Hi,

Me and OH are looking into moving to canada, he has been offered a job in calgary, i wondered if there are any pple on here that live in calargy who could advise on areas, schooling etc, is it an affordable city to live? Many Thanks.

Hello,

sorry aha to be a quick reply need to go to bed!

Type in 'Judy in Calgary' into the 'search' link at the top that will show loads of her replies to various threads with LOADS of great advice and comments to certainly start it all off.

all the best

Tina

Calgary is expensive ... there are way nicer parts of Alberta that cost less to live in.

Having said that ...

Avoid the NE.

SE prices have been overinflated for a few years, but the SW is catching up fast.

Find somewhere that HAS a school.

Calgary is starting to slow down ... prices may come down soon ... but so will salaries

Thanks for the compliment, TinaH.

Desperatetomove, by Canadian standards Calgary is not an affordable city. House prices here have risen sharply in the last couple of years. If you earn you salary in Canadian dollars, the cost of living in Calgary feels high. As far as the real estate scene in major Canadian cities is concerned, Calgary's prices are second only to those of Vancouver.

On the other hand, many British expats are still able to benefit from a real estate 'uplift" when they leave the UK and move to any part of Canada, even Vancouver or Calgary. The reason is that real estate prices in the UK are higher than those in Canada. If British home owners are able to extract a fair amount of equity from their UK properties, they find that that equity buys quite a few square feet of shelter in Canada.

Jobs in the oil and oil-related industries pay well in Calgary, as do jobs in the skilled trades. The wages in service industries (low-end retail, hospitality, etc.) have not kept up with the cost of living in Calgary. But, if your husband has been recruited from overseas, he most likely is in an occupation that is in high demand in Alberta, and his salary probably will make it worth your while to move here. That's a very broad statement, because I obviously don't know the specifics of your case.

If you want to find out about Calgary's residential neighbourhoods, I suggest you read the BE Wiki article on Calgary.

Other articles of potential interest include:

• Calgary schooling
  
• Alberta health care
  
• Alberta - Introduction

Hope that helps.

"BC or bust"??

Interior or coast??

Coast.

Van, Vic or somewhere nicer??

Not sure yet. Courtney-Comox area and southern half of Sunshine Coast are strong contenders. Another possibility is some place that is within easy striking distance of Victoria.

Went to Ucluelet for spring break ... it snowed.

Then again...
:we visited TO and they had the worst snow in 50 years
:we visited Brooks, AB and a tornado just missed us.
:we visited the Okanagan this summer and they had all of the rain for July & August in one day.

Just don't go live somewhere we try to vacation

Not that I would EVER argue with Judy....she has far many more years than us in Calgary

But...we love it here, and have found (in comparison to UK property prices) Calgary is very reasonable. We have also found shopping and general living expenses to be similar to the UK so all-round we win.

Depending on the industry you are in, salaries can be higher so can balance out though you need to do your homework on salaries.

Childcare is half of that in the UK, shopping is around the same...though meat is less expensive we have found....depends on your taste!!!

Hope this helps.

Nicky

The economy in Calgary is maybe taking a breath right now but with the prospect of high commodity prices for the foreseeable future the economy will continue to be robust for some time. The only fly in the ointment is whether the Feds come up with overly restrictive emissions laws that stalls out the development of the Oil Sands. Having said that, if the Feds go down this route we will be in for one hell of a constitutional battle. As for nicer places in Alberta to each his own.