Sorry, the plains are right out. No Saskatoon, or Regina either. I’m sure they’re all nice enough cities, but I just don’t want to live on the plains unless there are mountains close by.
Both my maternal grandparents were from Saskatchewan, which they fled as soon as humanly possible. (There’s a picture my mom has of my grandfather standing next to the city limits sign of his birthplace: “New York is big, but this is Biggar”)
This is all wonderful information, though. I’m really delighted with all the ideas and info being thrown at me.
Given what you’ve been saying (minus the baseball), Ottawa does seem like a good choice. It’s kind of boring, lacking the kind of nightlife and downtown that I’m used to (living in Montreal) but it’s a pleasant place, full of culture and daytime activities, nice people, and it’s close to lots of things.
I have lived in Calgary, Ottawa, Waterloo, Guelph, and Halifax. Currently in Halifax. If I was to live in Southern Ontario again, it would be in Guelph. It is a very pretty little city (around 100K).
Waterloo is also nice and it has the benefit of a very strong IT industry. The University of Waterloo is world-class in engineering and computer science. In fact Microsoft recruites more graduates from UW than from any other univeristy in the world. And, as mentioned, it was UW graduates that started RIM and invented the blackberry. RIM is headquarted there and is always hiring (but from what I hear preferentially to UW grads). I have heard that Waterloo and southern Ontario in general is very much like upstate New York.
Guelph and Waterloo are only about 1/2 hour away from each other. And around an hour from Toronto.
I really like Halifax. It isn’t too big (around 500K if you include Dartmouth and Bedford). The winters here aren’t all that bad really. It rarely dips below -5C, but we do get a couple of big snow dumps a year which pretty much stops the city for a couple of days while everyone digs out. I know some people who work in IT here and they seem to do alright for jobs.
Montreal is about 2 hours, Kingston about 1.5 and Toronto is a little over 5. Actually Quebec City is about 5 hours as well. The weather is basically what you’d find in Montreal but if you want details, click here.Ottawa is nice, green, and filled with cultural activities from Parliament, Museum of Civilization, National Arts Centre, the Senators, Jazz Fest, Blues Fest, Tulip Festival etc. Nightlife isn’t bad but it isn’t Peel Street/St. Catherines.
One good thing about living in Ottawa is that you can take the train to Toronto and Montreal and not have to deal with the Evil Death Highway of Doom known as the 401. At least the 416 and 417 are kinda scenic.
blink
Uh-oh.
You do own a parka and warm winter boots, do you not? Unless you are part of that rich downtown set that lives their entire life in buildings connected to the subway and never goes outside after Halloween, you will need them. Winter has not yet begun.
Last winter was extremely unusual in that we never had that week of -20C highs we always get in late January or early February. We had almost no snow, too; I think I only wore my winter boots for a week tops. Do not expect these conditions.
Having driven the Evil Death Highway of Doom (aka Highway 401) umpteen-bazillion times, I feel that maybe there should be a special road test and license endorsement necessary to drive on it.
The train is a fast and efficient way to travel between Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto, though. Fun, too. Wish we had train service out here in the west.
It was a joke - sort of… I’m just used to whining when it gets down to 50 F… I’ve actually been walking alot… I have my winter coat, my gloves and a winter cap… and I have some boots somewhere in a box I haven’t unpacked yet…
I’ve actually been trying to find some earmuffs, but they don’t seem to sell those anywhere in Toronto…
Halloween was fun - it wasn’t really that cold - the neighbors/neighbours and I stood outside drinking wine handing out candy to kids for about 2 hours… and I lived to tell about it - no frostbite at all!
I don’t think you can actually call yourself Canadian until you’ve experienced toque hair. And stuck your tongue to something metal outside in winter, but most of us get that over with as children.
