To get back to the original question. IMHO 'materialism' is more rife in Okotoks than Calgary. IN as much as the propensity to find homes with the 'toys' is greater. Extrapolating from that the smaller the town the greater the % of homnes with 'toys'.

NOW if we want to start talking 'interior decorating' (BIG screen TVs, home theatres, Wii, PS3 etc etc) no arguing that the bigger the city the more likely you will find these. (I would probably add that the greater the number of Brit or German immigrants (or children of such) the more likely you will find this kind of materialism)

HOWEVER, I dont feel that its a show off mentality and the reasoning behind the different toys is down to the environment. If you live in the country why not make use of it with your ATV, snowmobile etc etc. If you live in the City with -40 windchill you want to 'snuggle' on the sofa and watch the latest hack em slash em on the biggest screen you can find.

Having been filthy poor. I can tell you I love being wealthy and materialistic. In this country I would dread being poor. Shit not being able to turn on the heat in the dead of winter is one reason alone to jump back on the plane.

In a smaller town you may notice people more, where as in the bigger cities, your wealth is not so prevalent.

I think most people are materialistic if they work and have higher disposable income. Canadians tend (yes I'm generalizing yet again, But so is most of this topic) Anyways Canadians tend to have higher disposable income. so they spend more on there homes, to get them threw the long winters.....