house moves to canada

House Moves to Canada – A City Guide to Ottawa

Each year a number of UK citizens organise house moves to Canada to seek a higher standard of living and greater job opportunities. Ottawa, Vancouver, Calgary and Waterloo are among the top city destinations for expats move to. Canada's capital, which is home to 950,000 people, is considered one of the best places to live, offering an average household income of $100,000.

Certainly there are many reasons why people organise removals to Ottawa. It is a diverse, appealing, cultural city with plenty to do all year round, from visiting the world class museums, to parks and gardens, sporting activities and festivals. And, if you like the great outdoors, riverside walks, skating in winter, and the rolling Gatineau hills are among the natural delights to explore.

Dolphin Movers specialise in overseas removals including home and office moves to Canada. We organise home content removals to all parts of the country including St Albert, Strathcona County, Toronto, Burlington, Boucherville, Oakville, Edmonton, Regina and Quebec. We provide competitive removals quotations from the UK to Canada or back in the other direction. Just click on the link below to find out how Dolphin Movers can help with your relocation.

House Moves to Canada - Click here to find out how Dolphin Movers can help with your home or office move to Ottawa, Canada.

Where to Live in Ottawa

Most of the homes in Ottawa are detached, terraced houses or semi-detached properties although there are also condominiums available to buy or rent. If you are moving house to Ottawa with family, there are a number of choice neighbourhoods. West Carleton-March is made up of several villages, yet it is still easy reach of the capital for those who are commuting to work. Another benefit of this area is that it has the lowest crime rate in the capital and, if you are moving with secondary school age children, it has some excellent educational establishments.

Another good place for families to live is Kanata North, which is a fast growing suburb with new properties springing up all the time. The Kanata Research Park is also based here which is another draw for expats.

Also popular for families is Barrhaven, which is another fast growing area that also enjoys superb schools and a low crime rate. It is a good place to settle for commuters as it is home to Fallowfield Station – one of the two inner-city railway stations in the capital - and is on the Ottawa to Toronto route.

Working in Ottawa

The capital offers a high standard of living and a low unemployment rate, which is fantastic news if you are thinking of moving here. The government is the biggest employer with around 100,000 people working in public service. IT and telecommunications companies also employ a large number of people and big name organisations such as Hewlett-Packard, Adobe Systems, Nortel and Mitel are based here. In addition, the city is home to several hospitals, which combined have a workforce of nearly 20,000. Other big employers include the finance sector, life sciences and service industries.

Schools in Ottawa

If you are moving to Ottawa with children, the city has some excellent public, private and religious schools. Among the best rated secondary schools include John McCraw Secondary, St Joseph's and Mother Teresa High, the latter which are both catholic schools. Other well ranked schools include Earl of March, All Saints Catholic High and West Carleton Secondary School.

Shopping in Ottawa

If you like to hunt down a bargain, ByWard Market is a popular shopping district where stallholders come out in all weathers to sell their wares. Other well-liked shopping areas include Westboro Village, and Bank Street Promenade.

If you like splashing out in shopping centres, Ottawa has many including St Laurent Shopping centre and Bayshore. However, for something more unusual, head to the Great Glebe Garage sale in May where residents hold a massive sale of their unwanted items. You are bound to pick up something of interest.

Brief History of Ottawa

The city's name derives from ancient times with the native word 'odawa' meaning 'trade'. In the 1800's, the first families settled here along with a handful of agricultural workers who made timber the principle trade in the area. The town grew rapidly over the next five decades with French, Irish and English people making Ottawa their home.

The city was declared the capital by Queen Victoria on New Year's Eve, 1857, which escalated its growth - sawmills were erected, rail lines built and the Parliament buildings were constructed.

In the 1950's the city was redesigned by Jacques Greber to make it more aesthetically pleasing and the Greber Plan was put into action over the next two decades to improve its appearance. Building work continued into the latter half of the 20th century, and the turn of the century saw a boom in high tech industries which earned Ottawa the nickname Silicon Valley North.

Places to Visit in Ottawa

Ottawa has a number of museums, art galleries, buildings of architectural interest and open spaces to visit – and on July 1, Canada Day, museum visits are free. One of the most popular places to see is Parliament Hill which overlooks the Ottawa River and is created in a Gothic Revival style. Other attractions include the Canada Museum of History, which explores the country's 20,000 years of human history and the Canadian Museum of Nature which was home to the House of Commons and Senate for six years after part of the Parliament buildings were destroyed by fire in 1916. Popular with children is the Science and Technology Museum and also the Canada Agricultural Museum which is a working farm.

Food in Ottawa

The food in Ottawa reflects the city's multicultural population, and there is an excellent mix of restaurants including Chinese, African, Burmese, Thai, Italian, Mexican and Indian. Among the city's specialities is beavertail, a deep fried pastry which you can get as a main or dessert. If you like fine dining, head to Signatures, which has been awarded the prestigious five diamond rating, or Merlot, which is a revolving restaurant based at the Marriott Hotel.

Removals to Canada – Click here to find out more about Dolphin Movers international removals services from the UK to Ottawa.