Just Got to Ottawa from Down East - New Here

Hey Folks:

Just a quick hello as I'm fairly new to Ottawa as I moved here from down east (New Brunswick) as I was transferred here for work reasons. I'm a friendly guy who's used to leaving his front door unlocked, the fridge full of Moosehead beer and the coffee pot on all the time. I don't find Ottawa to be a friendly place and people drive like idiots here! Mind you where I grew up there was only two traffic lights and maybe a dozen stop signs to contend with. I stopped at the intersection of Bank and Gladstone the other day, got out of my car to help a blind man across the road and got sworn at by some guy with bad manners. Welcome to Ottawa. Hope the ladies here are more friendly!

I likely won't post much of anything for a while until I feel my way around. Have a good one.

Old Spike

Dude - welcome to Ottawa. There are rude people in every city. The ladies are very pleasant here. Don't let one bad experience with a motorist cloud your perception of this fine city.

One newcomer to another, welcome to Ottawa. Don't let the drivers here get you down. I find they are generally more courteous than most places I've driven but the lack of basic driving skills is appalling. And you are right, people here aren't that friendly to strangers on the street. However, if you smile at an attractive woman on the street, 90% of the time you will get a blush and a sheepish smile back. It's very entertaining.

hey spike, welcome to the nations capital and also to Cerb!

Hey spike, welcome to Ottawa. Not everybody is like that, we can be nice while we're taking your tax money you know! Welcome to CERB, enjoy!

yeah welcome aboard...i've lived in nb and ns and you are right on the surface people are colder here (I was born here and grew up here so qualified to comment).

The drivers are nuts and do lack a lot of skill.....people stopping at the end of high speed on ramps...driving 20k below the posted speed limit on the 4OO series highways and making stupid moves in heavy traffic without a shoulder check or a signal.

The sps are very friendaly and generally very skilled and that's a good thing.

Ladies around town are friendly once you break the ice....maritimers usually have a charming naivete about them that endears them...

There are more women than men in town which is good news....welcome to ottawa and hope you enjoy the board:grin:

Welcome. I moved here 3 years ago and still can't get use to some of the driving around here. You need to cross one of the bridge if you want to see the good drivers. Okay it is only a joke.

Now as far as the ladies are concerned that is a different story. No joke here they are very friendly and I had the pleasure and priviledge of meeting some very nice ladies.

Hey Folks:

 

............. the fridge full of Moosehead beer and the coffee pot on all the time.........

I will be your friend......really.......

............ people drive like idiots here! ............................. I stopped at the intersection of Bank and Gladstone the other day, got out of my car to help a blind man across the road and got sworn at by some guy with bad manners. ................................

Old Spike

Take a drive to Montreal for a Friday afternoon.......hahahaha..then you will see we are real nice here....

Welcome to Ottawa dude.......it is a great place once you get to know it.....after all ....what can be wrong with a town full on public servants???

Thanks kindly folks! Appreciate the welcome very much as it was most kind of you. Anyhow, I am who I am and the coffee pot is always on and the Moosehead (regular stuff because you can't buy Moosehead Dry here for some reason or other) is chillin' in the fridge. I'm not going to get my shorts in a knot about Ottawa drivers in general; it is what it is. I can just be cautious and courteous in the hope that someone doesn't get hurt, but I don't understand folks who feel the need to back up on the Queensway off ramp...nice way to get in quick and uncomfortable introduction to "Greek!!"

Bonne journee dudes and dudettes.

Old Spike

Thanks for the warm welcome folks. I tried to post this earlier but for some reason or other my response had to be moderated/approved before being included. Probably because I'm new here I guess. Thought I'd try again. Anyhow, many thanks everyone.

Old Spike

Thank-you Catherine...this old dog is very partial to felines! I don't mind warming up cold paws at all.

Darling Spike,

 

Welcome to our delightfully bent little corner of the world! From one transplant to another, Ottawa is the city equivalent of...

 

"cold hands...warm heart"

 

Warm up to it and it will most definitely warm up to you! Enjoy CERB and all it has to offer!

 

Catherine

Well, my three months (for work) in Ottawa is now up and I'm heading back east (N.B.) on the weekend. I've had a pretty nice time while here and unfortunately there's a few ladies I wanted to see but for scheduling purposes it wasn't going to happen. Driving in Ottawa in the winter months during a bus strike has been a bit of a challenge but I use snow tires and watch carefully for the other guy. Had a couple of close calls with people driving through red lights on me and being a defensive driver has saved my ass on more than one occasion. Time to pack up and head back home on the weekend. Thanks to a couple of nice ladies, the three months here was quite pleasant indeed. They know who they are and they will always be a fond memory.

Be nice and play safe. All the best to everyone in the future.

Regards,

Old Spike

Well Spike have a safe journey home, hope the city of Ottawa and people treated you well!

Take care, and chat soon when you are back in NB;-)

farewell and have a safe trip...come back and visit again.

yes spike the people of ottawa do drive like idiots not from thier myself but when i'm down thier and watched how they drive they must of got thier driving permit out of a popcorn box have a safe trip home glad you enjoyed yourself

Hey Spike,

Welcome to Ottawa! Give the city a chance, but I would still lock my door. They may come and steel all your beer.

I'll be going (back again) into the hospital on Monday for some more overdue surgery and I hope to be out within a few days if all goes well. After that I will take some time off and head out for a vacation down east and perhaps out to the west coast as well. I'm well into my 60s and I've decided it's now time for me to retire from work and live on a pension and my savings etc. My wife and I may remain in Ottawa, at least for the time being as she is still involved in her career. Most of my family is now deceased so my roots are wherever my ass is sitting even though I do tend to miss the folks in the down east. I've been lucky in that over the years I've made some sound, but conservative investments and I am reasonably comfortable financially and I am now able to and find I want to retire from work after more than 40 some odd years of it all.

Anyhow, keep my seat warm and a cold beer on tap for me please as I'll be back in time.

Regards,

Spike

Will do Emma...many thanks for that. Kisses back at ya!

Be well Spike...let us know your OK when you get out of the hospital...kisses

Best of luck to you, Spike. Please keep in touch when you can.

You'll be missed around here!

Take care Spike, i am fairly new here but have enjoyed reading your posts. Gotta love that Moosehead Dry, living is NS i have no trouble finding it. I wish you well until your return. Happy retirement !!!! :smile:

Thanks kindly. Moosehead Dry is my favourite beer too but it's not available in Ottawa so when I go to NB I always fill up my trunk with a few cases to bring back to Ottawa with me. No Moosehead Dry and high property taxes are the two things I really don't like about Ottawa. I don't like getting political, but Ottawa has soooo much politics on all levels, it's insane. Then there's some real doozies for councillors at city hall...yet they seem to be everywhere. I've only been here a year or so and I find myself shaking my head at some of them...won't name names but whoa! LOL Regular Mooshead is available in Ottawa so that's okay.

Talk again soon.

Take care Spike, i am fairly new here but have enjoyed reading your posts. Gotta love that Moosehead Dry, living is NS i have no trouble finding it. I wish you well until your return. Happy retirement !!!! :smile:

Thanks folks...hope to be back in the not too distant future.

Regards,

Spike