Hubby the Great and I love our adopted hometown of Ottawa. We’ve been here six years, first as singles, then newly-marrieds, and now as parents. This city has been a perfect fit for all three of those stages.
Ottawa gets an undeserved bad rap for being a boring government town. So not true. There is such an excellent quality of life here. We have discovered a beautiful and elegant city full of history. People are friendly here and the crime rate is surprisingly low for a city of this size. The housing prices haven’t gone berserk like Toronto, Vancouver, or Calgary and commuting times are still comparatively reasonable. Ottawa has an abundance of quality restaurants and no end of amazing festivals, historic sites, and museums. It is a dynamic city with a young population that has come from every corner of Canada. There is always something to do and see here.
Yes, the winters can be miserably cold, but this is Canada after all. Good luck trying to avoid snow unless you live on the west coast (and even they got DUMPED ON last year). And, yes, the best place for shopping in Ottawa is still Montreal. But, that too is changing (a shout out to the shops on Sussex Drive).
Everyone who comes to visit us from out of town is pleasantly surprised over how much Ottawa is different from their expectations. They all leave being as enchanted with the city as we are.
So it was with such pride (and a bit of smug validation) that I saw this survey ranking Ottawa as Canada ’s Best Place to Live 2007. I know these things are always highly subjective but it still warms my heart to see others coming around to our point of view.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
It's been almost 20 years since I moved here, and I can't imagine ever leaving. I agree, I can't think of a better place to live and raise a family. (And thanks for the link to that article, I hadn't seen it before!)
Post a Comment