Ottawa has a lot going for it. I loved the familiar neighbourhoods, green spaces, and local hidden gems, plus the gorgeous hiking trails just a short drive away.
After moving abroad to Japan and spending time travelling, though, I realized that there are certain parts of daily life in Ottawa that I don’t miss at all, and I’d honestly struggle to go back to them.
Alessa moved away from Canada.Alessa Hickman | Narcity
These are the seven parts of Ottawa life that I'm glad I left behind since moving abroad.
Never knowing if the bus will actually come
For most of my time in Ottawa, I relied on public transit to get around.
I’ve lived everywhere from Ottawa South to Barrhaven to downtown, and getting across the city wasn't always easy. A trip that would take 20 minutes by car could easily turn into a one or two-hour journey by bus and train.
That wouldn't be such a big deal if the systems were reliable — but longtime residents know that isn’' always the case…
I lost count of how many times a bus showed up late or drove past me while I was clearly waiting. And sometimes, the LRT would just stop running in the middle of winter. I’d leave early on purpose, and still end up late.
After travelling to places where transit actually runs efficiently and on schedule, it's hard not to notice the difference.Rent that made me rethink my life choices
Rent in Ottawa was one of the biggest reasons I eventually left.
Before moving, I was paying close to $2,000 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. It wasn't a bad place, but once you added Wi-Fi, mandatory tenant insurance, hydro, and everyday expenses, it started to feel overwhelming.
It's definitely cheaper than moving to Toronto or living in Vancouver, but I got tired of watching so much of my paycheck go straight to rent.
Now, living abroad as a digital nomad, I'm paying less but getting way more value. Right now, I’m in Japan, where my apartment is bigger, has plenty of space to work and relax, and includes utilities in the rent.
I'm really grateful that I had the ability and flexibility to make a move like this. At the same time, I know that so many people back home are feeling the pressure of rising costs, and the issue is Canada-wide.
Moving away really put into perspective how expensive everyday life in Ottawa had become — and honestly, I couldn’t go back to that full-time.
Surviving winter (and endless snow shovelling)
I'm sure anyone who's lived through a Canadian winter knows the struggle.
The temperature alone can be bad enough, but the windchill is what really gets you. A perfectly manageable -10 C can turn into "why did I leave the house" in about thirty seconds.
When you add heavy snowfall, freezing rain, and early mornings spent digging your car out of snowbanks, navigating winter quickly starts to feel like a full-time job.
I really enjoy local activities like skating on the canal, tobogganing, and going to Christmas markets — but only in small doses. Winter in Ottawa can be beautiful (especially when you're sipping a hot chocolate and watching the snow fall outside), but sometimes it feels like it just never ends.
After travelling to places where winter feels more like a brisk fall day back home, it's hard to imagine returning to months of cold and snow.
Everyday groceries that cost a fortune
Groceries in Ottawa always felt expensive, but moving abroad really put it into perspective.
Even when I shopped at budget-friendly stores like Food Basics or Walmart, my grocery bills added up fast. The everyday essentials — especially meat and fresh produce — kept creeping up in price, and because they're the things you buy almost every week, the increases were impossible to ignore.
Now that I'm travelling, the difference is wild. Here in Japan, I can get a huge head of lettuce for around $1, a big pack of chicken for $10, and most vegetables cost about half of what I used to pay back home.
I even spotted pure Canadian maple syrup for cheaper than it would've been in Ottawa once, and that completely blew my mind.
It made me realize how normal it had become to plan every grocery trip around sales and prices, often at the cost of buying items I actually wanted.Roadwork everywhere, all the time
Sometimes, it felt like Ottawa had two seasons: winter and construction.
When I lived downtown, leaving my apartment almost always meant encountering roadwork, noise, or a new condo being built. Later, after moving to the south end, major construction projects popped up there, too.
I remember getting stuck on Heron Road in bumper-to-bumper traffic for what felt like forever, only to arrive at Bank Street and see it jam-packed even worse. Sometimes walking to my destination was faster than driving.
Construction exists everywhere — of course — but in Ottawa, it's always around, quietly (and sometimes very loudly), testing your patience.
Playing parking roulette (and losing)
I didn't have a car for most of my time in Ottawa, but when I did, parking could be a nightmare.
While I was living downtown, winter parking bans happened often. That meant scrambling to figure out where to move the car, and hoping I found a spot without getting ticketed.
Beyond that, so many streets just have strict or confusing rules. Time limits can be too short to run errands. You move your car, but not far enough. Or, you think you understand the signage, only to realize later that you didn't…
I can't count how many times I came back to a bylaw ticket and had to fight it. And yes, sometimes I misunderstood a rule (or worse, I came back 5 minutes late). But other times, the tickets were flat-out wrong.
Don't even get me started on how expensive they were.
Owning clothes for every possible forecast
Alessa moved away from Ottawa.
Alessa Hickman | Narcity
Ottawa gets all four seasons, which means your closet has to be ready for anything.
Freezing winters, humid summers, rainy springs, and unpredictable falls meant owning everything from winter boots to shorts and tank tops, thick thermal layers, and plenty of sneakers. My closet was constantly rotating and somehow always overflowing.
To be fair, I do love buying clothes, so maybe that didn't help — but I'm still blaming the weather!
Now that I'm travelling, I've grown to love having a smaller, more flexible wardrobe that fits right into my suitcase, and not having to prep for every weather scenario is such a relief.
Ottawa will always be "home" — just not forever
Alessa moved away from Canada, and is getting real about what she doesn't miss.
Alessa Hickman | Narcity
Leaving Ottawa didn't erase the things I love about it. The city gave me lifelong friendships, my roots are there, and it's a place I’ll always come back to.
I miss certain restaurants, spontaneous road trips from the city, spending summers outside, and my (almost) daily steeped tea from Timmy’s.
Over time, though, the day-to-day challenges started to add up, and the math just wasn't working out anymore. That's when I realized I needed a change.
The capital will always be my hometown, but I'm glad I left these parts of Ottawa life behind for the chance to live somewhere new.
The views expressed in this Opinion article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
