Originally Posted by bsmith

As I asked another poster on a different thread, Am I correct in assuming you haven't been to Edmonton yet?
QUOTE]

We were in Edmonton for a week last November. Yes it was different to what we know. A week wasn't probably long enough, and we stayed by the WEM. Not the best to stay close to. However we were in Sherwood Park and Strathcona.

We spent a day in St Albert which we did like viewing properties and looking at facilities. We also looked around Stoney Plain and Devon. We tried to get around as much as we could.

JET

Originally Posted by JET747

Also October/November (imo) are not the best months, all the beautiful fall colours have gone, yet the snow hasn't made everything look pretty and clean.

Linda

Originally Posted by Linda P

...but if someone is moving here, they will live here during October/November. So it makes as much sense to visit then as at any other time.

Originally Posted by Lemi

You misunderstand me........I was just trying to point out that during that time they would be seeing Edmonton at it's worst.

Linda

Originally Posted by jericho

My comments in red.

Originally Posted by Capt. Canuck

It's worth noting that Canadians can pick apart any place in Canada. Vancouver (and lower mainland BC and Vancouver Island) is mocked for its touchy-feely hippy vibe and the fact it gets so much rain. Edmonton is flat and boring, built around a ginormous mall. Calgary is mocked for its love of the Stampede. And both are boom-and-bust towns. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are generally ignored as a mosquito-infested frigid dead zone between civilization in Alberta and Ontario. Toronto (and the Golden Horseshoe in general) is hated for considering itself the centre of the universe. Ottawa is hated for being the capital city and being a boring, PC, government town. Quebec is, well, Quebec and is singled out for a separate sort of disdain (don't worry, they give as good as they get). The Maritimes and Atlantic Canada are viewed as a place where people talk funny, pretend they're sort of Irish, don't work and collect Employment Insurance. Finally, the North is viewed as an uninhabitable wasteland whose denizens do nothing more than kill baby seals.

Originally Posted by Capt. Canuck

On the veiled allegations of racism: I'm a white guy who lives in small town Alberta (full of pickup trucks, 4-wheelers and guns) and I accepted unquestioned the stereotype and assumed Alberta was full of redneck hicks. Imagine my surprise when talking to a minority woman who expressed how "Alberta is so open-minded" regarding race. I pressed her on this, and she was adamant that she's felt nothing but acceptance. (I have enjoyed the people here immensely, as well.) So I know at least one woman who would clearly disagree with the "open skies, closed minds" comment.

Originally Posted by bsmith

Before I start, let me just say, this post will not go down well with Edmontonians - but it's not meant for them. I hope this thread will be read by people weighing up the pros and cons of the various Canadian cities. A recce is just a snapshot and warts-and-all, unbiased info (not just sugar-coated tourist rubbish) is hard to come by. Consequently, this piece may seem overly negative, but my intention here is not to anger or antagonize, but merely to redress the balance. Believe it or not I've gone easy, I've left out personal stuff that's happened, some of which would not make for comfortable reading on a forum such as this. (You can review crime stats etc. elsewhere)

So let's cut right to the chase, Edmonton is not the "world class" metropolis it's marketing people would have you believe. It's a blue collar city that rises and falls on the strength of it's economy - people relocate here from overseas and from other provinces for the work and for that alone. People looking for the whole "quality of life" thing, would be advised to seek it elsewhere. The city has a lamentable infrastructure, horrible architecture and doesn't show any sign of getting better any time soon.

The cities "downtown" area is a bit of a joke. It has none of the vibrancy or energy you would expect in a city this size. Very few pedestrianised areas or natural outdoor gathering places. There is also a very serious panhandling and aggressive begging problem, (which sometimes escalates into actual violence and recently death), although this is a problem not just restricted to the downtown area. Once out of the city centre Edmonton is your average mixture of generic condo blocks (flats), older "character" homes, strip-malls and the ubiquitous avenue after avenue of newly built McMansions. Property in Edmonton is relatively expensive by Canadian standards.

On the culture and entertainment front Edmonton is mediocre at best. There's stuff out there, but it's all pretty average and fairly generic, cinemas, clubs, galleries etc. Edmonton sells it's self as Canada's year round "Festival City", although most of these "festivals" are again pretty generic and mainly bunched together during the short Summer months. The better ones tend to be smaller and consequently sell out fast making tickets hard to come by. Eating out here is never a great experience, the restaurants are on the whole terrible - indifferent service and poor quality food.

Edmonton's "Crown Jewel" is it's "River Valley". The North Saskatchewan river valley effectively cuts Edmonton in two diagonally and provides some welcome greenery (during the summer) and a few miles of cycle trails. Unfortunately it also provides cover for an unofficial shanty town of tents and shacks housing many of the towns bums and vagrants during the Spring through to Autumn. Consequently, Edmontonians consider the river valley a no-go-area after dusk which is a shame.

Everyone mentions the driving, I confess, I do not drive. That said, I have witnessed more driving accidents and near misses in one year in Edmonton than in the rest of my 40+ years put together. No exaggeration. Yes, some of these were just winter prangs, but the majority were just caused by careless driving on ice-free roads. Crossing a busy intersection with one hand on the wheel while talking on your cell phone appears to be compulsory here. And man, do Edmontonians love the horn (insert puerile joke here).

The people of Edmonton are for the most part very nice. They are on the whole polite and welcoming - though I suspect being white has helped me out on that front. I'm pretty shocked at how quickly many (Caucasian) Edmontonians, regardless of age or background, can turn any discussion on the cause of Edmonton's woes in to an opportunity to be blatantly racist about either Natives Americas, Blacks or various "Asian" groups . (That said, these views may appeal to the "Daily Mail" type expat!) Canadians I've got to know from other parts of the country don't seem to fall back on these tired old clichés so often.
There also seems be a strange preoccupation bordering on an obsession with Calgary. Edmontonions generally seem to hate the place with a passion, whilst at the same time, desperately aspiring to be more like it. The fact that Calgary appears to be many Edmontonian's only yard-stick by which to judge it's own city gives some insight into the depth and breadth of the average Edmontonian's world view. Unfortunately, it doesn't help that Calgary is indeed a more appealing city in most respects, and at least has some character and sense of it's own identity.

Overall, after spending a year in Edmonton, my advice to anyone planning on making Canada their home would be to consider other cities before even looking at Edmonton. You don't get that whole "quality of life" thing here, far from it. I freely admit, we came here for the work and for that alone, and when the time is right we will be getting the hell out of here. I hope for the sake of the city and it's people the economy stays strong, Edmonton now isn't great, Edmonton during any kind of protracted slump doesn't bare thinking about.

Originally Posted by bsmith

Before I start, let me just say, this post will not go down well with Edmontonians - but it's not meant for them. I hope this thread will be read by people weighing up the pros and cons of the various Canadian cities. A recce is just a snapshot and warts-and-all, unbiased info (not just sugar-coated tourist rubbish) is hard to come by. Consequently, this piece may seem overly negative, but my intention here is not to anger or antagonize, but merely to redress the balance. Believe it or not I've gone easy, I've left out personal stuff that's happened, some of which would not make for comfortable reading on a forum such as this. (You can review crime stats etc. elsewhere)

So let's cut right to the chase, Edmonton is not the "world class" metropolis it's marketing people would have you believe. It's a blue collar city that rises and falls on the strength of it's economy - people relocate here from overseas and from other provinces for the work and for that alone. People looking for the whole "quality of life" thing, would be advised to seek it elsewhere. The city has a lamentable infrastructure, horrible architecture and doesn't show any sign of getting better any time soon.

The cities "downtown" area is a bit of a joke. It has none of the vibrancy or energy you would expect in a city this size. Very few pedestrianised areas or natural outdoor gathering places. There is also a very serious panhandling and aggressive begging problem, (which sometimes escalates into actual violence and recently death), although this is a problem not just restricted to the downtown area. Once out of the city centre Edmonton is your average mixture of generic condo blocks (flats), older "character" homes, strip-malls and the ubiquitous avenue after avenue of newly built McMansions. Property in Edmonton is relatively expensive by Canadian standards.

On the culture and entertainment front Edmonton is mediocre at best. There's stuff out there, but it's all pretty average and fairly generic, cinemas, clubs, galleries etc. Edmonton sells it's self as Canada's year round "Festival City", although most of these "festivals" are again pretty generic and mainly bunched together during the short Summer months. The better ones tend to be smaller and consequently sell out fast making tickets hard to come by. Eating out here is never a great experience, the restaurants are on the whole terrible - indifferent service and poor quality food.

Edmonton's "Crown Jewel" is it's "River Valley". The North Saskatchewan river valley effectively cuts Edmonton in two diagonally and provides some welcome greenery (during the summer) and a few miles of cycle trails. Unfortunately it also provides cover for an unofficial shanty town of tents and shacks housing many of the towns bums and vagrants during the Spring through to Autumn. Consequently, Edmontonians consider the river valley a no-go-area after dusk which is a shame.

Everyone mentions the driving, I confess, I do not drive. That said, I have witnessed more driving accidents and near misses in one year in Edmonton than in the rest of my 40+ years put together. No exaggeration. Yes, some of these were just winter prangs, but the majority were just caused by careless driving on ice-free roads. Crossing a busy intersection with one hand on the wheel while talking on your cell phone appears to be compulsory here. And man, do Edmontonians love the horn (insert puerile joke here).

The people of Edmonton are for the most part very nice. They are on the whole polite and welcoming - though I suspect being white has helped me out on that front. I'm pretty shocked at how quickly many (Caucasian) Edmontonians, regardless of age or background, can turn any discussion on the cause of Edmonton's woes in to an opportunity to be blatantly racist about either Natives Americas, Blacks or various "Asian" groups . (That said, these views may appeal to the "Daily Mail" type expat!) Canadians I've got to know from other parts of the country don't seem to fall back on these tired old clichés so often.
There also seems be a strange preoccupation bordering on an obsession with Calgary. Edmontonions generally seem to hate the place with a passion, whilst at the same time, desperately aspiring to be more like it. The fact that Calgary appears to be many Edmontonian's only yard-stick by which to judge it's own city gives some insight into the depth and breadth of the average Edmontonian's world view. Unfortunately, it doesn't help that Calgary is indeed a more appealing city in most respects, and at least has some character and sense of it's own identity.

Overall, after spending a year in Edmonton, my advice to anyone planning on making Canada their home would be to consider other cities before even looking at Edmonton. You don't get that whole "quality of life" thing here, far from it. I freely admit, we came here for the work and for that alone, and when the time is right we will be getting the hell out of here. I hope for the sake of the city and it's people the economy stays strong, Edmonton now isn't great, Edmonton during any kind of protracted slump doesn't bare thinking about.

Originally Posted by garrett8787

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