Originally Posted by paolosmythe (Post 8655077)

having green spaces only within city limits seems to be a biasing of 'survey criteria' to suggest some kind of desirable trait.

point is, Calgary is a city situated within an ocean of brown.

vancouver (for example) by comparison doesn't need to have green space within its city limits, because it is situated within 'national park' like topography.

and so Calgary is welcome to its little squares of grass; i live in Beautiful British Columbia :D

Originally Posted by RN1 (Post 8654786)

Trouble with London is that most parts are rough now as far as crime goes & the housing that even decent wage earners can afford is not of the same standard that they would get for the same price (or cheaper) in most of Canada.

Also the public schools, even in the better areas, are often not much to sing about & the disrespect from many of kids you meet on the streets is dreadful. We scrimped to send ours to private school in London because our local school was so bad (we were not in a rough area by any stretch.) Here I don't feel the need to, the public system is just fine.

I also disagree with the comment earlier about green space. Here in Calgary there is way, way more green space than in any UK city or town. Only those really out in the sticks would get as much as Calgary has to offer.

Also the harsher winter climate does not mean you can't take advantage of those spaces. I think pretty much all communities have ice-rinks outdoors in winter, there are an abundance of hills for kids to toboggan down plus Bowness (& other similar ponds) to skate on (complete with pit fires, piped music & a quaint tea shop.) Not to mention there's COP for the beginner to learn to ski or snowboard before taking to the mountains to hone their skills. Those mountains also offer snowshoe trips or Husky pulled sledge adventures.

Summer brings camping, rafting, hiking, horse riding, lazy day picnics in the many lovely parks or simple BBQ's on the deck.

There is no way I would go back to my London life for all the tea in China. We are not better off here financially, at least not yet anyway as my hubbie's business is still in it's infancy :-) so I'm the main money earner but as far as quality of life goes we're miles & miles better off here.

Originally Posted by el_richo (Post 8655132)

This is my drive home from work, in London, the other evening. Looks nice to me.

As for the areas of green space in the UK. The Derbyshire and Yorkshire dales? The Moors? All of the beautiful large parks in and around London? The Surrey countryside? Cotswolds? The Lake District? Peak District? South Downs? Probably 20% of Wales? I could go on. Beautiful and very accessible.

And your comment about housing costs? Are you seriously comparing London affordability and most of Canada? Oh dear.

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Originally Posted by RN1 (Post 8655184)

As far as I'm concerned you can keep your January 20% VAT hike ,the crappy pay for those who do my job in the UK, the rotten education many city kids have to deal with, the wet winters where you can't do half what I can & the damp & the traffic. Enjoy:rofl:

Originally Posted by RN1 (Post 8655184)

My commute has green all the way too, often on both sides, plus the travel time is way,way less because the traffic is way,way less. I live exactly the same distance away from the city centre here as I did in London. Difference is I can drive(or use the C-train) to said city centre in 20 -30 mins here, whereas it took up to 1.5 hrs in London. Also, you may be able to drive past the parks but what if you wanted to park & actually use them? Good luck on that one!

Yes I am comparing housing costs because that's what the thread is essentially about. If someone is considering Canada it's a plus in favour of Canada. I did say that out in the sticks of the UK it would be different but made it clear I was comparing cities.

As far as I'm concerned you can keep your January 20% VAT hike ,the crappy pay for those who do my job in the UK, the rotten education many city kids have to deal with, the wet winters where you can't do half what I can & the damp & the traffic. Enjoy:rofl:

Originally Posted by RN1 (Post 8655184)

Also, you may be able to drive past the parks but what if you wanted to park & actually use them? Good luck on that one!

Originally Posted by Almost Canadian (Post 8654254)

Err, no it isn`t. I don`t know anyone in Calgary that only receives 2 weeks of vacation a year. In addition, all the jobs I have had here have expected me to produce approx 1/3 of the output expected of me in England resulting in my not needing the 5 weeks vacation I required in England.

In addition, if you don`t like the vacation offered, work for yourself, then you dictate the vacation.

Originally Posted by RN1 (Post 8655184)

My commute has green all the way too, often on both sides, plus the travel time is way,way less because the traffic is way,way less. I live exactly the same distance away from the city centre here as I did in London. Difference is I can drive(or use the C-train) to said city centre in 20 -30 mins here, whereas it took up to 1.5 hrs in London. Also, you may be able to drive past the parks but what if you wanted to park & actually use them? Good luck on that one!

Originally Posted by RN1 (Post 8655184)

Yes I am comparing housing costs because that's what the thread is essentially about. If someone is considering Canada it's a plus in favour of Canada. I did say that out in the sticks of the UK it would be different but made it clear I was comparing cities.

Originally Posted by RN1 (Post 8655184)

As far as I'm concerned you can keep your January 20% VAT hike ,the crappy pay for those who do my job in the UK, the rotten education many city kids have to deal with, the wet winters where you can't do half what I can & the damp & the traffic. Enjoy:rofl:

Originally Posted by el_richo (Post 8655132)

This is my drive home from work, in London, the other evening. Looks nice to me.

As for the areas of green space in the UK. The Derbyshire and Yorkshire dales? The Moors? All of the beautiful large parks in and around London? The Surrey countryside? Cotswolds? The Lake District? Peak District? South Downs? Probably 20% of Wales? I could go on. Beautiful and very accessible.

And your comment about housing costs? Are you seriously comparing London affordability and most of Canada? Oh dear.

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Originally Posted by Strawberry (Post 8656413)

Beautiful, accessible yes, but not so accessible when the sun is shining and 3/4 of the population are trying to get to the same place... ..........;)

Originally Posted by el_richo (Post 8656638)

I've never had any problems. Plus all are accessible via public transport or the use of legs ;)


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Originally Posted by Strawberry (Post 8658796)

No it does appear you never do el-richo!!! ;)

Originally Posted by el_richo (Post 8658964)

Well you never know. One day, one of these parks that are within walking or driving distance of my place may be so over crowded that access may be impossible. :D

I'll keep my fingers crossed.


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Originally Posted by Little D (Post 8655717)

I live in Calgary and only get two weeks vacation a year! Plus I don't get any holiday entitlement until I have worked there for a year! :blink:

Originally Posted by Strawberry (Post 8656413)

Beautiful, accessible yes, but not so accessible when the sun is shining and 3/4 of the population are trying to get to the same place... ..........;)