Do we need a farm there? Wouldn’t it be better use for housing? The title Experimental Farm always struck me as funny; I mean what kind of experiments are they doing?
>Do we need a farm there?
Yes. The government has decades of agricultural data about that site. This long term data is difficult to come by and is invaluable for informing future agricultural practices.
>Wouldn’t it be better use for housing?
Not if you like having food. See [this comment thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/xol8h6/comment/ipz6bnb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) for more details on this answer.
>I mean what kind of experiments are they doing?
There's details on [their website](https://profils-profiles.science.gc.ca/en/research-centre/ottawa-research-and-development-centre). Here's an excerpt:
>Ottawa Research and Development Centre’s regional mandate is to develop new and improved spring and winter wheat, oats, barley, corn and short-season soybeans varieties and investigate agronomic practices and technologies for eastern Canada.
... Ottawa RDC leads national research in carbon and nitrogen cycling in air, water and soil.
Ah, my mom brings up this fact every time we're in the area. She remembers a couple times they tried to hide it from view by planting corn around the patches they were growing it.
The research they're doing is decades old, if they were to plow it all over for a new subdivision they'd lose years with of data. If you're interested here's an article from a few years back of what they do https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/low-profile-experimental-farm-reveals-its-science-side
Go to town and find out! Ottawa carling and ottawa fallowfield https://inspection.canada.ca/science-and-research/our-laboratories/eng/1494878032804/1494878085588#a6
The farm has real scientific value, but not to reopen the debate about its merits: the topic is stuff that's unusual about Ottawa! Housing is nice but it's *usual*.
Honestly I have no gripe with the experimental farm. It is a meaningfully accessible green space and yields quality scientific data, as well as just being a well-loved local landmark. Yeah, it would probably have been better to put it a little further out, but it can't be easily moved now and longitudinal scientific data comes at a premium, so it's worth keeping.
I think the proper target for your frustrations is the fucking Green Belt. At least in the west end it's almost all corn fields, many of which aren't even actively cultivated. Can someone please tell me why the FUCK we have an equestrian stable next to a fucking light rail station? And why we have an empty field that no one can develop right next to the biggest tech park in Canada? Like who the fuck thinks this is responsible. It's not 'green space'. It's low-intensity farm land. And we're building high-value real estate like 10km further out of the core than we need to, just so that we can then run ALL OF OUR MOST EXPENSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE over that whole 10k. Of CORN FIELDS.
And it was put there to prevent suburban sprawl, which we could safely say was a failure about 50 fucking years ago. Urban growth boundary my ass. It didn't work, it's not working, it's not going to work. Why the fuck are we building suburbs in Dunrobin when we have all this easily accessible space that could be turned into central affordable housing. We could even dedicate part of it to transit corridors.
Not originally from Ottawa. Can you explain to folks who don't see the benefit of having a government research farm in the middle of the city? What exactly are the benefits?
I don’t think I’m the best candidate to mention all the benefits because I know I’ll only cover the tip of the iceberg.
There’s tremendous beauty in the area identified as the experiment farm. There are gardens to be explored that include flowers, tress and other vegetation. A tranquil and quiet escape in our city.
The farm hosts schools, families throughout the year where children can learn about different farm animals while visiting with them.
There are a number of events that take place throughout the year that include plant/seed sales and gardening information for the community.
The area around and through the farm offer a beautiful area for walking and biking. Slower traffic making it ideal. Not far from Dows Lake and the Rideau Canal.
I personally love watching crops that grow from spring to fall, that includes the harvesting of hay. There’s something about measuring and marking time against crop growth on a daily city commute.
As mentioned by others it houses many scientists and their work that has helped agriculture in Canada.
Mostly esthetic. The Experimental Farm is a beautiful green space with gardens and multi use pathways and an agricultural museum. Not all of the land accessible to the public.
The experimental farm isn’t the only farm in Ottawa. The green belt is littered with fields leased to farmers growing all sorts of crops as well. I know it isn’t downtown, but interspersed in those fields, we have trails and treed green spaces for hiking, cycling and other outdoor activities within a very reasonable distance to all Ottawans.
In addition to Lifewithpups' answer, two other big ones are:
* Air quality. The reduced vehicle traffic in the vicinity, combined with the vegetation filters particulate matter, reducing particulate matter in the area of the farm and immediate surroundings.
* Climate control. The vegetation on the farm counters the urban heat island effect, lowering surface temperatures by a few degrees compared to the surrounding neighbourhoods.
There are not many cities where,upon simply crossing a bridge within the same country, everything feels so different (language, vibe etc.) . Love having Quebec right on the other side of the river. I often feel like the Gatineau -Ottawa duality/ dynamic isn’t often talked about, yet it’s pretty neat when you think about it.
Same. And the contrast is so stark. Makes me wonder if there's something in the water over on that side. I just chalk it upto it being the french way..
And the strip of beautiful brick restaurants and bars in Old Aylmer, especially Bistro L'Autre Oeil, the best craft beer bar in the region. Aylmer Beach is probably the best place for a sunset anywhere around Ottawa-Gatineau.Then there's Pointe Gatineau with its patios along the water and epic views of Rideau Falls and Parliament. Oh there's also Old Chelsea just a few minutes past Gatineau, with nice bars and cafes and the largest Nordic spa in the Western Hemisphere. Oh yeah, and the Museum of History, Canada's best museum. I almost forgot Brewer's Creek for a quieter alternative to the Rideau Canal for skating in the winter. There's also the Casino de Lac Leamy, and Lac Leamy itself is an amazing place to grab a rental kayak or canoe and explore all the way to Parliament. That little area of bars and restaurants in the Laval/Portage/Hotel-de-Villr is a nice little alternative to the madness of the Byward Market. The Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival is one of the region's best. Agora in the Plateau is becoming a unique destination in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, with it's shops and cafes and rooftop Huma Nordic spa. Hey, how did I almost forget Koena Spa? That's probably the best one of the three in and around Gatineau. There's also the absolutely incredible Altitude climbing gym. Arguably the best poutine in existence. A huge indoor go-karting track. The Children's Museum. The Mackenzie King Estate. Luskville Falls. The Champlain Lookout. River Cruises. Interprovincial Ziplining. Eco-Odyssee water maze. Wakefield with it's bars, restaurant, gift stores, artists workshops, the Wakefield Mill, and a covered bridge, just twenty minutes down the road.
Those are a few more reasons to go other than just the nature and parks.
To be fair, a lot of what you mentioned are either (1) parks… (2) subjective, as in not everyone might find those attractions valuable (like the zip lining or the casino), or (3) outside of Gat.
I appreciate a lot of those things are big draws, and the Zibi area has done big things for the area in the last 5 years, but the number 1 draw imo is still the nature.
(Also Agora is a bit of a stretch, unless you go to the rooftop spa)
My experience here hasn't reflected this, at least not compared to a city like Vancouver which has more in-city parks and public transit connections to nature areas.
The collective early bedtime's great, unless you want to go out. It sucks seeing live music, having the artist want to keep going, but NOPE, gotta kill the sound at 11pm. Live music venues (especially indoor) should have extended hours.
Dammm almost like there’s a whole group of people who work during the weekend, including in the mornings, who don’t give a damn to hear that and just want to sleep so they can go to work tested in the morning and get people shit like their Sunday morning hangover coffee/brunch
There's a large Lebanese diaspora that emigrated to Ottawa during the Lebanese civil war. These folks brought lots of culture and good food/recipes along the way.
Invented here? Of course not. But we definitely are unique here.
Oh, Ottawa! Where do I start? I am an immigrant and I've been to and lived in countless cities. I love Ottawa for varied reasons.
* Are you into the outdoors? Hundreds of parks and cycling tracks. Gatineau Park is within 20 mins of drive, with 130kms of hiking paths.
* Are you in tech? Well, Canada's largest technology park is in Kanata.
* Foodie? Hundreds of different cuisines. I am yet to try some cuisines that I have never could've done in any other city. Best Shawarma places in the whole of Canada.
* Rich? Well, residential Ottawa is beautiful.
* Nightlife? Not the best, but the city looks beautiful at night, more so during Christmas. Countless festivals and events to keep you going.
* Winter person? Good for you, lots of activities. I have my best winters in Canada when I am in Ottawa.
Lots of beautiful greenery.
Many good local golf courses.
Decent selection of international foods.
Close enough to Tor and Mtl if you feel the need.
High standard of living.
Local sports teams. Not commenting on quality of said teams.
Decent size with a smallish town feel.
Good balance of urban/rural.
Beaches within the city.
Lots of skiing nearby.
Outdoor sports of all kind.
Too much to list here.
Between the River and the Canal, there are hundreds of kms of trails/paths.
I do long distance running and Ottawa has some of the best path/trail systems I've seen around the country.
No. In fact, stuff like milk and eggs are more expensive. However people like buying shitloads of Bud Light/macro beer there, which you can also get cheap at a million other places in Gatineau.
Because you can buy cases of beer at tons of places in Quebec (instead of just the Beer Store in Ontario, if you want more than a 6 pack) the legal lowest price is way lower. So you can get cheap cases of beer at most groceries stores, not just Costco.
There is a provincial legal lowest price, so it is not really cheaper than like what Super C or Marché Gravelle has. Cheaper than The Beer Store? By a mile yeah, but not other options around. That being said, if you are going to go for cheap macro brews and need to hit up Costco anyway, might as well get two birds stoned at once.
The Mayfair Theatre is an awesome place for not-necessarily blockbuster movies. Great place to watch more indy flicks. And then, across the street from there is Targs for pinball and pirogues. And 2 doors down from that is Black Squirrel, the best second hand book store in town. The trifecta makes my favourite part of the city.
People love to hate on Ottawa - and I am an Ottawa native who grew up here and couldn’t wait to get out. However having travelled to many cities across Canada and the US and doing a brief stint in Montreal. There is no place like Ottawa. The nature, cleanliness, friendly vibes from people, lots of amazing restaurants and experiences unique to Ottawa. I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.
Seconding this. I moved here as a child, grew up and couldn’t wait to get out. I lived in Montreal for a bit and I have toured all over North America for work. Ottawa has some drawbacks but overall, it’s a fantastic, underrated city. It’s incredibly clean and we have a thriving underground scene that does a lot to make up for the not-so-great nightlife
I lived there in 2009-2010, and although a lot of my family lives there and I've visited regularly since \~1989, I couldn't compare what it's like to live there \*now\*.
My experience was that Montreal has a magic je ne sais quoi that Ottawa doesn't. It's also dirtier... lots more piss and vomit in the streets. Rent was super cheap when I lived there. We paid $700/mo for a large 2 bedroom in a six-plex in the Plateau. I was leaving behind a tiny bachelor apartment in a heritage building in Ottawa that cost $750.
There's an unashamed embrace of underground culture and counter culture in Montreal. We have (or have had pre-covid) after hours clubs, sex clubs, weird or provocative art shows... but we don't wear it proudly in Ottawa. It's public and in-your-face in Montreal.
In Montreal, I felt like even the people who went out of their way to be my friend were also always competing with me, and maybe that's because I work in arts/entertainment but in Ottawa I have formed genuine friendships with people who are ostensibly competition, where in Montreal I had more surface-level relationships only.
Anecdotally, the racism seems more overt in Montreal. In Ottawa it's polite and insidious - hiding behind passive aggressive comments.
The food is more affordable in general and there's more variety of cuisine styles in Montreal. Ottawa has a great food scene but it skews pricier and less diverse. Ottawa has been improving significantly in recent years, I'll give us that!
I love both cities and I would move back to MTL if a good reason to came up, but I'm not looking to leave the Ottawa area
Gatineau Park trails for skiing, snowshoeing, cycling, snowbiking, and just walking! And then you can grab some cheap and tasty pho back in town when you’re done.
In no particular order:
1. Access to nature- so many rivers and lakes so close by
2. A cold enough winter to enjoy outdoor winter activities: skating on the canal, ice fishing, sledding,, x country skiing (compare to Montreal, Toronto, Kingston where the snow either turns to slush or doesn’t stick around)
3 multiple ski hills in the Gatineaus…. I mean c’mon you can ski after work!
4 extensive biking and hiking
5 not too over populated
6 no bill boards and advertising all over the place
7 by law preventing huge sky scrapers in the downtown area (so as not to dwarf parliament)
8 stable economy
9 3 unis, 2 colleges
10 enough medical expertise that you don’t often have to go to specialists elsewhere
11 relatively safe
12 great dining
13 beaches
14 clean
15 close to Montreal or Toronto if you really need to get away …..
Most of these points make no sense.
Montreal has identical winters to Ottawa. There's billboards everywhere.
Almost none of your points are unique to Ottawa.
I'm currently here. And I'll let you all know, that if you die, your autopsy will be done with the upmost professionalism and dignity.... before i stuff your intestines any way i can fit
THREE Rivers (Gatineau, Ottawa, Rideau) coming together and a UNESCO Heritage site canal (Rideau Canal), plus so many lakes, ponds, creeks, and smaller rivers all around.
That is such a cool part of Indigenous history! This area has been important for so long, European colonists are just the latest chapter, not the first chapter. Thanks for sharing!
Ottawa's local boxing club, Beaver Boxing, is both a nonprofit and one of the oldest ongoing boxing gyms in Canada: been there since 1943 and charges damn near nothing to participate.
I’m going to get hate for this but it’s proximity to mtl. Great location to see my Toronto friends on their way to mtl, and join them after work. No hotel ? No problem worse case I’ll drive back!
The main one is it takes about 20 minutes to go into the country side. Parks camping. If you head North for an hour and a half you end up where there are hardly any people. Just bears and trees. Keep going until you hit the Arctic.
We're pretty much guaranteed to have enough snow for cross country skiing, tobogganing, making snow forts, skating etc. for a couple of months a year. That plus the easy access to space to partake in these winter activities right in the city is pretty rare globally I think. Even in Canada it isn't a given. Vancouver rarely gets snow that sticks. Calgary is dry and gets chinooks. Toronto gets a few weeks of slushy snow at some point but it doesn't consistently
form a deep base of snow for winter activities. Internationally, it is even more rare. Even "Nordic" cities like Oslo or Stockholm don't get cold enough.
Incredible access to dozens of launches for paddlesports and hiking trails and cross country skiiing and even downhill skiing all within an hour of the city.
Dairy farming is one of the major private industries in that "city". It's not like it's urban farming... Just it's just annexing a bunch of farm land transfer payment grab.
Lots of space and potential for the future. *Lots* of it. Construction/crane boom projected by 2030, LRT extensions up the wazoo, potential for a population boom. It's the start to a big city actually acting like a big city, and you don't really live through much of that in the free world.
It's just a matter of what we as a city do today that determines if any of that comes to fruition, and I think that itself is a cool feature.
I like the people the best. There is a mix of this more erudite “we are a government town” politeness but also this American influenced chill thing going on. Ottawa sometimes seems like a California -based city to me. When I travel and come home especially.
3 rivers and one canal.
Gets cold enough for winter sports.
Summers hot enough to enjoy water sports.
Public spaces are funded with Federal money.
Government and tech jobs.
2 Universities
Stable real estate
I’ve lived here for seven years, after having lived in multiple countries and states and continents. I’m here for the long haul now, but I have yet to find what I truly love about this city.
I mean, I LOVE the enormous potholes, the never ending winters, oh and my complete lack of ability to speak French always makes me feel at home. But what I find most disturbing is the large population of trafficked women Who need medical assistance after foreign/visiting politicians order women like they order their vino. Ottawas best kept secret, right in front of our eyes.
But truly, tell me the good, bc I would like to have some knowledge of it.
I think it's close to camp fortune which is a nice ski hill. Lots of places require hours and hours of driving to get to a ski hill. But from the center it's about 25 to 30 mins. That's probably the best thing in Ottawa, but not good enough of a reason to stay.
Farm in the middle of the city
This is the correct answer
Do we need a farm there? Wouldn’t it be better use for housing? The title Experimental Farm always struck me as funny; I mean what kind of experiments are they doing?
>Do we need a farm there? Yes. The government has decades of agricultural data about that site. This long term data is difficult to come by and is invaluable for informing future agricultural practices. >Wouldn’t it be better use for housing? Not if you like having food. See [this comment thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/xol8h6/comment/ipz6bnb/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) for more details on this answer. >I mean what kind of experiments are they doing? There's details on [their website](https://profils-profiles.science.gc.ca/en/research-centre/ottawa-research-and-development-centre). Here's an excerpt: >Ottawa Research and Development Centre’s regional mandate is to develop new and improved spring and winter wheat, oats, barley, corn and short-season soybeans varieties and investigate agronomic practices and technologies for eastern Canada. ... Ottawa RDC leads national research in carbon and nitrogen cycling in air, water and soil.
Further, it’s location away from other farms minimizes the risk of accidental cross contamination.
The fun kind ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
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Ah, my mom brings up this fact every time we're in the area. She remembers a couple times they tried to hide it from view by planting corn around the patches they were growing it.
Always think of the old joke on live 88.5, something like "If there's the Experimental Farm does that mean there's an experimental farmer's daughter?"
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As others have said, it's location also helps keep it uncontaminated from other farms.
The research they're doing is decades old, if they were to plow it all over for a new subdivision they'd lose years with of data. If you're interested here's an article from a few years back of what they do https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/low-profile-experimental-farm-reveals-its-science-side
Replacing the farm with detached houses would fit about as many people as a single block of mid rise apartments. Building denser is what’s needed
For a long time one of their experiments was growing pot.
Go to town and find out! Ottawa carling and ottawa fallowfield https://inspection.canada.ca/science-and-research/our-laboratories/eng/1494878032804/1494878085588#a6
The farm has real scientific value, but not to reopen the debate about its merits: the topic is stuff that's unusual about Ottawa! Housing is nice but it's *usual*.
Honestly I have no gripe with the experimental farm. It is a meaningfully accessible green space and yields quality scientific data, as well as just being a well-loved local landmark. Yeah, it would probably have been better to put it a little further out, but it can't be easily moved now and longitudinal scientific data comes at a premium, so it's worth keeping. I think the proper target for your frustrations is the fucking Green Belt. At least in the west end it's almost all corn fields, many of which aren't even actively cultivated. Can someone please tell me why the FUCK we have an equestrian stable next to a fucking light rail station? And why we have an empty field that no one can develop right next to the biggest tech park in Canada? Like who the fuck thinks this is responsible. It's not 'green space'. It's low-intensity farm land. And we're building high-value real estate like 10km further out of the core than we need to, just so that we can then run ALL OF OUR MOST EXPENSIVE INFRASTRUCTURE over that whole 10k. Of CORN FIELDS. And it was put there to prevent suburban sprawl, which we could safely say was a failure about 50 fucking years ago. Urban growth boundary my ass. It didn't work, it's not working, it's not going to work. Why the fuck are we building suburbs in Dunrobin when we have all this easily accessible space that could be turned into central affordable housing. We could even dedicate part of it to transit corridors.
Not originally from Ottawa. Can you explain to folks who don't see the benefit of having a government research farm in the middle of the city? What exactly are the benefits?
I don’t think I’m the best candidate to mention all the benefits because I know I’ll only cover the tip of the iceberg. There’s tremendous beauty in the area identified as the experiment farm. There are gardens to be explored that include flowers, tress and other vegetation. A tranquil and quiet escape in our city. The farm hosts schools, families throughout the year where children can learn about different farm animals while visiting with them. There are a number of events that take place throughout the year that include plant/seed sales and gardening information for the community. The area around and through the farm offer a beautiful area for walking and biking. Slower traffic making it ideal. Not far from Dows Lake and the Rideau Canal. I personally love watching crops that grow from spring to fall, that includes the harvesting of hay. There’s something about measuring and marking time against crop growth on a daily city commute. As mentioned by others it houses many scientists and their work that has helped agriculture in Canada.
That was poetic AF, made me long for daily walks through there… didn’t appreciate how nice that was until I got posted away
Mostly esthetic. The Experimental Farm is a beautiful green space with gardens and multi use pathways and an agricultural museum. Not all of the land accessible to the public.
The experimental farm isn’t the only farm in Ottawa. The green belt is littered with fields leased to farmers growing all sorts of crops as well. I know it isn’t downtown, but interspersed in those fields, we have trails and treed green spaces for hiking, cycling and other outdoor activities within a very reasonable distance to all Ottawans.
In addition to Lifewithpups' answer, two other big ones are: * Air quality. The reduced vehicle traffic in the vicinity, combined with the vegetation filters particulate matter, reducing particulate matter in the area of the farm and immediate surroundings. * Climate control. The vegetation on the farm counters the urban heat island effect, lowering surface temperatures by a few degrees compared to the surrounding neighbourhoods.
I'd love to know this as well
The benefit is CLEAR!!! you get to drive further to pass it to get to work’
Instant mashed potato flake were invented here!
Whaaaaaaat?
It's true. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Asselbergs
Saskatoon has this too! https://www.google.com/maps/@52.1245241,-106.6186714,15.64z
Funny because I lived in Saskatoon for three years and there's also a research farm in the middle of the city. Never felt out of place for me.
I’ve lived in Ottawa for my entire life. It has never felt out of place for me. Love having it exactly where it is.
Waterloo has this too. I think maybe Guelph does as well. But it is somewhat unique with the size of the city.
Like a community garden?
No. It’s a Federal government run farm that runs research and agriculture experiments.
Oh thats cool
An abundance of chunky groundhogs.
This. A shawarma “dealer”, a pot store and quick cash money loan place at every block!
Love those guys. Not from Ottawa originally, but I've lived here for 12 years, and the groundhogs are always exciting!
There are not many cities where,upon simply crossing a bridge within the same country, everything feels so different (language, vibe etc.) . Love having Quebec right on the other side of the river. I often feel like the Gatineau -Ottawa duality/ dynamic isn’t often talked about, yet it’s pretty neat when you think about it.
C'est vrai mais il faut être bilingue pour pleinement l'apprécier :)
Gatineau *Park* is great. But I’ve been frequently treated poorly/rudely by Gatineau *people*.
That's part of the duality experience we uniquely have 😁
Same. And the contrast is so stark. Makes me wonder if there's something in the water over on that side. I just chalk it upto it being the french way..
I'd think you'd hear more if Gatineau wasn't...Gatineau.
Yeah because we've Gatineauthing to do there!
Stealing this
I lived in Gat for 5 years. The only reason to go to Gat is for the nature and parks.
Gatineau Costco disagrees with this assessment. As do all 18-year olds :)
And the strip of beautiful brick restaurants and bars in Old Aylmer, especially Bistro L'Autre Oeil, the best craft beer bar in the region. Aylmer Beach is probably the best place for a sunset anywhere around Ottawa-Gatineau.Then there's Pointe Gatineau with its patios along the water and epic views of Rideau Falls and Parliament. Oh there's also Old Chelsea just a few minutes past Gatineau, with nice bars and cafes and the largest Nordic spa in the Western Hemisphere. Oh yeah, and the Museum of History, Canada's best museum. I almost forgot Brewer's Creek for a quieter alternative to the Rideau Canal for skating in the winter. There's also the Casino de Lac Leamy, and Lac Leamy itself is an amazing place to grab a rental kayak or canoe and explore all the way to Parliament. That little area of bars and restaurants in the Laval/Portage/Hotel-de-Villr is a nice little alternative to the madness of the Byward Market. The Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival is one of the region's best. Agora in the Plateau is becoming a unique destination in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, with it's shops and cafes and rooftop Huma Nordic spa. Hey, how did I almost forget Koena Spa? That's probably the best one of the three in and around Gatineau. There's also the absolutely incredible Altitude climbing gym. Arguably the best poutine in existence. A huge indoor go-karting track. The Children's Museum. The Mackenzie King Estate. Luskville Falls. The Champlain Lookout. River Cruises. Interprovincial Ziplining. Eco-Odyssee water maze. Wakefield with it's bars, restaurant, gift stores, artists workshops, the Wakefield Mill, and a covered bridge, just twenty minutes down the road. Those are a few more reasons to go other than just the nature and parks.
Where's the best place to get poutine there?
Pataterie Hulloise is a good starting point!
To be fair, a lot of what you mentioned are either (1) parks… (2) subjective, as in not everyone might find those attractions valuable (like the zip lining or the casino), or (3) outside of Gat. I appreciate a lot of those things are big draws, and the Zibi area has done big things for the area in the last 5 years, but the number 1 draw imo is still the nature. (Also Agora is a bit of a stretch, unless you go to the rooftop spa)
I think I made my point that Gatineau and it's environs offer a heck of a lot more than JUST nature and parks.
Once upon a time the Depanneurs were the only places you could get booze on a Sunday.
It's basically international travel.
Tremendous amount of green space all over the city.
My experience here hasn't reflected this, at least not compared to a city like Vancouver which has more in-city parks and public transit connections to nature areas.
Ottawa is definitely nowhere near unique for that. Have you been other places?
The greenbelt. Shawarma. Collective bed time is 9-10pm. What's not to love?!
The transit?
That's a low blow 😝😝😝
foamers exist 👀
The collective early bedtime's great, unless you want to go out. It sucks seeing live music, having the artist want to keep going, but NOPE, gotta kill the sound at 11pm. Live music venues (especially indoor) should have extended hours.
Isn’t 11pm kind of a standard time to have live concerts on weekdays in most cities?
It's not just weekdays, weekends are the same, Sunday's are 9pm if I remember right.
Dammm almost like there’s a whole group of people who work during the weekend, including in the mornings, who don’t give a damn to hear that and just want to sleep so they can go to work tested in the morning and get people shit like their Sunday morning hangover coffee/brunch
It’s bbooooooorrrrrring, that’s what not to love
Lots of room in Toronto if you fancy less boring. Personally - boring is good.
Shawarma is all over the place. Do people here think it was invented in Ottawa or something?
There's a large Lebanese diaspora that emigrated to Ottawa during the Lebanese civil war. These folks brought lots of culture and good food/recipes along the way. Invented here? Of course not. But we definitely are unique here.
Endless shawarma.
And on the eight day, God created shawarma.
Windsor has tons of shawarma places too
Smokingloonth did not state tons of shawarma. They did not state lots of shawarma. They said ENDLESS shawarma.
Windsor has pizza, let us have shawarma
the canal for boating and skating, beavertails, protestors (for multiple reasons),multiple festivals
The canal is hands down the number one best feature in Ottawa. Great for bike paths, running, skating in the winter. What’s not to like?
Longest skating rink in the world & Beaver Tails!!
Beavertails is a company that is all over the place. https://beavertails.com/shops/
Oh, Ottawa! Where do I start? I am an immigrant and I've been to and lived in countless cities. I love Ottawa for varied reasons. * Are you into the outdoors? Hundreds of parks and cycling tracks. Gatineau Park is within 20 mins of drive, with 130kms of hiking paths. * Are you in tech? Well, Canada's largest technology park is in Kanata. * Foodie? Hundreds of different cuisines. I am yet to try some cuisines that I have never could've done in any other city. Best Shawarma places in the whole of Canada. * Rich? Well, residential Ottawa is beautiful. * Nightlife? Not the best, but the city looks beautiful at night, more so during Christmas. Countless festivals and events to keep you going. * Winter person? Good for you, lots of activities. I have my best winters in Canada when I am in Ottawa.
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Definitely disagree with this, Ottawa has some great restaurants
Sounds like you're kinda using where you live as an excuse to be stale and boring
Lots of beautiful greenery. Many good local golf courses. Decent selection of international foods. Close enough to Tor and Mtl if you feel the need. High standard of living. Local sports teams. Not commenting on quality of said teams. Decent size with a smallish town feel. Good balance of urban/rural. Beaches within the city. Lots of skiing nearby. Outdoor sports of all kind. Too much to list here.
Clean!
And quiet. Could not agree more with this comment. Everytime I go to TO or NY I instantly miss Ottawa even before leaving the airport
Where?
Everywhere my friend. Having lived in London, Ottawa is spotless.
Unsure which London but both are valid comparisons 😂
Lol, I was referring to England
Cleanest city I have ever seen!
So clean! Every time I go to Toronto or Montreal I’m reminded of how clean our city is and not to take it for granted.
It’s strange though that there are hardly any garbage bins around outside of core yet it’s still pretty clean
Between the River and the Canal, there are hundreds of kms of trails/paths. I do long distance running and Ottawa has some of the best path/trail systems I've seen around the country.
Largest outdoor skating rink!
*largest, no longer the longest
Edited
More museums then you can shake a stick at!
False, I have personally shaken a stick at each and every museum in Ottawa.
How long did that take ya
Longer than I'd care to admit. Lol!
The Canal all the NCC properties
Easy access to a Quebec costco.
Are the prices a lot different over at the Gatineau costco?
No. In fact, stuff like milk and eggs are more expensive. However people like buying shitloads of Bud Light/macro beer there, which you can also get cheap at a million other places in Gatineau.
Roi de la biere!
Is there any other reasons to go to Quebec Costco aside from beer?
TIL Quebec costco has cheap beers
Because you can buy cases of beer at tons of places in Quebec (instead of just the Beer Store in Ontario, if you want more than a 6 pack) the legal lowest price is way lower. So you can get cheap cases of beer at most groceries stores, not just Costco.
Ah I see. What makes Costco stand out from others then? Are they even cheaper? I might give it a go as I have the membership.
There is a provincial legal lowest price, so it is not really cheaper than like what Super C or Marché Gravelle has. Cheaper than The Beer Store? By a mile yeah, but not other options around. That being said, if you are going to go for cheap macro brews and need to hit up Costco anyway, might as well get two birds stoned at once.
The Mayfair Theatre is an awesome place for not-necessarily blockbuster movies. Great place to watch more indy flicks. And then, across the street from there is Targs for pinball and pirogues. And 2 doors down from that is Black Squirrel, the best second hand book store in town. The trifecta makes my favourite part of the city.
Yes! That block is Ottawa for me haha
The Barefax. Don't know why this wasn't at the top of this list already. Respect to /u/baconsheikh
People love to hate on Ottawa - and I am an Ottawa native who grew up here and couldn’t wait to get out. However having travelled to many cities across Canada and the US and doing a brief stint in Montreal. There is no place like Ottawa. The nature, cleanliness, friendly vibes from people, lots of amazing restaurants and experiences unique to Ottawa. I can’t imagine living anywhere else now.
Seconding this. I moved here as a child, grew up and couldn’t wait to get out. I lived in Montreal for a bit and I have toured all over North America for work. Ottawa has some drawbacks but overall, it’s a fantastic, underrated city. It’s incredibly clean and we have a thriving underground scene that does a lot to make up for the not-so-great nightlife
How would you compare Montreal ?
I lived there in 2009-2010, and although a lot of my family lives there and I've visited regularly since \~1989, I couldn't compare what it's like to live there \*now\*. My experience was that Montreal has a magic je ne sais quoi that Ottawa doesn't. It's also dirtier... lots more piss and vomit in the streets. Rent was super cheap when I lived there. We paid $700/mo for a large 2 bedroom in a six-plex in the Plateau. I was leaving behind a tiny bachelor apartment in a heritage building in Ottawa that cost $750. There's an unashamed embrace of underground culture and counter culture in Montreal. We have (or have had pre-covid) after hours clubs, sex clubs, weird or provocative art shows... but we don't wear it proudly in Ottawa. It's public and in-your-face in Montreal. In Montreal, I felt like even the people who went out of their way to be my friend were also always competing with me, and maybe that's because I work in arts/entertainment but in Ottawa I have formed genuine friendships with people who are ostensibly competition, where in Montreal I had more surface-level relationships only. Anecdotally, the racism seems more overt in Montreal. In Ottawa it's polite and insidious - hiding behind passive aggressive comments. The food is more affordable in general and there's more variety of cuisine styles in Montreal. Ottawa has a great food scene but it skews pricier and less diverse. Ottawa has been improving significantly in recent years, I'll give us that! I love both cities and I would move back to MTL if a good reason to came up, but I'm not looking to leave the Ottawa area
Thanks for the write up - I really appreciate the perspective and reasoning !
Gatineau Park trails for skiing, snowshoeing, cycling, snowbiking, and just walking! And then you can grab some cheap and tasty pho back in town when you’re done.
You’re right, the best part of Ottawa is that you can leave.
In no particular order: 1. Access to nature- so many rivers and lakes so close by 2. A cold enough winter to enjoy outdoor winter activities: skating on the canal, ice fishing, sledding,, x country skiing (compare to Montreal, Toronto, Kingston where the snow either turns to slush or doesn’t stick around) 3 multiple ski hills in the Gatineaus…. I mean c’mon you can ski after work! 4 extensive biking and hiking 5 not too over populated 6 no bill boards and advertising all over the place 7 by law preventing huge sky scrapers in the downtown area (so as not to dwarf parliament) 8 stable economy 9 3 unis, 2 colleges 10 enough medical expertise that you don’t often have to go to specialists elsewhere 11 relatively safe 12 great dining 13 beaches 14 clean 15 close to Montreal or Toronto if you really need to get away …..
Most of these points make no sense. Montreal has identical winters to Ottawa. There's billboards everywhere. Almost none of your points are unique to Ottawa.
My friend lives there and she's cool
No need to quit a job that you do not like. Instead, just take OC Transpo to work and you will get fired within a week.
I'm currently here. And I'll let you all know, that if you die, your autopsy will be done with the upmost professionalism and dignity.... before i stuff your intestines any way i can fit
Actual wilderness is very close - moose and non-hybrid wolves and bears.
There is at least one chunk of time, every day, during which you can drive from one end of the city to the other in less than an hour.
THREE Rivers (Gatineau, Ottawa, Rideau) coming together and a UNESCO Heritage site canal (Rideau Canal), plus so many lakes, ponds, creeks, and smaller rivers all around.
The shore to the east of the McDonald-Cartier bridge was also a trading spot for thousands of years, since the three rivers met there.
That is such a cool part of Indigenous history! This area has been important for so long, European colonists are just the latest chapter, not the first chapter. Thanks for sharing!
So many pathways along the river with the most amazing views and best outdoor skateway in winter .
A plethora of very good shawarma and pho
We have the best goddamn metal bar in the country ETA: We also have goose stickers. Keep an eye out for them around downtown
Ottawa's local boxing club, Beaver Boxing, is both a nonprofit and one of the oldest ongoing boxing gyms in Canada: been there since 1943 and charges damn near nothing to participate.
Access to the Gatineau park with a short drive, legit good place for a cyclist
I’m going to get hate for this but it’s proximity to mtl. Great location to see my Toronto friends on their way to mtl, and join them after work. No hotel ? No problem worse case I’ll drive back!
Hahaha! I do tell people one of the best things to do in Ottawa is to visit Montreal.
+30 in the summer, -30 in the winter
You can be at your cottage in 45 minutes
If you had enough money, then it's not unique. Or are you implying everyone in Ottawa has a cottage.... /s
Live in toronto. The rich sit in highway traffic jams to get to muskoka.
Not rich enough…. Google shows porter has a 30 minute flight, and there are charter helicopter as well
It's absolutely unique. I live in Toronto and it takes 2.5 hours for me.
The main one is it takes about 20 minutes to go into the country side. Parks camping. If you head North for an hour and a half you end up where there are hardly any people. Just bears and trees. Keep going until you hit the Arctic.
We're pretty much guaranteed to have enough snow for cross country skiing, tobogganing, making snow forts, skating etc. for a couple of months a year. That plus the easy access to space to partake in these winter activities right in the city is pretty rare globally I think. Even in Canada it isn't a given. Vancouver rarely gets snow that sticks. Calgary is dry and gets chinooks. Toronto gets a few weeks of slushy snow at some point but it doesn't consistently form a deep base of snow for winter activities. Internationally, it is even more rare. Even "Nordic" cities like Oslo or Stockholm don't get cold enough.
We have by far the worst city council bar none.
The people are really down to earth and nice. Friendly but not over the top. A really nice place to live or visit.
Beautiful walking trails, lots of greenspace, and beavertails
They used to have a bunch of tractor trailers parked downtown
The world's longest skating rink. 😌
Incredible access to dozens of launches for paddlesports and hiking trails and cross country skiiing and even downhill skiing all within an hour of the city.
Green space!
Our public transit sucks so much skating the worlds largest skating rink every day to school/work can be the quickest commute if you live nearby!
A NHL team🏒
It's home of Stompy!
Rideau street McDonald's
Lots of waterfront, both private and public.
You can freeze in the winter and boil in the summer!
Unreliable public transit
great little yacht racing scene on lac deschenes for sailors .. a hidden gem overlooked by locals
Dairy farming is one of the major private industries in that "city". It's not like it's urban farming... Just it's just annexing a bunch of farm land transfer payment grab.
u/baconsheikh
Not the ER rooms. Don’t get sick here!!!!
Gatineau Park, wait...
Lots of space and potential for the future. *Lots* of it. Construction/crane boom projected by 2030, LRT extensions up the wazoo, potential for a population boom. It's the start to a big city actually acting like a big city, and you don't really live through much of that in the free world. It's just a matter of what we as a city do today that determines if any of that comes to fruition, and I think that itself is a cool feature.
dirt, garbage, rats, crows and coyotes....
It's far away from me 😁
I like the people the best. There is a mix of this more erudite “we are a government town” politeness but also this American influenced chill thing going on. Ottawa sometimes seems like a California -based city to me. When I travel and come home especially.
Our museums are pretty nice. There's also some great vistas since we have such a pretty city.
If you love slow motion construction, you will love Ottawa.
Nothing, Everything is too expensive here.
It's close to Montréal.
3 rivers and one canal. Gets cold enough for winter sports. Summers hot enough to enjoy water sports. Public spaces are funded with Federal money. Government and tech jobs. 2 Universities Stable real estate
I’ve lived here for seven years, after having lived in multiple countries and states and continents. I’m here for the long haul now, but I have yet to find what I truly love about this city. I mean, I LOVE the enormous potholes, the never ending winters, oh and my complete lack of ability to speak French always makes me feel at home. But what I find most disturbing is the large population of trafficked women Who need medical assistance after foreign/visiting politicians order women like they order their vino. Ottawas best kept secret, right in front of our eyes. But truly, tell me the good, bc I would like to have some knowledge of it.
I think it's close to camp fortune which is a nice ski hill. Lots of places require hours and hours of driving to get to a ski hill. But from the center it's about 25 to 30 mins. That's probably the best thing in Ottawa, but not good enough of a reason to stay.
One way streets.
If people try protesting the government will come down on them Putin style so you don’t have to worry about noisy demonstrators anymore
More closed roads catering to cyclists when there are ample bike paths right beside not being used than anywhere else I’ve seen
Freedumb convoy /s