Repatriate Me!

In comments to my posts here on facebook (posts are imported as notes in facebook) I’ve been asked a couple of times “Why Ottawa?” This is a good question and one that I don’t have an exact reason for.

Ottawa is not Winnipeg. I grew up in Winnipeg and while my family is there and I have some good friends with whom I am still in touch with (thanks to facebook) I am not interested in returning there. There would definitely be advantages to going back such as having friends and a small network to draw on as well as knowing what neighborhood to live in. However I just can’t get excited about living there.

I also lived in Vancouver and am not interested in returning. While Vancouver is a beautiful city and there is lots to do, I found it to be over priced and over rated. I can’t imagine that it’s gotten any cheaper with the olympics coming up. I also found that a lot of Vancouverites were rather snobbish about how great Vancouver is and it was so strong that it was really borderline regionalism which is just south of nationalism and one of my pet peeves.

Which brings me to Ottawa. I’ve lived in and traveled enough in Western Canada but haven’t been anywhere east of essentially Kenora Ontario. That’s a whole lot of Canada waiting for me to see. Ottawa provides a nice central location to make trips out East as well still being close enough to visit my family in Winnipeg.

I’m also very keen on visiting Montreal and Quebec City but don’t want to live there. Ottawa is close enough that it will be very easy to make the trip. Additionally I’d like to make a drive out to the Maritime provinces – I’d love to go to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and have distant family in PEI so that would make a great summer trip.

I also did some research and it indicated that Ottawa has a pretty good IT industry – something I’m interested in. Also there is a Korean community which is important for my wife. I’m pretty sure every major city in Canada will have one, but Ottawa has a pretty good one and the Embassy is there. I elimated Toronto just based on what I had heard about the cost of living and housing. Ottawa is relatively close though which means making a trip back to Korea won’t be as difficult as it is now when we visit my parents – 11 hour flight to Vancouver 2-5 hours layover and then a 3 hour flight to Winnipeg. Blah.. that bites.

Finally I’ve talked to a couple of people I know who have lived in Ottawa and they both said that they enjoyed it there. One of them is a good friend here in Seoul and is even considering moving back there a couple of years after I do. That would be good for both of us as our families get along really well.

I don’t have any one super important reason for choosing Ottawa but rather a number of small things that make it feel like it’s the right choice for me. Anyhow I’ll learn a lot when I make my scouting trip to Ottawa this coming summer.