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Posted to Ottawa Thread

Pusser said:
Everytime I drive through the PMQ patch, there seem to be a lot of empty ones. 

Orleans may be enticing but that may be foreshadowing of a coming crash.  With DND moving west, Orleans is becoming less desirable.  In fact a lot of folks (mostly civilian DND employees) were really upset with Carling choice because of the commute they foresaw.  The outcry was enough that their MP actually engaged the government on the issue.  Right now though, Orleans is better served by OC Transpo than Kanata, Barrhaven and other western suburbs.  However, I suspect that will change as more folks move to the west end.  Most military folks moving into Ottawa seem to be looking more to Barrhaven and Stittsville.

By 2021, Light Rail will be running EAST WEST from the Eastern most part of Orleans (Trim Road) to Moodie Drive (Carling Campus is on Moodie Drive).  I am sure the Orleans "Crash" you speak of will be very short lived.
 
The trick about buying or renting in Ottawa is to plan for subsequent postings there. If you buy a place that is convenient to your first job, you could be screwed if you get a second (or third) posting within Ottawa and your new building is not as convenient to your home as on the first posting.

I can't imagine why anyone posted to Ottawa nowadays would choose to isolate themselves in Orleans. Train or not, it will be a horrible commute to Kanata, or to Gatineau if you wind up there in subsequent postings. Orleans to downtown is a half hour, often longer on the way home, and Orleans is pure suburbia, which you may or may not like. Kemtpville too, is way too far for most peoples' tolerances, unless you are obsessed with small towns and like hyper early mornings. You get a 45 minute drive to the edge of the city then could have another half hour on some days to get downtown.

I would recommend you suck up a smaller home. It's not realistic to expect to have the same size of home in a large city like Ottawa as you could get in the smaller communities around most CFB. If you can accept a smaller footprint in favour of a better location your options open up. Your circumstances will drive that, of course. If you have 4 kids, you need space lol.

Nepean is quite central and has a mix of large, new homes and older homes too. Barrhaven is new, affordable and quite central, offering all (or more) of the suburban amenities of Orleans, but from a much better (more central) location for DND staffers. Gloucester is as far east as I would recommend. Lots of folk do the Quebec side too, Aylmer is small and charming, and Chelsea is not too far a drive although bridge traffic from Chelsea is brutal in the morning. If Quebec is your thing, I'd avoid Gatineau proper, the Eastern part of the city, as the congestion and choke points are not workable. Kanata and Stittsville are great for Carling access, but far for downtown or Startop or Gatineau, although lots of people still live out there and suck up the commute, which can be 45 minutes to an hour each way to most places other than Carling or Tunney's.

Unless you are a fan of early mornings and long commutes to work in the dark, both ways, all the time, day after day, month after month, year after year, buy as central as you can afford, would be my advice. The commute in Ottawa is unlike anywhere else we get posted, and it can really change your QOL, depending on your circumstances and lifestyle.

Good luck / bonne chance!
 
I have been looking at living downtown Ottawa, my intended job is on Cumberland street. Now the curve ball, last week I was told the posting may be delayed a year due to potential budget cuts which now makes the promotion delayed as well, arrrrrggggghhhhh!!!!!

But now I have guaranteed that my posting will happen this summer, I just purchased season tickets for the Roughriders! LOL!
 
FSTO said:
last week I was told the posting may be delayed a year due to potential budget cuts which now makes the promotion delayed as well,

If a member merits for promotion but there is no money for a move, is the member still promoted on 1 December and then overranked in their current position until there's money for a move? Or has that changed?
 
Ostrozac said:
If a member merits for promotion but there is no money for a move, is the member still promoted on 1 December and then overranked in their current position until there's money for a move? Or has that changed?

That rule remains the same. Still does not take sting out of waiting another 6 months for the promotion. We shall see this afternoon.
 
FSTO said:
That rule remains the same. Still does not take sting out of waiting another 6 months for the promotion. We shall see this afternoon.

Understood. Not only is there the privilege of being promoted to and serving at the new rank, but in addition to that, six months pay is six months pay.

Best of luck this afternoon.
 
Find someone in the current workplace to find out how long they will be on Cumberland; there's lots of folks moving to new facilities as the Carling move unfolds.  It would not be good to pick a place based on working at Cumberland, then have your work move somewhere else a month or so after arriving.
 
dapaterson said:
Find someone in the current workplace to find out how long they will be on Cumberland; there's lots of folks moving to new facilities as the Carling move unfolds.  It would not be good to pick a place based on working at Cumberland, then have your work move somewhere else a month or so after arriving.

I was told that if this office is moved it will be to the Louis St Laurent II building across the river in Gatineau.
But I take your point.
 
Ostrozac said:
Understood. Not only is there the privilege of being promoted to and serving at the new rank, but in addition to that, six months pay is six months pay.

Best of luck this afternoon.

Thanks!
 
So my cunning plan worked. I went and bought Roughrider season tickets the other day and as certain as the sun rising in the east a posting message arrived in the inbox! Early christmas and birthday presents for the kids!

Now for the move to Ottawa. I'm really torn between buying and renting and I was wondering if there was any folks getting posted out of Ottawa who want to rent out their place. I'd like to live in the west since I'll be working at the building on Constellation Drive.

Anyone who maybe interested in a 55 year-old single white male taking care of their house can PM me at any time.
Cheers!
 
Constellation drive is surrounded by Algonquin College students, and residences for them.  Most rentals in the area are geared towards students.  Fortunately, there's express bus service right to Baseline station,so you're not limited to the immediate area; you may want to look at the area around the Westboro and Dominion transit stops - where groceries, alcohol, restaurants and shops are all within walking distance.

On the plus side, the College Square Loblaws (just across the street from the Constellation offices) carries beer and wine, and sells them until 2300, Monday to Saturday (Sundays alcohol sales stop at 1800).
 
dapaterson said:
Constellation drive is surrounded by Algonquin College students, and residences for them.  Most rentals in the area are geared towards students.  Fortunately, there's express bus service right to Baseline station,so you're not limited to the immediate area; you may want to look at the area around the Westboro and Dominion transit stops - where groceries, alcohol, restaurants and shops are all within walking distance.

On the plus side, the College Square Loblaws (just across the street from the Constellation offices) carries beer and wine, and sells them until 2300, Monday to Saturday (Sundays alcohol sales stop at 1800).

Thanks!
Should I be worried if I see a lot of uniforms at the Loblaws during working hours? LOL!
 
As I recall, it's mostly IM folks out there.  So suddenly the state of DND's IM/IT makes sense...
 
FSTO said:
So my cunning plan worked. I went and bought Roughrider season tickets the other day and as certain as the sun rising in the east a posting message arrived in the inbox! Early christmas and birthday presents for the kids!

Now for the move to Ottawa. I'm really torn between buying and renting and I was wondering if there was any folks getting posted out of Ottawa who want to rent out their place. I'd like to live in the west since I'll be working at the building on Constellation Drive.

Anyone who maybe interested in a 55 year-old single white male taking care of their house can PM me at any time.
Cheers!

Worked out there yesterday, and again today, and the word I heard from some was that they are all moving out to Carling within the year.

Mostly civilians there (2 Constellation Drive); very few "uniforms". 
 
George Wallace said:
Worked out there yesterday, and again today, and the word I heard from some was that they are all moving out to Carling within the year.

Mostly civilians there (2 Constellation Drive); very few "uniforms".

The officer I'm replacing said 2019.

Another question, how far west is the LRT operating?
 
LRT opens in 2018, and goes from Tunney's pasture (west) to Blair (east).  By 2023 it will extend to Moodie (west) and... well, somewhere in the remote, distant wilds of Orleans (east).

Move dates to Carling Campus are carved in warm butter.  They are more likely to shift right than left.

And read up on Workplace 2.0 before moving to Carling.  There's an adjustment required... that I'm still undergoing...
 
There's a fairly informative DWAN website on the Carling Campus at http://intranet.mil.ca/en/change/carling-campus.page.

I especially like the "Resources" tab, which says "Explore the tools and resources below to learn more about the move, and to see how to make the transition to Carling Campus as smooth as possible"....and then proceeds to direct CAF members to the webpage for Mental health resources for CAF members and families.  Read into that what you will.  ;D
 
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