Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dev]

Has anyone out there lived in tis city? I have visited it once for the Stampede. Smallish compared to Canada's other big cities, but growing rapidly I hear. The city had a good vibe I felt. What have been your experiences with it?

[tweeterdj]

EVIL

PURE EVIL

Unless you are marked with 3 sixes stay away from that little piece of hell!!!

















(I'm from Edmonton)

[VanIslander]

Calgary has a downtown bar scene for college kids and some trendy streets for yuppies and suburbanites to commute to on friday nights.

But don't kid yourself - it is a relative hole compared to Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver when it comes to restaurants, night clubs, music scene, entertainment, etc. Calgary is like a bigger version of Regina in this regard.

I did my undergrad in nearby Lethbridge and would head north for weekend fun, yet just as often drove the extra couple of hours to Edmonton. I also lived for two of my twentysomething years in Winnipeg and there is NO comparison. Also a year in Toronto, a couple of half years in Montreal and am from B.C, born in Burnaby and frequent visitor to Vancouver in my twenties.

So I have a pretty good basis for comparison.

BUT... if you are thirtysomething like I am these days, and looking at settling down some time, getting a home, backyard bbq, family, dog, roots in a community, THEN Calgary is a good bet, especially if you're a suburban type.

Winnipeg is more affordable and fun, Toronto more lively and diverse, Montreal more happening and beautiful, Vancouver more everything except affordable.

Calgary is best left to those with corporate jobs, cowboy hats and/or Mormon bibles.

IMTMHO.

[dcrayne]

My wife and I lived in Calgary for 3 years and we had a great time. I disagree with the previous poster's opinion. Winnipeg is a hole and Calgary is nothing like Regina. Calgary gives you the best of everything. It is very modern, clean, people are great, food is good, bars are good. I like the fact that Banff and Lake Louise are within 90 min of Calgary.

[jlb]

I grew up in Edmonton and went to Calgary for Uni. In comparison, Calgary is soooooo much better. Snowy and cold but it does get these nice chinooks (warm winds coming over the mountains) so it's not so bad. Edmonton is just bitter cold, all winter long usually.

As for recreation, Calgary wins it hands down. Kananaskis 45 minutes away, Banff is so close. However, if staying in the city is more your thing, Edmonton has it there. Beautiful river valley and plenty of festivals all summer long to keep you entertained.

As for vibe, there's a good bit of money floating around Calgary with the oil. Unemployment is at record low levels and Mickey D's has been forced to offer more than minimum wage! It is quite a conservative place, with plenty of rednecks who pretend to be cowboys come stampede time. Pretty lame. All of Alberta is politically ultra-conservative and loves Ralphy Klein. Ralph Klein has done a great job of balancing the budget and AB now has a crazy surplus going for it, making it quite a prosperous place to live. No PST...only province in Canada to boast this.

As for housing, it's crazy to even think of buying a house. So expensive and urban sprawl at it's best. New houses are way out in the boonies.

[Bulsajo]

In Ottawa I can afford a nice house in a nice area.
In Toronto I can afford a decent apartment or maybe a small house in Missisauga.
In Vancouver I could afford a tiny basement bachelor pad, or maybe a house in a hole like Surrey.
In Calgary I don't think I could afford the mortgage on a cardboard box.

[bucheon bum]

that bubble is going to pop sooner or later.

[Bulsajo]

[jlb]

I have a feeling Calgary is going to keep on booming for some time now. The USA is sucking up oil like there is no tomorrow and Alberta has lots of it.

[ravel]

I lived in Calgary for five years, until I left for Asia in October. It's a really nice city, clean, large enough to have amenities, yet small enough to still be friendly. The economy is good so there are lots of jobs. The recreation trail system and parks are awesome for cycling, rollerblading, walking... There is arts, nightlife, whatever you have interest in. As for people there are different areas and different people there. Kensington and 17 ave SE are artsy/ college type areas with neat shops, restraunts and coffee houses. Riley park is huge and really nice, drum circles on Sunday during the summer, and lots of other things going on. On the other hand there is (somewhere) the conservative corprate type crowds. I am more of the hippie subculture type so I never went looking, but they infest the downtown area normally.
So if you're an evil corp type, hippie or whatever there's somewhere and some crowd for you. The winters tend to be mild too. I will either return to Calgary, Nelson B.C. (hippie central) or maybe the Sunshine Coast on the west coast, when I come back to Canada.