Hi, my name is Fiona and my family and I (husband Colin & two girls aged 11 & 14) are new to this forum. Our lives over the past couple of years have been a bit of a roller coaster as we originally were looking to move out to Florida which didn't happen for lots of reasons - most of them monetary and at our loss and someone else's gain Then we went out to Edmonton at Easter as my husband had a job opportunity, unfortunately he realised Edmonton was not for him and I had to agree. Our visit also raised some concerns about moving in general - some of which I hoped will be allayed by the more experienced members of this forum We are now in the position of my husband having a further job opportunity, this time in Calgary. We are still in the very, very early stages (initial contact) but this time it somehow feels different. So I reckon its time to start research and this seemed as good a place to start as any! Any and all information and advice gratefully received. Thanks

Welcome!

Calgary felt different to Edmonton to us too! .. and here we are one year later!

Hi there and welcome to the forum

Have you visited Calgary ? It's not obvious from your post that you have. If so, what did you like/dislike about it and why did you find it so different from Edmonton

hi fiona, i know just how you feel. 2 years ago we were considering moving to canada, after researching for about 4 months we decided to forget the whole thing as we couldnt face years of waiting and form filling and to be honest didnt think we would get in anyway. we then turned our attention to france and decided to save until we had enough money to buy a place outright with no mortgage. we are still saving every penny possible and reckon weve got about another 3-4 years til weve got enough, then suddenly we start thinking of canada again and that its really where we want to be. its such an emotional rollercoaster. my hubbys favourite saying when i talk to him about it is,"im all canadad out at the moment" . my head is permanently saying "canada or france" "france or canada". but hopefully fate will help us sort this predicament,the way i look at it is if it aint meant to be then it wont happen. anyway if youve made your mind up on canada then go for it girl, you only live once so get the wheels in motion.good luck

Have you visited Calgary ? It's not obvious from your post that you have. If so, what did you like/dislike about it and why did you find it so different from Edmonton [/QUOTE]

Hi everybody and thanks for your replies

Yes we did visit Calgary when we where out there - and Jasper, Banff, Vancouver, Golden, Revelstoke and everywhere between Edmonton and Vancouver as we went on a bit of a road trip! We also went down to Seattle, across to Idaho then back up to Calgary and on to Edmonton. We really had a fantastic time

Calgary just felt different and I can't really explain why. Perhaps it has more of a city feel about it than Edmonton - although at the moment we live in green and leafy Kent so that doesn't make sense either Sorry I can't give you a better answer. However we did like WEM and the girls loved the waterpark!! Also we feel in love with the Rockies (we are both originally from "up North") and liked the fact that Calgary is closer.

Do you feel Edmonton & Calgary are very similar or can anyone else pin point differences?

Do you feel Edmonton & Calgary are very similar or can anyone else pin point differences?[/QUOTE]

hi and welcome

We adore Calgary and would have moved there in a shot but Edmonton offered the job opportunity so we took it after a visit to make sure we liked Ed and it did show us some real positives - beautiful city buildings, loads of greenery (partic in communities like St. Albert) a lovely river, loads of trails, obviously the WEM and some really fresh, chic but also boho places like Whyte Ave and so on but one thing I did notice was that it didn't seem like there was any centre to it like Calgary but the people were so lovely and friendly it helped us decide it was going to be good for us.

To me Calgary feels like a town but with all the convenience of a city and I know what you mean it does seem different, pehaps more cohesive??? - it's also lively and seems to be more of a party town and more relaxed, although Ed is THE festival city, but that could be because I have a soft spot for the Eau Claire area and McCools and the Stampede LOL... there seems to be more downtown living in Ed than Calgary... both places are chilled in different ways and both have major plus points. I know hubby and I like Edmonton and will be really happy there but I was introduced to Alberta and hockey via Calgary so it will always have a special place in my heart.

Go Flames

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I am sure you will love living in Calgary. Me and Hubby are from Sussex originally and were never really city people, but Clagary has a great feel and you don't feel like you are in a city at all. Plus with the mountains being so close it is really easy to escape

Good luck with everything and feel free to ask any questions you may have

Best wishes
Tanya

We liked both Edm and Cal, and again came to Edm as that was where the job offer was.
We only have one regret and that is the Mountains are further away here than Calgary, but apart from that Edm is a great place to live.
Both cities have pro's and con's and the most obvious difference to me is between the 2 downtowns. Calgarys being more 'hi-tech' and modern, Edm being more spread out, older........but both having lovely river settings.

Hi,

Welcome, I hope it is 3rd time lucky for you!

We too do not like Edmonton or the 'feel' of it. We much preferred Calgary. We are not City people, the biggest place i've lived is Bedford and that was just for a short time so that could be why I didn't like Edmonton. As alot of people here know we live in Red Deer - fabulous place and BOOMING, Pop 82,000 and a few so fairly big but youi don't get stuck in traffic and from the outskirts of town you can get into town in about 10-15 mins - just somewhere else for peeps to consider

Calgarys a great place - good choice!!