so as nervous noobies, we were thinking of possibly using a weekend getaway in a new city to possibly go to a meet and greet. We are both shy and think one of these might be an idea. Like we have occasional seen where it's ppl mmeet up chat but no action.

We are thinking of this as an icebreaker for us. 

Yay or nay?

Also is there anything like described above in Hamilton area?

as a couple where one grew up in "the rest of Canada"and one grew up in Quebec...We both agree that Ont. Is where it's at. Nice thing about Ottawa is you get to enjoy both worlds. 

Seriously for us it was the politics that have made our families leave. As in if you have young school age kids and such ESP if they are not fluent in French. The rent is higher in Ottawa, but licence plates and taxes are higher in Gatineau.

Hope this helps