Vancouver or Calgary ?
 

Hi there,
As you are all aware we are dead set on going to Calgary I have a job offer and everything.
But I have had a seed placed in my head, if I was to get a job in Vancouver (a possibility) I would then have a straight choice.

What would all you people out there do I would love all the pro's & Cons of both places,
I know the basic one about the house prices etc. but would love to know the main difference in living standards, cosys, qualities etc.

Dont wait for your ship to come in ! Swim out and meet the bloody thing :)

Re: Vancouver or Calgary ?
 

You'll fall in love with Vancouver but in Calgary will be able to afford to live.

Alberta has another very big advantage over BC, and that is Alberta has lower taxes. Alberta has no provincial sales tax, and has lower income taxes. Calgary has reasonable property taxes as well. If you were to purchase a car, for say $50,000, you would only pay the federal 7% GST (goods and services tax) in Alberta, but in B.C. you would also have to pay the 7.5% pst (provincial sales tax). That's an additional $3,750 in tax! This example is applicable to most items that you buy.

In Calgary, there is no requirement to have your vehicles "smogged" (i.e. emissions checked and certified at a garage), whereas in Vancouver you do.

This is a PRO ?

Re: Vancouver or Calgary ?
 

I have lived in both, Vancouver is a much nicer place. It is easy living in Calgary but it is very flat and boring,and a long drive to get to anywhere. Van has many places to go and see( plus mountains and ocean to boot). Check both and decide.

Re: Vancouver or Calgary ?
 

There are also many things that are bad about Vancouver, where should we start?

Yes, it's a PRO. Calgary doesn't have the air pollution problem (except when they have an inversion) that Vancouver has. This saves you time and money.

Based on a reference that I just found, maybe you shouldn't go to Vancouver due to the crime rate:

Annual crime rates per 100,000 people
Crime Category Calgary, Canada Vancouver, Canada
Robberies 96 412
Rapes 52 83
Homicides 2 5
Aggravated Assaults 532 815
Motor Vehicle Thefts 661 1244
Crime Lab Index 116 240


http://www.homefair.com/homefair/ser...toCity=BCF0001

Says the data is from 2001, its 2004 now, try and get some current figures.

Wow, after checking out Victoria, looks like one of the most dangerous places in Canada. What a load of crap.

Those are the most current figures available comparing US and Canadian cities. Just because a report is not what someone wants to see, doesn't mean that it is false. I don't believe the source of those figures had any agenda against Victoria, Vancouver or BC. I do know that Vancouver has far more than an average (for Canada) number of break-ins.

If you have a reference that is more up-to-date, please post it.

Crime rates by census metropolitan area (2002):
 

Yes, Victoria does have a very high crime rate (for Canada), but it’s not as bad as Vancouver. Look at the last chart:

http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/030724/d030724a.htm

Vancouver 2nd worst city in North America for property crime!

http://www.boardoftrade.com/vbot_page.asp?pageid=1065

It's shocking how bad Saskatchewan is for crime. :eek:
I'm also surprised by how good Ontario (especially Toronto) and Quebec came out.

More questions on Vancouver vs Calgary
 

Isn't car insurance more expensive in Calgary ? It seems to be a major expense for newcomer given that most European driving licenses are not valid in Canada.
What about heating costs, winter clothing costs, + cost of "isolation" i.e. no major city nearby like Seattle or more expensive flights to Europe / US out of Calgary ?
I also noticed (without actually being in Canada yet !) that it seems harder to find high quality food (or specialty food) in Calgary.
BTW, it seems that personal income taxes are lower in BC for incomes below CAD 64,500 ( 6.05 to 9.15% in BC rather than 10% in AB )

Re: More questions on Vancouver vs Calgary
 

Regarding car insurance, it depends on the insurer (in Alberta). I found (in my case) that the cost was about the same comparing High River (just south of Calgary) with BC.

For Calgary, the costs associated with having a cold winter would be higher than Vancouver. The costs of having rainy, damp weather is much higher for Vancouver than Calgary. People in Vancouver have been having a problem with their condos leaking, causing problems with mildew. Read more about it:

http://realtytimes.com/rtnews/rtcpag...leakycondo.htm

The overall cost of living is much lower in Calgary than in Vancouver.

The months and months of rainy, overcast weather in Vancouver makes some people depressed.

I never feel "isolated" in Calgary. Greater Calgary now has a population in excess of 1 million. Perhaps Seattle is "isolated" because it is too far away from Calgary and all that it has to offer. Calgary has the third busiest airport in Canada. :p

http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.c...ThereByAir.asp

I have no reason to think that flying out of Calgary is more expensive than flying out of Vancouver to go to Europe - but the reverse may be true since Calgary is closer.

Some of my favorite restaurants are in Calgary. Vancouver is more cosmopolitan, so it would likely have a bigger variety of ethnic food. Are you big into curry?;)

If you did some research for yourself, you would see that Statistics Canada is still analyzing results from the 2001 Census. If you have more up-to-date reports, then feel free to post them.

Re: More questions on Vancouver vs Calgary
 

Car insurance is much more expensive for higher-risk groups in Calgary because it is very nearly completely deregulated. New immigrants are one of those supposed high-risk groups, and are price-gouged, but that is common accross Canada. Car insurance for new immigrants is significantly cheaper in British Columbia because insurance in British Columbia is government run.

For low-risks, Alberta is often cheaper for car insurance, since low risks somewhat subsidise high risks in BC. As an immigrant however, it will be many many years before you become a low risk. You are basically starting out all over again as though you were 17 with your first car.

Flights are significantly more expensive from Calgary than other centres, including Vancouver. Generally it is cheaper to get a flight from Vancouver to the UK than Calgary to the UK.

My family is spread over the UK and the US. If my wife wanted to go and visit her mum next week in North Carolina, she would be hard pushed to get much change out of $3,000 from Calgary. So we plan ahead. Months and months ahead. By planning ahead we can often get to the UK or North Carolina for about $1,000 each. My mother continually complains about how expensive it is to visit me from England; as she points out, she could go to LA for a third of the price, or San Fransisco for half the price.

It can be a challenge to get high quality food in Calgary. I have an ongoing battle to find a source of decent English stilton. The stuff sold in the grocery stores is absolute garbage. But that's my particular issue... The staples are all there, but fresh produce is second rate, on the whole, and third rate if out of season. It is also expensive. I don't know how Vancouver compares on this; I am comparing with what I was used to in the UK. There is an exception though: the wild pacific salmon is to die for and extremely cheap.

Income taxes are lower in BC for very low income people. But it doesn't take much income to see some tax advantage in Alberta. On the whole it is fair to say that Alberta has a tax advantage over BC, and that tax advantage becomes greater the more you make.