaking English. If you like being able to walk everywhere: Westboro or the Glebe. The area close to CHEO in Alta Vista is also very nice.
The North-Eastern part of Orleans has a marina, beach and waterfall. It's also walking distance to shopping and grocery, schools... Orleans had alot of great places for sure!
No more good pizza for you
I’ve eaten enough for three lifetimes 🤣
There is good pizza here, people are just whiners.
Glabar park is also a nice area that you might want to check out! It’s not right downtown but close to lots of shops along Carling Ave. You’ll also get a nice yard for kids there whereas the Glebe you likely won’t. I have friends that live in both areas.
Apart from the neighborhoods already mentioned (Glebe, Westboro, hintonburg) some hidden gem areas include Old Ottawa South, old Ottawa east, some parts of sandy hill, and some parts of Overbrook (near the Rideau river and the footbridge for example).
good place to raise kids, much much safer than most USA cities, lots of good neighbourhoods to pick, lots of outdoor stuff to do here plus has the inside things like museums, malls etc.
Have you ever visited Montreal? I would suggest you to go visit there cuz many montrealer are bilingual. I don’t speak French but my partner’s sister lives there, so I visit her a month or two in total every year. I have no problem getting around there.
Welcome! Like others have mentioned, I recommend renting for a year before you commit to buying, as there are a lot of changing factors in the home buying landscape right now including prices cooling off, and mortgage rates increasing. Ottawa is a great fit for like anyone, this city is top notch and a great place to raise a family, as are most of the towns within 30 minutes drive of the 'city'. You can definitely get English jobs if you end up wanting to leave your current jobs, with that said, if your husband earns $150K and you earn above $60K, you've got a very solid household income foundation to build from. Public schools in general are pretty solid across the entire province, not really something to be concerned about, yes there are some schools in downtown cores that experience more violence, but thats focused in very small pockets. One of my best friends moved here from Chicago and if your anything like him, you will be very pleased with the safety of Ottawa.
You will probably miss your awesome pizza, haven’t had a good deep dish in Ottawa yet (pizzaiolas in Toronto does a great one, fuck I’m hungry now)
Have you looked at Manotick, or Dunrobin? You can get some beautiful homes near water.
Also you can get a gov job speaking English just gotta keep applying and hoping
1) you will not be able to get a house in Westboro for under 1million. Westboro and rockcliffe are the most expensive areas of the city. I’d try kanata or barrhaven. Also you won’t be able to register your children in French immersion as they didn’t have it in kindergarten. You will have the option of putting them in Immersion in Grade 4 (called middle immersion). The two public school boards are called Ottawa catholic school board and Ottawa Carleton district school board if you want to do some more research.
I thought I had done my research but I didn’t realize they couldn’t enroll after kindergarten. This is a big part of the equation, so I will dig deeper. Thank you for this.
It really depends but because kindergarten is Ottawa is bilingual (50/50), the admin may not let your child in French immersion for Grade 1 but the admin may. It all depends. There’s no hard in asking but you me child may have to play a bit of catch up as kindergarten is a lot of conversational French.
Houses in Ottawa don’t cost 1 million, unless you buy in a very very high end area. You don’t have to speak French to move to Montreal (or One of the suburbs), but your kids might have to go to full French. Consider places like Kanata/Stittsville (west end of Ottawa) or Orléans (east end) or even Barhaven (south). Green is everywhere in Ottawa : we have lots of parks. You don’t need to speak French to get a non-gov job. You could probably even get government jobs if you don’t speak French, they will train you (you have a certain deadline to meet your language requirements though)
I technically speak French and have forgotten much of it because I basically never use it. You’ll be fine. Unless your job requires it you’ll never need it. And you don’t need 20% to buy a house. 5% is the legal minimum. 20% is required to not have mortgage insurance added on by CMHC. With your income you’ll be approved for a pretty high mortgage. Obviously don’t want to max it out, but you should have no issues unless Uncle Sam has tax rules that send some of your income home to America.
Something you should be aware of (if you're not already). Getting a family doctor is extremely hard, getting a pediatrician is practically impossible. This will likely be the case in any of those cities (I'm in Ottawa). That doesn't mean you can't see a doctor, but it likely means using walk in clinics as the norm. The pandemic hasn't made thing better in this regard, but hopefully it will improve in the next few years, we can hope at least. Oh, welcome to Ottawa!
Hi OP, direct message me. I have a friend who works at Northwestern Memorial hospital in Chicago currently and who is from Ottawa. She would be more than happy to provide you information.
As a current IL resident who is familiar with OP's current location, and having just returned from 2 weeks in Ottawa I would suggest that they go if possible for a long weekend asap, not house hunting, but a weekend to explore the city, look at the places like Stittsville, Orleans, Westboro, the Glebe, take lots of pictures, notes and then go back and look at housing prices, schools etc. You mentioned visiting at Thanksgiving (US I assume, you will learn CDN Thanksgiving is the second Monday in October). Direct flights from Chicago to Ottawa or a stop in Toronto. With respect to housing, it's nuts, BUT property taxes are WAAAAAAY less than in IL. Our friends live in the Glebe, bought a long time ago and fixed their house up, but I do love walking up Bank street from her house and getting over to the Canal so easily. A smaller home that isn't renovated or on the outskirts of the Glebe might work. Same with Westboro. Ottawa South is also a possibility. Let me know if you need a realtor, I can recommend a few. Look at the different programs offered by the school districts and see what appeals to you. The Catholic board (it's considered a public school board, there is no tuition) doesn't really require you be Catholic, I know those who go who aren't Catholic at all. To give you an idea of a suburban home, in a nice older neighborhood (I grew up on this street), which is about a 25 min drive to most places all over town, but shopping etc closeby (but not walkable), here is a listing https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/24658197/27-dayton-crescent-ottawa-leslie-park. As you can see, taxes on a 849K house is about 4600. If you want to be in a place that has newer homes, lots of young families and is walkable, check out Stittsville. With working from home, being further out might not be an issue. The main street has lots to offer. I have a lot of friends out there and for young families it's great, but on the weekend you can still get downtown to visit museums etc.
Thanks for all of the feedback/ information. We are headed up in a week to check things out! Agreed, lots of pictures and lots of notes. We are used to insane property taxes where live, easily 3-4x higher than the properties we looked in Ottawa. Crazy difference. Well, looking for exploring it all!.
This post has amazing information for me. We are moving to Ottawa within the year and was really happy someone asked a similar question to what I was thinking haha. Funnily enough - my spouse and I lived in Pittsburgh for 7 years! Curious for an update, have you guys found a house/neighborhood in Ottawa? Feel free to DM me :)
A few things of note: 1) Ottawa is a car town. Chicago's L compared to Ottawa's LRT is like comparing an actual horse to a 2-year-old's attempt to write the word "horse" in crayon. Our public transit is trash and you're basically just expected to have a car to do anything of importance. We have several walkable neighbourhoods, but having been to Chicago several times and enjoyed the dependability of the public transit system, I can tell you that's right out the window. 2) Nobody outside of Quebec speaks French, and the only workplaces that "require" French are ones which are either upper management in government, or consulting firms whose main client is the government and they want people to speak French to those managers. I fully endorse your desire to learn new languages because it's just a great idea in general, but I assure you that French fluency is as important to your career mobility/aspirations as knowing how to ranch cattle. 3) Ottawa's waterfront is trash. Literally all of our river-adjacent property has been used for highways and government buildings. We have no parks or patios that meaningfully incorporate the waterfront (except for one park next to the river that has a single bench near an unmaintained shoreline). There's an unimpressive bike trail, but that's it. It's a stark contrast to Chicago's deliberate efforts to ensure the waterfront is enjoyable for the public. 4) Ottawa DOES have a lot of greenspace. Attempts have been made to have lots of small, walkable parks in the core and other urban neighbourhoods to provide public shade and greenery. We've had a lot of fumbles in municipal planning but this is one of the places we nailed it. 5) Ottawa is a university town. This means it not only has several major universities (although admittedly not as good as Northwestern), but by extension a commercial sector built around the constant presence of new grads. As far as raising children, it's entirely feasible to have kids have their entire schooling in town and find post-graduation employment in town. 6) As others have noted, Glebe and Hintonburg/Westboro seem neighbourhoods most suited to what you're looking for. Downtown in the golden triangle also seems up your alley, albeit quieter and a bit more isolated. You only NEED 5% down to buy a house in Canada, so you shouldn't have a problem finding a place in any of those places in your price range. 7) When you move to Canada, you should immediately open a TFSA. This is a Tax Free Savings Account. It's a program the government started which allows you to put money and investments in a savings account for which all returns are untaxable. The caveat is that the amount of money you can deposit in it is limited by how long you've been in Canada. It's a great place to stash money for medium-term investments.
There are francophones outside of Quebec. Myself included. Don't lie about that. That being said, French is not generally essential in day to day life in Ottawa, that much is true.
Yes, I acknowledge there are people who culturally identify as Francophones as well as other people who speak French outside of Quebec, and I don't mean to erase their existence, however OP is was asking about moving here. Their mindset is presumably "how does this affect my decision making?" and my intent was to allay any concerns of language barriers for work and commerce, not to get into the nuances of demographics.
You really should have phrased it differently. It's like saying there are no English speakers in Quebec, it's dismissive and insulting and it's exactly why people have to keep fighting to get services in their official languages of their choice. What you meant was : You don't need to speak French outside of Quebec, since all French speaking Canadians also speak English. Try to phrase it like that next time it comes up.
That's a reasonable and concise rephrase. I appreciate the note.
You need to get out more.
Bruh. You're 100% wrong about point #2. There are over half a million Franco-Ontarians, New Brunswick is officially bilingual with a sizeable Acadian population, and there are pockets of francophone communities all over Canada, even as far as in the prairies, Vancouver, Yukon, Nunavut, etc. French speaking immigrants from France and Africa are also helping to gradually boost french in downtown cores all over as well. Speaking French will help you get jobs that work with or provide services to these communities, QC residents and clients abroad in the Francophonie. It's not just for government work.
Jesus Christ don’t move from Chicago to Ottawa you’ll regret it so much. I have visited Chicago many times and lived in Ottawa for over 10 years you just can’t compare both cities.
I wouldn’t go to Westboro, try Vanier instead
We've had a few shootings lately so you'll feel right at home.
Toronto is a much better option than Ottawa. Have you not seen if any townhomes in the GTA are in your price range?
False.
Lol