Hi there to everyone!

Could anyone tell me what it is like to live in calgary, Alberta. My OH has got a job offer as an Electrician there so any information would be greatfully appreciated. We are looking around the South West area, Airdrie, Okotoks, Cochrane etc, also what are the schools like as i have a 13 year old and a 3 year old.

Where is the best place to live would rather be out of town than in town.

Thanks in advance janeymay

Well, welcome Janeymay!

I suggest you start off by reading some of the wiki articles, both on Canada generally http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada and also there's a wealth of info on Calgary specifically http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Calgary

Your 13 yr old would likely be in 8th grade here, which would mean junior high within Calgary or possibly middle school in some of the outlying areas.
Our lad was 14 when we landed so had just one year in junior high, but two years would have made life easier .....

The outlying communities of Calgary are definitely suburban in feel. The downtown core is relatively small, and the rest is a sprawl of communities, each with its own amenities. The other towns you mentioned are sort of "bedroom communities" and lots of our members prefer those, but if your OH is working in the city you will definitely need two cars and he needs to factor in commuting time.

Make a pot of tea (or whatever your tipple), and sit down for several hours to read through wiki, but come back to the main forum with any questions etc you might have!

We've been here for nearly 3 yrs in NW Calgary, and the move has been great for us!

Hi Janeymay,

We made the move ourselves 2 years ago and now live in Okotoks. The main reason we choose Okotoks is because of the schools in the area. You have two systems, the public and the seperate (catholic system). Here is a link form the Okotoks website which has the web links to the schools in Okotoks http://www.okotoks.ca/enjoy/schools.asp

The recreation centre has many facilities and our two boys aged 4 and 7 years are currently enjoying the summer camps held at the centre. The retail district of Okotoks is comprehensive, which gives you a wide choice of where to food shop etc and there is a real community feel to the town.

Access to Calgary is really easy as you have the Macleod Trail which runs straight to Calgary and the Deerfoot which runs to the East of the city. I don't know whether you have checked out the Okotoks website yet, but it is fairly comrehensive http://www.okotoks.ca/
You have also mentioned Airdrie and Cochrane which are also nice communities. Here are the links to their web sites http://www.cochrane.ca/ http://www.airdrie.ca/
Do as much research as you can on the communities and when you come over you can visit them and get a good feel for them to find the one that is right for you.
Please do not hesitate to contact me with your questions.
Take care

Hi Morwenna

Thanks for your quick response and will certainly get myself comfy sometime and give the wiki a read.

My son is 12 not 13 (my mistake) so i guess that will put him in 7th grade.

Hi Wallace

Thank you for your info very helpful thanks, will check out the websites.

Do you find Calgary expensive in relative to the UK?

so much the better .... junior high is grade 7-9