Moved from GTA to Ottawa in November 2021. We are in Stonebridge/Barrhaven area. Anyone here living in or planning to move to Ottawa?
-Murali
Ha! Moving from Saskatoon to Ottawa end of Jan 2022!
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Will be living in Centertown
just out of curiosity - what made you choose Ottawa, how are job opportunities, weather, affordability ? I used to be fan of Calgary but cold this time has been real pain in neck
We moved primarily because the housing is a bit cheaper than the GTA. I and my wife both do remote work but my employer has an office in Ottawa, so the prospect of going to the office at some point seemed exciting. The weather is a bit of a bummer - winters are probably 8 degrees colder on average than in GTA but we traded that off for a bigger house.
The tech scene is promising is what I hear but haven’t really explored that much.
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Wait till April comes. The weather will turn lovely and you can spend all day outdoors anywhere along the river, hike across the numerous trails, walk along the canal, etc. Gatineau park is so close to Ottawa and is simply stunning! We got bikes and biked all the way from Westboro to Aylmer; sometimes to Experimental Farm or to the downtown area. It will get humid so you will definitely need an AC in the summer. Definitely check out Mer Bleue, Luskville Falls, the trails along Ottawa river. The winter has been a huge adjustment for us as well (moved from NYC) but we’re coping okay and looking forward to the summer.
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Thank you for the reply, just to understand Ottawa housing market what is the ballpark price for 3-4 bed room detached home in good school district
We are exploring Ottawa as well. If Real estate god smiles on us, we should be there this summer!
by the way how is Saskatoon life ? I heard real estate is very affordable out there…
Saskatoon, objectively speaking, is a great city actually - except for the freezing winters 
we are at the tail end of a 3 week deep freeze i.e. highs near - 30 C and lows at - 45 C and below for last 3 weeks almost non stop. You probably are experiencing the same in Calgary 
It is hands down one of the most beautiful, clean and pure cities I have seen in the summer in terms of natures beauty, greenery, rivers, parks etc. despite how harsh the winter is. I am talking about within city limits. Yes real estate is relatively affordable. The city is just the right size. The tech scene is growing with some very well funded start-ups here.
It’s just not for me however. I am moving to Ottawa so that I can be in a city that’s not too big (lived in LA for 10+ years, plus other mega cities before) but also not too small and still has culture, is vibrant, more exposure to life and the world in general etc. Which is something that I think Saskatoon is lacking. It also takes you at least 2 flights to get to anywhere other than Calgary. Ottawa at least is close to both Toronto and Montreal. Plus job opps are better in Ottawa, and I have heard Ottawa also has a lot to offer in terms of nature etc.
That’s true - even whole Saskatchewan is so beautiful - we witnessed it when we were driving all the way from the mid west USA to Calgary. Abundance of flat prairies 
Wishing you all the best with your Ottawa move.
Calgary is great except for last 3 weeks on brutal winter. Since tech scene is growing at rapid pace - will see for a year or so what the city has to offer but for sure housing is very affordable here in Calgary.
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Really looking forward to the summer too. 
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Well a 4 bed detached can go from 900k to over a mil. Really depends on the house, neighborhood etc but that’s the range we had seen when we were on the market 3 months back.
Good luck with the house hunting! Summer is a better time to move.
You’re making such a great move! There are national parks at our doorstep and tons of gardens, green spaces, nature trails. It has done wonders for our mental health.
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You’ll be in a great location! You can walk/drive/bike to downtown/Hintonburg. My absolute favorite part of Ottawa is Hintonburg & Westboro. So many cute stores, places to eat, etc.
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Great to learn about this thread!! We are currently exploring our move to Ottawa from Toronto too:)
I do remote work and employer is in Montreal so presently exploring both Ottawa and Montreal. However, the only thing in Montreal which we were concerned about (Even before our move to Toronto) was primary education being in French.
As @rndmdude mentions in his post, f the real estate god smiles on us, we should be there by summer too:)
Exploring south and east Ottawa presently. Thanks for good information.
Regards,
Appy
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Just wondering…If majority of folks are working remotely - Why not explore beautiful & affordable places like Niagara Fall (St. Catherine) or extremely affordable places like Windsor which is just a mile from Detroit.
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While we love Ottawa, real estate prices are crazy (at least for my husband & me). We’re childfree, don’t work in tech, and would love to buy a 2-bedroom condo/townhome at some point but prices seem completely unreasonable to us. It’s only been a year so far for us over here (and we both work remotely) so we’re taking it easy right now. At some point, we’ll have to decide where we end up living long-term.
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