Calgary or Edmonton?
 

Hi all.

Myself and my family (wife and 5y.o. daughter) are in the early stages of the emigration process - we're looking at Alberta. Can anyone point out any significant differences between Calgary and Edmonton. Key concerns are probably the same as everyone's - schools, real estate prices, job market, things to do, anything else that's relevant.

many thanks

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

I have lived only in Calgary, And from what I know Edmonton has a much more severe climate. Often when Calgary has Sun and Chinooks (warm winds in winter) Edmonton has raging bliszzards.Apparenlt city of Edmonton is older and, wait for this!, it has roundabouts! Cause of course these do not exist anywhere else in Canada. Jobwise? Not much in it.

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

There are a couple of roundabouts in Crescent Heights, complete with instructions on how to use them :)

I've only lived in Calgary and not Edmonton. IMHO Calgary's a great city plenty to do, the sun usually shines and it's within an hour's drive of the mountains.

I've visited Edmonton and it looks fine, but too far from the mountains and not enough sun for me.

There are more head offices in Calgary, so it depends on your chosen work.

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

Hi
We live near Edmonton and have just visited Calgary for the long weekend just gone
There are pro's and cons for both cities and I would suggest a visit to both to make your own comparisons, but heres my ten penneth??? if it helps.
Both cities and all of Alberta in general is seeing a huge amount of revenue coming in to the province. Construction is evident wherever you go and expansion is rapid. Remember both cities are relatively "new" compared to Eastern Canada, so growth will continue for some time.

Edmonton................A smaller downtown area, appears older with not so many of the glass high rises Calgary has. A quieter city, so depends what you want. We hardly ever go into the city as we have no need to .Sherwood Park has everything you need and More.. Edm is easy to get around and has the most stunning river valley with trails everywhere and the largest green space of cities I have seen. They do have litter however which lets it down and which Mr R2D2 get his hair off about (whats left of it that is)....(sorry darling)
As for climate..................not found it any colder than Calgary has had yet. (But this is our first winter !!!) We too get the Chinooks up here. Yes, its further from the Mountains, but what we find is that it kind of makes you go for weekends rather than day trips..which is nice !
More trees than Calgarys surrounding area too.....but flatter here................so swings and roundabouts really.
Cheaper real estate prices here too.

Calgary...........a swankier downtown, with views of the Rockies from the top of Calgary tower. More touristy due to location to the mountains and accessibility to the States. A big bonus that you can be in the mountains in an hour.
Heavier traffic but the covered pedestrian links that get you around the city look great. Maybe someone who lives there can comment more on this.
We like both cities, but we went to where the job offer was.....simple as that.
I think more brits seem to head for Calgary, but there are an incresing number coming here to. Have you considered Red Deer ? Slap in the middle of the two. :)

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

Dear all,

Thank you so much for each taking the time to help.

We've booked to fly London-Calgary for 2 weeks next May (canadian affair), and the grand plan is to travel Calgary-Banff-Jasper-Edmonton-Red Deer-Calgary.

Right now I'm so caught up in the excitement of the whole thing cos I finally feel we've got a plan for the future rather than just carrying on drifting along.

I was born in Toronto which I think should speed up the process for us a bit so we hope to be in Canada in time to experience next winter.

Thanks again.

(leaving UK cos there's not.......) mushroom

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

We've booked to fly London-Calgary for 2 weeks next May (canadian affair), and the grand plan is to travel Calgary-Banff-Jasper-Edmonton-Red Deer-Calgary.

[/QUOTE]

Thats the loop we did in 02. The route into Edmonton coming from Jasper does not give the best first impression of the city. The Yellowhead Hwy, the north of the city is about as ugly as it gets , so my advice would be to branch of that as early as poss and head into the city centre. (Drive East to Sherwood Park to if you have time)
Also ...........what about doing the loop the other way around. The only reason I say that, is that you get a good comparrison of each city one directly after the other, .............and after you have been in the Rockies, NOWHERE matches up.

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

Oh, and on the subject of raging blizzards and not enough sunshine.......................................... .....There are no more and no less of either than the rest of the province..............and possibly other parts of the country at that.
We have been here since May and Alberta has seen a bit of a crappy summer acording to all the "locals", but it has still seemed miles better than what we ever had in England
Clear blue skies today in Sherwood Park........beautiful. :)

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

Totally agree with that. If you visit the Rockies in the middle of your trip, it will be unfair to whichever city you visit last. You will be able to do a better comparison if you visit one city after the other.

On the day that you drive from Calgary to Edmonton (or vice versa), I highly recommend that you take a detour to the town of Drumheller to visit the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. The dinosaur skeletons will knock your socks off.

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

We have been to Edmonton a few times (for hockey). Made the mistake of driving up in shorts one April - wont be doing that again as we found Edmonton to be substantially colder than Calgary. I have remembered every year since and always wear long pants to travel there now.

I hear a lot of comments in respect of Edmonton being greener than Calgary. That is not my opinion. I think the problem is that Edmontons biggest green space is closer to downtown than Calgary's. The biggest green spaces in Calgary are Nose Hill Park (north) and Fish Creek Park(south east/west). It all depends on which parts of each city you visit.

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

Nose Hill looks very brown from my office on the 23rd floor. While I'm more than happy to take double-digit temperatures, at this time of year Calgary looks better with a dusting of snow :)

BTW, I love Nose Hill. It reminds me of being on the yorkshire moors.

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

It might be brown but it is still an open "green" space! A big one too!

Is the grass in Edmonton green? Perhaps someone up there will tell us.

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

No, the grass is most definately NOT green up here either. Its barren looking everywhere at this time of the year........like everyone keeps telling us, it instantly looks prettier when covered in snow.
BTW.............when we drove Edm----Calg at the w/end we passed these REALLY GREEN fields near Red Deer......whats that all about then ???? They looked artificial compared to the rest of the ground. :confused:

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

I'm no farmer but I'm guessing that was Winter Wheat.

It's planted in the fall and I guess it germinates early then goes dormant over the winter but starts growing again in the early spring.

Perhaps any farmers here to confirm or correct me on this?

Cheers
Steve

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

I have no idea. What I do know is that the weather in Red Deer seems to be quite distinct from that of both Calgary and Edmonton - a law unto itself!

Re: Calgary or Edmonton?
 

Shouldn't this thread read..."Calgary, why Edmonton"????