phishin4groove Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 I need help making a decision, I moved up to London from the states. Im totally into the jamband scene, but London sux for that. Me and my girl are thinking about moving to Ottawa beacuse from what we can see, it looks like there is quite the scene there. Does it have a phat scene? Would it be a smart move to head there. I am a musician too, so thoes tuesday nights at decuf look like a cool thing. Any input would be helpful!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 Wherever you live, you have to live first. If you moved to Ottawa, would you be able to get a job? If not, and if you have a job where you are, stay where you are; as much as I'd like another member of the scene here (and playing), if you're going to end up in dire financial straits, it's not worth it. You'll also need to find a place to live for the two of you, and I'm not sure what the rental market is like now, but it's been tight in recent years, so, again, if moving to Ottawa means you'll end up paying a lot more for a place, or getting a lot less of a place, it may not be worth it. As to the scene itself, it's pretty good (and always welcoming of newcomers), and for the stuff that skips us, Montreal's only two hours away; we're also pretty close to a lot of the stuff going on in NY and Vermont (it's about the same-length drive to Burlington as it is to Toronto). You might want to try and sample Ottawa: take/make a long weekend, or maybe a week, and come up. The BluesFest and JazzFest would be good times, especially with the afterparties that are happening, and early September would be a blast, especially with the nero/BQ Saturday set-blender during Frosh week. Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hux Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 In all honesty, the size of the scene in Ottawa is inflated a little becuase of the heavy Ottawa contingent on this site.....BUT.....there is a great core group of roughly 30 (?) who are ALWAYS ragin', and of course many many more on the fringes, we have some big shows here where there a good amount of freaks shakin' it up 100+. Almost everyone is a musician it seems, so there is lots of fun to be had on the musical front! And as for the people, there are no better on this planet, pure gold. Sloth can be a bitch sometimes, but that's par for the course I guess. As for the city, it's a beauty. I've been here almost 4 years, and love it!!! The winters suck, but where don't they. If you need any more info.......I'm sure there are many who would be glad to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Huxtable Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 Come on Down!!! I moved to Ottawa from Toronto a few years ago. There's no place else I'd rather be now. Ottawa has such awesome, laid back people and always something going on. I've lived in a ton of cities in Ontario and thought I would never settle on a city, but Ottawa is a great fit for me. I feel at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa. Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 I've never lived in Ottawa so i can't give you any advice on that, but i live in Chatham right now and i can tell you that living in the Windsor-Toronto Corridor gives you access to much more music than you would be privy to in Ottawa. You can head to Detroit or even Cleveland in less than 5 hours and then you have Toronto and Bullalo within a do-able drive as well. There's always lots going on in Hamilton these days too. I'm not sure if that will help ya dude, but its where i stand on that one. I tell you this because i have seriously been considering leaving this area too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snarfmaster C Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 i moved out to ottawa for a little less than a year and had a great time. plenty to do - lots of good music. friendly people. pretty multicultural place too - lots of awesome restaurants, 2 universities, frenchies all over the place, diverse scene in general. relatively bike-friendly city too. close to sweet trails for hiking and nice lakes for swimming in gatineau park if you've got wheels. gotta love the museums and galleries and such. yeah - i didn't get my fill - can you tell i really liked the place?! it's a cool small city - lots to do but not overwhelming. one thing i discovered though is rent is steep and there are a lot of dumps so if you wanna make the move plan ahead and get looking at places asap. this review is all relative to my experience in victoria - annoying tourist city stuck on an island so the music scene (as far as touring acts go anywya) is kinda hurtin. the island can't be beat for nature, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishin4groove Posted June 26, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 right on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 The avatar makes the question seem quite surreal Ottawa-Gatineau is probably the sweetest place I've lived. Schwa is right about access to alot of music in different places that way, but there is nothing like Ottawa. With Ottawa, you are also close to Montreal and....Burlington's Higher Ground, Vermont Dave's place is near there As far as rent goes....find a place across the river in Hull. CHEEEEAAAP!!! It's about half-price for a 2 bedroom, and you're very close to the most beautiful parts of Ottawa area. It's also the hometown of Blue Grassy High! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa. Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 WOW, Bluegrassy High! I'm there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave-O Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 I'd echo what both Hux's said... I've been here 5 years, never thought I'd settle here, but now I can't imagine leaving. And yes, the scene is good but it's very small. The city has reached a decent size (~ 1,000,000) and we've started to attract A-list musical acts. Just look at this years' Bluesfest lineup. What else needs to be said about Blue Grassy High? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.Huxtable Posted June 26, 2003 Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 "What else needs to be said about Blue Grassy High?" I can think of a few things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishin4groove Posted June 26, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 26, 2003 well a small scene is better then no scene... and montreal is close too.. preeesh for the input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 "I can think of a few things." Yeah, lazy fuggers....................... Anyways, I think my favorite thing about Ottawa (aside from friends), is what Bouche said: With Ottawa, you are also close to Montreal and....Burlington's Higher Ground, Vermont Dave's place is near there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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