Originally Posted by MartinandClaire

So my husband and I arrived in Calgary mid Jan and we had a hotel booked for two weeks. We spent that time registering for healthcare, driving license, looking for place to rent etc...!

We have found a lovely apartment near Renfrew. Our landlady let us move in a few days early as we were leaving the hotel just before the beginning of the month.

My hubbie has started his job in driver training and is loving it! I'm volunteering until my college course starts in Sept.

We have had a great welcome to Canada from all the locals, everyone wants to help us settle in. We really do appreciate how great our life will become here.

I'm trying to think of some negatives....

Buying a second hand car is crazy money. We bought a 2002 Subaru Outback for approx £3k and that was after haggling!! I'm pretty sure you could get this car for less than half the price in the UK.
Maybe (if you have the cash) look to buy brand new, you can get some good deals.

Groceries are more expensive here (cheese!) but we have found cheaper shops...Canadian Superstore, Target and No Frills.

I'm finding it hard to find a family doctor, keep looking I guess!

That's it not even the -20 weather can put us off and to see the snowy mountains in the distance everyday is awesome! If you love the sunshine Alberta is for you, I think we have only had 2 days without the sun and that's because it was snowing!

Here's to many years of happiness in Canada

Originally Posted by 99problems

I wouldn't go that far, Airdrie AB is a bit grubby and nowhere special to go. One road links to Calgary and its a bit blue collar but otherwise ok. Probably not a bad bet if you don't mind commuting and a bit cheaper than Calgary.