raindropsandroses

To be fair in Canada I think its a whole lot easier to keep kids away from the unsavoury stuff in the cities rather than the small towns as there is less boredom.
In the cities there are loads of clubs, hobbies, facilities, things to do for teenagers, so an outing with friends can include something other than mudding, underage drinking and sex in the woods.

raindropsandroses

Very true. With regards to your concerns about temperature, you adapt. I've lived everywhere from the equator to the arctic and it doesn't take long for your body to sync up

St.Albans

Thanks for that.
Exactly what we are looking for. I know that NW is well on demand but aiming to get a job downtown so need something inside the ring road.



Same here, ICBC didn't recognise not even 1 year of no claim. Absolutely ridiculous. paying 295$ a month for a new CRV, not a Lamborghini. absolutely appalling.
Still standing but very tempted to move to a colder but possibly fairer Alberta

St.Albans

Are we talking about the same city? Vancouver BC or Vancouver Washington?
Never lived downtown. Douglas park on my first stint and now oak and 46th. What I am saying is that over the last 10 15 years the city has been changing a lot.
Dirty money, weak paycheque and cost of living almost comparable to London I would say. You get the scenario, but you almost need to pay to look at it.
If you moved here 50 yrs ago, you can understand what I am talking about. There is not a place in Metro Vancouver completely worth it at the moment, unless you have roots or a big community around you. When I mentioned Montecarlo, is because I believe that in 20 yrs time this place will be millionaire only. that's all.



That's true. I never said I would move to Calgary cause it's a safer city or there are more value, it's just about how my daughter will grow up looking at *no value family* around where kids are not even talking to parents and walking with 3000$ clothing on them.

I have PR and I can work basically in any city due to my qualifications. So the real deal is not to go where the money is, but where to get the best from your money.

peeshpie

cheeky_monkey

IMO drugs and teenagers is a huge problem here compared to the UK..back home its drinking here it is drugs

mogscat

mogscat

Thanks very much Laois. I will make a note of those areas. Good to hear firsthand from someone who uses transit a lot. We still haven't decided on which city, we are really struggling! But all this information is very helpful.

zdenka

I would not buy a house right away. The market is super slow and will be for some time, that way you can rent for a bit and see which area of town is the best fit for you, especially if you don't know what part of town you will work in AND using transit (some area are better serviced than others). Many rentals available too which makes them cheaper and landlords are more accommodating (not signing a lease etc.)

I lived in Montreal and Ottawa before Calgary and the winters here are way easier to handle. You don't get meters and meters of snow, no freezing rain, no humidity. You also get a lot of sunshine and Chinooks that warm up the city here and there mid season.

MegSnow

pumbers

Been living in Calgary for 15 years now, and my wife & I used to own a rental property that we rented specifically to people coming from the UK, so here's a few perspectives:

Yes, the Alberta economy has taken a bad turn the last 4-5 years. The province was and still largely is based in the oil & gas industry and with the downturn in global oil price it hit that industry pretty hard, but others survived. I'm a contract (self-employed) software developer and have worked consistently for 15 years but never in O&G. There are plenty of other industries here you could look into - not sure about PR though. The biggest advice we gave to anybody years ago was: DO YOUR RESEARCH! Don't just turn up in Calgary (or anywhere in Canada for that matter) without finding out first hand exactly what the place is like, what jobs, housing & schools are available and if you will like the climate. Come here on vacation, at least once and preferably 2-3 times in different seasons. Talk to recruiters over here, find and talk to companies in your industry - most would be OK with you grabbing a coffee with an HR rep as part of a fact find. In particular, check on what professional qualifications you may need - for example, lawyers & medical staff need to re-certify here, cops will need to pass a battery of tests and even vehicle mechanics need certification. CHECK FIRST!

Public transport in Calgary is pretty good and getting better slowly - more areas of the city are getting the C-Train in future and those that don't have buses. You won't have a problem finding somewhere to live with transport to the downtown core but reaching some of the outlying areas can be tricky. Travel by car is fine but we do get the occasional traffic jams on the major arteries that can screw up your day. Plan on getting a 4WD if you want to go anywhere safely in winter.

Housing fluctuates a bit, but again: do your research. Houses in the city, particularly close to the downtown area, cost more - some a LOT more. There are several outlying communities such as Chestermere, Okotoks, Airdrie and Langdon (where I live) where you can either get cheaper housing or a bigger house for the same price. The disadvantage, of course, is you will need a car (little or no public transport to/from Calgary) and travel in the winter can be a bit hit & miss after a heavy storm. Commuting times are pretty good - when I worked downtown it was about 45 mins door-to-door from Langdon. When I worked at WestJet (at the airport) it was about 30 mins. For comparison though, when we lived in Somerset (on the south end of the city suburbs) it would take 45-50 mins to commute in, mostly because of traffic.

Ah yes, the COLD. Everyone worries about that. Firstly, it's a dry cold so in the Winter -10c and +10c aren't that different. Sure, if it hits -20c, -30c or lower you'll feel it but as Billy Connolly once said "there's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothes". Get a good winter outfit - don't skimp - and you'll be fine. Houses are VERY well insulated and it's not uncommon to have a 50 degree difference in temperature between the inside and outside. In Calgary we also get the benefit of Chinooks in winter - warm winds that blow in from the Pacific and raise the temperature by as much as 20c for a few days - one day -10c, the next +10c. This means that the winters tend not to be as mind-numbingly cold and soul-destroying as Saskatchewan.

Overall, we love Calgary. Great places to visit, the mountains nearby and only a short flight to the west coast (Vancouver & Vancouver Island). But, and I've said it before but I'll say it again: DO YOUR RESEARCH. Come out here and see for yourself.

caretaker

That's what we love, recognition!

pumbers

I was quoting from a friend who lives there.

Bucks_Family

I'd agree with most of what pumbers said, having lived in Airdrie for five years, but just for the sake of balance and relating other experiences - we couldn't afford the suggested multiple trips in different seasons, we barely afforded the one trip over to activate our PR, that was in Winter, 8 months before we moved over for good.
We had no concerns about the climate, one of the biggest reasons for us to move was the easy accessibility to the skiing. I was the one who would have to adapt the most, being from NW England. My wife is from Russia and the cold winters wouldn't phase her, and our kids were. at the time, too young (5 years & 18 months) to know any better, they would just get on with it. Yep, definitely buy the right clothes and get a 4WD vehicle if you need to drive in winter. We arranged a realtor in advance, met him within 2 days of arriving, and had bought and moved into our first house within a month. We chose a French Immersion school for our daughter, which meant she pretty much automatically got a place, which wasn't in our catchment but she took the school bus.
The whole "you must visit here first" is a good idea IF you have done the "remote research" and you know that this is what you have your heart set on, then it can work without visiting. It has done for us, though I appreciate our approach scares the life out of the more cautious forum members :-)

R I C H