How well does Ottawa compare to Toronto?

Question

I'm going to Carleton University in Ottawa. How does the city compare to Toronto (my current home), in terms of crime, green space, recreation, entertainment, and overall quality of life?

Answer 1

I'm from Toronto and have been in Ottawa for eight years.

Crime: I have not had any issues with crime in either city so I'd say the same. Much like Toronto there are areas that are not good to go into but as long as you avoid those you are fine.

Green Space: Better. I live smack in the core in one of the tallest buildings and while I've never been to a park I can see lots of them. Not to mention the Hill and all along the river. Apparently there are trails and good hiking just outside of Ottawa.

Entertainment: Sub-par. If you are into the going out and getting drunk cheap club scene then you'll be fine. There really is nothing upmarket. Clubs that try to open catering to a nicer environment quickly fail. I travel to Toronto on the weekends because my preferred club scene doesn't really exist here. Irish pubs we have a plenty and they can be fun.

Restaurants are pretty bad for a capital city. The city is fairly cheap so just can't support fine dining. There is a heavy French food bias which I am not a fan of. Steak is covered off well by Hy's. Prime and Sterling but other food styles are missing.

We have the NAC and museums but not on the same level as Toronto. I've been disappointed in every show I've seen at the NAC.

Quality of life is decent. You are here to go to school so the two major drawbacks of Ottawa won't affect you. You don't need to find a job without speaking French and you are around a lot of students and so won't be bored. I find the city very extreme. You can live very affordable if you don't really want anything nice but if you want anything slightly upmarket it is very expensive. I'm paying $2700/month for a large 1 bedroom and I could easily get a full house for $1000-1500 if I was willing to live outside the core or I could get a dump in the core for $700/month but there is nothing inbetween the two.

Answer 2

I live in Ottawa. In order, about as good, if you leave out the Jane/Finch area of Toronto in that calculation. We've got a lot of green spaces here, including the Greenbelt that goes around most of Ottawa. Recreation and entertainment, well, we're a much smaller city than Toronto, so figure that into your plans.

That said, we do have some such assets that come with being a national capital city, so that is a plus. From national museums to the National Arts Centre, and such.

I would say that the quality of life in Ottawa is very good. The average income here is about the highest for a city in Canada, and the amenities are at that level. Housing costs here are significantly less than in similar parts of Toronto.

( We rent, and we have a three floor, three bedroom townhouse, with yard, and parking, for about a grand a month, utilities not included. ) Food costs are still surprisingly moderate, and if you get the weekly flyers, planning to do a lot of your buying through weekly sale foods makes that part of your life here even cheaper.

Traffic is not bad to deal with, and the local urban transit is pretty good. You can even take a city bus to and from the airport.

Carleton has a good mixed location. You're close to downtown without having to be in it, if you don't want to be. Theres great transit access, the O Train stops there.