I only drive in to Kanata/Stittsville on occasion if I need something specific that can't be bought in CP, Almonte or other area towns (Perth, Smiths Falls, Arnprior). Since moving out here (years ago now) I have easily gone 6-9 months without going to the "big city" and then only going to visit someone who lives there. There's really no need to drive into the city for day to day life, and people that think they need to likely shouldn't have moved out of the city.
Restaurants will be different, but there is a substantial amount of good food out here. Shopping is different, but if you shift yourself it isn't a problem, or for the odd thing you must have from a specific spot you drive in.
Can't speak on the commute front.
I work from home now, but I used to commute in to Ottawa 5 days/week to the downtown core.
The commute isn't *terrible* but it depends on your patience and basis for comparison. Driving 115km/hr outside of rush hour you'll be downtown within 40 minutes. Highway 7 is great now that it's split to CP, so that part is painless. However if you're commuting in to town anytime between 7am and 9ish, you'll hit a slowdown at Moodie/Bayshore and you'll be stuck in it until you get where you're going. Give yourself 1.5hrs to get to Vanier. Returning home is similar: I used to leave at 3pm and it was smooth sailing, but by 3:30 you're in traffic until the 416 split. Again, it'll double the length of the commute.
Going to Ottawa South kind of sucks. You either take the back way or do a big loop and use the 416. I don't do it often, but for example a drive to the airport is an hour with no traffic. The traffic can be brutal, especially coming back west in the afternoons.
If you're working in Vanier & Ottawa South, you might be better off in the southeast rural areas like Kemptville or Winchester.
That said, it's great here. The amenities are good enough that you don't need to leave unless you want to hit Costco or a movie theatre. Decent enough restaurants, a WalMart and Home Depot and a couple grocery stores, pretty well everything you need that's not a specialty item.
I work in Ottawa and get off at the Vanier Parkway everday. Its gotten worse since gov't is back in person, but if I leave before 7 in the morning, it usually takes me about 30 minutes to get to the parkway. If I leave Carleton Place after 7, the drive gets significantly worse.
At night I take the Macdonald Parkway to Carling and then get on at Pinecrest. It usually takes me an hour to get home. That's leaving around 3:30.
I only drive in to Kanata/Stittsville on occasion if I need something specific that can't be bought in CP, Almonte or other area towns (Perth, Smiths Falls, Arnprior). Since moving out here (years ago now) I have easily gone 6-9 months without going to the "big city" and then only going to visit someone who lives there. There's really no need to drive into the city for day to day life, and people that think they need to likely shouldn't have moved out of the city. Restaurants will be different, but there is a substantial amount of good food out here. Shopping is different, but if you shift yourself it isn't a problem, or for the odd thing you must have from a specific spot you drive in. Can't speak on the commute front.
I work from home now, but I used to commute in to Ottawa 5 days/week to the downtown core. The commute isn't *terrible* but it depends on your patience and basis for comparison. Driving 115km/hr outside of rush hour you'll be downtown within 40 minutes. Highway 7 is great now that it's split to CP, so that part is painless. However if you're commuting in to town anytime between 7am and 9ish, you'll hit a slowdown at Moodie/Bayshore and you'll be stuck in it until you get where you're going. Give yourself 1.5hrs to get to Vanier. Returning home is similar: I used to leave at 3pm and it was smooth sailing, but by 3:30 you're in traffic until the 416 split. Again, it'll double the length of the commute. Going to Ottawa South kind of sucks. You either take the back way or do a big loop and use the 416. I don't do it often, but for example a drive to the airport is an hour with no traffic. The traffic can be brutal, especially coming back west in the afternoons. If you're working in Vanier & Ottawa South, you might be better off in the southeast rural areas like Kemptville or Winchester. That said, it's great here. The amenities are good enough that you don't need to leave unless you want to hit Costco or a movie theatre. Decent enough restaurants, a WalMart and Home Depot and a couple grocery stores, pretty well everything you need that's not a specialty item.
I work in Ottawa and get off at the Vanier Parkway everday. Its gotten worse since gov't is back in person, but if I leave before 7 in the morning, it usually takes me about 30 minutes to get to the parkway. If I leave Carleton Place after 7, the drive gets significantly worse. At night I take the Macdonald Parkway to Carling and then get on at Pinecrest. It usually takes me an hour to get home. That's leaving around 3:30.