rae

comparable to written requests from defence lawyers.

Aviator

Perhaps is a charitable thing, trying to help the less fortunate

bsmith

...that's my good deed for the day then.

Aviator

That I believe makes you a star for the day!

Almost Canadian

I know but, have you tried to employ secretaries that can spell these days

ann m

Employ me!! Ex-police and a secretary too. It's a winning combination. My spellin is orsum, man

Lord Vader

Actually this is a British thing. No one else cares.

sparkling_gal

That's one reason I probably won't do a reccie. Most places seem great when you're on holiday. So will you move to another part of Canada, or go somewhere else? Or does it depend where work takes you?

I wonder if life would be better if you could drive? From what I've read about Canada, folk spend a lot of time enjoying the great outdoors but it must be harder to do so, if you can't drive.

Steve_P

Life in most north American cities is difficult without your own means of transportation not only for accessing the great outdoors but also for everyday life.

bsmith

...Likely to stay in Canada - West coast looking good at the moment, but also like the look of what we've seen on the east coast this year.

I live and work downtown, so not driving aint a prob. As for the great outdoors - the Mrs has the obligatory SUV.

dinger24

I have been to Edmonton a couple of times before. Just visiting for a few days etc. Now I am over with my wife, (she has never been to Canada before so I thought it would be a good idea to let her see a bit of the place that we intend to move to)
I have visited numerous towns in Alberta again tend to be brief visits.
We arrived earlier in the week, Calgary for 2 nights Banf for a night and then Edmonton last night, will stay tonight and move on. What I have already decided is I will only go to Edmonton if I am offered a fairly decent job there. Just getting a taxi to the mall you notice that they are not as clean inside, they have a protective perspex shield between the driver and the passenger. So it gives you a impression that it may be more likely for crimes, as for driving well lets just say I am still getting back into the swing
I have in the past experienced the more tough approach to begging (asking a Scots man for money isnt a good idea! especially when I was out for a pint ) My opinion is that Edmonton is looking a little bit down the places to move to list.
Can I also say to the people who are there and are enjoying it, well done and I hope it is all you want. Iam sure I am going to get a bit of stick for this post but it is only my view! Also I appreciate the OP for being honest and sharing it on here for us "wannabes" to read.

from_london

Having read all the comments and thinking deeper about the subject, I have come to a conclusion:
- perhaps, I am personally trying to find more excuses to go back to the UK (I would be contributing with my share to improve the recession over there, rather than helping the economy here);
- or perhaps, I was so appalled with the racism here that a mistake from someone from work (that I do not particularly admire), induced me to even be pickier on the smallest thing - of course, to be used as a big reason to go back to the UK.
Well, I must confess I do miss the UK, the TV, the humour, the culture, the different accents, the English from the UK!
Maybe, it is just a phase that we all go through to adapt to the new country I am living in now...

bsmith

...that appears to be the general consensus.

bgeorg

I've been to Edmonton once, for a job interview in fact. It was early February and quite cold.
The first thing I though on my way from the airport to the hotel; it reminded me pretty much of Houston (Texas), just with snow and ice. Same sort of dull Northamerican large city with seemingly endless numbers of tyre-stores, burger-shops and malls. But this was more or less what I expected, so no surprise there.

I stayed in the University area, which is indeed, and despite these low temperatures, a very vibrant area with lots of nice bars and restaurants. I thought people were friendly and food was good. I sort of enjoyed my stay there. Downtown wasn't interesting, again a bit like Houston, just with snow and ice. To be honest, this is again what I expected.

There are only a very few North American large cities, which are actually nice, and clearly, Edmonton is not one of them. But hey, it is hard to compete with cities like San Francisco, Vancouver, Seattle, Chicago, New York City, Toronto.

My pro and cons for Edmonton would be:

Pros
proximity to the Rockies
good University and schools
good steaks
good salaries

Cons
too isolated
housing is too expensive (don't mind to pay extra in Vancouver, but hey this is Edmonton!!!)
immediate countryside is too dull


I guess you must be born there to really like it there. Wouldn't be my first choice.

pusky123

After 30 seconds or so of careful analysis and absolutely no evidence I have concluded that Edmonton is indeed a very bad place to live.