I’ve travelled all over the world and lived in different cities across Ontario and honestly Ottawa is very bland, but Thats what I personally like about it. I like that it doesn’t take hours of insane traffic to get anywhere, and there aren’t lines for everything, and there’s not a festival or something going on locking down most of the city every weekend. If you want better shopping, more food choices, more bars etc. it’s time to go to a bigger city. It’s a sleepy government town and that’s part of the appeal. It’s more of a place you can settle down in. I’d suggest Montreal or Toronto for a few years, and when the city life gets annoying (if it ever does for you) move back to a more quiet place.