Reathor

For those of you who have moved around a bit in Canada over the years I`m interested in finding out what your take is on peoples attitudes and outlooks with regards to the work vs lifestlye theory based of your own experiences.

Are attitudes of the average Calgarian really any different from those of a Vancouverite ?

Is there a less materialistic and more friendly approach to life in smaller cities like Victoria, Okotoks and places like Lethbridge and Kelowna ?

Now I`ve been to most of the places but its difficult to get a handle on things without living there for some time.

I love doing stuff outdoors so would BC really win over AB on that basis ? I`d rather stand in the cold air with sun at the weekends than the rain...

If we move somewhere purely based on personalities though so far after reading BE threads I`m going to Steve_P and Mandy Moo Chops land! We'll get Phaneuf, Iggy and Kipper ready for next year I promise!



thanks all for any feedback

Mr_R

JonboyE

I can't speak for Calgary. Vancouver is a modern, multi-cutural, liberal and progressive city. Rural BC starts only a few miles away, and is much more mono-cultural, conservative and christian. I suspect that Calgary is more like Vancouver, and the rest of AB like rural BC.

It is only a narrow coastal strip of BC that is wet in the winter. Even on this strip there are many varied micro-climates. For sure, when it rains it really can rain, but it is nowhere near as bad as some people (many of whom have never lived here) like to pretend.

ann m

I live in a smallish town (14,000 pop) just to the northwest of Calgary.

We're about as multi-cultural in this town as the county of Surrey that I left, ie, predominantly white with a light sprinkling of many other ethnicities. I would say that Calgary, 25 mins down the road, is much more multi-cultural - although other forum members will insist it is 99% stetson-wearing white man city. Not true. But go much more than 30 mins out of the city in any direction and you cannot call more rural Alberta anything other than white (with multi-nation European heritage) or First Nation. That's the impression I get anyway.

One can be as materialistic, or not, as one wants in this country. There are 1m dollar homes with all the trappings and toys, and much more modest small family homes with a considerably low income. And most seem to fall somewhere in the middle to be honest. Modest 3-bed family home with parent(s) working hard to pay the mortgage.

Work versus lifestyle? That seems similar to me as the UK as well. Just a different emphasis on what you do 'cos of geography. You get all sorts! I see families in expensive homes where dad has a well paid job and mum does not work because she does not have to or want to. I see families with both parents working full time - sometimes with second jobs - to pay the bills; I see people with their head down pursuing a career, and I meet many (admittedly mostly women) pottering around doing courses or part-time jobs from a hobby point of view. I don't see that as much different from what I left in the UK.

I would say that I do find that people "do" more with their time off though - perhaps that is the main difference. People are much more inclined to just pack up the car or trailer and go off to camp, hike, ski, ride, visit Auntie Flo on a whim who lives a 10-hour drive away. They load up the ski-doos or ATV's on their truck and bugger off for the day or weekend. The parents take on huge responsibilities to get little Johnny to hockey or soccer matches all over the province, to take little Katie to skating or dance or ringette. A three-hour trip to Edmonton is nothing for a soccer match.

As soon as the weather warms up, you can't move along the city pathways due to walkers, runners and cyclists. People almost 'hatch' from the winter weather and gather in swarms. There are big family meet-ups in parks with BBQ's; families head off to their cabin for a four-day long weekend; they fish and hunt and participate in tons of sporting clubs. They give hours of volunteer time to local businesses, clubs and charities. I feel quite lazy in comparison.

So - I haven't really answered your question! My impression is that people work hard (or long hours anyway ) but they play hard too. BUT, and it's a big but, you need some disposable income to play and participate in all this 'stuff'. Most clubs, sports and hobbies don't come cheap - but there are far more facilities available in this area. Childhood is embraced and opportunities are thrown at kids to try tons of new stuff. Networking seems built on the back of who you play hockey with, or go fishing with, who you have BBQ'd with at the weekends.

I wouldn't come to Canada to be poor or struggling long-term with finances. A skint settling in period is fine, but it's not a healthy place to be with no money (mind you, where is?). And if you cannot embrace winter sports or find alternative seasonal activities, this may not be the place for you! Winter for this area was long and hard this year and if that cannot be broken up with some outdoor pursuits or just the ability to bugger off somewhere warm, I don't know how people cope without getting serious cabin fever. So a few spare dollars comes in handy.

'Tis all up to you how much or how little you want to spend on houses and stuff, versus getting down and dirty with what nature has to offer. But it's all certainly there for the taking. We own a similar sized home to the one we sold in the UK, we are asset rich and cash poor at this time. But we definitely have more time together as a family, we just do more stuff together and my kids have more personal freedom than in densely populated and traffic-ridden Surrey (which is still a comparatively rural and leafy part of the UK).

Someone on this forum said that emigrating was great way to re-invent yourself. I like that statement. You can do, have or be whatever you want

mandymoochops

Heard ma name mentioned there!

I now live in a place Called Donalda (1.5 hrs north of Drum) and work out of Stettler.

Materialism doesn't even know how to spell itself here, and if people do spend stacks of money on trucks and boats and the like - those purchases are met with appreciation, not jealousy.

I love it here - and your own defensiveness (which you tend to build up in the UK) just crumbles and you find out more about you as a person.

Its a fabulous life out here (although sometimes I miss high heeled shoes)

rwin

You moved? How am I going to get weather reports next time I go to Drumheller?

mandymoochops

mmmm moved in January!!!!! Generic weather for Drum, f****g hot or f*****g cold

gibsonslanding

there's no rain here, it's a falsehood!!!!! but if you really don't like the rain, then this isn't the place for you; stay away.......

dboy

It is only a narrow coastal strip of BC that is wet in the winter. Even on this strip there are many varied micro-climates. For sure, when it rains it really can rain, but it is nowhere near as bad as some people (many of whom have never lived here) like to pretend.[/QUOTE]

Well said. It seems to be a full time job defending Vancouver's weather. Rain is largely seasonal, with as much as 60 percent falling between Nov and March.

The climate in Vancouver is much the same as southern england.

Reathor

Thanks all for the replies.

So it rains a lot in Vancouver then! Thought so!

el_richo

Materialism is in the eye of the beholder so it's an impossible question to answer in my opinion.

Reathor

No your quite right it is a tricky one to answer and to open to variables for a definitive answer but I was really more interested in peoples experiences based on the communties in which they live. from big city to small.

Perhaps I should have asked do your neighbours have Big house, Big Car Syndrome where you live ? and if so does it make any difference to peoples attitudes at all or do they still invite their neighbours round for a BBQ or 2.

Community spirit perhaps should have been the title.

fledermaus

Plenty of community spirit, but in public places. Several people on here have commented before that they rarely get invited into peoples homes. That's been our experience too. For example we moved house recently after being there for 2 years. Several neighbours came to help but we had only been into one of their houses previously. Friendly, chatty, sit on the porch and chat people, but rarely inside the house.

Souvenir

Rarely, if ever. We've been here almost five years and get on very well with our neighbours. I've been into two of their houses, both times briefly and on non-socal grounds.

JonboyE

Perfectly put. We have lived in our current home for three years. We have been invited into other houses in the street, for social occasions, only three times. Yet, in the summer it is hard to walk the dog down the street because everyone is out and about and wants to stop and chat.

We do have friends where it is OK to arrive unannounced and park yourself next to the beer fridge for an evening but, like us, they are first generation immigrants.

JonboyE

The point I was trying to make was that BC is a big province. If you don't like rain that is fair enough, but don't discount the whole province because the bit by the coast is wet. The bottom end of the Okanagan valley is a desert. It doesn't rain much there.