City of Ottawa - Expats Guide

There is a tremendous range of housing options for people relocating Ottawa. Housing choices range from apartments to affordable homes for young families to luxurious mansions.

How to choose where to live in the city of Ottawa?

When you begin to look at possible rentals, it's important to evaluate the location as well as the building and living space. Some things that you should consider before choosing where to live on Ottawa, Canada are:

Distance to work and/or school, friends and family, access to public transit and major roads, if you have children - are parks and play areas nearby? What local amenities are available: entertainment, recreation facilities, shopping, library, and restaurants, Traffic: are the roads busy? How many bedrooms do you need? Etc'.

Make sure to prepare a list of locations that best match your personal needs.

What types of rental housing are available in Ottawa?

Basement Apartment – This is a basement in a house that has been converted to an apartment. It may have a separate entrance. You can find this type of rental mostly in the downtown area.

Detached - A house that is not attached to any other building and is usually two storeys high. A one-storey house is called a bungalow. You can find this type of rental's in the suburban areas of the city of Ottawa.

Walk-Up or Low-Rise Apartment – An apartment that is located in a building that does not have an elevator. These apartments may have only a few conveniences, such as laundry rooms or storage lockers.

High-Rise Apartment - An apartment that is located in a building that has elevators and often has security systems to monitor entry and exit. These buildings usually have efficient electrical, heating, sewage and plumbing systems. You will find more of this type of rental in the downtown.

Rooming House - A rooming house rents rooms by the week or the month. A refrigerator is often located in the room to store food. Usually, roomers share the kitchen and bathroom.

Single-Room Occupancy is similar to a rooming house, but with a kitchen and a bathroom in each unit.

Semi-Detached or Duplex - A semi-detached means two similar houses sharing one common side. Semis can be either one or two storeys and usually have backyards. A duplex is a two-storey house with separate housing units on each storey. If a yard is available, it is usually for the first-floor residents only. There are many of these rental types in the Glebe and Old Ottawa South.

Townhouse or Row House - Townhouses, sometimes called row houses, are several homes with common walls between each house. Each townhouse is usually two storeys.

How to search for a rental house?

There are a few options to choose from:

Ottawa rental agents - offers services to both renters and landlords in the city of Ottawa, and can help you find an Ottawa apartment or house according to your needs.

Ottawa property management companies - A property management company can assist you to find a house for rent. Other than that the company is responsible to connect between the landlord and the tenant (you). Some of the duties of property management companies include accepting rent, responding to and addressing maintenance issues, advertising vacancies for landlords, and doing credit and background checks on tenants. .

Web site listings and newspaper ads You can start with Move and Stay. They provide listings of Serviced Apartments and Serviced Offices for expatriate family and business travelers.

Driving around Town – You can drive around town, looking for lease signs at the neighborhoods where you prefer to live. This option can work for you only if you own a car and know the city, or have friends that know the city well and can take you around town. This is the way I found our second house in Ottawa. I took my son to his friend house, and bumped into a lease sign of a gorgeous house. Two days later we already signed the lease contract.

If you are still new to the city, it is much better to use the service of rental agents or property managements. First it does not cost any money, as they are getting paid by the landlords, other than that, if you do not have a car, they will pick you up and afterwards drop you back. And the most important thing, you can ask and gather as much information as you need from the real estate experts of Ottawa.

What are your tenant's rights?

As an expat who just arrived to Ottawa, Canada's capital, you are probably not familiar with your tenant's rights. So before you sign a lease agreement contract please find out what are your tenant's rights.

The following websites offers some good information and advice:

Ottawa Tenant rights

Landlord and Tenant board Ontario.

City of Ottawa - Healthcare

For general information about healthcare
in Canada for expatriates please visit our
Canada guide.

The city of Ottawa has many hospitals and medical clinics. However finding a family doctor is quite a challenge, as most doctors are not accepting new patients.

There are a few ways you can try to find a family doctor:

• Ask co-workers and neighbors if their doctor is accepting new patients.
• Use the Doctor search of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario to locate a doctor in your area.
• Ask the nearest hospital if it has a "family practice" unit.

While you wait, you can go to a walk-in clinic for emergencies and for a check-up.

Walk-in medical clinics provide prompt medical care for people who are sick and do not have a family doctor or are unable to reach their family doctor. Generally, appointments are not needed. It is best to call before visiting to check the clinic‘s hours as they are subject to change.

For a list of hospitals and walk in clinics in Ottawa please visit Ottawa public health and support services.

Ottawa Dentist - How to Find a Dentist in the City of Ottawa?

You shouldn't neglect the health of your teeth while you are living in Canada. Therefore it is important to find a dentist in the city of Ottawa, and to have regular check ups, and special treatments in case they are needed.

There are a few ways to find a dentist:

• Before you are moving to Ottawa, consult with your own dentist, maybe he/she can recommend you about a dentist they know in Ottawa.
• Ask co-workers and neighbors for recommendations.
• Use the find a dentist service of the Ontario Dental Association to locate a dentist in your area.

City of Ottawa - Festivals

Ottawa festivals are well known all over Canada. Many Canadian schedule their visit to Ottawa according to the festivals dates.

So imagine how much fun it is to live in the city of Ottawa, and to be able to enjoy every single festival in Canada's capital.

Here you can find a list of the main festivals
in the city of Ottawa.

Winterlude – Takes place during the month of February - Three weekends of winter activity for the whole family - Ice skating on the Rideau Canal, ice and snow sculptures, a huge snow playground and much more.

Tulip Festival – Takes place in May. The festival features over three million tulips in the Canada’s Capital Region. The tulips bulbs were sent to Ottawa by the Dutch royal family as a present to the Canadian people who hosted the Royal family during the Second World War. Since than the tulips have become an important symbol of international friendship and the beauty of spring.

Ottawa International Children's Festival – Takes place in May. Five days of theatre, dance, arts and music from international and local artists. The program is aimed for children aged four to 15.

Ottawa International Jazz Festival – Takes place in June. Ten days of jazz music in the city of Ottawa with the participation of over 400 jazz musicians from the country and around the world. The concerts take place indoor and outdoor in the downtown of Ottawa.

Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival – Takes place in July and August. Over 250 of the chamber musicians from Canada and the world perform in acoustically churches.

Ottawa Lumiere Festival – Takes place in August. It is a celebration for magic and light. Children and adults create lanterns from tissue paper and bamboo.

Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival - Takes place at the end of August. Canada’s largest balloon festival, with over 150 balloons, 200 shows and fairground rides, plus fireworks

Ottawa International Writers Festival Takes place in October. Authors and thinkers from Canada and around the world, participate in interactive events for all ages and tastes.

City of Ottawa - Transportation

One of the challenges when relocating abroad is learning how to get around in your new city. Expatriates who are moving to Ottawa won't find this part very difficult.

Ottawa public transit is efficient and convenient. The main problem is the extreme cold weather, which makes it very difficult to use the public transit during the winter months.

There are many ways to get around Ottawa:

Public transportation

• OC Transpo bus system runs in all directions throughout the city via dedicated bus lanes. Most of the busses are handicapped-accessible. The busses offer regular, express (rush-hour only), rural (outside of the city) and rural express (rush-hour only) services. It is more economic to use a ticket or pass when traveling on a bus, rather than to pay in cash. You can purchase bus tickets (in sheets of 10) at grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores.
• O - Train - A passenger train that runs on a railway line for about 8 km. The O-Train will not cost you anything if transferring from a bus. Otherwise you will have to purchase a ticket from an automated vending machine which is located at O-Train platforms. Children under 11 do not need to pay. The O-Train has connections to Ottawa's bus routes via the transitway stations.
• The Societe de transport de l’Outaouais (STO) is a bus system that transports people throughout Gatineau, offering many buses that travel between Ottawa and the Quebec side.

There are several taxi companies in Ottawa that will take you anywhere in the city.

You can search for a listing of taxi's companies at 411 Ottawa.

Driving a Private Car in Ottawa

Driving and navigating around Ottawa is pretty easy. There are lots of signs, and you can purchase a booklet with Ottawa's road map. Or even better you can buy a GPS navigator, type in the requested address , follow the voice instructions, and then just relax, enjoy the view and drive safely. Isn't that a great way to learn the city.

Ottawa's main thoroughfare is the "Queensway" (Highway 417), running east-west across the city and passing just south of the downtown. Traffic is pretty heavy especially into the downtown on weekday mornings 6:30 am - 9 am, and exiting downtown afternoons 3 pm - 6 pm. Outside of these specific periods, traffic is quite light.

Please note that a right turn on a red light is permitted after coming to a complete stop.

Parking in Ottawa - You can park on some side streets for up to three hours free of charge. You can also pay to park in a parking lot or put money in a meter on the street.

Walking and Bicycling around Ottawa

Walking and bicycling are also easy ways of getting around Ottawa, as there are many pedestrian and bike trails through the city, as well as an expanding number of on-street bike lanes. On a nice weather, many people choose to ride their bicycle to work. There are special places to park your bike, and some office buildings have showers where you can cleanup and change before work.

The Rideau Canal

This is one of the most fun and entertaining ways to get around town. In the winter when the Rideau Canal is frozen, the canal locks are open for a distance of 8 km from Carleton University to Rideau Center, and allow ice skaters to travel freely on the ice between these two points.

Many people bring their ice skates to work, and during lunch time skates on the Rideau Canal. If you get hungry there are food pavilions on the Canal where you can buy hot chocolate, Beaver tails, hotdogs and more.

City of Ottawa - Shopping

Shopping in the city of Ottawa

One of the most perplexing things I find when relocating overseas is shopping. Where are the best stores? Which stores sells food and which clothing?

Many Expatriates who are moving to Ottawa can find what ever they need quite easily. You will be pleasantly surprised to find products from your own country at the grocery stores.

Most of Ottawa's stores and malls are open 7 days a week, but on Saturday's and Sunday's the stores closes earlier (around 17:00-18:00).

There are quite a few big malls in the city of Ottawa. The main ones are - Rideau Center in down town, Bayshore shopping center in the west, and St. Laurent shopping center in the East. You can find in the malls "brand" stores like: The Gap, banana republic, Sears, The future shop, and more.

Other than that you can find in the city of Ottawa lovely shopping districts like the Bank Street Promenade, By Ward Market, The Glebe, Westboro Village, and the pedestrian mall on Sparks street. These areas feature a wide range of locally crafted, original and antique merchandise.

The city of Ottawa is also a home to North America's largest super stores. In many places in Ottawa you can find stores like Business Depot, Future Shop, Canadian Tire, The Bay, Chapters, Walmart, Zellers, Cosco and Winners Apparel.

What about food and grocery stores?

The city of Ottawa offers many food choices for people from all backgrounds. There are several large grocery stores throughout the city that sell food basics, including: Loblaws, LOEB, Produce Depot, Sobeys, Farm Boy, Giant Tiger, Food Basics and your independent grocer.

One of the things you will not find in Ottawa's groceries stores are liquor, wine and beer. Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) outlets are sales agents for wines and spirits of Ontario. Wine is also available at several individual wineries. Domestic beer may be purchased at The Beer Store.

Other than that there are two large markets that sell fresh fruit and vegetables; The Byward market in downtown Ottawa, and the Parkdale market in Ottawa west. There are also a few weekly farmers markets around the city.

Many neighborhoods in the city of Ottawa have shops that sell specialty foods like Chinatown, and Little Italy. There are also many Middle Eastern, South Asian and European stores and delis located throughout the city.

Restaurants in the city of Ottawa

Ottawa's huge selection of restaurants represents the different nationalities of the people living in Ottawa. You can find any type of food you feel like eating; American-Southwest, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Thai, Lebanese, Japanese and many more!

You can find chain restaurants from fast food like McDonalds, and Burger King, to family type restaurants like Boston Pizza, East Side Marios, and Lone Star Texas Grill.

There are inexpensive restaurants like Nico's pasta, average restaurants like Haveli Indian restaurant, and expensive restaurant like E18hteen.

A big part of Ottawa's restaurants are located downtown. But if you do not feel like driving downtown, you can easily find a good restaurant in your neighborhood.