bluesteele

Thank-you for the detailed info Steve. Good to have a month by month guideline. 190 days hitting below freezing?! That's not sitting well with me right now!

I'm not too concerned about whether there are South Africans in Calgary or not but thanks for mentioning it.

Almost Canadian

It is "officially" below freezing right now, so today, and yesterday, will be days when it is below freezing. I came to work today and yesterday in jeans and a t-shirt (I arrived in the office at 6:45 a.m. so well before the sun rose).

IMO, most people care little about how cold it is when the temperatures are around -9, it's only when it gets below -20 that most have concerns.

Regular posters realize that Steve_ hates winter. Those that ski regularly would not necessarily be put off with skiing at -20 (I prefer it as the hills are less crowded than they are when the temperature is +3).

I don't understand why anyone that doesn't embrace the cold lives in Canada. To me, it is the same as moving to Africa and complaining about the heat.

gryphea

Couldn't agree more. Why would you do it to yourself?

Oink

You could move to the nice part if you get yourself a decent job.

FSH

I guess there are other things to consider besides temperature.
I know quite a few people from south africa. One friend of us has parents who still live in the country on a farm...in south africa. She just bought them a house in a city there because she fears for their lives.
Crime has always been a bigger problem in warm climates...
how many choices does someone have these days if he has to find a job as well?

CalgaryPete

I have been working in IT in Calgary for 12 years. In my experience, Calgary has plenty of choice for IT jobs. I don't know how it compares to Vancouver etc, but I wouldn't have any worries about finding an IT job here.

'Cold' is such a personal judgement. After spending a month in Saskatoon one January, I am much less bothered by winters in Calgary. I'm not sure how cold it was in Saskatoon, because my thermometer stopped at -30C. I just remember my dog looking at me as if she was asking why we were outside when everybody else was indoors.

I find -10C here in Calgary can feel a lot less chilly than a wet and windy day in England at, say, +3C.

When it is nippy in Calgary (say, below -20C), it's usually just for a few days before it warms up. That makes a big difference compared to places like Saskatoon where it seems to get cold and stay cold. By 'warms up' I mean it's comfortable with hat, gloves and scarf on, and I don't mind if I am standing around outdoors waiting for my dog during her morning walk.

headingwest

As long as you have 3 winter sports to enjoy Cal-gree is a very nice place to live a raise a family. I much prefer it to SE England at this stage of our lives. Very good skooling for our munchkins

Wages are very high (as long as you do something oil/gas related) relative to living costs. Once you get older and knees or hips get a bit knackered I would suspect winters can be long and not so much fun. Hence the number or wrinklies on Van Island.

I do lots of sports and outdoorsie stuff with saffers, seem to be a happy lot as long as they are active. There can't be any doctors or dentists left in SA much us the same way every other pub in London seems to have a token Auzzie. Ok maybe an exageration but you get the point.
But then again my paradise may be your hell.

Budgie1

I lived in Vancouver for one year, and have now lived in/near Calgary for four years.

I had the pretty typical experience of finding it hard to find decent work in Vancouver while finding the cost of living there very oppressive. Calgary the complete opposite, great job, good cost of living etc.

I would be far less concerned about weather then I would be about going where you are most likely to find good work and living costs. "Weather" is something we very briefly experience while traveling between buildings all day regardless!

Personally between the two I love Calgary weather over Vancouver, the constant overcast weather the drizzle (excepting summer of course) got us down in Vancouver after moving from sunny Australia. Give me cold and sunny any day thanks very much!

Beaverquest

i'd take the 'we love skiing' bit with a pinch of salt
yes we love skiing too, but quite an effort to get there
very expensive, usually crowded - at weekends when majority of mere mortals go - did i mention the line up 10kms from sunshine on a good day
- we cross country ski/toboggan/walk the dog in fish creek in the snow/hot chocolate etc
but the reality is that for most 5 days out of 7 , in the depths of winter it is a bleak existence ; some never really step outdoors - car-heated parkade-etc

tbh if i'd known what the winters were actually like before i moved here, then i would have re-thought the move

a good comment someone i met re the -20s temps "it's only numbers" until you experience it

and yes, i do dress for winter

bluesteele

Can't thank you guys enough for sharing your opinions and experiences of Calgary. It's really been helpful :-)

Steve_

Regular posters should be aware that Steve_ hasn't developed the psychological condition that most people who live here seem to suffer from where they manage to con themselves into thinking it isn't as cold as it actually is.

I've lost count of the number of times I've encountered that phenomenon. It appears to be a coping mechanism a lot of people here develop.

Shall we share stories?

So one day I was driving down 22X, I think in March and the temperature dropped from 9C to -2C in about a minute and there was a loud BANG and a crack appeared across the windshield of my car. Caused by the rapid change in temperature, apparently it happens all the time according to the place I went to to have it replaced.

Or driving along and the drink in the centre console turns into a slushy.

Or going to collect the mail and it's so cold I can feel the inside of my lungs.

Steve_

You get different opinions on this because some people are really keen on winter sports and are willing to put up with how cold it is in order to do it, but if you're the typical casual skier I think not.

There'd be more visitors during the winter if it wasn't so cold.

Steve_

My sentiments also. I disagree with JohnBoyE as well about the cost of living, it's not just the difference in sales tax, for example gas usually costs about 20 cents more a litre in lower mainland BC I find.

Also having been into various supermarkets in the Vancouver area, prices were definitely higher. My biggest laugh was "Thrifty" Foods which was about the most expensive supermarket I've ever been in in Canada.

You do have the option of going to the US to go shopping if you want though, which we can't easily do.

Steve_

Oh yes and I had to "embrace" an equipment cabinet which had just been brought in from standing outside in -20 once and that led to my hand freezing to said cabinet.

This is another thing I hear, "embrace" winter. Yes, I remember thinking that to myself once when I was downtown and stepped out into the street, my foot went through a sheet of ice and my shoe filled up with freezing water. Embracing winter I was.

beautiful050278

Where abouts in Calgary are you Steve, just out of interest?