lauralil

Hi all,

My fiance and I are really desperate to get out of this country and head to somewhere snowy with our 2 children. (family of snowboarders and skiers!)

We've always wanted to go to Vancouver, but looking into it more I've realised that its not going to be a viable option.

Looking at the salaries over there we're looking at a combined annual of $100,000 (worst case scenario initial salary for graphic designer and electrician) and with 2 children we'll be looking at renting forever and that isn't a path I want to go down. I am sure that salaries would be a lot better once we're established over there but I don't want to plan for a best case scenario.

Calgary seems a lot more affordable but it doesn't seem to have the same instant appeal as Vancouver.

Is this a good analysis or could I possibly be subconsciously writing Calgary off because I want Vancouver? Is calgary a great place to live?

I'm also wondering if there are any other places that I'm unaware of.

Primarily I'll tell you what appeals to me about Vancouver and Calgary:

Proximity to night time riding and terrain parks for mid-week snowboarding
Not too far to travel to bigger mountains.
Vancouver for its scenery
Calgary for its better property prices

Honest opinions would be great! I want to hear the good, bad and the ugly!!

Thanks all

Laura

R I C H

I employ a team of graphic designers, and I've 2 close friends that are electricians (employees rather than self-employed). Your $100k combined salary estimate isn't necessarily 'worst case' - it's probably quite realistic.

The graphic designers earn $22 p/hr (+ a healthy range of taxable/non taxable benefits), the electricians earn $25 p/hr, with very few benefits.

dboy

Have you visited? If you are renting, Vancouver is probably not much more than Calgary, although other day to day costs are higher, but not massively. If you have your heart set on vancouver, give it a try, rent for a while. The winter here can be a bit dull, although from my experience those that ski regularly don't seem to care.There are cheaper options to buy further out, but life in the burbs can be a bit sterile and is further from skiing. I'd say 600,000 dollars is realastic for a decent home in the burbs. With the state of the pound, Brits are finding Vancouver a bit of a shock price wise, and I doubt you'd be better off here, having said that 100,000 is pretty good, but will definitely go further in Calgary.

There are already a number of threads, some recent, that debate the pros and cons of Vancouver, ranging from expensive cheese to overpriced real estate. Work would likely be a motivator as well, although I imagine, similar prospects in either place (?).

You need to visit - in winter!

lauralil

Thanks for that info, useful to know

lauralil

We're planning on visiting next year. I've been looking at the suburbs, and would be very keen to look into them further when we come over. We rent over here as we missed the property bubble a few years back, and didn't want to buy with the state of the economy. In hindsight it was a good choice I think!

Overpriced cheese? really?? haha!

dboy

and wine, don't come if you are addicted to wine and cheese

Most of the burbs are on google maps now, so you can have a good looksy. Check out Port Moody for a nicer burb close to Vancouver.

Any questions, feel free to PM me.

Good luck

Lychee

Major difference between the two is how the climate affects the cities. Calgary is typically brown for most of the year, Vancouver is green because of its wet mild, maritime climate. Calgary is very cold and dry in the winter and warm in the summer (interspersed with thunderstorms). Winters are wet in Vancouver while summers and autumn are warm and dry. If you enjoy gardening, Vancouver has the longer growing season. Spring typically starts in March and lingers until June. The same cannot be said for Calgary or really anywhere else in Canada, where spring is non-existent. I know this is trivial info, but a lot of people take for granted British seasonal patterns, which really only exist in coastal BC. Elsewhere in Canada, March and April are an awkward in-between stage where it's not quite the end of winter nor is it quite spring.

dboy

very true. While Vancouver doesn't have the best climate on the planet, it's very livable outside of winter. Something like 60 percent or more of its infamous rain falls in the late fall/winter months. Generally, the rest of the year rain is either an inconvenience or barely existent. Late spring, summer and early fall are dry. April can be truly amazing as the cherry blossoms come to life.

Lychee

Can't forget about plugging your car in to warm it up in Calgary winters - a foreign concept in Vancouver.

dboy

or shoveling snow, well once in a while to see how the other half lives!

ExKiwilass

Ugh, I kinda hate threads like this, no offence. You're comparing two very different cities. It's not like buying in Calgary is going to give you the Van lifestyle only cheaper - you'll be living in the Calgary lifestyle, which is very different.

The thing with Calgary is yes, the property prices may be cheaper (though I'm surprised to hear they're that much cheaper...always thought it was pretty expensive) I suspect if you really want Van you will end up pissed off with Calgary, and vice versa. I'm curious about why you think you can't afford housing in Van on 100,000 per year. What about condos? Many locals with families live in these.

I know a bunch of people moving to Calgary from Van for work, and it's been interesting hearing their perspectives on it. Yes, it's colder, the weather is undoubtedly more extreme, but you get used to it. The blizzards are taking some getting used to, as we don't get anything like that here. Some of the downtown Van dwellers are having trouble locating the same kind of nightlife/energy in Calgary's downtown that we have in Van. Allegedly it's more urban sprawly /spread out than Vancouver and is harder to get around without a car.

Most of the senior peeps are keeping homes/families in Vancouver and intend to come back/are commuting. It's more a grin-and-bear it attitude. I bet I get flamed for saying that. Oh well. I think people who like the west coast lifestyle don't deal well with the prairies, and vice versa. Sure, they both have acess to skiing, but you're not going to be skiing every single day are you? You need to think about what kind of lifestyle it is that you want. Prairies, or coastal? Big difference baby. BIG difference.

rwin

Having lived in both, I have to say I prefer Calgary.

Unfortunately its not for any reasons I can really put my finger on. It just feels like home. It did actually from the moment we got here. Vancouver never did. It always felt temporary even though we tried to make a go of it.

For me it felt too big. Sure Calgary is spread out but really does have a smaller town feel about it. More to my liking.

Its not as close to the mountains as Vancouver but for me thats not a major issue. For the amount of skiing or other great outdoor activities I do, its plenty close enough.

Basically its got to be your own reasons that make you stay or not. We can all tell you what we like about each place to help you decide but in the end...

It sounds like Vancouver is the place for you. There are always housing options - townhouse, condo in Vancouver if a detached house is too much. If its everything else that Vancouver has to offer that you are looking for then I'd go there. We tried it for 2 1/2 years and moved on. Its not the end of the world if you end up not liking it. Calgary isn't that much farther away considering how far you're going to get get here.

Don't laugh but have you thought of Saskatoon? We almost ended up there and I often wonder if we made a mistake not going.

Butch Cassidy

1) Calgary is dry all year round
2) Calgary gets very cold in the winter yes, BUT thanks to chinooks we get some glorious 'warm' days too
3) Interspersed with thunderstorms? Hardly, yes there are thunderstorms but interspersed is exagerating somewhat
4) Calgary is SUNNIER than Van ALL year.

Neither of which is exclusive to Calgary,


BUT what blizzards?

minimeeze

Have you considered looking at the Fraser Valley? Housing is cheaper than Vancouver, and you're only an hours drive from Vancouver with Mt Baker, Seymour, Grouse and Hemlock all on your doorstep.

We live in Abbotsford, and although we'd love to live in Vancouver itself, can't afford the real estate prices there.

lauralil

None taken but for US and our criteria there are 2 massive similarities....Whistler and Banff within similar distances and both cities have good riding within the city. You see my other half and I both freestyle snowboard (on a weekly basis in the UK) and the children are getting up to that level.....so if we can snowboard every day we absolutely will! Thats one of the main reasons we're emigrating and although Vancouver is exactly where I would like to live for the amazing scenery and summer activities that we could do, the lure of more affordable housing in Calgary is so tempting.

So Grouse Mountain covers the freestyle snowboard aspect in Van, they have a great park with night riding and then there's Olympic park in Calgary. They would both give us the opportunity to practise our sport midweek and then head off to the bigger mountains at weekends.

It really DOES boil down to good access to snowboarding in winter. Just trying to weigh up the pros and cons of both cities aside from that criteria.

We would be looking at spending $400,000 on a home....and I don't want a condo as we have children and would like a garden for them to play in. That wouldn't even get us a tiny house in Greater Vancouver, but in Calgary it buys a really lovely family home (and much larger than what he have now!)

I'm sure that for you the cities are very different....but for our reasons they tick both boxes hence my original post.

We spoke about it at length last night and we think that the bitter cold in Calgary winter might be a little too much for the children. With Vancouver it might be cold on the mountain but similar to the UK back down at near sea level. We might not be able to afford the kind of house we want, but we can spend our summers renovating!