National capital is the best place in the country to live

Ottawa: 'a triumph of mediocrity'
MoneySense magazine says the national capital is the best place in the country to live, at least for this year, Helen Morris reports.

Helen Morris, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, April 29, 2008
It may have freezing, long winters and a quiet nightlife, but it seems the nation's capital is the place to live in Canada. According to a MoneySense survey released yesterday, Ottawa is above average on most things, but excellent in nothing.
"It was to some degree a triumph of mediocrity, but it was consistent mediocrity," said Ian McGugan, editor of MoneySense magazine.

The survey of 154 communities across the country looked at a number of issues including the weather, crime, the number of doctors, income levels and whether residents could afford to buy their own home.

Ottawa failed to make it into the top 10 for any of the categories, but the city was above average in everything, finishing well ahead of second-place Victoria, and third-place Fredericton.

Victoria scored high for warm weather and lots of doctors, but very low for affordable housing and discretionary income. Fredericton scored extremely high for affordable housing and discretionary income, but low on doctors and weather.

"It does reflect the fact that Ottawa benefits from a major employer that's never going to go out of business: the federal government," Mr. McGugan said. "Household income is quite high, housing is very affordable, crime is low, lots of doctors there compared to the rest of the country, low unemployment rate and so on."

The country's financial capital didn't fare quite so well. Toronto plummeted to 51st place in 2008, having been a respectable 12th in 2007. For the first time, Statistics Canada provided MoneySense with separate figures for the City of Toronto, Mississauga, Mark-ham and so on, instead of providing one overall figure for the greaater Toronto area.
"When you take away the prosperous suburbs ... essentially what you have is a city where housing is largely unaffordable," Mr. McGugan said. "Where there's a fair amount of violent crime and there are air quality issues."

Ottawa resident Maria-Lucia Castillo has just completed a master's degree and is about to head to Toronto in search of employment and to be with her husband. She is reluctant to leave the city that has been her home for the past five years.
"I will definitely miss the outdoors here in Ottawa, even just the quality of the air," Ms. Castillo said. "When I go to Toronto in the summer, you can see and feel the smog."

The survey said the average house price in Ottawa was $250,123, and for Toronto it was $404,070. People earning the average income would need 2.93 times their annual salaries to cover the sticker prices of homes in the nation's capital, while Toronto buyers would need 4.94 times the average annual income.
"I'm not looking forward to the living expenses in Toronto," Ms. Castillo said. "Rent is very expensive. I know I will never find housing like the one I have here in Ottawa for the same price in Toronto."

Freelance illustrator Mark Julien left his expensive shared accommodation in downtown Toronto to share an apartment with his partner in Kingston, the fourth-best place to live, according to the study. However, while living expenses are cheaper, he needed some time to become accustomed to the small-town feel.
"We don't have a really big gay scene here in Kingston," Mr. Julien said. "When I was coming out, Toronto was nice because you had a little anonymity. There was a certain power in being able to walk up and down Church Street and hold my partner's hand, which I don't necessarily feel that I have here."

Graduate student Andrea Hunter moved from Ottawa to Kingston, but she doesn't believe her quality of life has declined.
"If anything, it's gotten better," she said. "I'd say that anything you can get in Ottawa, you can get in Kingston. If you're concerned with shopping, services, medical care, etc. ... except for Ikea. But, since I'm not a fan of Ikea -- except for those delicious Swedish meatballs -- this doesn't affect my life at all."

MoneySense Top 10
1. Ottawa
2. Victoria
3. Fredericton
4. Kingston
5. Lévis, Que.
6. Moncton, N.B.
7. Winnipeg
8. Burlington, Ont.
9. Halifax
10. Vancouver
Source: MoneySense.ca


La Source

Bonsoir,
Dans ce cas je vais opter pour ottawa,
merci

Nadine

thaks mr abedlakder for this inforamtion
at all it's give us an idea about the life in many candian towns
also i find this survey very important it provides us some data witch show us some indicators and factors could hep the new comers in their choise of the town.

i found this sentence very difficult to meaning because it's appeares very ambiguous and contradictory " Ottawa is above average on most things, but excellent in nothing." infact idon't unterstand how ottawa have taaken the first place in this survey eventhough the adminsistratif acapital normaly would be in above of the list of town
please can you explain us this issue
thanks

nadine ahmine a écrit:Bonsoir,
Dans ce cas je vais opter pour ottawa,
merci

Nadine

salam
trés bonne idée

lion69 a écrit:i found this sentence very difficult to meaning because it's appeares very ambiguous and contradictory " Ottawa is above average on most things, but excellent in nothing." infact idon't unterstand how ottawa have taaken the first place in this survey eventhough the adminsistratif acapital normaly would be in above of the list of town
please can you explain us this issue
thanks

Yes sure my friend.

Ottawa is above average on most things, means that according to all the criterias on wich this survey was based, Ottawa had better than the average. In order to be more specific I'm going to give some Exemples :

When we talk about the Unemployment rate we can find:
1. Estevan with an average of 0.8%
8. Red Deer in Alberta with 3.10%
55. Ottawa with 5.20%
104. Toronto 7.30%
132. Montreal with 9.90%

And when we compare statistic with those rates, the median average of the country is 6% (March 2008)

So Ottawa had better than the average: 5.20% is better than 6%


When we talk about Household incomes (le revenue moyen du ménage (la famille)),
The best cities are :

1. Wood Buffalo with an annual average of 139 253 $
7. Calgary wuth 104 992 $
21. Ottawa had 85 475 $
135. Montréal so close to the average with an 54 689$
148. Trois-rivières 51 892 $
154. Shawinigan poorly ranked the last one : 46 519 $

On the other hand, the last Survey of Household income (2005) determinate that in Canada the average is $53,528 CAD.

So another time Ottawa had better than the average to had an annual salary of 85 475 $ is better than $53,528 CAD


And if we would like to talk about the Average House Price ,
1. LaTuque 93 923 $.
99. Ottawa 250 123 $
117. Montréal 305 472 $
134. Toronto 404 070 $
149. Vancouver 571 000 $

So if you take a look at Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
The Average MLS® selling price ($) is for 2007 : 306 407 $ (expecting to rise in 2008 to 322 400 $)

For the 3rd time Ottawa had better than the average, as you can see : buying a house in Ottawa 250 123 $ is cheaper than the Canadian 306 407 $

Now let’s move to the second part : How come Ottawa excellent in nothing?That means Ottawa is nor the 1st one in the Household incomes, neither in Discretionary income , New cars , Unemployment rate or any others criteria, but when we put them all together it occurs to analyst that it’s the best place to live in due to its considerable “average” in every factors.

Here is my source :

SOURCE

And her is the whole list:
Enjoy



Rank City Prov

1 Ottawa - Gatineau ON
2 Victoria BC
3 Fredericton NB
4 Kingston ON
5 Levis QC
6 Moncton NB
7 Winnipeg MB
8 Burlington ON
9 Halifax NS
10 Vancouver BC
11 Mississauga ON
12 Guelph ON
13 Laval QC
14 London ON
15 Leamington ON
16 Waterloo ON
17 Saskatoon SK
18 Brandon MB
19 Thompson MB
20 Quebec QC
21 Windsor ON
22 Swift Current SK
23 Regina SK
24 Fort St. John BC
25 Saint-Georges QC
26 Oakville ON
27 Stratford ON
28 St. John's NL
29 Edmonton AB
30 Woodstock ON
31 Richmond BC
32 Yellowknife NT
33 Peterborough ON
34 Estevan SK
35 Calgary AB
36 Cobourg ON
37 Joliette QC
38 Sherbrooke QC
39 Whitehorse YK
40 Canmore AB
41 Centre Wellington ON
42 North Bay ON
43 Yorkton SK
44 Saint-Hyacinthe QC
45 Cold Lake AB
46 Ingersoll ON
47 Vaughan ON
48 Lethbridge AB
49 Whitby ON
50 Kitchener ON
51 Toronto ON
52 Charlottetown PE
53 Belleville ON
54 Brampton ON
55 St. Catharines - Niagara ON
56 Saint John NB
57 Lloydminster SK
58 Thunder Bay ON
59 Port Hope ON
60 Richmond Hill ON
61 Collingwood ON
62 Prince Albert SK
63 Brantford ON
64 Amos QC
65 Oshawa ON
66 Brooks AB
67 Rimouski QC
68 Markham ON
69 Portage la Prairie MB
70 Chatham-Kent ON
71 Vernon BC
72 Rivière-du-Loup QC
73 Cambridge ON
74 Red Deer AB
75 Tillsonburg ON
76 Greater Sudbury ON
77 Kamloops BC
78 Temiskaming Shores ON
79 Moose Jaw SK
80 Corner Brook NL
81 Victoriaville QC
82 Montreal QC
83 Kenora ON
84 Nanaimo BC
85 Salmon Arm BC
86 Hamilton ON
87 Barrie ON
88 Petawawa ON
89 Trois-Rivières QC
90 Kawartha Lakes ON
91 Camrose AB
92 Longueuil QC
93 Rouyn-Noranda QC
94 Dolbeau-Mistassini QC
95 Orillia ON
96 Grand Falls-Windsor NL
97 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu QC
98 Kelowna BC
99 Alma NB
100 Grande Prairie AB
101 Cowansville BC
102 Cornwall ON
103 Medicine Hat AB
104 Wetaskiwin AB
105 Baie-Comeau QC
106 Burnaby BC
107 Courtenay BC
108 Sault Ste. Marie ON
109 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield QC
110 Sarnia ON
111 North Battleford SK
112 Penticton BC
113 Saguenay QC
114 Dawson Creek BC
115 Owen Sound ON
116 Coquitlam BC
117 Sorel-Tracy QC
118 Brockville ON
119 Okotoks AB
120 Surrey BC
121 Drummondville QC
122 Cranbrook BC
123 Granby QC
124 Timmins ON
125 Bathurst NB
126 Abbotsford BC
127 Prince George BC
128 La Tuque QC
129 Powell River BC
130 Wood Buffalo AB
131 Pembroke ON
132 Squamish BC
133 Lachute QC
134 Duncan BC
135 Parksville BC
136 Sept-Îles QC
137 Summerside PE
138 Norfolk ON
139 Chilliwack BC
140 Kentville NS
141 Shawinigan QC
142 Truro NS
143 Miramichi NB
144 Val-d'Or QC
145 Thetford Mines QC
146 Midland ON
147 Quesnel BC
148 Cape Breton NS
149 Prince Rupert BC
150 Terrace BC
151 New Glasgow NS
152 Williams Lake BC
153 Campbell River BC
154 Port Alberni BC

hi my freind
thank's for this explaination.it's make some data very clearly about life in candian town
thanks

You are welcome,

Here is my contribution in French for people who prefer a part of the article in French language:

Ottawa/Gatineau se classe au top « des meilleurs endroits pour vivre au canada » selon le 3ième classement annuel du magazine MoneySense (2008)

Si vous êtes à la recherche d’un endroit ou la qualité de vie est bonne, le pouvoir d’achat est abordbale, le taux de crime bas, et la disponibilité des soins médicaux est satisfaisante MoneySense a trouvé pour vous les villes qui sont au top au Canada.

Levis, Winnipeg, Burlington et Vancouver sont les nouveaux membres des 10 meilleurs endroits du Canada pour y vivre. Ces quatre villes joignent les six autres ville habitué au top de ce classement : Ottawa, Victoria, Fredericton, Kingston, Moncton et Halifax

Le guide de cette année contient plus de ville donc est plus grand et meilleur qu’auparavant incluant 154 communautés, au lieu de 123 l'année dernière, le classement de MoneySense considère maintenant de nouveaux facteurs tels que la qualité d'air, et sépare la listes pour mieux ajuster les différents aspects de selection tel, la meilleure place ou le climat est beau, les meilleurs endroits pour vivre sa retraite, les meilleures places ou il y a des communautés prospères etc…

À la différence de la plupart des études faite sur le classement des villes, l'évaluation de MoneySense est basée purement sur les nombres. "nous regardons au delà des beaux paysages ou les restaurants attrayants pour trouver les endroits qui fournissent la meilleure qualité de la vie aux résidants," dit Ian McGugan, rédacteur de MoneySense.

Tandis que beaucoup de villes avaient les rangs semblables à l'année dernière, il y avait quelques décalages notables. Toronto, qui était le numéro 12 dans le classement de 2007, a plongé au numéro 51 cette année, en grande partie en raison de la croissance de la population, des taux de crime relativement élevés, et des prix élevés de logements par rapport au revenu.

D'autre part, le courant rapide, Sask., a monté du rang 61 au rang 22, et Estevan, Sask., est passé du 68ième au 34ième rang , grâce aux économies locales éclatantes et taux de crime bas.

La surprise ? Ottawa, n'a pas fini dans les 10 principaux dans aucune catégorie individuelle. Son classement au top est du au fait qu’elle s'est classé au-dessus de la moyenne sur la plupart des critères, mais il faut le dire elle était catégorisé excellente dans aucune des critères choisi par l’étude.

Donc en résumé elle a les atouts des meilleures villes dans toutes les catégories sont pour autant être la meilleure en climat ou en suffisance de médecin, ou en prix des maison, ou en salaire moyenne des ménages… bref la meilleure quoi !!!

Salam,

What puzzles me when I read for the first time this article is the following title :
Ottawa : "a triumph of mediocrity" !!
How Ottawa can be at the top and represent mediocrity at the same time ?
A paradox !

It becomes clear for me when I read the kabi's explanation.

Thank you kabi. You've made good ads for Ottawa ! May be you have to think to change to a new job ...

Rachel

Ohh that's my pleasure Rachel,

By the way, same thing happened to me when I read the title, but it seems that the word mediocrity has not the same meaning as French ..

If you refer to the mediocrity of something, you mean that it is of average quality , it's kind of ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding.
So in a certain way mediocrity means the quality of being commonplace and ordinary .

I'm ready to change the job as long as I 'll find my hapiness.

salam ,

Thanks brother Kabi for issuing this article , it goes without saying that life criteria in Ottawa would be very outstandingly excellent .To me the idea to live there has been deemed good ; yet I can't manage to leave for Ottawa in the first place without spying out the land - I am about to prepare to leave for Montreal with my family next month , then once I first settle and finish the official procedures , I 'll leave for Ottawa to know more about the affordable accomodation , school system education ...by the way I just wonder whether there ever exisits a French (francophone ) community in Ottawa ? do the schools provide french language for non-anglophone residents ..etc ?

Thanks kabi for providing more further information .

“by the way I just wonder whether there ever exisits a French (francophone ) community in Ottawa ?”

Yes there is a French community in Ottawa, most of Francophone live in Vanier quarter, and there is MONT-FORT Hospital which deserved the French community in Ottawa, I can say that most of people are billigual.

But I must point out that even if the government announce that you has the right to be served in both official language you will find many time people in public service had a limited French, so just manage yourself for a better English in order to live better.


“do the schools provide french language for non-anglophone residents ..etc ?”

Yes there are in the territory of Ottawa some French schools, the most Known is La Cité collégiale :It is Canada's largest French-language college outside of Quebec. The college was created as an offshoot of Algonquin College when that school's French studies got too big for the college. Its main campus is in Ottawa, with satellite campuses in Hawkesbury, Ontario and Cornwall, Ontario.

Coordonnées de La Cité collégiale
La Cité collégiale
801, promenade de l'Aviation
Ottawa (Ontario) K1K 4R3
Téléphone : 613 742-2483
ou sans frais 1 800 267-2483
Télécopieur : 613 742-2481


You have also:

Conseil des écoles catholiques de langue française du Centre-Est
http://ecolecatholique.ca/fr/
4000, rue Labelle
Ottawa (Ontario) K1J 1A1
Canada

Téléphone : (613) 744-2555
Sans-frais : 1-888-230-5131
Télécopieur : (613) 746-3081
Courriel : ecolecatholique@ceclf.edu.on.ca



And you have too :

The Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario, also widely known as CÉPEO :
Adresse postale : Conseil des écoles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario
2445, boulevard St-Laurent
Ottawa (Ontario) K1G 6C3
Téléphone : (613) 742-8960
1-888-33CEPEO (1-888-332-3736)
Télécopieur : (613) 747-3810
Courriel : andree.myette@cepeo.on.ca

Renseignements généraux : Coordonnatrice des communications
Andrée Myette
(613) 742-8960 poste 3812
1-888-33CEPEO (1-888-332-3736) poste 3812
andree.myette@cepeo.on.ca

Admissions : téléphone : 742-8960 poste 3814
télécopieur : 747-3821
1-888-33CEPEO (1-888-332-3736) poste 3814
Ressources humaines : téléphone : 742-8960
télécopieur : 747-3830
1-888-33CEPEO (1-888-332-3736)
ressources-humaines@cepeo.on.ca

Transport : téléphone : 742-8960 poste 2150
télécopieur : 747-3807
1-888-33CEPEO (1-888-332-3736) poste 2150