TheCanary

I was on another forum and saw this question

Toronto vs Calgary vs Vancouver

and the answer from one of the members was quote:


Hi
I have lived in Vancouver, Halifax, Montreal and Toronto and part of my family are living in Calgary.

Vancouver

Pros:
Vancouver has easy access to nature (but skiing can cost a pretty penny). Seawall.
Entertainment that is decent: Hockey, Bard on the Beach, Kits, beaches, Commerical Drive.
It rarely snows.

Cons
Vancouver real estate is the highest in Canada. Cost for a one bedroom condo in downtown core (what will actually hold value.. location location location) is higher than $350,000 + Rent is over $1300/month
The summers are getting warmer and air conditioning is rare in ANY condos.. even new ones.
The city lacks any culture or entertainment. People who think it is decent haven't travelled. The art gallery is horrifyingly small, many of the interesting night clubs are closing.
Car Insurance is a surprise because it's provincially governed by ICBC so there is no competition... there for the cost is high.
Gas cost is higher than all other Canadian cities.
Food cost is higher than all other Canadian cities.
There is no banking financial base in Vancouver other than HSBC. All the other hubs are in Toronto or Montreal.
There are no highways. Traffic congestion is surprisingly bad for such a small city.
The homeless and homicide rate is higher in Vancouver than ANY of the other cities.
It rains... around October until May. Almost every day. So if you get depressed easily don't move here.
During the Olympics it will chaos.. but fun.

Toronto

Pros
In terms of job opportunities its one of the strongest.
Transit is pretty good compared to most cities but expensive.
Food is cheaper.
All purchases... can be cheaper.. as long as you look. Insurance, gas, food, items, clothes... competition makes it more affordable.
It's multicultural... truly..
Entertainment is probably one of the best... Basketball, hockey (they suck), Stratford, club districts, AGO, ROM, and the various neighbourhoods... and restaurants are cheaper!!!
Better access to schools, universities, libraries and healthcare than other cities... far better in fact.

Cons
It can overwhelm you, people are more competitive.. which may not be a bad thing depending what you like.
It snows... brrrr
Pollution but it's getting better.
Rent downtown is expensive.. about the same as Vancouver but the quality of the building may be a bit better.
Traffic can be hell.. use transit.
Lake Ontario stinks in the summer.

CALGARY

Pros
Opportunities!! but it may have died down since the boom is now over.
I think housing is dropping.. the hype has left.
Highways!! transit isn't bad either.
Cheaper food/merchandise cost.
It's SUNNY!!!! and has mountains.. real ones..
People are really nice here unlike Vancouver or toronto!

Cons
Now this city is REALLY COLD
No water...
Small city.. less excitement..
Conservative... no recycling!!


---------------------------------------

Wow, I have always wanted to move to vancouver and still do but reading this has really made me sit up and think!!!!!

gryphea

Calgary does now have kerbside recycling and what they take is pretty extensive. Coupled with the re-use of glass bottles rather than recycle I suspect it actually does better than most cities in UK now.

dboy

Take it with a pinch of salt. I love it here, he doesn't, who cares. I only really agree on the real estate front and traffic. Rains every day between oct and may - hardly. Small art gallery, i suppose so - if that's important, but they are planning on buildng a new one on the old expo grounds - infact the vision is to create a arts and cultural hub around the south east false creek (last undeveloped lands in vancouver). Moreover, everyone tends to forget about the museam of anthropology which is stunning and presently undergoing a 55.5 million dollar redo. there is also the new Bill Reid exhibit downtown. On the lower lonsdale site, North Vancouver there are plans to build a national, historic maritime centre, which will replace the one at Varnier Park. Vancouver's arts are very much a work in progress, but great things are happening.

Car insurance is expensive. Food etc, I don't know, but from your point of view I would be comparing to the uk.

Night clubs - don't know - don't care. the city has extended licencing bylaws twice in the past 10 months from midnight to 2 am for restaurants, that may help with the night life. There seems to be a realization in city hall that the city needs to change with the times and I see a lot of great things happening. There is a move underfoot through the city to change bylaws surrounding live music venues etc and city hall seems to be listening. Heather Deal is a city councillor who is heading up a study to change blylaws and zoning to encourage cultural growth and appears to be having an impact, but change is slow. I've seen some major changes in the last 2 years, more than the other 15 that i've been here. Give us another 5 years and we will be world class, just not there yet.

Vancouver is not without its problems and you need a very good, well above averge income to enjoy the place. It's easy to focus on the bad and not on the good, and there is a lot more good than bad.

Auld Yin

These are only opinions and you know that opinions are like ass****s, everybody has one.

lmartin999

Have you visited? Do you like it? Would you like to live there? If the answer is yes then that's what matters. I never really loved Vancouver - for me it always felt a bit small town, I missed a subway system, didn't like the traffic - but that is just my opinion. If you have spent time there and love it then who cares what anyone else says or thinks.

If however you are saying you have always wanted to move there and havent spent time in the city then this is something you must do IMO - as for any place you are thinking of moving to.

dboy

Vancouver is a bit small town, more like Manchester in its depth than say London (2.2 million vs 14 million).

Someone from say New York or London, will find Vancouver a let down on the urban side of things. What makes Vancouver truly livable is the access to breath taking scenery, mountains, beaches, parks, lakes etc, with enough amenities to make life interesting.

Lance Berelowitz, a urban planner, talks about how vancouverites look outwards towards the mountains and away from the city. Its pubic spaces are not urban squares, but beaches and parks.

But great things are happening here all the time. New projects are starting up as another finishes.

As far as the subway goes, it will never happen to the degree as London, its simply too expensive. There are plans to extend the skytrain out to ubc under broadway and out to coquitlam and further into Surrey. They are also planning on reviving some of the old rail networks throughout the city for a tram system:

JonboyE

Er ... ?

As dboy has already commented, Vancouver's fine arts scene is very limited. IF, that is, you think that it can only be art if it was produced by dead white European males. It is a surprisingly (or not) blinkered view from one so obviously well traveled.

And this is a bad thing?

Yes, it does.

B*ll*cks.

I have not lived in Calgary or Toronto so I can't help you with a comparison but you shouldn't take too much notice of drivel like this.

ExKiwilass

*lurk* this should be good.

ExKiwilass

No highways? what's that thing bisecting burnaby then?