Ottawa neighborhoods

[next2015]

Hi everyone,
I'm most likely moving to Ottawa, due to work, so I'm curious to know; which neighborhoods would you recommend I consider for residential purposes?
My work will be located in the Center Town area and my preferred areas would be/have:

- not so old homes or apartment/condo buildings
- strong presence of young professionals/families
- relatively affordable (definitely not high-end but certainly not rundown either)
- a good walk score (I'd like to be able to walk back home on a beautiful evening, up to 1.5hrs - will be using public transport)

Also, please share with me the normal leasing scenario there - does rent normally include utilities, if so, which ones mostly? I welcome tips on anything outside the residential issue as well.

Thanks!

 

[CDNPR2014]

there are a lot of little neighborhoods in ottawa core. i'd suggest starting to look on kijiji.ca for what apartments are available and googling the areas. utilities are not always included, but there are some landlords that do include it. it's going to be specific to the building and landlord. some areas that may be of interest (though I live in the suburbs so my downtown knowledge is pretty limited):
The Glebe
Preston Street (I think this may also be considered China Town or at least close to it)
Byward Market (This area can be pricey and is right in downtown).
Westboro (this is further from the core, but is a nice area and on public transit. I lived here before moving to the burbs)
Hintonburg
Lebreton Flats

 

[next2015]

Thanks for the list. I greatly appreciate it.
Concerning the suburbs, does the public transit network extend there?
Thanks again.

+1 for you

 

[andrews65]

I'm in Elmvale/Altavista, nice neighborhood. Buses are not as good as they are in the UK. Light rail opens next year but not sure how comprehensive the network will be.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Thanks for the list. I greatly appreciate it.
Concerning the suburbs, does the public transit network extend there?
Thanks again.

+1 for you

yes, there are busses that run from the suburbs to downtown regularly. however they aren't always the most reliable and are often delayed. it can take upwards of an hour to get to downtown on the bus. if you're working downtown, id recommend starting off living as close to downtown as possible.

I'm in Elmvale/Altavista, nice neighborhood. Buses are not as good as they are in the UK. Light rail opens next year but not sure how comprehensive the network will be.

I was going to suggest Altavista as well, but wasn't sure about how good the transportation was to downtown. it's a bit outside the core, correct?