Ottawa: the capital of Canada - RANTS

Want to hear what people think of the nation's capital - Ottawa? Unlike the false tourism advertising, here's a taste of the TRUTH - from people who have lived it!


"As an outsider to this town and now living here, working and attending school, Ottawa SUCKS. Badly. The people are grumpy, uptight, self-centered, and cheap. The drivers are idiots and can't shoulder check let alone multi-task, i.e. check mirrors AND drive at the same time. 40 km an hour everywhere they drive?! Or 140 on the highway about to plow into you should you decide to signal and try to change lanes, then finger you. The food sucks here, public establishments are sub-par for the most part, and the flat characterless nature of the town speaks volumes. Wonder why there are no photos of Ottawa other than that of parliament and the Canal in brochures and on websites? Because to show suburbia on a flat plain with huge power lines running through them with concrete government drab buildings and big box store plazas would be a tourism mistake. This town needs a serious kickstart and a massive injection of culture. This town bites."



"I have lived here all my life and it's the same shithole. OC Transpo are a bunch of fucking goofs. Shitty Nightlife. Dirty Cops. Bad Food. The drivers are bad too the second a flake of snow hits the ground its like these idiots forget how to drive. The Hockey Team is absolute shit and I hate their fans. Overall Ottawa is not a city to be proud of."



"OMG I can't believe it, it's so nice to see that my boyfriend and I are not alone in in thinking that this is a bloody nightmare of a city where everybody goes around acting like it's just perfectly normal to behave like dicks.

There are two acceptable activities in this area, Working is one, driving to work is the other. Nobody here knows how to live let alone have fun. Their apartment buildings look like hell holes so we have to pay a fortune in tax just to live in Hull because we can't afford to pay to live like executives and in Ottawa the only alternative is to live in a building that looks like an episode of CSI. 

Every single day I watch people in black SUV's and BMW's run red lights and break the speed limit and never ever get a ticket, I've never seen an expensive care pulled over here, only crappy cars. 

People here are also weird beyond belief, whenever I meet somebody normal it turns out they're from out of town. I wake up every morning and by the end of every day I wonder a couple of things like "am I dreaming?" "Why am I still living here?" and "When is Will Smith gonna show up and tell me all these people are androids?"

I am still here because I am learning French. As soon as I am bilingual You will be able to see the peeled rubber from my car from here till Montreal on the 417 from space."



"You are all right, cultureless, boring, boring lazy civil servants who make up the bulk of the population, with no drive other than to plod along in a simpleton way who hate their lives and their worthless jobs...people cannot drive to save their lives, there is no where decent to shop, unless you like plain drab atire. What has this city got going for it? Nothing, its just a big hillbillie country town. I will be returning home as soon as my training is complete."



"Ya, I'm with all of you. I'm from Toronto and got suckered into moving here from my Montreal husband (naturally opposed to Toronto) when we met because there were no IT jobs in London (Ont.). Now? All the IT jobs are relocated to T.O. and guess what... he is applying to them and I cannot wait to go home. Finally. Out of the city of the fucking huge assholes into the normalcy of real life. I hate this goddamned city more than any one of you here. If a hurricane swept through here after we leave, hell no I would not come here to volunteer to rebuild - I would just buy a plane ticket to New Orleans and help there instead."



"I have lived in Ottawa on and off for years, having traveled for quite some time away from here. It is safe to say most people really do suck here. Very lazy civil servants, corrupt government officials who wire business to their friends and anyone willing to grease their palms (even though this is directly against government procurement policy), and very boring people. They should carpet bomb the place!"



"Well it actually kind of depresses me and encourages me all at once to read the comments that have been posted here. It is a confirmation that other people actually think this place sucks as much as I do..so it is a relief maybe I am not going crazy after all. I find it so unfriendly here...The depressing part is I just can't seem to figure out how to leave unless I just cash my pension, sell the house and get the hell out of here. Quite a risk. I don't think I can stand another cold frozen hell of a winter and all I fantasize about is Arizona...sigh..."



"I totally agree with all the people who hate this city. It is pure garbage. The city has no culture, just the typical government BS. It seems like everyone in Ottawa has a sense of entitlement from their cushy low-work and high-pay government job. No one in this town has manners, no one says thank you, you get poor to no service everywhere. Aggressive homeless people are everywhere in the city center. It's a closed minded city with a serious case of Toronto-envy."



"All these Ottawans call people from Toronto snobs. People from Toronto aren't snobs, they're realists. Toronto is very much a city where hard work pays off. Ottawa is a city where entitlement reigns."



"I am from Vancouver and I had an internship placed in Ottawa for 4 months during the winter months. All aspects of the city and the general feeling of the place really really sucked to the point where it is bad for your mental health. People and the place there are totally weird and out of touch. Food in the food courts taste worse than dog food. Downtown areas totally empty when the weather gets really cold, and if you are lucky you'll see very sparse number of people within a distance near malls. Nearly all the buildings look archaic, greyish, senseless and totally boring for your eyes. The entire city looks like a military compound, ok im exaggerating a bit but you get the idea..."



"A While ago we moved from Montreal, you know where it's fun, to Ottawa...
>.> 
Few words needed to describe the place.. 
All Work, No Fun, Go at Red Lights Stop at Green Lights...
Thats about it. lol 
overall it really sucks.. No Subway, Zoo or amusement park >.>"



"Is Ottawa boring? It all depends.
Here are my own personal observations: 
I've met some people here that absolutely love it.
In some cases, the salary can make the difference between borderline suicidal boredom or fantastic fun. 

Socially, Ottawa feels like a big village and at 1 million metro population that's quite odd. Many outsiders have a hard time integrating and making friends here.
If you're standing at a bus stop, or anywhere else for that matter, and start a conversation, they look at you like you're an alien from outerspace. They're so aloof, cautious and xenophobic in this city. Funny thing is every time someone speaks to me...well...they're not from here. 

Everyone I knew that wasn't from Ottawa left and never came back. 
My biggest pet peeve about Ottawa? No one moves. Is it so difficult to move over to the right and/or say "excuse me"?! 

People here are also afraid of any type of change to their precious Ottawa. Not-in-my-backyard mentality prevails here. Just try to build a bridge or get a subway going! They're 20 years behind as far as a subway goes! When Montreal and Toronto hit the 1 million population mark, their subway was built, lit and ready to haul ass. Ottawa hasn't dug a hole. 2010 around the corner and nothing. 

But, they have the Transitway! Big #$!@$# deal! It only takes 2 centimeters of snow to paralyze their stupid bus system. Some routes take forever to get to the one place you need to go. Sometimes you're better off walking. In many cases, you'll get there by car in 1/5th the time. So what's the point to public transportation?! To add insult to injury, then there are those moon base alpha bus stations in the middle of nowhere out in a field with access to nowhere. Whose the genius that thought of that?! 

Ottawa also has horrible urban planning.
Ottawa also has that flatest skyline I've ever seen for a city its size. God forbid they build a real skyscraper downtown and pass that tower up on Parliament Hill. Oh-my-god, I remember when they wanted to build the pedestrian overpass over the canal. Damn! You'd thought they were going to nuke the city or something. People here panic if a squirrels farts. They're so conversative!! Drives me nuts. No vision. Any change and they go into a seizure. 
Their downtown is not really a downtown. It's just a bunch of government offices. Where's private sector?! Hardly any diversity at all. Downtown is dead after 5. Heck, downtown is dead, period. 

Ottawa is such a repressive city. I've never seen anything like it. 
Ottawa also lacks ethnic diversity. It's very much "white". By the way, I'm caucasian but the way I'm treated here it's like I'm from planet Zoltar. Ottawa has 14% (or less) ethnic diversity. Ottawa needs ethnic diversity to spice it up, give it a soul and a vibe.
So, is Ottawa boring? I find Ottawa is more repressive than boring. Other cities won't make you feel alienated or feel like an outsider like Ottawa does. 

You can have fun in Ottawa but the people here lack spontaneity. And, I'm not talking about going out to bars and getting hammered. No, I'm talking about the ease of making friends, the vibe of the city, it's openess, the people, the economy and diversity.
Again, I think it's more repressive than boring. Ottawa has a closed economy and it's a government town. 

If someone is not happy here, the bad news is it won't change overnight.
If someone has the opportunity (and $$$$) to leave, they should leave because Ottawa will still be Ottawa tomorrow, the next day and the next day and the next...etc."


"ottawa suks balls, most people smoke weed from parking lot to parking lot"



"--------------
quote
'OC Transpo are a bunch of fucking goofs. Shitty Nightlife. Dirty Cops. Bad Food. The drivers are bad too the second a flake of snow hits the ground its like these idiots forget how to drive. The Hockey Team is absolute shit and I hate their fans. Overall Ottawa is not a city to be proud of.'
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PERFECT DESCRIPTION!!!!"



"How about a motto for Ottawa ... :)
Ottawa-The Waiting Room of Life."


"Ottawa - the place where hope goes to die."



"In response to: "...Maybe the problem isn't Ottawa, it's people who can't learn to set aside their sad, deeply embedded negativity and see that for all its flaws, Ottawa, like every other Canadian city, is a wonderful and vibrant place...."
No, see, its people like you who are the sad negative types who spout veiled hostility any time someone has a different opinion than you. 

Ottawa has its good qualities, fair enough. On the other hand, this city obviously has legitimate problems as well, which many users' comments have repeatedly expressed. Dismissing those commenting about these issues as being jaded and having "deeply embedded negativity" is in itself negative in nature and self-defeating. Why shouldn't people post their opinions, whether they're in favor of the way things currently are or not? God forbid anyone actually read any of the aforementioned concerns of the public and work towards improving the situation… 
You may say nobody likes a shitty attitude, but nobody likes a pretentious one either."



"While society may be going up or down depending on whether you live in North America or China & India, relative to other cities in Canada Ottawa truly does suck on a galactic black hole scale.

I've been here for only a few weeks and have a few weeks left in my short term contract (thank god!) and can't wait to get back to the lovely Vancouver rain! 
There are real problems in this city that are frustratingly unnecessary, but because this city is predominately filled with polisci types that don't actually know how to do anything, but whose primarly skill is superficially getting along and passive-aggressivly attacking anyone raising issues or offering solutions, nothing will get done.

In case you don't know, here are the obvious problems that are relatively easy to solve or unneccesary. 
* Horrible transit (Never have a seen so many resources squandered so badly to provide such bad service for so few people) 
* Why the hell do you all smoke? And why glare at me or complain if I quietly re-seat myself on a patio to escape your weak-willed filthy habit. 
* Lack of short-term accommodation/crappy hotels.
I'm not staying and don't want to stay at the damn pretentious Chateau Laurier... and a $150 for a Travelodge with a lumpy bed?! 
* Horrible/dangerous drivers 
* Weird people. Aloof wait staff and cashiers that like to mumble in a monotone and are quick to get agitated by even friendly requests for information."



"OMG so true, and it sounds like you haven't even come in contact with the colorful folk of King Edward at St Patrick. LOL, if you're only here for a few more weeks I would strongly suggest staying away from Hull, the facade of exquisite landscaping hiding behind it virtually unimaginable levels of ignorance; a large population witch seem to believe that it is perfectly normal to have 12+ hour ER wait times and no family doctors, and they pay thousands more a year in tax to receive these lousy public services. It is a language obsessed failure, leeching off of English Canada's capital and somehow manages to also be an insult to the rest of Quebec by not even celebrating June 24'th or being able to make a decent poutine! The single, solitary benefit of Gatineau is affordable rent for apartments that don't look like they should be condemned, but then again, Ottawa can be blamed for not being able to provide affordable rentals. It should not cost the same to rent a clean apartment that doesn't smell like a puppy mill or have gun shot holes in the foyer as it does to mortgage a half million dollar estate."



"I moved to Ottawa from the crappiest city in Canada (aside from Winnipeg)- windsor, ON. Reason: jobs in my field. And let me tell you, I had to move after two years and its miracle I even lasted that long. I get the whole big city mentality that comes when people mistakenly believe they are the best citizens ever because they live in the capital, but its gotten downright scary. I worked in a shelter where addicts were dumped there by the mental hospital who spend your taxdollars on locking up people who have mental illness and addiction issues and then dump them into a massive shelter where no one has to look at them, rather than, you know, using the billions of dollars wasted on low-life CEO's actually working to get these people better and off the welfare system that we all pay for with our hard-earned working money. I have seen cops beat up homeless people for sport- NOT an exaggeration. And when you go to a store? Try asking a question. Seriously, ANY question. Guranteed you will either get a rude response OR someone speaking that ugly FAKE dying duck French that they think is "real". I was schooled my entire lie in France-based French (I'm European) and I couldn't get work in Ottawa because I have been told to my face literally- "We don't like the French you speak." My suggestion? go to ANY OTHER French speaking nation on Earth (including the carribean) and then tell me whose French is proper. Oh yeah, another thing- Canada is BILINGUAL. Meaning, speaking only Quebecois crap and two words of English DOES. NOT. COUNT."



"Ten years ago I escaped the smallest town I ever lived in. (ottawa)
I moved to a town of 20,000 where there are happy honest people who actually work for a living and care for each other. 
take a hillbilly, stick him in some useless BS university course on the taxpayers bill, teach him to be incompetent in TWO languages, then overpay him in a pointless government job to be unaccountable and you have someone who spends a lifetime in ottawa
other than the double wide trailer deep down a lot of them have wasted their lives.
GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN at any cost, your children will thank you"



"Wow, thumbs up to Madison, I can't get anything done right here let alone ask a question at a store. For three years now I've not had a single hair cut done right, or an oil change...pretty much anything that's not completely in my control is done wrong. Stuck here for the work, if CEO's would get off their high horses and implement work-from-home software I'd be out of here in a flash. To be honest I think people driving in traffic for hours every day to go and sit on a computer and answer a telephone is ridiculously primitive. Everything my husband does at work he is able to do from remote logon at home but they want him to go in and use their computer, their hydro, their heating and for no reason, he works alone anyway. It's so bloody stupid. Remote work would get half of us out of this wretched city we don't even need to be living in."



"The above posts are a lot more thorough than I could be. Suffice it to say, Ottawa has all the problems of big cities with almost none of the advantages. It also has all the problems of small towns with none of the advantages. It is neither. The great Jimi Hendrix breezed into town for a couple of days during the late great '68 and summed up Ottawa in his diary "... strange people". Nuff said."



"I moved to Ottawa from Europe last August.
Even though I was born here, I can say that I think Ottawa sucks. Or perhaps it is more Ontario. Taxes are way to high and despite what people say, electricity is cheaper in Europe than here. 
We've decided to sell our house and leave this shit hole country, can't wait to get back to the real world."



"... Does Ottawas suck? Ask my son who was born in Ottawa and is happy to be out of there."



"Ottawa is the worst city in all of Canada, maybe even north america! I stopped there early last year to see the canada day festivities. From the moment I got out of the car and started waliking around, people were the rudest, walking into you from across the sidewalk to like purposely hit you walking by. Everyone is cheap and not very social. Just stay in ottawa if you live there, don't move there if you're a nice person."



"Nearly 1/3 to 1/2 the population has a chip on their shoulder here. Ottawa is a car city. The ethos here is passive aggressive to hidden aggressive snotty.
Even in Montreal they are capable to say "excuse-me."
The proper use and not abuse of the english language is to say "excuse me" not "sorry."



"I've been out of Ottawa for 6 months now. I AM IMMENSELY HAPPY! My son is eating again, has alllll kinds of friends and is CONSTANTLY outside playing.
To all those sluts and whores on the Stittsville Moms Facebook page who look as phony as a 3 dollar bill... keep your precious city and check your daughter's drawers. She's doing drugs and boys to numb her pain."



"Darnn ... i used to live in BC and Calgary and i have never felt so depressed as right now. I wish i could turn back time and stay in either Calgary or BC instead of here ...
Miss BC and Calgary badly"



"Hey Everybody,
I came across this blog when I googled "why is ottawa so boring" after having a discussion with a friend about Ottawa. (on how really boring it is)
I am 33 years old. I was born and raised in Ottawa and now looking back I havent seen anything change in this city... 

They can't even get the O-Train running. A simply east to west north to south route. If I were in charge I would hold an open competition to the 3 major schools in Ottawa (Ottawa U, Carleton and Algonquin) and have them design a system for the city. Who better to design it? They probably use it the most. The designs can be voted on by the people of Ottawa and problem solved. Seems to easy and good to be true. 

The nightlife in the city is dreadful. The only time it gets busy is when the students get back. Pretty embarrassing on the rest of us that live here. The Byward Market is boring and lackluster. The Bylaw officers are way to happy to hand out tickets to people just trying to make a living or just have a good time. The upscale restaurants that claim to have the best chefs and best food are terrible. But everybody is too afraid to say anything because they just want to be seen at "the hotspot of the month". And yes every month there seems to be a new hot spot. But with the suburbs getting better restaurants and bars, the Market is loosing its appeal for people who live on the outskirts. 

The amount of rudeness in this city for such a small population is bonkers. Nobody says please or thank you. Its gotten to the point where I dont hold doors open for anybody anymore because nobody says thanks. People dont know how to drive in this city. However is teaching people to go 80km\hour in the left lane of the highway and not move when somebody is coming up at 100km\hour needs to stop doing that. 

People are not approachable and open here. I was born and rasied here and find that. Think of somebody that moves here from somewhere else. People judge and critise people here a lot. People are looked at strictly on the outer appearance. Thats why everybody looks the same here. Pure cookie cutter.. 

I know its a governement town, and everybody disappears after 7. But like an earlier comment i read, your salary can make or break your activities. I work for the governement and the majority of people dont make crazy amounts of money. If you are a single man or woman living in this city with a mortgage, bills and maybe a car payment, i'm guessing you are paycheck to paycheck. There is not a lot of room to play with after all of those things. God forbit you have an emergency like a car repair or a over inflated cell phone bill you just got after coming back from the states. The amount we pay for goods and services in Ottawa (and Ontario) is astronomical. But that discussion is for a whole new blog. 

The yearly "festivals and events" that everybody looks forward to are pretty much boring and the exact same every year. For example wine and food, hope volleyball, cheo bbq, bluesfest, greekfest and so on and so on. Its time we got something new, people set thier calenders to these events. LOL 

I'm pretty much ranting, but it feels good to know i'm not alone. But its unfortunate because these past few years, i have seen things getting worse. 
But the bottom line is you make the best of it. If people want to disappear at 7pm, doesnt mean you have to. If people drive like morons, drive the way you need to, to avoid them and get to your destination safe. If people are being rude, call them out on it. And give them a little taste of it back. You'll be surprised how much better you feel."



"Ottawa should be the butt of alot of stand-up comedy, but the people here are so self-unaware or insecure that they either wouldn't get it, or allow themselves to get it.
Great site though."



"Fuck this ugly piece of shit city. Moved here my stoney creek (near hamilton) and when my fucking apartment contract is up in september i'm gone and never looking back. Ottawa is filled with a bunch of arrogant and ignorant dickheads. What a dirty and smelly city, an embarrassment to be part of canada yet alone the nations capital. Hamilton is a steel town and still so much superior then this ghetto land, mind you the suburb I lived in IS nice. Fuck anyone who defends this lifeless cunt of a city. Day 1 of my move, ps3 stolen, shows the true character of everyday ottawans. I guess people here are too poor to buy their own, so steal someone elses on move in day, Nice!!! And for the record, I'm not from Toronto but have been there enough to know, toronto has always been better, will always be better and just is better then this mistake of a place."



"I moved here 10 years ago and for the first 4 years thought it was me. People looking away when you look up to say hello, not being able to merge onto a highway because cars don't move over, being surprised in the food store when the lady stands there with her shopping cart expecting you to get out of her way instead of going around you, miserable customer service, frantic waves from drivers to proceed instead of a friendly nod, crappy restaurants, urban sprawl, non-existant architecture, U-turns at 4 way intersections. Tailgating, cigarette smoking contractor idiots hauling ass down the 174 making their way home to Rockland, ready to road rage any asshole that gets in their way, no quality, no class, just a backwater of comfortable civil service families of four dining out at Montana's and getting a large double double on the way to their well paying, pension indexed government job that they hate.
So anyways, after 4 years I realized that it wasn't just me and for the past six have just been putting up with it. But not in 2012 friends. I'm going back to Toronto, where it's a hell of a lot friendlier, classier and better for business not to mention my psyche! Ottawa, keep your dweeb mayors, Lowell Green, million traffic lights, horrible French slang, dumpy market , over rated glebe first to the trough pension sucking tightass baby boomers who still work as consultants and go to the same goddam home show 3 times a year at the eyesore known as Frank Clair Stadium. As they say on Dragons Den....I'm out!"



"It is true, Ottawa sucks. People are so uptight and awkward here. The majority of civil servants are lazy and have never worked in the real world. They are just waiting for their pension to kick in."



"It's funny, I work on the phone with customers from all over north america and somebody called the other day and said, as many do, "where am I calling" and I said "Ottawa" and they replied "well, I'll forgive you for that" and I laughed out loud..."



"I mean smile for God's sake, smile once and a while...look at the dang tulips or something, whatever is happening can't be so bad that people are so misserable or out of it constantly."
I'm afraid the problem runs a little deeper than smiling will fix (although it wouldn't hurt). In the unauthorized history of Ottawa that I'm writing, I point out that the city was founded as an 19th century experiment on passive/aggressiveness that went awry. As generations of bureaucrats inbred, the sense of humour was eventually eliminated. And the simulacrum finally able to oust the authentic."



"Oh this is a great blog page. I was up this morning thinking about some of the truly weird and sometimes horrid people I met when I lived in Ottawa when I attended University there.
Some of the way people treat each other was just bizarre, mean spirited and awful.
My advice for those who read this is to leave for another city (any city) as fast as you can. If you must stay in Ottawa then I have some good advice. 

Make genuinely nice friends (they exist in every town and city). Surround yourself with positive vibes and people as much as possible. When you run into one of the many twits or assholes in Ottawa - keep running (as far away as you can). 

Do not attempt to fight fire with fire by engaging in some goffy one upmanship with a mean person who does something mean to you. Just walk away. If you can bring attention of their behavior to a supervisor (if someone is rude to you in a store for example) then by all means please do so. However do not be suprised if the supervisor is also an asshole and sides with the asshole working for him/her who was rude to you.
Basically just find good people in your life and just ignore the other morons if you can... and you should survive Ottawa."



"Hi Im canadian and I have lived in BC, Alberta, Toronto and also NB. I made the mistake of moving here 5 years ago. I am a single woman here and if your a single woman you are targeted all the time and people take advantage of you from government offices to workplaces to housing accommodations etc. I lost my ft job in 2008 and have not found much since. If your white and english no one wants to hire you. There are also alot of newcomers with attitudes, it seems half are sweethearts and the other half have a stinky attitude and dont like the canadian born pe ople. ONe of my friend's who is half native has alot of issues here too because she is single. She also cant get into a government job. I always try to be a good person but it seems in this city people stick up for the bad guys and criminal types. Im hoping to be able to escape this hell hold of a city next month and I will never return here again even for a visit!! I also only like to hear english spoken on the buses but alot of people dont seem to care nowwadays."



"OC Transpo are a bunch of fucking goofs. Shitty Nightlife. Dirty Cops. Bad Food. The drivers are bad too the second a flake of snow hits the ground its like these idiots forget how to drive. The Hockey Team is absolute shit and I hate their fans. Overall Ottawa is not a city to be proud of.'

That best describes Ottawa. I have lived there for most of my life (I now reside in the United States) and living there was a nightmare. It's boring beyond comprehension, life-less, expensive, soul-less and utterly depressing place. I actually feel sorry for people living in that hellhole. It's especially horrid if you're a young black man. 

I thought all of Canada was like Ottawa so I made a persistent effort to leave Canada altogether. I'm a young man with many talents and positive outlook on life and Ottawa was sucking the life out of me. They're uncultured old people - the city is disproportionately populated by older generation whites who suffer mental problems and are incredibly miserable - who look forward to pension and retirement. Depression, alcoholism, drug use and social problems remain rampant in the nightmare called Ottawa. 

I now reside in the United States of America where I live with normal people. People that are actually receptive and capable of engaging in normal, fun activities and conversations. It actually took some time getting used to people that weren't so cold, condescending and contemptuous for no apparent reason other than that they're unhappy and possess an attitude of vengeful supremacy (to make themselves feel better and escape their unbearable "lives").

Canada is a decaying country and it's eating itself away from the inside. It's becoming increasing unlivable, socially and economically, for an ever growing number of people-particularly the young.




"Today The person in front of me stops at a green light to let out somebody from the passenger side. Nobody honks, not once. Then the woman gets out of the car and starts flipping a bird to everybody including myself and for what? Not honking? Not being ass holes? I don't get it, what's with the crazies. Nobody knew what the hell was going on. We're all stopped at a green light being flipped off by somebody that looks perfectly well dressed and normal. I'm so confused LOL, not surprised...but very confused."

I've had a similar experience (on multiple occasions); a woman was getting out of a car's passenger side in the middle of the road. I politely waited and didn't even look at her, let alone honk. Meanwhile the driver, also a lady, kept looking at me as though I eat babies! For being polite!? I don't get it. So I'm left with amazement and bewilderment. 

In Ottawa you have to get used to abnormal behavior. It's a very bizarre place. It's like a horrible social experiment, a mental ward even. It stems from the general population's social ineptitude associated with its deplorable cultural backwardness. Since it's a socially dead city they don't know how to behave much less socialize. The glaring lack of social evolution consequently rendered the city a harbinger of abnormal behavior. 
What's considered normal is rarely seen in Ottawa..."



"I hate living here. I want to move to Las Vegas, Nevada. Sure, Ottawa has strip clubs and casinos like Las Vegas but it doesn't have enough entertainment, good weather, good food (though that's improving) or excitement. When the time comes, I'll pack my bags and at least winter in Vegas. Ottawa in the summer isn't bad, though. In winter, it's a nightmare."



"In Ottawa you have to get used to abnormal behavior. It's a very bizarre place. It's like a horrible social experiment, a mental ward even. It stems from the general population's social ineptitude associated with its deplorable cultural backwardness. Since it's a socially dead city they don't know how to behave much less socialize."

because it's not an entrepreneurial city, people don't develop certain skills. You'll meet the same percentage of weirdos in other similar cities. (well, maybe not quite as high.)"


"An immigrant’s experience in Canada:

The Canadian government solicits potential immigrants and dupes them into bringing their skills and money to Canada. It advertises the country to people from other countries, mainly for their money; each prospective economic immigrant has to bring with them minimum $10,000. It’s a scam but then again so is everything else in Canada. 

When the Canadian govt is engaged in such a scam you can only imagine the extent to which the average Canadian individual is also involved in a scam of their own to survive, everything from phoney govt jobs to independent immigration consultants. Every Canadian is involved in some kind of a scam. Fraud is a way of life in Canada and you have to do your part just to pay the bills to extortionist utility, rent, insurance companies, etc. If you come with the mentality – as immigrants erroneously do – that this is a developed country and expect an efficient and competent system you will be greatly mistaken: Malfeasance is the call of the day in Canada. 

Since the country’s economy largely depends on service, and Canada no longer a manufacturing country, the best show in town in terms of gainful employment is a govt job. That requires “networking” – code word for FAVORITISM in Canada – forget about best qualified person getting the job. In many respects Canada is a developing country. There’s a disconnect between the political class and the average person (which explains the immigration disaster, among other common fundamentally flawed and corrupt practices). 
Canadians are cold and standoffish. Nothing happens and everybody keeps it to themselves. It’s the most socially inept country in the world. Since it’s socially dead country one becomes accustomed to abnormal behavior. Canada lacks national identity and national culture. Subsequently everyone identifies with the country of their parents or great parents’ origin. Forget about assimilation and adapting to Canada, you cannot assimilate and adapt to an unreceptive environment. Consequently racial attitudes are behind 30-40 years, say the United States. Which is really unfortunate because the country’s population is aging at an incredible rate, and the average immigrant stays for a few years and eventually leaves. (40% of all immigrants to Canada at any given year leave so within a few years – Statscan.) To augment this the govt typically brings in even more people. There’s a continuous flow of “new” arrivals filling the position of those who have come and gone. 

Major cities, namely Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, are decaying socially and economically. Heavy drinking, drug use and other social problems are rampant along with crumbling infrastructure. But people in Canada don’t discuss issues of national importance, they lack coherent objective national discourse. People complain and say what they think they’re supposed to say, or, more accurately, say what they think will make them sound smart. Whether inferiority complex or other social deformity, people in Canada dislike constructive criticism and altruism. They remain risk averse to a fault, so problems fester. Everyone simply prefers to pretend everything is nice and dandy."




"... So that's it from someone who has lived here all their lives. "
The argument from authority in a blog like this is miserably out of place. I refer you to the concept of "Stockholm Syndrome", named after a city almost as 'vibrant' as Ottawa.
Architecture? Do you really think people are coming from all over the world to Ottawa to study how we do architecture and urban planning? 

The city has had and will probably always will have a lack of imagination. It's architecturally vapid - the downtown can best be thought of as supplying the reply "Who .. me?" to those in search of it. Then consider Carling Ave. between Lincoln Fields and Bayshore. How about putting that in a travel brochure? Or Merivale Road, anywhere? ... The list of mind numbing stretches of eyesore are endless. 

As far as complaining about the hating on Ottawa, if anything, the complaining makes it slightly more tolerable. At least some humour can be generated to cover over the hot air and shredded paper which seem to be the major products of this small-minded over-grown hick town (albeit one with a high percentage of 110k earners)."




"Ottawa's people are very conservative. Any talk of building a highrise tower anywhere causes them to panic and go into a coronary. Being a government city, the downtown core is drab and boring. Developers quickly put up a building at low costs to make them competitive for government leasing contracts. Unfortunately, this has resulted in a very boring and flat downtown building architecture with no vibrancy and character. People in Ottawa accept mediocrity in most accepts. A skating rink is more important and will recieve more press as opposed to building something unique to give the city character. Sparks street, once a vibrant part of downtown is in ruins, yet is embarassingly advertised in travel brochures. Large trucks go through King Edward Ave. as a gateway to Gatineau, Quebec. Which downtown allows this? Those who think this is a beautiful city need to get out more often in my humble opinion to really understand what a beautiful city looks like."



"Well, it's been 2 years since I left Ottawa. Never again will I move back there to live. I still have friends there, but this last trip at Christmas? They're all falling apart. A friend picked a fight with her teen daughter in the restaurant we were having lunch in. My friend, who once was vibrant and full of life is no longer and another friend admitted to me she was bi-polar. Other friends are having trouble with their marriages and others are wanting to leave. Ottawa is poison - it really is."



"Now I am not going to pretend to make an unbiased assessment of Ottawa as I know that my life experience is colouring my perception of this city just like everyone else who has posted here. I really don't think an unbiased assessment can be made when it comes to the overall experience of living in Ottawa. We could talk about hours of sunlight per year, ethnic diversity, green space, average levels of education, city planning, crime rates, cultural sites and entertainment venues per capita, or any other factor that would appear on paper to affect quality of life. I don't want to discuss those things. We could take an opinion poll, but I don't really care how many people are enjoying life in Ottawa. It doesn't change the fact that I am not. I found this blog post by googling "ottawa sucks," and honestly I was very relieved to find that I am not the only one who feels this way.

All I can say is that when I moved to Ottawa I became very depressed. I have been here for three years and I have had a harder time making genuine connections with people than anywhere else I have visited or lived. I once moved to a small town in B.C. by myself and I found people who were eager to accept and include me within months, not years. 

I do find that many people here seem unhappy and closed off. A previous post mentioned things like lack of eye contact with strangers, and not getting so much as a "thank you," when you hold a door for someone. This has been my experience as well and I believe it is contributing to the sense of isolation that has been growing in me since I moved here. 
Something that made this phenomenon seem much more pronounced was a recent trip I took to the southern U.S. Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to argue the superiority of American culture in its entirety over Canadian, or more specifically Ottawa culture. (I would never do that.) I will, however, point out that when I was down south I was really shocked by one major difference. When in a store, on a tour, or asking for directions, the people I spoke with made eye contact with me, smiled sincerely, asked questions, and went much further to assist me than I'm now used to. People expressed their opinions unapologetically and without hesitation, laughed out loud, joked with me, expressed concern, and acknowledged my humanity in a way that I didn't even know I'd been missing.

Upon returning to Ottawa, the constricted way people interact became so blatantly obvious I could no longer ignore it. It seems as though people are so concerned about avoiding conflict or controversy that they stifle themselves. I'm not sure what the reason behind it is but it appears to me that people are uncomfortable in their own skin, uncomfortable with each other, and so inhibited that the possibility of connecting with others is almost completely off the table. 

I feel like an alien here. Not since I was a teenager have I been so self-conscious - never have I been so self-contained. I feel trapped, disconnected, desiccated. I want to leave.
Like many others I am here for work. Not my work - but my fiance's work. My education goals have been put on hold by the prohibitively high tuition in this province. The only friends I have made are people who are struggling with mental or physical illness. I have been unable to find full time work, even in entry level positions. It seems every subway sandwich artist and his dog has a masters degree, making it impossible for me to compete on paper. 

It is just downright depressing.
Yes I do think Ottawa is "pure garbage" as another poster chose to put it. I think this characterization makes sense given my experience here - and all the winterludes, museums, and maple syrup festivals you can throw at me won't make up for it.
Hang in there, fellow Ottawa-haters. Know that you are not alone and that somewhere out there a place that feels like home is waiting for you."




"Having been born and lived my 26 years thus far in Ottawa, I can say I've seen a lot of the good and a lot of the bad that Ottawa has on offer.

I've travelled pretty extensively around North America, both Canada and the US and had a brief stint living in Kitchener-Waterloo. I'm going to be moving to San Francisco, and having just spent a week there becoming acclimatized, I noticed several distinct differences. 
Firstly, the people in Ottawa. Several people have mentioned that Ottawans are quite impersonal, cold, standoffish and socially awkward. I'm often guilty of this myself, and I've noticed it extensively with most people you'll see everyday. I've tried a little social experiment a few times; try it next time you're out for a walk in your neighbourhood: greet everyone you pass with eye contact and a "Good morning!" or "Hello!" and see the confused looks you receive in return. Sometimes you won't even receive any acknowledgement whatsoever from passersby. I can't think of one time that I've ever been greeted by anyone while out for a walk, or bike ride, very dehumanizing. 

One area where Ottawa is absolutely great compared to other similarly-sized cities is with outdoor recreation! If you like biking, hiking, paddling, swimming, skiing or really any other outdoor activity, Ottawa has lots of places to go and have fun outside. Gatineau Park is amazing, the Rideau Canal and River are great. Our recreational pathways and greenspace are easily accessible. Just be ready to do any of these activities by yourself, because trying to interact with people to find someone with common interests is difficult if not impossible. See above.

I think the thing that wears on folks the most though, is the can't-do attitude that's so prevalent in the city. Ever want to do anything cool, fun, inventive or interesting? While people were sure not to connect with you or recognize you as a fellow human before, if you mention wanting to do something outside of the normal day-to-day, you'll find people lining up to tell you why you can't, shouldn't, and probably will fail. I think that's the worst thing about this city, and it scales from the smallest of small scale things, all the way to the largest of large-scale things in the city. Why are there few Ottawa-based startup companies? Because we're likely to fail. Why aren't people more open and friendly? Because people aren't likely to reciprocate. It makes people with hopes and dreams either leave or have them be crushed under the burden of self-doubt and helplessness that plague this place."



"Way too many cagey bureaucrat and secret police types. Not enough creatives. Plus a lot of people don't know how to live in an urban environment."



"Ottawa, where between noon and 3pm on a sweltering 37c afternoon, you'll see assholes out jogging..."



"Well, it's a small comfort to know I'm not alone. I find myself booking blog sites like this just to remind myself of that. And there are plenty, which says something. I'm not from Toronto, nor Montreal or Vancouver though I love each of those towns for their own reasons and also dislike a few things about each as well. I'm from Halifax and have my own love-hate relationship with that place too. And perhaps I'm a bit spoiled because I've had the opportunity to live in Paris, Edinburgh and Boston. But see, all those cities evoke at least some emotion in me -good and bad- whereas all Ottawa does is lower the heart rate to flatlining. It's simply an incredibly dull and nava-lgazing town, surrounded by forgettable suburbs full of forgettable people and a downright depressing landscape. It looks like a giant Northern Reflections store about to go out of business.

I tried to come in on an upbeat note but when I told people that I had finally accepted a job here, they were all sorry for me. ALL of them. 

I've been 'doing time' here for 3 years and desperate to find a way out. Like many, I moved here for work (what else is there to do here?). I only hope I can take the experience and cash and make a run for it. It's not like I didn't know in advance about the place: I had family here for a long time (who also hated it) and I've had to come for work reasons many times over the years. I just managed to avoid the move before now, and I am still mad at myself for not aiming higher. This ain't the end all and be all for me, though the local population seem to be curiously satisfied with it. I guess if your biggest aims in life are to get your kids on bilingual hockey teams, spend every Saturday x-country skiing in Gatineau Park, and discuss government job reclassifications over hot chocolate at family-oriented parties post-skiing...well, this is your town.

And don't even get me started on the idiotic drivers, retarded cyclists and rude, sullen pedestrians. Don't even start on that one...let's just say I'll trust a Parisian driver over an Ottawa-twit behind the wheel anytime."




"Ottawa is not a middle sized city people. Ottawa is considered the 4th biggest in the country and the most boring city in Canada"


"Two words,
"Yo guy"


"it's just sooooo boring here."



"I just moved here recently from Vancouver. We moved here because my husband got a job and Vancouver was insanely expensive. After 1 1/2 month I had enough of Ottawa. While I have a good and transferable profession, have a provincial registration, after almost a year of looking for and applying for a position,I was totally ignored. No job.What I experienced here pretty similar to the previous posters. People are unfriendly, anal retentive, can not even handle a small joke, the service is low grade, the residential towers are frightening, the streets are dirty, buses are substandard.

I wonder if this town is full of Man In Black characters, outside humans, but inside only aliens. It is a very strange little town which is a disgrace to the whole nation. I was hoping I could start a new chapter of my life here, but I do not want to stay here any longer. Back on the West Coast ppl told me that moving here will be a big change for me, I just could not believe it. Now I know it not just believe it! It is worse that some of the cities behind the Iron Curtain! Where the hell did I end up? In Hell? In Hell!!!"




"The bad driver aspect can't be stressed enough. In Toronto, you put your turn signal on, and you damn well merge, because people recognize your situation, and allow you to do so. In Ottawa, "What? How dare they try to merge IN FRONT of me! What say we hold up traffic in protest? Yes, let's. How dare that individual try to merge into MY lane, I will do my utmost to prevent them from performing such a belligerent act, and thus, accelerate directly into their blind spot."
Goofs"




"I moved from Montreal to Cornwall in 2008 and I have only good to say about Cornwall, super friendly, I was shocked to have people smile at me and say hello when walking in the park or on the street. Wow! I thoroughly enjoyed the two years that was there.I had plenty of friends and staff in stores were friendly plus I had everything I needed around me except for clothes shopping. Montreal was there for that, just as hour away. Sad to say, I moved to Ottawa for work. I made sure I had a job before I got here and was fortunate to get a work from home job.

It's been 3 years now. I still have no friends, though I can't say I'm depressed, I feel dead inside, not sad, just no fire. It took 2 years for someone to reply when I say hello in my apartment building. Asking for directions on the street seems to be a sin.As a Welcome Wagon representative I have a lot to do with business people and their receptionists, and boy oh boy talk about condescending. Many of them treat you like the help at the best and are most always very expedient. The welcoming smiles don't last long in Ottawa before they want to see the back of you. At the beginning it made me really sad and I felt so isolated. I've gradually learned to go with the flow and do my own thing. There is nothing I'd like better than to go back to Cornwall, but now I had to quit my job because it was costing me more than I was making. Most jobs in Ottawa are sales, service or government, none of which fit my qualifications. So glad to see that I'm not alone, that helps."



"Truly unbelievably boring for a city this size. A remarkable achievement."



"I have lived in Ottawa my whole life, 26 years total. I am glad I there are more people out there who also hate this city. I am already looking to move away. This place is boring, expensive and less exciting by the day. Also be careful how you approach people or what kinda jokes you like to crack because everyone has to prove how tough they are in this town. I will be moving to the southern states, I don't know if the rest of Canada is this bad but I am not risking it when everything is so much cheaper and taxes are way lower down there. I can do without the healthcare for now."



"While walking home from my job I had some loser heading-to-prison guy come up to me and belch in my face. Time to write a comment.

I have been living in Ottawa my whole life and happened to come across an amazing job by default. With only a couple of years until retirement I can't wait to move away. 
Having travelled extensively throughout the world I can say that the rudeness here is incredible. Although people seem to be pointing to civil servant coldness as the brunt of this rudeness I believe that it is the drug addict/trailer park aspect of this city that contributes to its vulgarity. Mass transit is horrible. Taking the buss is hell. After a horrible incident with a bus driver in 2009 I still follow up on responses from the city/transit commission for a response knowing that I am never going to get one. My city alderman never responds to anything. Renegade cyclists feel free to drive down sidewalks threatening pedestrians. Walking down a street subjects you to verbal assaults by cars passing by on the street. I have walked down the street in my overrated neighbourhood of the Glebe and been unnecessarily accused of stalking by female pedestrians. And don't get me started about the boogers on the washroom stalls... 

The market has become a cesspool of misery and drug addiction."




"It’s been a while since I’ve made a post here and I think for once I won’t make this too long winded. People will argue anyways, regardless of how well I make my point.
I’ve lived in Ottawa proper since 2007 and I gotta say, I’ve given it a good try. I’ve experienced the city in varying situations. Pre-college living downtown, post college living in Gatineau, and then in Aylmer, now in the upper class west end. I’ve experienced the city from varying points of view, in varying life situations, I have tried again and again to give this place a fair shake and I get mud in the face every time. Enough is enough. 

There is enough issues here to make it a very unpleasant place to live and I’ve boiled it down. A large % of the population seems to be passive aggressive, argumentative, void of personality, intimidated by the success of others, unsupportive, disengaged and generally unpleasant. The goal of many individuals seems to be outwardly focused on taking those around them down a notch rather than to exert the effort needed to advance themselves. 
I’m currently in the process of making solid plans to leave the city and move to a place with generally good karma and a population a little less butt hurt and a bit more introspective.
Expecting the response that not all cities are perfect, I can acknowledge that. It is true that no matter where you go there will be people that will cause problems and various other aggravations. However, you have to be able to judge the extent of this. Just as not all relationships are perfect, some are better than others, some are downright abusive. 

The “relationship” that I have had with the city of Ottawa is one that, if it were a romance, nobody would hesitate to recommend ending it. As a hometown, it is an unfit one with a heavy dose of psychological and verbal abuse, unrelenting and unprovoked. This place will drag you down on every level."




"I respect that some people may like Ottawa as they may have been born or raised here and this is their home or their personality is more appropriate for this city.

I can only speak of my experience and that of people based upon what I know of them and/or what they have told me: I have never come across such strange people in my life. I have used the term 'weird' myself to describe them. I have lived in several cities, different countries and no place is perfect but for me, Ottawa's weaknesses or what I perceive to be weaknesses are too much for me. The people here in my opinion are socially stunted (I mean the people born and raised). They only have friends from their childhood and will not expand beyond those friends. Anyone else are strangers mostly. 

I cannot tell you how easy it was for me to make friends in other cities and when I came here, after a year, I started to think the problem was me. Somehow I had lost the ability to make friends but then I spoke to honestly 200 people over several years and everyone said the same thing: people here don't make friends with you if you are not already within their circle of childhood friends. Every 'normal' person I have met have been from outside of Ottawa. I am not trying to be mean but by normal I mean, friendly, willing to open up and invite you in their lives.

I know countless people who left because they could not stand how unfriendly the city is. By unfriendly, I don't mean rude. People are very polite but they will not go beyond a certain depth in their interactions with you. It seems to me that non-Ottawa people can live here for years and have zero friends born and raised here. I do believe that people are socially stunted. 

I am not trying to be vicious. It actually makes me sad to have to seen all this. There are good sides to the city but if you are social, friendly person, this is a very lonely place."



"This place is so lifeless they should send astronauts here to train for Mars landings."



"I came to Ottawa for university a couple of months ago and I have never been so sad in my life. Like most people here, I found this blog by googling "why ottawa sucks" . I find alot of citizens here defend the city to death but will not take the time to show people from other cities why Ottawa is suposedly so cool and quirky but unappreciated like they're trying to keep the fun stuff to themselves or something. Anyways, I'm really releived that I found this blog because I'm feeling more and more like an alien in this very odd city"



"It's difficult to clearly define exactly why Ottawa sucks, but sucks it definitely does. All you have to do is leave Ottawa for a few days, get far enough away, then come back, and you'll see it. The people have sort of a repressed, miserable quality."



"As a second generation Haitian Canadian, a large reason why I dislike this place is the lack of diversity. For a sizeable city with a significant amout of immigrants you would think that there would be an established community. But everytime I speak to a native Ottawa citizen about the lack of diversity they always respond with something like " yeah but there's a bunch of Africans and Lebanese people here". And that's about it. Unlike Toronto where immigrants communities have estabilished a strong and for the most part, positive identiy in the city, here people just regard them a nuisance and every ethnic person gets lummped in one group and labelled immigrant. Although I was technically a minroity in Toronto, I never felt like one because each ethnic community had a presence. In Ottawa, I feel like a colour and it makes me feel small. I am by no means trying to antagonize white people but its pretty pathetic how little of a presence other ethnic groups have in this city"



"Ottawa still sucks. Not only do we have bad winter weather, uneven summer weather and nothing to do outside of gambling at casinos but now Ottawa has a gun problem. It's not even safe now. I'm stuck in this awful city while other people live in great towns like Calgary, Vancouver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sydney and even St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. I blame it on the dorky mayor Jim Watson, French-Canadians and Queen Victoria."



"I grew up in Toronto and I've lived in Winnipeg, Vancouver and Yellowknife. I've now been in Ottawa for about three years and the amount of random nastiness I see day to day frankly blows my mind. I'm not saying that everyone in Ottawa are assholes but there certainly appears to be a disproportionately large number of them!"



"I've travelled all over South America, Europe, USA & Canada.
I have lived in Peru., Miami, Texas, England & Sadly now live in SHITHOLE BORING Ottawa Ontario Capital city of SHIT.
I have had a very interesting happy enjoyable life everywhere but in shitty Ottawa should be renamed BORINGVILLE.
Ottawa SHITHOLE city is truly the place that fun forgot. Everything is truly BORING in Ottawa. If you want to die of boredom look at Ottawa. Look at the old People totally lonely and miserable at your shopping malls. Summers in Ottawa way to short , freezing miserable disgusting cold winters way too long. Ottawa truly sucks . People in Ottawa are IGNORANT losers all they talk about is beer drugs smoking or boring hockey lol . Ever heard of reading oh no not these Ottawa folk they are truly proud to be BORING & IGNORANT.
So if you are brainless go live in Boringville Ottawa you might actually enjoy it HAHAHA. Shopping Malls Restaurant & Sewage infested Rideau River which these fools call beaches & swim in it in summer DISGUSTING. I HATE Ottawa I cannot wait to get the hell out of this MISERABLE place. Don't move to Ottawa you will HATE IT. Ottawa is the place you go to die of misery."



"Been here 16 months and will be leaving as soon as I can. Unfriendly people who are anti-social and rude. Most walk around with earbuds, texting and ignoring everything and everyone around and they must believe this is normal. Guess they found their own way of coping. I'm leaving before I turn into an Ottawa robot that only lives for a government job!"


"The reason why Ottawa sucks so much is because everyone is sad to live there.



"Immigrant Perspective: Ottawa is the rectum of the Canadian body. People there are mostly rednecks - lacking in culture, manners, finesse or even anything more than a blue-collar perspective. People are not only mean-looking but mean and look miserably unhappy. They are also incredibly boring. People will have nothing to do with you there based solely on your race. They are so prejudiced that they think that they know everything about you based on your appearance only. The attitudes are passive; parochial; backward; primitive almost. Ottawa is a Paradise for Losers. The standards for anything - e.g. food; medical care are abysmally low. The majority of people there are some slack-jawed public servants and their low standards/mediocrity are reflected everywhere. Yet, they all think that they are the greatest, when all they are is small fish in the big pond (rather morass) of Ottawa. They have no idea how to undertake anything and achieve an outstanding result- only the barest minimum that is enough for them to get by, is the norm. If anyone tries to be excellent at anything, he/she is quickly worn down by envy, contempt and subtle forms of intimidation. The women are like rhinoceros - fat, ugly, aggressive, excessively competitive and will quickly stab you in the back if threatened by your success/characteristics. The weather alternates between violently cold and unbearably hot - it's like being in hell or frozen hell. I would never in my life go back there."



"Martha, everything you said about Snottawa is pretty much spot on. I'm "from" Ottawa, and after living 8 years in Los Angeles, 3 years in Italy, 1 year in Boston, 1 year in Zurich, 2.5 years in Vancouver, 1 year in Toronto,coming back to Ottawa was awful,the people incredibly provincial and anal and uptight, like they have a pickle shoved up their backside,and all in all,just a soulless hicktown with a parliament.....glad I left again, it was the best decision I ever made."



"Ottawa is a provincial backwater town that thinks it's big time. Do you ever hear people in London or Paris saying "let's visit Ottawa! I hear it's so beautiful this time of year!" No you don't, because it is a squalid dump where no effort has been made other than to do the absolute minimum to exist. It is a perfect example of letting things rot and having to replace them (infrastructure) resulting in at least twice the expense."



"The people there are so fucking rude. Nobody talks to each other and everybody stares. fucking weirdest city I've been. By the way Ottawa...YOU FUCKING SUCK."



" Yes I 100% agree. I am here right now to change visas for work (An Australian living in New York) and I am both bored to death and sick of the people. They are seriously rude and I kept wondering why they were staring at me!!!!
Tonight I was bored to death, because I am on my own for this trip. I tried to make friends with the bar tender and he barely exchange three words with me. I thought it was very bizarre. Glad to hear it isn't just me!!"



"it's like going 30 years back in time. The racial slurs and homophobia is out of control. You could even say it's accepted. Everyone looks the same because their afraid to stand out at all because of the ridicule it brings. I left Ottawa at 18 and was away for 15 years. I came back to visit family for the summer and worked as a bartender in a VERY busy establishment. All the same shit as 15 years ago by the SAME people who are now 15 years older. Wearing the same ball caps and ponytails they did in high school. Still fighting people who THEY bumped into and spilt a tiny drop of their Molson Canadian. I've lived and worked as a bartender in cities like Los Angeles, Sydney and Toronto. Ottawa is the most violent, ignorant stagnant town I have ever set foot in. This is not a one situation rant either. I saw this day in and day out at work and in the streets. I avoid answering if I am asked where I'm from and when I go back to visit my family I am in and out of town in a blink. My life began the moment I left that town. For those who want out...just leave. Don't save a pile of money or pay off cars or any shit like that. Get your ass to a city with variety and different cultures. Bar and restaurant jobs are everywhere and they pay great. Ottawa has a way of squashing a dream before it even becomes a thought. Since I've left I've recorded decent selling albums, travelled the world with new friends (hot girls included), did a few tv commercials, gone to great partys and just all around seen some cool shit and met cool people ... So...those of you who love Ottawa..PLEASE STAY THERE. Don't travel! Those who hate it...come on out and enjoy yourselves with the rest of us open minded, friendly, hospitable and encouraging folk in the big cities all over the world. We want the best for you and the more interesting things you do the more we raise our hands in excitement and cheer your ass on! For you older folks in Ottawa, I'm sorry your once beautiful magnetic town has been looted. Ottawa is not the way the rest of the world works and don't ever listen to someone who says it is! GET OUT NOW!!"



"I hate Ottawa because its soo unfriendly people are fake and slimy backstabbers, the jealousy is too much
Its not a place that wants you to grow and succeed in life but its a place that everybody wants to pull you down and wants you to be under them.No body is genuine and everybody stares, everything in this city is soo expensive"



" Honestly i don't think it's only Ottawa that SUCKS but the ENTIRETY of Ontario... this place is a shithole!"
                                  
                                                                                            

"That last comment said everything. I have grown up in this town my entire life. My parents are always pressuring me to find a government job ( despite the fact I have two degrees and a masters) I can't find anything. I went to Asia to teach for two years. It was amazing, I never felt depressed once or sad. I came back and went through another bout of depression before moving to London, UK. Once again, I felt much happier after a year there. Again, I find myself back in Ottawa trying to get a job to help message to move again back to Europe, this time Berlin. I had to cut off my Ottawa friends because all of them would bully me whenever I would complain about Ottawa. I always thought I was the only one that felt like this, I always felt depressed and suicidal thinking about spending the rest of my youth in this town. There's no culture, life, or decent thing going on here. I can't even find a retail job here, it's been six months. Ottawa is never going to change. I can leave as much but every time I return home it's the same back waters hick town. Everyone wants to work for the government, buy a house in Barhaven and go to Mexico once a year thinking that's 'extoic'. Go fuck yourself Ottawa and the weird people that live here"




"This is all true...I find it scary how there are no jobs here and everything is private sector. People go to school and get out,dont find a job for years and are working at Walmart...I find the youth unemployment rate extremely disturbing. In general, they have ridiculous expectations for jobs paying MINIMUM WAGE....people overqualified get shit jobs and people qualified dont even get a retail job. You literally might as well take your degree somewhere where they will acknowledge it and pay you good And not 40000 a year for some gay job and having to be bilingual and having experience What a fucking Joke.All of the people who talk shit about how great it is here and how the states suck are the ones booking a flight to florida every year because its sooooo GREAT right? The rest of them who think its the best place on earth have never even left the city and been somewhere else and probably dont even have a stamp in their passport... FYI the states basically runs Canada and theyre gonna buy everything out if they want lol. What is sickening is how everything is so overpriced and people just follow pay out the ass for everything and appreciate everything LOLLL Insurance, Apartments, Houses, Living in general? You might as well move to Miami because OTTAWA IS MORE EXPENSIVE how the fuck does a condo in ottawa donwtown cost 800,000 when i can buy a condo in Miami for 500,000 on the beach and a house in florida for 200,000? a house in barrhaven cost 500,000 Like what the fuck. Everyone is getting robbed and not even knowing it, Im almost done my program and Im getting the fuck out of here. People are anal and unpleasant, the rules are gay and they rob taxpayers to pay for Bi-Laws to walk around and ticket your car and come to your door when your get together is too loud. I got a ticket for going to britannia beach at 10 pm because im trespassing when the beach is closed...?? This place is a giant retirement home which I may add there are almost 40 of them in ottawa which is 10 times as many in Toronto. Its so dead, theres no exciting events, everyone just goes to work and then home, so strict and so regulated. roads are shit and theres not even a proper fucking transit system or rail system that even third world countries have. There are 5 days out of the year when it doesnt rain and there is actually sun and blue sky.....the rest is rain, 50 cm of snow, and -50 which North Pole doesnt even have. This city has the WORST drivers I have ever seen I have almost been hit or killed on multiple occasions, they should stop worrying about people making noise after 10 pm and make a proper driving test or stop giving out licenses to kids who are 16 and have only been behind the wheel of a car on their xbox. The radio stations are as limited as everything else here in general, no variety, no taste, just monotomy."




 "All the 20 things about Ottawa are 100% true I couldn't put it better myself. I'm glad tonsee that there are a few people left who are not in fucking denial. I did a degree in tourism just to get the hell out of here. I was 28 years old and felt like a 90 year old person living in a giant retirement home. If you hate it find a way to leave, I have. R.I.P Ottawa"




"Oh boy oh boy oh boy. People are agreeing with me.
Ok, I'm just a fifteen years old, but I can already see how much ottawa (with a minor "o") fucking sucks. It's been half a year since I came here, and every day is as painfully boring and shitty as the others. I was raised in Quebec, where people you don't know rush to you as soon as they see you to say hello and talk to you. Let's just say that the shitville gave me a bad first impression. so far, for 6 godamn months, no one, and I mean it, NO one ever FUCKING said absolutely ANYTHING to me. Not even "hello", not even "thanks". It looks like I'm fucking invisible. The whole city is ugly and grey. Yeah, grey. The buildings are grey. The sky is grey. The snow is grey. The place fucking stinks. People don't know how to drive, my dog was almost ran over 5 times! Seriously, if you EVER have to move to ottawa, especially if it's against your will, fucking brace yourself."



 "Wow could not have put it better myself. Small town sensibility, cultural-social wasteland, it's all true. I felt it since my first weeks in this city, and still several years later. It does not get better because it is not good."




"... Without being facetious, what Joe is doing is providing a valuable service to society at large. When you arrive to Ottawa, you go through a circle: first, you enjoy it for a brief week or two. After a while, you start noticing all the small and big soul-destroying things about it. Then you start blaming yourself for not trying enough, not giving this city a chance, etc, & 'being the boring person' yourself (the fave of our fellow Attawans). Only after several years of trying to give it a shot, you realize IT IS NOT YOU, it really, truly is the decrepit soul-sucking shithole called Ottawa. Joe's posts are valuable because they help people"




"Dilapidated, that's the word I've been searching for for the 6 years I have lived here. Thank you, thank you, now I know what to call it!"




  "LOL this is the most Ottawa-esque thing anyone has posted. Person googles "I hate Ottawa" get offended by content and leaves a passive-aggressive comment. WTF were you expecting to find here? Go back to calling by-law on children playing street hockey"




"Hi. Your posts continue to provide me with much-needed support and the endorsement of my views of this place as an Attawa Shitizen. Last night I went to the Trailer Park Boys show at the NAC. I am well aware that "if you can't stand the fire, get out of the kitchen" but even I was unprepared for the level of buffoonery and sluttery that only Attawans can provide. One girl went up on stage and repeatedly simulated a stripper and lapdance routine, which was met with howls of approval and baying from the crowd. The two hicks sitting in front of me kept standing up and waving their arms in the air - thereby restricting my view even though I paid the same price for my ticket as they did. Two goons who stood at the side throughout the show launched a barrage of profanity-laced abuse at the usher who tried to get them to sit down. The Redneck Convention was not in town - they own this shithole. More reasons to fear for humanity. Keep up the great work and thanks. I fully commiserate."




"I am asian 6'3 and I know I am not ordinary appearance. But the way ottawa people looking at me almost insulting, they have very limited minds and mentality of hicks country mid-west type. A lot of old people it's like big retirement home... So many homeless people it's crazy!!! Ottawa people very snobish I don't know why, maybe because they never see anything else. Also lots of people coming to work here from shit wholes like new brunswick or nova scotia and they act themselves like new yorkers but in fact they just rednecks... no sense of fashion, luxury, and life in general...the mentality everything must be cheap and ugly although everything in ottawa very expensive....Ottawa people are goon... French are very nervous especially on the parking... Ottawa people treat immigrants like shit I wonder why they invite these people especially skilled one... My immigrants with university degrees working low payed part time jobs... free health, i was waiting for fucking doctor for 6 months they treat doctors like Gods though their skills much lower than in european doctors...one family doctor never even examine my body or done any analyzes he just done his conclusion on assumption which is non sense, and he was white canadian with 11 years degree and some experience..i don't really know how this country still successfull if everything so low level must be some magic"




  "I don't agree that these comments could apply to any city. I have lived in Vancouver, Detroit, Philly, Toronto, NYC, London, Bangkok,part time in Paris and Hong Kong and now Ottawa. Some of your items are Ottawa spot on; the worst and rudest drivers anywhere,not even close. My car has been hit five times while standing still!!! It is the most boring place I have lived.An unfriendly cliquish city(but not the unfriendliest,Vancouver by a mile). 

Ottawalians are the country's greatest busy bodies. Research published in the local paper found Ottawalians more likely than any other Canadians to snitch on neighbours re;by-law infractions(hanging laundry out, growing flowers too close to the curb, complaints about driving etc) The weather? That's a personal preference. It took me six months but I grew to love the Bangkok weather. Compared to Bangkok Ottawa sucks.I found weather in Vancouver to be really unenjoyable. Six months of low gray overcast and rain. Then it clears up but summer never arrives.I mean the average temp in the summer is 22!! That is a nice spring day everywhere else. But is was the dreadful 'winter months' gray miserable really depressing that got to me. The lack of a proper hot summer only made it worse.

As far as people speaking another language goes well I guess I haven't spent enough of my life in my mom's basement to be bothered by the fact that not everyone speaks English so I can't comment on that. However you would HATE Hong Kong and Bangkok because so many languages are spoken there. 

Sports teams?I mean who cares really. Across Canada the sports teams are all a joke. No Canadian team has won a major sports title in over a generation. Ottawallians do seem absurdly attached to their teams. i guess that is because a) there is nothing else to do b) their city is void of any real identity. At least when they lost the finals a few years back they didn't throw a 3-years-old hissy tantrum and trash their city. 

The people here live with with the reality that almost all jobs are drone like, dead end lifeless crap civil servant jobs which seem to give them a sense of entitlement. 

The music scene sucks BIG TIME here. You are right no performer comes here except for festivals. Ottawallians flock to festivals in a sheep like fashion that is rather unique( and a bit frightening). However in Canada the only music scene that kept me happy was Toronto. I still travel 5 or 6 times a year there to see bands who don't come to Montreal let alone Ottawa. London NYC and Paris were heaven that way. And it fairness to Ottawa the music scene in Vancouver and Montreal is rather pale as well. But nowhere near as bad as here!!
The restaurant scene is sorry in Ottawa. it has improved a lot but is still well behind any Canadian city I have lived in. There was a guy who set up and ran a fabulous restaurant in Ottawa , I mean fantastic. After five years he gave up , sold it and now sells street food in a van. That is Ottawa food tastes in a nut shell. 

There is almost no cultural diversity. Chinatown is the size of a postage stamp. Little Italy is just that, little and there is nothing else.Very little arts scene in Ottawa. Yes the National Gallery is very good and often has great exhibits; Monet at present, Dore, van Gogh and Caravaggio in the past few years and of course a great Canadian collection. But it is the nation's national gallery so of course it is good. 

There are some nice park land areas. the Gatineau Hills are very lovely at certain times. But Ottawa has nothing compared to Stanley Park, Central Park or Toronto's Rouge Valley Conservation Park. (the largest nature park within a core of a metropolitan area in North America). 

At least it's very safe, not Detroit NYC or Vancouver's Eastside
While some of your comments might apply to any city much of what you say is true.
Ottawa and Ottawallians are the clear front runners at the bottom of the pile, a good bit worse than runner up Vancouver. My top; Paris(duh)NYC Bangkok Toronto"




"I just wanted to say that I am a huge fan of this blog. You are doing a great thing. I lived in Ottawa for many years and it almost killed me. Please keep this up as I know for a fact that you bring a lot of smiles to a lot of miserable people wanting to break free of the miserable capital. God bless you in your efforts with this blog"




"A sentiment many posters have already raised but I want to express my own appreciation for: thank you for this website. The solidarity we share in our contempt for the Ottawa is, conversely, really positive for many of us who feel or felt isolated. The city and its miserable residents will break your spirit, leaving you feeling self-conscious and lonely. But don't worry like-minded reader, its not just you who feels this way"




"Awesome list; made me chuckle a few times! Knew it was gonna be a good read when you touched on the staring in point #1. Its like prison inmates sizing each other up but in Ottawa its born out of conceited arrogance, not intimidation. I had the misfortune of living there for over ten years and it is indeed full of unfulfilled, self-involved bureaucrats. A total cultural/social wasteland with terrible public transportation! Its residents love to gloat about their home being a metropolitan national capital yet are flabbergasted and routinely revert to small town sensibility on issues such as transit, infrastructure, crime, employment, development, etc. that every part of city-life everywhere. Don't even vacation there--you'll run out of things to do on day three"




"Ive said all these things in public and agree with the improving Ottawa article 100 percent. Ive lived in BORINGVILLE Ottawa for 13 years. I am saving so I can take my book collection via shipping and buy myself an airline ticket back home. I have travelled all over the place USA Europe Canada Southamerica and Ive never encountered such a god awful place as Ottawa. I cant eait to get out of here and if I never see this forsaken place again I will be truly the happiest man in the world"




  "Been here 16 months and find it the most unfriendly city I have ever lived in. Superficial people who act friendly if they think you can benefit them, but have yet to have one person follow through on "keeping in touch" or being friends. It's all about government jobs and money and not about people. I'm leaving as soon as I can before I suffer from permanent depression from becoming like them"




"I was there for 2 weeks and I HATED IT!! I was so glad to leave. This list is legit. I am American, and I never felt so discriminated visiting this place in all my life. The people were beyond rude and would stair or make rude blatant comments to your face. And let me tell you.. If they were in NYC or any other place in the U.S. I could guarantee most of these people would see the front of someone's fist. The French speaking people in retail stores acted like I was a pariah and like I was an idiot for not speaking French. Yup, that was my shopping experience-in Ottawa. I laugh because a guy commented the city looks like war-torn Afganastan. I thought the same thing.. only Russia! When I watched tv, the news media seemed to constantly compare Canadians and Americans. Like they hate us. I didn't get it. But the stuff they would say, and in the manner and tone was like straight up blatant disdain. I couldn't wait to get out of there! It put a bad taste in my mouth for Canadians and Canada in general. Honestly.. I have NEVER met more rude and miserable people like I did when visited Ottawa."




  "Really dull city. You can line up in any line...restaurant, movie...etc. and nobody will initiate conversation with you. Walk down the street, nobody makes eye contact. A civil servant town where people carry that attitude in their private lives. The greatest thing about Ottawa are the highways leading away from it"




 "Again, Mr, Beaver, you nailed it! Cheating on your spouse isn't bad enough for these IDIOTS, they have to display it on a website. Everything written on the web is permanent, deleted or not, PERIOD. Karma is a bitch, F them all..... "So I've known for awhile that Ottawa is full of self-entitled scumbags, selfish assholes and cheaters." Join the club! "They are delusional and beyond help" yes... YEEESSSS! People are sooooo lazy, they would rather connect thru a website than meeting face to face, pathetic. All the while, leaving their information behind on the web to be hacked and divulged. GOOD FOR THEM!!!!! No wonder it's so lonely here, everyone meets online. No more casual conversations, no eye contact, please.....that's sooooo creepy. Attawa is the scumbag capital of Canada. 

Manipulators, liars, users, petty, superficial and soooo easily scared. Attawa is not only the city that fun forgot. It's the city where COURAGE came to die. You, Mr. Beaver, give me the strength to go on in this shithole!

You are probably the last decent person left in this JOKE of a national capital.
Take care and keep this blog going.....Please.
Oh, and try to have a good one......somehow :-)"




  "I have been in Ottawa for almost 10 years. Even with a "government job" (those of us on the inside call it "public service"), this is a deeply boring, uninspiring place to live. I don't drive due to a health issue, so every day I have to take some dirty bus across the decrepit downtown. It goes by Parliament Hill and I feel SO bad for the 15-30 tourists with their cameras. They are probably thinking this place sucks. And if I want to try out a new restaurant or visit friends, it takes forever to get there because of the terrible urban sprawl. It ends up isolating people and limiting their exposure to whatever part of town they inhabit. Seriously, City of Ottawa, just build the damn light rail system already."




"Thank you so much for your blog. Every time I start questioning my mental health in living in Ottawa I read your posts and feel so much better. It's NOT just me. I am not alone in hating this town. Ottawa is possibly the worst thing that has ever happened to Canada, and having spent time in Winterpeg in January, that's really saying something. I can not wait to get out of here, and based on the comment above, I understand that you are getting out. Lucky you"




"Thank you for all your comments,they provide a gloomy comfort-confirmation as I am stuck here,for now.Worst place (people,culture,climate) that I have ever lived( and Ottawa is not a big city...not even near..maybe middle ,but only by Canadian standards, a country that has a lower population than the state of California)I actually enjoy super hot summers , and now summer seemd to have been cancelled,for the second year running,as well. "At least its better than Afghanistan" is a standard Ottawa defensive response.Okay, New York State -and the US border.... is less than a two hour drive south away, but the only place wherein Ottawa compares favorably is war-torn ,terrorist -ridden Afganistan? That says it all."




"I couldn't have put together a better list. What I would add though, and I think it's probably the biggest problem is Ottawa is the following: Smug people who have no clue how mediocre/shitty Ottawa really is (or they're in denial). I don't think you can overemphasize #17, how ugly the city really is. New neighborhoods are low-end construction with houses featuring weeds instead of front yards, new overhead hydro wires, vinyl siding, asphalt driveways, no trees, etc. Few people takes care of their properties, probably because it's either frozen outside or a Mississippi swamp during the summer and unbearable. Finally, the lack of ambition is mind numbing. This permeates all aspects of life in Ottawa, from municipal paralysis to a 'can't-do' attitude in all areas of private life. I consider myself so fortunate to have taken the opportunity to leave this hell hole."



"Ottawa has to be one of the boring cities in Canada. In general, people are cold and incredibly dull."



"yeeeesss, attawa is a retarded town!
Vancouver not only has lounges but also sells to license holders
without any problems from police or city officials ; they have other
priorities.....not in attawa though, they enjoy harrassing pot smokers!
binge drinking, steroid and cocaine consumption is rampant within
the ottawa police force but smoking a joint in designated areas,
that's a real crime. What a bunch of IDIOTS!
Attawa really is a backward town!"




"I agree with the first commenter. Ottawa is a very boring and depressing city indeed. I think this is due to the climate, geography and the fact that it is a government town. The down town is sad and dilapidated, overpriced and dull. It is also devoid of character and culture. Suit up, clone in or get out!"




"All of the above 20 reasons are highly accurate! My husband and I are from Montreal originally, and I've lived and traveled outside of Montreal and Ottawa, and Ottawa is indeed a dump!!! After a few years of being shit on by government workers at work, as a security guard, and super-rude citizens in general, we are happy to be leaving. My husband found a decent job at a crown corporation, but even he says people here are rude and self-centered. (All I could find was security jobs as alot of job ads promising full-time work here are not really at all. Job fairs here pretend to be hiring, but expect the moon and the stars for min. wage jobs with no guaranteed hours, so you can't support yourself. If you're not a friend or dumb-ass relative of a government worker, you're screwed. That's why most job fairs or ads are scams here; they already know they will be hiring their buddy, so they make job criteria i,impossible to fulfill. Expect to see just fat, lazy government workers boozing it up, because besides hockey, pubs are all they have)."




"YEAH.....OTTAWA SUCKS....BIG TIME...... no way to meet women.... dead after 11pm god this town blows...... people do drive like idiots here...stuck in their little world.... "




  "I am not from Ottawa but have lived here for 5+ years on and off. I am Canadian. I thought it was just me,but your right about the people. I find it very odd that people can be so cold and not bother with you just because you are not from here, or you are out of work or don't have an overpaid government job (people who work at hardly working). I had a few of them say they only invite someone to dinner if that person did a favour for them! I never heard of such a thing."




  "they by laws, gross unattractive people who act confident with nothing to back it up, unnaturally strange behaviour, kindergarten mentality on the road, dog shit every where because everyone is too entitled to pick up shit. People who talk in clipped tones (accompanied often with spit) or people who converse in obscure Canadian accent hybrid (yo guy, eyh watsup gouy) fun times. + psycho bus drivers"




  "Hello. I absolutely adore your blog. Adore. I moved from a hellish 20 years in the city of strange, antisocial sucks and I am ecstatic being in civilisation again. My father moved to Ottawa when I was 9 from the GTA an right away, the pudgy, pinched faced kids who told on me at every opportunity made me so unhappy and miss the more civil behaviours of southern Ontario. My experiences since then consist of people deliberately endangering their lives in traffic 'because I had the right of way' trying to control every aspect of their neighbour's lives, exhibiting the rudest behaviour possible and attempting to pass of ignorance and cuntyness of as sophistication.. they love honda civics and have never heard of Hermes. I feel for y family remaining there. My mother, who is ill, poor and lives alone presently has little joy in he rife, her uptight decided she was having to much fun feeding the squirrels, his crotchety complaints resulted in a memo (they LOVE those) warning people not feed the squirrels, because it leaves too many shells on the ground. These people would not understand quality of life, the value of a dollar or the basic rules of civility if all three jumped up and bit them in the anal retentive collective behinds. I am so, so, sooo happy to be out of that hellhole. People think TO is bad? HAHAHA..no.
Simply put, Ottawa is a stupid contest, and -everyone- is winning.
ps. you really, really suck Ottawa."


  "OTTAWA IS A SHIT HOLE - that's how i found this blog. the people here are bland boring rubes. idiots with no sense of humor. But what is the most annoying thing about Attawans is they feel threatened by the most inane things, they have such a victim mentality....it's like they all have battered woman syndrome. Honesty scares the shit out of them and it's tragically unfunny. I live in Kanata and holy f--k!!! Talk about boring!!! I've worked close to the Canadian Tire Center for almost 6 years now... Well I still attract police attention, just this afternoon upon coming to work, there was a cruiser waiting in the parking lot and as soon as he saw me, he took off. It was a black police member (you know, one of the 28 working in the organization). In Attawa, they have a subtle way of saying that you are not wanted in the neighborhood, they feel entitled to ostracize people and, in their view, provoke an incident that requires a violent response ATTAWA POLICE ARE PENISES !

Since the police in this town are discreet white supremacist, black police members are forced to act as "uncle toms" ; serving their white masters or else be crucified in the media like Const. Jason Mallett who was a community minded member of police unlike his white counter parts or the suicide of Sgt Ghadban another non-white member of Attawa police. Police in Attawa will harass, threatened, charge and ultimately murder the members that
doesn't fit the mold of white supremacy. I will mention that Sgt, Ghadban committed suicide in his office at HQ. Get the message? Any excuse is used for walking around with assault rifles bought with OUR MONEY!!!

I was searched on 29th of Sept. 2013 for dubious reasons, no charges.
When walking to and from work, I'd get almost run over by police "cruisers".
On 24th Dec. 2013, a white pick-up truck aimed for me while biking back home from work at 01:15 AM and when I took the same way to commute back to work on the same day 11:30 AM, the same pick-up was waiting for me at the Esso gas station on Edgewater street. Attawa police are murderers!
PLAIN AND SIMPLE! Just looking for a reason to assault honest, working
individuals with no criminal past, mind you. F.U. OTTAWA! 
TANGER MALL SHOOTERS ARE STILL AT LARGE! INCOMPETENT BUNCH
OF OVERPAID RACISTS, ANTI-FRENCH ASSHOLES.
Happy new year, Attawa and F--K YOU!"



  "1965 anyone...... oh and since the O-Train is as useless as it can be, maybe the city will build a monorail to nowhere.....with that song blaring on the speakers! dullard attawans will clap and cheer, throwing their money in the wind, making it rain, as the saying goes. Veni Vidi Vici.....TABARNAK!!!"




"Indeed friend, Attawa is a piece of shit place to live..... Not only full of wannabe tough guys or hoodlums ( I mean come on, right....Get a grip Attawa.....this isn't Chicago) The cops here are ridiculously over paid, harassing and covert white supremacist! (2% are non caucasian out of a 1400 strong work force) APPALLING!!!! With this 'Mall Shooting Incident' we will now be treated to a parade of 'gym rats' in uniform sporting AR-15s....Why the long face, sir? Isn't this the wet dream or fantasy come true! Playing make believe GHETTO USA on the tax payer's wallet! ATTAWA SUCKS BALLS-----PERIOD!"




"I absolutely love this post! I consider myself an open minded type and it is a dreadful, dreary, place to live. I've been living in Attawa since sept.1988. The city has changed tremendously since then. It used to be homely, comfy and service oriented as far as public insttitutions went. Now......It's snobby, indifferent, cold and heavily prejudiced. SHAME SHAME SHAME on Attawans! The vast majority of friends and accointances are from outside the country or grew up outside this city. Attawans have the worst sense of perspective EVAAR. They are so intitled and self absorbed. I just wish I could afford to get the "F" outta here 4ever. THANX FOR THE POST-----RIGHT ON THE MONEY... and BTW, there is NOTHING wrong with grabbing a beer on a wednesday. Some of us actually work with a schedule outside of the monday to friday, 9 to 5 standard."




"Thank you for your contributions to the sanity of the remaining non-lobotomized population of this wretched city. I wish you all the best in your attempts to extricate yourself from this miserable excuse for a "capital" of a first-world country"




"I could have written your block entry yesterday. I had major stare down by loser at my dentist office in the split second between coming into the office and taking my snow boots off. Dirty look at staring at my boots. What a creep. Then I drive down Merivale and cars turning left onto Merivale are blocking the entire lane of oncoming traffic since they're pulling out into the intersection too late and traffic's not moving (why one earth people have to drive 20kph on Merivale I will never understand). A light after light is missed due to this conduct, no one honks, nothing. If you honk at illegal behaviour in Ottawa, YOU are the aggressor. I hate this place so much and I'm counting down the days"




"Great column! The driving has always been atrocious here. The locals used to use Carling Ave. as a drag-racing venue back in the sixties. Because, using a main drag where pedestrians could be put in harm's way, was, apparently, the logical and fun thing to do. And also, showing one's ignorance in dramatic fashion is a sort of rite-of-passage, here. So goes the well-known adage goes, "you can take the Ottawan out of the sticks, but you can never get the sticks completely out of the Ottawan."




"I lived in Ottawa a few years...hated every second of it and got the heck out. Not just Ottawa...I got out of Ontario/Quebec. What a dump. Worst weather imaginable and no ocean, waves, mountains, beaches. Everything in that region is so lame. I cannot stress how much I loathe the weather and geography in that part of North America. And the way the French bully English speakers is appalling. Only regret is not leaving sooner. Ottawa is just a sawmill town that won the lottery. Nothing there but French speaking government drones, dumb immigrants, and even dumber Anglos, too stupid to move West"




  "I've lived here going on four years and have tried my best to make it work. The fact is I like the city less every day. Ottawa boosters sadly believe that their provincial backwater is a major city. It is not. Here is the impression of someone from coastal BC who has also lived in Washington State, California and Québec (Montréal): - Ugly downtown streets: Either chocked full of aggressive busses and white trash smokers during the day, or depressingly vacant at night. No (or few) street trees - Bleak neighborhoods with low property-maintenance standards; even expensive Glebe homes need significant reno work. New homes are cheaply built with vinyl siding and asphalt driveways (and no trees). Old ones if renovated are done on a shoe-string budget and look cheap. Horrible landscaping. -Bizarre driving habits--people thinking nothing of blocking major roads to selfishly make left turns, refusing to pull into intersections when waiting to turn left (meanwhile making other cars miss lights), and suddenly finding the gas pedal in major neighbourhoods and blowing through despite pedestrians including elderly, children, and pets. Real asshole mentality.




- Constant raving amongst urban "elite" about overpriced and extremely mediocre restaurants. Best restaurants are in the suburbs.

-Deeply-ingrained municipal "can't do" attitude. Corrupt municipality. Absence of community police. 

- Pathetic signature university - OttawaU - where bilingualism trumps academic merit. Much like public service approach to bilingualism. 

-Decades behind on public transport. 

-Much more horrible climate than locals will admit. There are many better climates within Canada. 

-Knee-jerk anti-Americanism, yet ask a local when they were last in Vermont (so close by) and they'll tell you they've never been! 

-Sparks Street speaks to the lack of ambition and imagination in this city.

-Outside the Rideau Centre is truly third-world. I won't go there and wonder what Nordstrom was thinking (even though I'm thrilled they're willing to give Ottawa a shot). 

-Anyone who is dynamic is planning their exit strategy. Only true losers or those with family also trapped in Ottawa want to live their after retirement."




  "Born and raised here in Ottawa, did what many do, got a decent degree, got a gov job, a wife and kid and a house in the berbs. Travelled abroad a few years ago with my wife, saw life outside and thought Ottawa oh hell North America in general sucks. Been overseas yearly since then sometimes with my wife other times by myself just cause I cannot stand to not atleast experience a better life even if only for a couple of weeks. Why dont I leave, well the hardest part is giving up a gov job. The pension is only a few years away, once it does, I am gone within a few days of it kicking in. Done with Ottawa forever aside from a few visits to family that will sadly remain here. To those locals who love this city, great good for you, but try travelling and staying in a few cities overseas and try living life as a local and you will never want to set foot in Ottawa again. I found heaven in Italy, and if all goes to plan, it will soon be a reality and Ottawa will be a memory that I used as a means to get where I really wanted."




"A friend of mine who worked with street kids said that the Ottawa version were well-known as being far more violent than the Toronto or Montreal ones. When we first moved here a few decades back, I was shocked to see that there were hundreds, if not thousands of guys like the angry fellow in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNE6cub4v74 A few decades later and things have improved (believe it or not) but there's still a lot of angry, barely civilized people in this city. Part of the culture, especially among the 'locals' is stuck back when they built the canal under poor working conditions and feigning being a tough guy was the best you could hope for. There are still people here who are about as anti-union as you can find anywhere in the world. Things are improving, but according to Ottawa time - very very slowly"




"Sweet fucking god please get me the fuck out of this hell hole this year before I stab my eyes out with a fork and then slit my own throat to escape" THAT was my daily prayer (actually I no longer pray since I gave up on my faith while in that HELL HOLE!) while I still lived there. I have made my life's work to leave, there was no alternative, I was basically willing to work hard and do WHATEVER it takes to leave Can-nada. Now I live in the United States of America. Yes, there is LIFE here. Enough said"




"I have lived in that hellhole for twenty years! I basically grew up in Ottawa, and as a none white person it was nothing short of living a nightmare. I truly sympathize with anybody living in that horrible place. Ottawa is like a horrible-time-wrap-experiment gone wrong, from the 1970s. I now reside in the United States of America, yes, I waited my time and quietly left that hellhole. And the difference for me is life and death. I left to save my sanity"
Every single comment so very on the money about Ottawa . I am so relieved I am NOT alone in my perception of this horrible city ."


Could not agree more with every comment on here. Glad I'm also not the only one!



I totally agree.
I am out of this SHITHOLE as soon as I am able to.
I HATE Ottawa , its the place you go to die.
Ottawa should be renamed BORINGVILLE .
I've sadly lived in SHITHOLE Ottawa for 13 years.
Never met such People as the People who live in Ottawa.
Conversation topics = beer hockey beer hockey or weather . Damm don't these People read? 
Maybe they should read Noam Chomsky, Freud, Yukio Mishima, John Pilger, WB Yeats, Francis King, Aleister Crowley, Colin Wilson etc.
Would give them something a little bit more interesting to talk about, oh I forgot they only like beer hockey and shitty weather LOL.



Crappy and expensive restaurants and pubs for food. The only place I like and really like is The Prescott!



Thank God! It's not me. I don't have a "bad attitude". My husband has lived all over the world and came here for ( drumroll...) WORK. My grandfather came here for... work. My father came here as he was fleeing a dictatorship. He thinks it's fantastic! I don't! I hate it here. I've been stuck in this hell hole for 43 years. People stay here because of golden handcuffs. The "Ottawa Allowance" or " Northern Allowance " paid by employers so you will fritter away the best years of your life in an intolerable climate, with equally cold people, depressing streetscapes and architecture and now.... expensive taxes and housing, too? Thank God, we all have our EU Citizenship. We are out of here. Time is the real commodity, people... not money.



It is good to find this blog and to know I am not alone in my dislike of Ottawa. It's sad to think that a blog must exist just to help people survive this wasteland. I have been here almost 3 years and I am so happy to be leaving in a couple of months. I too have lived in several countries and other parts of Canada. Ottawa is a soul destroying place full of narrow minded people with a strange sense of entitlement. Don't make jokes they have no sense of humor and will look at you blankly or be offended. There is absolutely NO culture or creative vibe here. It is a completely risk adverse place where independent thinking is frowned upon. I'll be burning rubber out of here soon never to return.



You are sooooooooooooooo lucky to get out of shithole Ottawa. I am saving up so I too can get out of shithole Ottawa. Living in this boring city is truly a NIGHTMARE.



Every time I have to come back to Ottawa from vacation I cry. I hate Ottawa. I moved to Toronto but I have to go back to Ottawa because of family and I just want to die after 2 days of being back. It's SO DEPRESSING. Everyone's so by the book. All work, no play, no fun, no life. No wonder I started travelling young!



These comments are hilarious. So accurate. I have been in every small or big town in Ontario and Ottawa is by far the worst, maybe other than London or Windsor...sorry guys. I have lived here my whole life and it is a city that breeds unhappy people. no one is open to change, or give people chances. you want an entry level job? sorry man you need two years experience. uhhh what the fuck? the whole mentality is this pompous elitist entitled fuckery where no one is good enough but everyone is better than the rest. makes sense right? 

coldest, rudest place to interact with humans. my lovely girlfriend moved here to be with me and quickly learned that the peopel here are just awful. dont even try to have a conversation with someone or ask for help at a store. i wont even start on how fake the poeple here are, do we have to make links about the whole fucking ashleymadison.com ordeal? cause ottawa had the highest sign up rate on earth.

want to use public transit? be prepared to shell out AT LEAST 2000 dollars per year, not including the INSANE amount of time you have just spent attempting to use said transit. tip: buy a piece of shit car and save yourself an average 10-15 hours a week of bussing in good weather. apartments are insanely expensive and most landlords are scum bags. ive had two rent deposits stolen after being told i was accepted and then fucked over. 

this is the scary part:
the average apartment in ottawa costs just under 1000 dollars per month for a one bedroom, not including utilities or bills. 
In order to be considered as an acceptable applicant, one must have an income that is over three times their annual rent value. ie: your rent is 1000 dollars per month, you need to make 36,000 dollars per year to be considered for your shit ass, smelly, poorly kept apartment. WHAT THE FUCK. 

Minimum wage here is under 12.00 and you can stop kidding yourself if you think youre getting anything more than that here if you dont have a university degree in government fucking ass licking, let alone find a job in the first place. this city has the highest unemployment rate its ever had! 

but of course none of this can be addressed because then it would be real and the city would have to do something about it. save yourselves children. go to school somewhere else, go live somewhere else. this world is too big to sit and live in a dreary, unhappy city.



OMG, what a relief to see SO many people hating Ottawa! I just returned to Montreal from Ottawa. WORST city everrrrr!! The bars sucks, people seems to have a stick up their asses. Everyone seems to be LOVING "the market", which completely sucked balls too. I went to the Rockcliffe Boathouse Marina - a BUNCH a snobby peeps, wannabes, food was disgusting too!! No cultural diversities much as well! I thought Ottawa would be better than Toronto, now, I know that TO is def better than Ottawa!! Will probably never go back to this city!



Yep, this city is trash and so are the people who live here. I'm a gay dude, average looking at best. I can't walk anywhere without being psychotically stared at/called a faggot/threatened with violence all over minding my business. Fucking warped and morbid values people have here. Extremely superficial and lacking in human decency. I'm always confused when on the rare occasion I'm met with kindness from a stranger.



Yes anon is sooooo right...a boring politically correct, unimaginative rat hole! Transit station elevators always out of service, smelling of shit and urine. Buses always late. A mayor who never rides the buses but who constantly spouts politically correct jibberish about how things will be so much better when (and if) the lrt is built....no spaces for public music or entertainment...everything revolves around the federal government...no industry...a giant golf course with nanny state twerps shouting orders on transit public address systems..almost orwellian in its cold, calculating monotony...the poor are simply ignored...bmws mercedes benz and other high priced vehicles racing around the streets at top speed without regard for pedestrian safety..any self-respecting person would be well advised to leave this shit hole..for good!



Have lived here for 35 years of my life. Have visited Calgary, Banff, Montreal, Toronto, Baltimore, New York/Brooklyn, and Florida. Ottawa is by far the coldest, rudest, most stuck up place of them all. I can always tell a newcomer or tourist just by how friendly or outgoing they are in public. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, it was a boring, bland government town, but seemed cleaner, safer and had decent city services. Now its a boring, bland government town that is dirty, unsafe, full of gang activity, swarmings, shootings...Herongate, South Keys, and Bayshore are basically ghettos. And the Byward Market is overrated.


Quotes from: 
https://ihateottawa.blogspot.ca/2014/04/rants-about-ottawa-ot-beige.html
http://ottawabeige.blogspot.ca/2007/11/why-ottawa-sucks-and-also-why-it-doesnt.html

Enjoy the video. Typical Ottawa: lousy Senators /bragging about being in the capital city /obligatory filming of down town (since the rest is too ugly) /promoting the dump /lying about it being safe and affordable /very honk.

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