Alberta or bc
 

Hi. I am planning on moving to canada within next couple of years once I pass my Canadian pharmacy exams for foreign graduates. I was wondering which province people think is best for a young family in terms of quality of life, tax, lifestyle etc. I did a moose tour last year of west and east canada and have seen a lot. I visited vancouver which is beautiful, but was thinking of maybe somewhere like mission, Squamish or abbotsford if I was to settle in bc, as these offer better value for money it seems. Could anyone tell me a little more about these places? I stopped briefly at Squamish on way to whistler, and although small it offers value for money. Kelowna is beautiful but a little isolated for me, in terms of proximity to big urban areas. There seem to be more jobs available in Alberta in small towns, I suppose as some are pretty isolated. I've been told spruce grove is a nice area near Edmonton and St. Albert was voted one of best places to live. I'd be looking to spend around $500000 on a property.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Abbotsford, Langley, South Surrey are contenders. I would forget Mission, most do, Squamish is a nice small town, but not much there unless you like skiing and fishing.

Property prices reflect opportunities at the time, but this can change and Squamish might be worth the gamble as the area is developing. Canmore was the back of nowhere and cheap when I originally moved to AB, should have bought then.

Edmonton is not somewhere that appealed to me to live, but it all depends on what one is looking for. Quality of life is subjective, what it means to one can be different to another.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

What's wrong with mission ? It looks a pretty town and is only an hour from vancouver? I read a lot of people from van are moving to ab and ont. I'd like to live in north van really, have to wait for a lottery win I think.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

If you think Kelowna is isolated I'm not sure why you would even consider Squamish.

Based on you Kelowna comment, for Alberta you likely should look at St. Albert, Spruce Grove, maybe Leduc for around Edmonton. However most think Edmonton itself is pretty isolated.

Around Calgary there's Airdrie, Cochrane, and Okotoks. High River is not too far out from Calgary but given the recent floods in High River it's best to avoid there for at least a little while. I wouldn't discount Calgary either.

Personally I would choose the locations around Calgary before choosing those around Edmonton. I lived in Edmonton for nine years and there's really not a lot wrong with the place I just prefer Calgary as does my wife who was born and raised in Edmonton.

Aviator has already answered for the lower mainland of B.C.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

There isn't anything wrong with Mission, its semi-rural so you can live within the city or out in the mountain area and have more space, its smaller then the other citys in the Fraser Valley but there is nothing wrong with it in my opinion.

Driving in rush hour though, you wont get to Vancouver in an hour from Mission. There is no direct freeway access from Mission so its not as direct as it seems.

The train is an alternative to the city from Mission, takes about an hour and some change, but only runs M-F and only works for the 8-4 and 9-5 type jobs.


I for one would pick Alberta, I lived in Edmonton for a bit and really liked it, felt more like a city then anywhere in BC does, but I dislike BC with a passion and not the best person to ask since its a biased opinion.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

An hour in travelling time. A century in most other respects.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

:D

Re: Alberta or bc
 

BC - Hippies
AB - Rednecks

take your pick :)

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Seriously, you need to get your facts right before posting. Shakes head.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Come an take a look for yourself. if you plant to move there, rent, you can then move out easily and cheaply.

If Kelowna seems isolated, Edmonton and calgary could be considered isolated, just bigger than Kelowna.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

If Edmonton and Calgary seem isolated, Vancouver could be considered isolated, just bigger than Edmonton or Calgary.............

Re: Alberta or bc
 

If you want to get technical, both the City of Edmonton, and City of Calgary are larger population wise.

City of Vancouver only has 600,000 people or so.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Somewhat different for Metro Vancouver.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

What lifestyle exactly are you seeking? Vancouver offers an urban lifestyle next to nature. Mission is a bit of a rural, conservative cultural backwater. The scenery might be pretty, but it's night and day from Vancouver. Abbotsford, etc. would be very surburban/drive everywhere/shop at big box stores lifestyle.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

For us Kelowna was the winner for a young family. It is a city but has a smaller town feel to it. Compared to Vancouver it's cheaper housing, car insurance and less crime than Vancouver, but it's only a 4hr drive away, although it has a decent airport too. Better weather than Vancouver, we've been at the beach all summer and we have skiing on our doorstep. Interior Health is a massive employer and the hospital is expanding plus your also commutable to Vernon hospital if needs be and there are drugstores a plenty here. Best of luck with your search.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

May want to double check on crime and its on the rise which is the opposite of the national trend.

The Kelowna metropolitan area, which includes the city of Kelowna and neighbouring cities, had a crime rate in 2012 of 8,875 crimes for every 100,000 people, up six per cent over 2011.

That gives Kelowna the highest crime rate of the 33 major cities tracked by Statistics Canada



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Kel...#ixzz2bRQraYHr

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Hi and welcome bingbong. You've done the tour but I second the opinion above about looking again. People are kind here and share experiences etc which correspondingly provides pointers -- but nothing beats your own look-see again IMO.

Best of luck on your plans and move.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Are you an evangelical christian? if you are Mission would be right up your alley, along with Abbotsford and more rural parts of Alberta. If not a Christian you should try for Sikh as that's the other popular religion Abby/Mission way. I have heard of people who commute from Mission to Vancouver. That's all I'm saying. I've heard of it. I wouldn't do it nor would anyone I know, cos that's like REALLLLLLY far. YOu would lose a lot of your day commuting. It would suck. Trust.

Squamish is the poor man's North Van. It's where people go who want that lifestyle but can't afford North or West Van proper. So it's growing, but the reality is teh transit is shit and you are reliant on a highway and bridges to get to Vancouver. It would be better if you could land a job in West or North Van or even Squamish. And you'd be much closer to Whistler, which is nice.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

If you work 9-5 M-F and have holidays off, the West Coast Express is not a bad commute, takes a bit over an hour if you ride it all the way to Mission.

There are a good amount of people who start and end on Mission, I was always surprised how busy it was.

A good amount of people commute from all over the Fraser Valley, the jobs out that way tend to not pay well, but housing is cheaper so for many the cost of the commute is worth it.

70 minutes on the West Coast Express isn't that bad of a commute. There are plenty of commutes within the city on transit that take almost as long.

From my house in East Vancouver, to YVR, takes 1 bus, 1 skytrain, and the Canada Line, and Translink estimates the trip at 59 minutes.

The commute within the "city" can be just as long if not longer, and the buses and trains in the city are not nearly as comfortable.

Obviously if you have a car and choose to drive, it different.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

I noticed when passing through small towns in Fraser valley I saw a lot of Kingdom Halls used by jehovas witness's. I was surprised because you rarely see
Them in uk.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

all depends on preference i guess..i have lived in Edmonton and now live in Calgary and much prefer Edmonton over Calgary

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Care to explain why?

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Sure... it is easier to get around..has better and newer facilities..i also find it a bit more relaxed than Calgary a bit more quirky if you like or a bit more homely. Yes some parts of the city are a shit hole but i wouldn't live or go there maybe more so than Calgary..i just think Edmonton gets a bad rap for no reason:thumbdown:

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Thanks

I have never been there. Most of the people I know that have any real knowledge of it (not just visited WEM) have attended University there. I don't know anyone that particularly slates it but, for various reasons, they prefer Calgary.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

I liked Edmonton when I lived there (9 years), but liked Calgary more when we were transferred here in 1974. Perhaps Edmonton has improved since then. ;)

I found Edmonton when compared with Calgary flat and boring with no hills to speak of except for going down into the river valley and certainly no mountain views. I didn't think Edmonton (except for the River Valley) had as much open park space like Fish Creek or Nose Hill. I also think Calgary has better weather especially the Chinooks in winter.

I think Calgary's proximity to not just Banff but also to Kananaskis much better than Edmonton to Jasper.

Edmonton was built much more on a grid system than Calgary but I prefer the Calgary layout, not quite so square and boring.

We liked at the time the better shopping in Calgary, and certainly now-a days Calgary has better air connections.

Calgary is a much more white collar city whereas Edmonton in more blue collar (my perception).

All that said if I were transferred back to Edmonton I could quite happily live there.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Vancouver is very crowded, just look at a satellite image of the Fraser Valley with the 49th parallel running through it and you will see why, the city proper has a higher population density than London. Traffic is a nightmare with all the tunnels and bridges, taxes are higher than Alberta except for income tax if you earn less than $100,000 but given that healthcare in Alberta is "free" and there is no PST then generally you are better off in Alberta. Plus the cost of living is lower in Alberta.

People say to move to BC because the weather is better, I don't think it is, it's sunny and dry in Alberta during the winter but yes it is much colder.

Edmonton imo is a nicer town than Calgary because it's more of a traditional conurbation, but the weather is better in Calgary plus it's slightly less isolated so Calgary wins. You can move to Red Deer, Lethbridge etc. but then you've got a long drive to the airport and decent shopping.

I was actually at Ikea yesterday and in the parking space next to mine was a guy from Montana who had come up to Calgary to get some flat pack furniture.

Plus for $500,000 you can buy a lot more house in Calgary than you can in Vancouver...

Re: Alberta or bc
 

It's the third time at least you've said this. :lol: Why not just get in your car and go up there for the weekend? How can you have lived here this long and not gone to the WEM?

It has to be said that is the most boring drive in the history of creation during the summer.

But you can go on a boat ride on the Saskatchewan River.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Simple really, I haven't had a need/wish to go there

Re: Alberta or bc
 

Alberta winter: your backdoor can freeze shut for months at a time (this really happened to someone I know)
Vancouver: you'll get wet in winter.

Alberta: urban sprawl
Vancouver: high density but lots of parks, mountain views, the waterfront etc. etc. For instance Burnaby, which has lots of towers, has 25% of it's land set aside for parks - so it really doesn't feel crowded.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

The whole of Alberta? I don't know how anyone's back door in Alberta could freeze shut for months at a time in any location with more than 15,000 people.

The whole of Alberta has urban sprawl but the whole of BC doesn't. You'll have to explain that one to me.

I haven't travelled extensively to parts of BC but, from what I have seen, I would imagine that, outside of Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, population density in both Provinces is likely to be very similar.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

This whole thread is made up of generalisations, stop being so picky and join in!

ps. she lived in Edmonton and yes her door froze shut.

Re: Alberta or bc
 

OK. I am happy in Alberta, I believe I could be equally happy in BC. To the OP - you have to come here, visit lots of places and see what fits your requirements.

I have no frickin idea how this could happen, does she routinely splash water on her door surrounds in winter? Did she not try to resolve the issue as, I can't imagine it would be hard to do so?

Re: Alberta or bc
 

I don't know! I just know her door froze shut for like, 3 months.