Is Gatineau an interesting place to live? (job market, neighbourhood)
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Gatineau is integrated with Ottawa in terms of the job market but in terms of culture (and even socially to some degree) it very much is its own thing.
There is a fairly large segment of the population in either city that has a "cross-over" life and that fits in on either side. (I am kind of like that.)
But generally speaking except for work the majority of people tend to stick to their side of the river except for the stuff that is only available or perceived as better on the other side.
So people from Ottawa come to the Gatineau side for cheaper beer, the casino, *hotter* strip clubs, recreational stuff like skiing, and many own cottages north of Gatineau in Quebec because lakes and small mountains are fairly close to the city.
People from Gatineau go to Ottawa for more stuff due to Ottawa being three times bigger: shopping, certain forms of ethnic cuisine, big shows by international acts (think Elton John, Madonna, etc.), some hospital care, some educational needs, etc.
On a cultural level Gatineau has very much its own scene (totally separate from Ottawa) based on the fact that it is in Quebec which has its own culture similar to the difference between Flanders vs. Wallonia. Or if you think of Spain, Quebec is a kind of super-charged Catalonia in linguistic, cultural and political terms.
There is also some French stuff in Ottawa due to that city being about 15% French-speaking, but for the most part the francophone culture in the region is largely concentrated in Gatineau.
Gatineau also has about 15% anglos, but they generally rely on Ottawa for most of their anglo-focused stuff.
Gatineau is fine as a place to live but from an urbanistic perspective it is not the most attractive city.
In fact, it is probably the most American-feeling city in Quebec, as it has a downtown filled with office buildings with a small nightlife district. Then an inner city around that that is struggling and a bit depressed, and then lots of suburban-style areas that were built between the 1960s and today.
Gatineau is not hell to live in. It's totally functional and fine. But urbanistically for a city lover it's somewhat behind Ottawa.
If I absolutely wanted to live in a very urban neighbourhood I'd choose Ottawa a million times over Gatineau as there is no comparison.
For living in the suburbs though I would not choose Ottawa as its suburbs aren't any nicer than Gatineau's plus they are often a lot further away from the urban heart of the region.
Gatineau is fine as a place to live but from an urbanistic perspective it is not the most attractive city.
In fact, it is probably the most American-feeling city in Quebec, as it has a downtown filled with office buildings with a small nightlife district. Then an inner city around that that is struggling and a bit depressed, and then lots of suburban-style areas that were built between the 1960s and today.
Gatineau is not hell to live in. It's totally functional and fine. But urbanistically for a city lover it's somewhat behind Ottawa.
If I absolutely wanted to live in a very urban neighbourhood I'd choose Ottawa a million times over Gatineau as there is no comparison.
For living in the suburbs though I would not choose Ottawa as its suburbs aren't any nicer than Gatineau's plus they are often a lot further away from the urban heart of the region.
My partners job will be located in Centretown. Which areas would you recommend in terms of commute, we are not looking for Ottawa's upper class areas, but we are also not looking to live in the ghetto.
We want something that is not far from Centretown, not that expensive, with an easy commute.
Is Centretown itself affordable?
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