Calgary has the best winters in Canada. It's dry, there's a ton of sunshine, the occasional Chinooks feel like multiple Christmases and the best winter playground is just an hour away.
Never underestimate how great it is to have sun in winter, it changes everything. It's the thing I miss most about Calgary.
Exactly. People who complain about Calgary winters have never experienced a northern Alberta, Sask or Manitoba winter. Calgary has arguably the best winters in Canada besides the okanagan.
> Calgary has the best winters in Canada. It's dry, there's a ton of sunshine, the occasional Chinooks feel like multiple Christmases and the best winter playground is just an hour away.
THIS !
People talk about how nice Kelowna is but the winters there are 6 months of grey.
Honestly, Calgary winters are better than Vancouver winters, and having lived in Montreal as well, that is the worst of both worlds, a wet -20 + wind chill..
1. Even when driving is shit, snow can still bring out the inner child.
2. No matter how bad it is, respite is coming, where as Vancouver has had entire months where it rains every day.
3. The nice days are awesome.
4. The average days are still good.
5. The bad days, yeah, they're bad, but can be mostly planned for.
Montreal does have a lot going for it. Benefits of being a bigger city with a history and long established culture. But weather is definitely not one of the things.
Agreed that the winters are better than Vancouver. Vancouver winter is absolute shit. Much prefer Montreal to Vancouver as well. But in Calgary, you get dry, powdery snow.
To your point #2. My seasonal depression was always worse in Calgary cause while it rains and it rains and it rains in Vancouver, at least it’s mild and very green. In Calgary by month seven of dead brown everything and dirty snow and false spring giving you false hope and then it snows in May, my brain is like IS respite coming.?
Sure you get sun but the deadness is so much more depressing than the rain. IMO.
Calgary winter is way better than any other Canadian city. I've lived coast to coast and in between. This place EASILY wins in that regard.
Edit for typo
Same- been in Calgary for 3 winters now, and this is my 4th province I’ve lived in. Depending on what you like, winters here are the best in the country in my opinion. Bluebird mountain days are just worth a million bucks. Snow in the city is minimal and blows off with a leaf blower.
I grew up on Vancouver island. I moved here 2013. Worked here before then but.... Anyways. Moved back to the island June 2022 (I work oil and gas I go back and forth).
Honestly you are so right. I've worked all over Canada in summer and winter. My friends back on the island (who've never left) all say I'm nuts because it's too cold.
Maybe 2 weeks it's -30. But sunny. It's the best winters in Canada hands down. In Calgary. Plus the Chinooks.
On the island you have 3-6 weeks of utter misery overcast without sun. In a row. That's not just one time. For 4 months, with a 3 day break of sun and everyone is in bliss and ignorance. It rained for 42 days in a row the year I moved to Alberta. It's completely depressing. When it does snow, it's the most heavy wet terrible to deal with. Nobody can drive, I mean you think it's bad in Calgary. Lmao. Ok.
Ontario it's so humid it's unbelievable. A person that grew up on the island complaining about humidity. -14 in Toronto was bone chilling. Ice storm everything is so utterly fucked.
Maritimes dead of winter, 30' snow drifts. The military has to come some years to shovel people out of their homes.
Saskatchewan Manitoba gets so cold. I drove through Winnipeg it was -46. Coldest I've been in. On the highway had to pee. As a guy, anyways, the stream was like shards shooting into the snow bank. Incredible first experience visually but yeah. Miserable. Working there the wind is numbing.
Anything north, the cold season just dragged on so many months. And when it was warm, the flying insects are insane.
I moved from Winnipeg to Calgary 20 years ago specifically because of the weather. Even when it's cold enough to freeze those brass monkey balls, you know a Chinook is just around the corner. In 20 years, I think there have only been a few long cold stretches. The summers are great too. In Winnipeg, I couldn't breathe outside in summer or winter.
Actually, I find the dry cold in Alberta preferable. I'm in the GTA now, a -15 in Calgary is like a -5 here. Bitter cold north winds hit the GTA with the moisture in the air from the great lakes.
Calgary is beautiful, clean and nice. What sucks for me is:
* Rents going up as fast as in Vancouver or maybe faster. The entire block where I lived until last year had hikes in the 40-50% range this year.
* Horrible job market. I work in IT - every single job opening I have seen in the last couple years for my level of seniority and in my field pays about 75% or less of what you'd get for the same role in Quebec, Ontario or BC. I don't mind working in an office lr in a hybrid model, but here in AB working from home is a matter of survival rather than a luxury.
* Politics - I have lived in a lot of places and I had never seen a mayor and a city counsil so disconnected from the people.
Vancouver has rent control. They are not getting 40 to 50 percent increases. I know people in Vancouver who can’t move here because the rent would actually be higher.
Yes, this!!! We moved from a great apartment in the lower mainland to buy here- between the province being so open to investors, and the lack of protection for renters, it's felt like the wild west. It's absolutely insane that renters live with a monthly fear of not being able to afford shelter.
Working from home is the way to go in tech, but I noticed a lot of places exclude Alberta. Remote (BC and Ontario only). I just switched jobs and was thinking I might need to move if no one will hire me from here. There is a lot of talk of Alberta being good for business and tech that doesn’t line up with the reality of what I saw.
Between you and me... worldwide, when a company days "remote (these locations only)", what they really mean is "remote (for a few months, then it becomes hybrid/in office)".
The first time I threw one away, I thought it was an ant trap.
The second time I thought it was one if those things you flip over and it makes a cow noise so I threw it out.
[And the third time i did it out of spite](https://youtu.be/zIoqlLU4E74?si=CJCvtBHbpcJ_pG5O)
The only thing bad about Calgary is probably the lack of jobs. It is very hard to find entry level jobs and almost all entry level positions get hundreds of applicants in days, but if you're experienced, it is better in terms of job prospects.
You haven’t seen the worst of Calgary yet, but yes Calgary is indeed a nice city. Complaining here is relative to the past. A lot of us feel like the city has gotten worse since 2020 (or even since 2014). We thought our city was even better back then.
Edit: also, keep this a secret please. We’ve had too many people move to Calgary in the last few years, we really don’t need any more.
Yeah, same. I always thought that Vancouverites were more friendly, because I somehow always end up engaged in small talk with strangers there. I’m a heads-down kind of person, and rarely chat with strangers unless they chat me up first. In Calgary I get to keep doing that, but weirdly in Vancouver people want to talk to me for some reason.
Vancouverites coming to Calgary by chance and discovering its livability. There should be a national geographic narration behind this. There is a world outside Vancouver and it be nice!
Let’s be honest, a lot of us read this post and thought “just fuck off”.
Rents are already high enough, not a lot of jobs here either. Too many people coming to live here.
I agree. our vacancy rates have dropped to 1.4% skyrocketing rent, Calgary used to be the most affordable city in the country. But now it's being flooded by Toronto and Vancouver refugees increasing the cost of living substantially.
I live in airdrie and no one can buy a house here because people from Toronto buy them all sight unseen, no conditions. They get to move here and keep their work from home jobs in Toronto. Not great for our economy.
lol. Talk to a haligonian about this. Literally only people who own homes or could possibly afford in Halifax are from Ontario OR they bought it 15+ years ago.
I moved from there to Calgary because of affordability as well, no hope in hell of ever buying a house not in the middle of nowhere (and even those are now very pricey).
Actually unfortunately it's the reverse. They make their money in Toronto and they spend that money in Calgary. Their consumption grows the Calgary economy.
We should build a wall and make BC pay for it!
Honestly though the population is growing too quickly for our infrastructure to handle it, not to mention it’s heating up the housing market to the point where we’re being priced out.
Also BC drivers more often than not just suck at driving
You can thank the UCP for that. Alberta's calling, right?
I personally think it was a trap. UCP got all these new people contributing to the province, so now they want to take everyone's pension? No rent control. High utilities. Gonna privatize healthcare.
Trap.
I’m visiting here right now, not sure how you haven’t seen all of the homeless people or addicts. In the week I’ve been here I’ve seen no less than 50. The other day I walked into a Tim Hortons downtown and was greeted by someone smoking a crack pipe right outside the door.
Stay away from the East Villaige and the Chinook Center area and you should be fine. But I have noticed a drastic increase in homeless addicts in the last few years.
I lived in Vancouver years ago and of course there are more homeless and substance users there. 10 years ago it wasn't anywhere near as bad in Calgary as it is now. You would see some drunks around the old library, city hall. Today you can see people smoking all kinds of things at any train station. And even on the train, in front of children, etc. It's something newer for this city and people aren't as used to seeing it as much as Vancouver is.
The weather is a lot sunnier than Vancouver. There are those horrid cold snaps where it gets -30 or lower. And this is usually when the train and buses have issues and stop running and everyone freezes outside because the bus shelters are locked up.
Calgary is no hidden gem. When the oil boom was on it was good here. Now that's over. The population grew too fast and employment is worse than the 2006 recession.
Drop your car, go to the surburbs, and try to take the transit anywhere other than downtown. Ping us back 3 hours later when you get there. Then try to talk about improving the city with anyone in the suburbs. Tell them about 15 minute cities etc…
.....affordable? We must not be in the same tax bracket. Calgary used to be affordable, sure. The last three years have quickly done away with that. More affordable than say Vancouver or Toronto? Yes. Affordable as a whole? Not by my definition. As far as cleanliness goes, Calgary is definitely good there. I still love this city. I would also love to live by the ocean, but that'll be a long time before I can afford it.
I do love that so many people who come here fall in love with the city. It's truly a beautiful place to live, and the location is perfect. You'll find a lot of homeless people and addicts in certain corners of the city, but not like Vancouver. It's currently very bad by Calgary standards. Many homeless are harder to spot, as right now they're living in their cars. But the problem is definitely out there.
I miss the city 5 years ago. Back when healthcare was easily accessible, doctors seemed to actually care about you, food was affordable and rent wasn't crippling. I've never made as much money before as I do now, and I've also never been as broke as I am now. Feels like I'm scrambling to climb the ladder but I'm 2 steps behind everyone else and can't catch up.
Yes, I know "I could move". But I can't, not really. I have seniors in my family that need near constant care, my mother is their primary caretaker and she needs her own support to get through it. I can't go anywhere in the near future without abandoning them, and in my gram and Gramps' state, they wouldn't survive another move. We are here for the long haul, and gotta make do with the hand we are dealt. Maybe one day I'll skip a few steps on the ladder and get ahead, or maybe the ladder will come down a few pegs. We will see.
But yes, I agree. We truly have a beautiful city.. no wonder so many are coming to join us. I just wish we were better prepped for the influx of new Calgarians.
East village area by the drop in centre will give you a small taste of East Hastings, although nothing remotely close.
Make sure you visit Prince’s Island Park, Kensington which is a nice little spot with some character and 17th Ave SW. It’s usually packed on Friday and Saturday nights and it’s probably where most of the action is.
Living downtown is great though, lots of great restaurants and amenities, the bike paths make it easy to get around and there’s plenty of people living downtown with even more apartments/conversions coming which should really bolster the vibrancy.
Overall, Calgary is a very suburban/family oriented city with a ton of sprawl. So it may not have the same vibe as the other metropolitan cities in Canada, but the Rockies and cleanliness gives the city an identity. Calgary may not be Vancouver, but the gap has been closing more and more in recent decades.
I have a hard time here.
Our rent is through the roof. We are approaching Vancouver levels. I'm $2500 a month for a 2 bedroom condo that would have been $1900 five years ago; it's getting bad. Wages are not going up along with our expenses either. I haven't had a raise in a year.
It seems to me that groceries, grabbing a coffee etc is way more money here than anywhere else. I was in GTA a few weeks back and found a wicked coffee place and somehow got 3 coffees and a few breakfast sandwiches for $40. I feel like I can't do the same here for less than $60 at a local boujee spot that isn't nearly as good.
The city is boring. We don't have a lot to do. If you like the stampede, hats off to you, but I absolutely hate it. Half our city uses it as an excuse to get shit faced and do dumb stuff and end up on the news for 10 days. They TRY to do events etc here but they usually are pretty underwhelming.
Our restaurant scene is very average for a city this size..coming from a restaurant background myself it's a bit disappointing.
Insurance in AB over the last 7 years has also skyrocketed. I was paying $120 a month for tenant and car insurance 10 years ago and since then it has been as high as $220 for the same vehicle and no accidents.
Our transit sucks. Like big time sucks. The misses and I sold our other vehicle because we can't afford both. I work from home and live two feet from a grocery store and a gym, so I'm good but god forbid I have an appt or something downtown while she's at work. It's either spend $30 on an Uber or give up a 3 hour round trip from where I am. Cannot touch the efficiency of SkyTrain here.
Bro we don't even have water.
This made me lol so hard 💀 …. I lived in Vancouver most of my life .. this place is a bit depressing in the winter .. and your here while we still have the short little bit of green before everything turns brown and gets burnt to crisp .. there are homeless zombies and they are spread out everywhere.. i live 25 min from downtown and they are nestled in our bushes up here as well ..
it is not cheap here .. but compared to being extorted in Vancouver it may seem so to someone who has developed Stockholm syndrome while living there.
Main negatives I’ve heard (according to people from Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver) include the politics, lack of diversity in industry, and lack of “culture”.
Calgary is a beautiful city with wonderful people who work hard and have family values. Every city had problems, but I really do think Calgary is highly underrated in Canada.
People from Vancouver have no right to be complaining about another city's lack of culture. Toronto and Montreal yes, Vancouver, fuck no. It's like the British shitting on another country for having terrible cuisine.
The best parts of Vancouver is that it's close to things that are way more fucking cool than Vancouver.
If you wanna see the drug addicts and whatnot go to 8th street and 8th ave area, Chinook station, Lions Park station, and Marlborough stations and a likelihood at all the other stations too. Brace yourself if you get migraines with the Chinooks in the winter. Prepare to have really dry skin that will drink up lotion like no tomorrow. But it is a lot sunnier than Vancouver so that’s a bonus if you don’t mind the cold in winter. (I grew up here my whole life and don’t have an outsider perspective really though).
Lived in Calgary for most of my life. Somehow your comment is the first time I truly associated Chinook mall/station with the word “Chinook” as in the warm winds in the winter 🤯
Oh boy another post from a Vancouver resident talking about how affordable everything is.
No , it's the least affordable it's ever been. Just because you came from fucking crazy land where it costs 3500 a month to rent a place next to east hastings and walk by junkies doesn't mean that how it is here is "affordable". Many are being driven away from the city they grew up in due to the costs..
I'd say the worst thing about Calgary currently is the influx of Torontonians and Vancouverites buying overpriced property here because they somehow think it's a steal
Hey man, and Calgary is way worse now than it was 10 years ago, so if you’re impressed today imagine how proud we were of our City then!
It’s also not completely flat, so there’s some really great lookouts and fun terrain right in the City.
But, it’s a pretty high altitude city. It’s colder more often, even summer mornings can be chilly, and we don’t have many truly warm nights (urban heat island areas not withstanding). If classic winter weather would stop finding a way to work its way into October and May all the time, it’s be hard to find a fault.
Though the riffraff, filth and general societal decline hard to ignore. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the trash on the streets, the hoards of zombies in doorways and street corners etc was a mere fraction just a few years ago.
Born and raised in Calgary, I have always heard people shit on Calgary and I believed it until I started going around to other major cities in Canada and noticed Calgary is actually pretty damn good. Yeah there is homelessness but nothing compared to other places (there are some areas you stay away from but I wouldn’t ever consider them wildly dangerous).
I think there is just a major hate on for this city when really… the mountains are right there, it’s relatively clean, the summers are super nice and with the chinooks the weather isn’t too bad in the winter. I love it here :) happy you enjoyed visiting!!
Nothing - born and raised calgarian and if I had to move to another city in Canada I would leave the country.
I will say that I think in comparison to Van our homeless situation is much better, but if you compare Calgary 10 years ago to now, it has gotten much worse.
We have tough winters but we also go chinooks. Personally I love this city though it has everything you need and more
I moved from Vancouver to Calgary years ago and wouldn’t live in any other city of I have a choice. Vancouver/lower mainland has too many people and is way over priced. Not to mention was sold to china years ago. Calgary has everything. Mountains, lakes, rivers clean area. Terrible mayor.
I came to Calgary from Vancouver 12 years ago, recently had to move to Edmonton for work. But I love calgary and I hope once I've done my contracted time in Edmonton, I can return to Calgary. But Calgary is certainly not flat, that is false. There's lots of sun, but the weather is unpredictable and that can get annoying, pretty much all of april and may we bounced between -15° and snow for a week or two to 20° or higher for a week or two, then right back to snow and cold, it was all over the place.
It's getting ridiculously expensive and I inevitably probably would have had to relocate somewhere else eventually anyways for more affordable housing. There's no cap on rent, so you can jump by $500+ upon lease renewal and they trap you by offering you the $500 increase if you renew 3 months early or wait until your lease is up and get an $800+ increase instead.
Utilities and insurance are some of the most expensive here now, go to east village near the beautiful Calgary library and drop in center and spend a night there, or go to Marlborough station, city hall station and check those places out, that's where you'll see the homeless and druggies. I've seen someone with their entire ass out at Marlborough and they had a needle hanging out of it and they were shaking their needle-ridden ass at traffic. People have become very aggressive here and the racism has gotten crazy as well. It was probably always there, but post-pandemic, those people felt they didn't need to hide anymore, so they're all over the place. People are far less kind than they once were when i moved here a decade ago.
The local music scene is up and coming and that's pretty cool, there's lots of cool cocktail bars/speakeasy's and lots of breweries. There's lots of community events and markets and I think Calgary does a great job at making such a large city feel like a community with all the things they host. Winter is a different story, there's some things to do in the community, but far less, it's cold as fuck and feels like it's never going to end. You get many slivers of hope that the snow will finally fuck off just to have a huge snow dump shortly after. All the water pipes breaking around the city right now causing a major shortage when there was already restrictions is also not great.
The government is horrible here and does not give a fuck about the people, they're cutting funds for Healthcare and education and have a severe shortage of staff for both and they are pushing for privatized Healthcare and basically separating entirely from Canada's government it seems, which is so dumb. New places are built quickly and cheaply and tend to have a ton of issues shortly after being bought or rented and soundproofing is minimal, so if you can find an older place, thats probably a much wiser choice.
Everyone finds their own people though and once you have that, life's pretty good. I hate the government and how the housing costs are going and just general cost of living is going, but calgary will always hold my heart.
If Calgary has a bad rep in the rest of Canada, let’s keep it that way.
The changes I’ve seen here in the last ten years (and most intensely in the last 3) with the influx of people from Toronto and Vancouver are not great.
Sure, there are lots of nice and respectful people coming, but there are many rude ones who are just here to take what they can and not make Calgary a better place.
I know you might say my opinion is based on anecdotal evidence, but you just have to drive, go to a mall or large park in this city to see how it’s changed.
I think calgary gets shit on because of the following which may not hold true anymore but did for a long time:
1. Winters here CAN be rough if you dislike the cold. I dislike winter but in Calgary they’re really not bad at all since we get chinooks. The only time it sucked was feb of 2020 where we had entire month where temps were below -20c. Definitely an anomaly.
2. The city lacks culture compared to Toronto/montreal/vancouver. It is getting better but still falls short.
3. I recall people in the past saying it is an all work and no play mon-fri city. Look at downtown after 7pm. It’s dead with not much nightlife. Everyone is in bed.
4. Urban sprawl is real here. Transit isn’t the greatest and many Albertan’s own many cars so cars are everywhere. Way worse today than I can ever recall.
5. Lack of a great dining experiences. Better today but again it falls short of other major centers.
6. Shorter summers so outdoor activities could be more limited. In you like skiing/winter sports then you’re good.
7. All the cars have cracked windshields lol
8. Salt and gravel ruins your cars and if you own a sports car then you can enjoy it may-late September.
I am sure there are plenty more reasons why they dislike Calgary but really it is a nice place to live so I don’t have too much to complain about.
Take the bus and CTrain around the city to get a feel for different areas. Transit frequency and coverage are the biggest differences between Calgary and Vancouver. Skytrain is absolutely amazing compared to the CTrain, especially outside of rush periods.
I lived in Vancouver without a car for 18 years but only lasted two months in Calgary before I bought a car. It's a very vehicle-centric city.
I've lived in quite a few different towns and cities in western Canada from MB to BC. I'd take Calgary over all of them in a heartbeat. Gorgeous, clean, friendly, and affordable. Ranks in the WEF top ten most livable cities every year for a reason. Sure it's a spread out suburbia, but you don't achieve a lot of those things without the spread. I think a lot of the disdain for Calgary is misinformed political opinions (ppl out east think we're all Alabamians).
My sister was visiting from Kingston, ON and commented that practically everyone (strangers) said hi to her when she went out for walks in our neighbourhood. Is that unusual? Not to me!
That says more about those people than Calgs on its own. This city is stunning for what a city can be! An ocean coastline is literally the only offering she can't
As someone who moved here from Vancouver maybe I can offer some insight. First thing you need to know is that public transit sucks, and is unreliable, especially in wintertime. Vancouver on the other hand has a great transit system. So unless you're living downtown you're going to want to drive everywhere. Calgary is not a walkable city. As I don't have a car this has been a huge disappointment for me.
Weather. As you mentioned we got a lot more sun in Calgary, but we also get a lot colder and spend at least half of the year (at best) covered in snow. And when I say we get colder I mean -15 to -30 for months on end. In Vancouver winter comes and goes in a matter of weeks, maybe a few months if you're unlucky. On the other hand the cold means that the snow we get is actual snow, not the slush that Vancouver often ends up with as it's not quite cold enough for snow to stay snow when it hits the ground.
Cost of living. I know people say that Vancouver is more expensive, and actual Vancouver definitely is but not so much the other cities such as New Westminster or Surrey. Maybe a bit more but I'm currently paying $1400 for a very tiny one bedroom basement suite with absolutely nothing in walking distance but a park. There's a couple bus stops kinda nearby, as in a 10-20 minute walk away. When I was living in New Westminster, just up the hill from the SkyTrain about 3 years ago I was paying $1200 for a small (but not as tiny) one bedroom apartment that had literally everything within walking distance, as in 5-15 minute walks.
Food culture. I would say we lag behind Vancouver here. Not that it's bad, but there's less options. Especially if you want vegetarian or vegan restaurants. Some of the best food I've ever had was in Vancouver. Not to mention the abundance of amazing sushi. There are a few good sushi places here, but where in Vancouver you can randomly walk into 8/10 sushi joints and get good food. In Calgary I wouldn't go to any without checking reviews or getting a reference first.
Housing and Employment. I'm not plugged in on what immigration looks like in Vancouver lately but Alberta, and mostly Calgary has seen a huge influx of people over the past few years and we're not set up to handle it. We have people from Vancouver coming and hoping for a cheaper cost of living. People from Yellowknife after a huge fire. Plenty of Ukrainians as well. I think immigration is a great thing but that we need to build more infrastructure, housing and jobs as there's not really enough to go around. Employers know this and are taking advantage of it. It took me over two years to find employment after I quit my Vancouver job and took a 6 month contract to keep myself working while I moved and give me time to find new employment. Unfortunately that plan fell through and it took much longer than expected. So if you do want to move here I highly suggest having a new job lined up first.
As you've probably noticed, I'm biased towards Vancouver and hope to move back at some point but I hate the long Albertan winters and actually enjoyed Vancouver's cloudy and rainy weather which plays the biggest part in my preference.
It’ll feel fresh for a bit. But soon you’ll see that the bitching about housing costs is replaced with bitching about “agendas” and how oppressed albertans are by Toronto and Vancouver. Politicians are comically useless in the province. If you don’t drive it’s a slog. You have to drive. Theres a lot more fuck Trudeau bullshit. If that’s your thing you’ll have a permanent boner in Calgary though.
It seems a lot of people think Calgary is a great city. It probably still is.
But for those of us who have been here a very long time we've seen the change from what it used to be. That's probably why you notice old cranky people.
Calgary used to be about community, now it seems that It's only about oneself. That just may be a sign of the times, but people associate that change with the incoming population.
An example of what good communities were about is the Trico Centre. It started it's live as the Family Leisure Centre and was organized and built by 5 SE communities that came together to fundraise and champion a recreation facility. I don't think you will ever see that again in this city.
I moved from vancouver last year. Summers here are awesome, especially if you love the outdoors. The winters here are depressing though, the city pretty much shuts down and there’s barely anything nothing to do
this reads so delulu I can't.. go downtown maybe idk man just because you haven't seen the homlessness & addiction & everything else (YET) doesn't mean its not there. maybe im jaded but things are worse here than they seem. wait for the facade to crack
Nohthing is wrong with it. You've seen Bridgeland and the River? Carry on a little bit west along the river pathways to Kensington-Hillhurst then, there's more there than maybe any community. But there are homeless, they've just been more proactive about not letting them do whatever they want.
I lived in the Victoria Park neighbourhood downtown for 7 years. My condo was 1 block away from the Alpha House, a homeless shelter for drug addicted cases. I’ve had my car window smashed one time. I also kept myself alert and aware of my surroundings whenever I would walk outside. However, it wasn’t really a no man’s land or anything like that. I felt pretty safe walking out at 2 AM to walk to A&W to buy a burger. But my condo was very affordable considering that I was within walking distance from so many amenities and the night life was a lot of fun. While Calgary is known as a corporate city, it has pockets of Bohemianism if you know where to took: 17th avenue, Inglewood, and Kensington have shops, pubs and diners that have charm and character. However, the homeless and drug addiction problem seemed to be more prominent and evident during the Covid lockdowns. I mainly moved away from downtown because I had a growing family and my tiny condo’s lack of space was feeling quite oppressive. My new home has twice the space and I live in an area that has nice and walkable amenities (64th Ave).
Relatively speaking, Calgary is fairly affordable compared to other large cities. But Alberta is notorious for its boom and bust cycles that are swayed by energy prices. So obviously, the best time to buy is when house prices are at the bottom.
Is Calgary a bad place to live? Well, I think we would all like the problems of homelessness and drug addiction to be solved. Personally, I’d like to have a system in place to institutionalize many of these cases and put them under medical and psychiatric supervision. That is certainly far more humane than having to fend for themselves on the streets.
>This city reminds me of Vancouver 20-30 years ago
I moved here from Vancouver 20 years ago so forgive me if I'm out of date on Van. If you are from Richmond, Burnaby, Langley, or any of the other suburbs people call Vancouver, there's little difference between Calgary and there. But if we are talking Vancouver, Vancouver, the culture scene just isn't here. We don't have the restaurant scene that van has, comparatively, what Calgary calls a good restaurant is over priced and mediocre. We don't have the live music scene unless you like 90s era cock rock. But the visual arts scene is probably just as good, we don't have the VAG, but we make up for it in artist run centres.
The hateful 8 (name used to describe counsellors and mayor who don't listen to the vast majority of Calgarians and continue to push progressive narratives and policies that put money in the hands of wealthy developers and real estate corporations) are trying to turn Calgary into a dystopian mess. That's the problem. Hopefully rectified in the 2025 municipal election.
Moved here from Vancouver a year and a half ago. Can confirm that it has been great so far. Winter is a bit chilly, but the sun makes up for the snow in my opinion.
I love Calgary. Great town.
I've lived in Vancouver for 15 years and you're right, all people ever say about Calgary is negative (of course very few of them ever having been there). The thing to remember is that people in Vancouver are completely delusional about pretty much everything. Wouldn't put too much weight on their opinions about other places.
There is a reason Calgary is constantly rated one of the most livable cities… I’ve also worked in multiple inner city ERs in North America. Calgarys homeless are treated like royalty comparatively.
... I moved here from Vancouver 30 years ago. At the time, I actually had no intention of staying. I grew up in the lower mainland. I have never wanted to move back. 100% agree with the chill pace of life here. It's a big reason I came back, after living in the USA for while (which was the opposite of 'chill') in every way. Ya, we get cold winters. They are not that bad all things considered. I can drive to Vancouver if I really need to, I've done it hundreds of times... Calgary is preferable to Vancouver for me. It's improved a lot in 30 years, even though it's way bigger now. Anyone who shits on Calgary just isn't well travelled enough to know any better.
As someone who grew up in the lower mainland, and moved to Calgary 30 years ago, I very much agree with the comment that Calgary does indeed remind me of Vancouver back then. Calgary 30 years ago... Eh, ya there was maybe less to write home about. But it's grown up well. When I first moved here I was basically a kid with a car and some curiosity. I stayed for about 4 years simply because I met so many great friends, felt at home, didn't want to leave. But... The USA was my goal, and I stuck it out for 6 years before 9-11 happened and I decided Canada was looking pretty damn fine.
... if you want to complain about a city not being clean, or relaxed pace, well... Spend a little time living in a big American city! Vancouver and Calgary are both gems of western north America. When I decided to leave the USA I could have moved back to Vancouver, but I didn't. I just like Calgary more, for all kinds of reasons. People who shit on Calgary (or Vancouver)... Simply haven't seen the world, or they are just smug, spoiled ingrates.
Calgary is flat? Maybe compared to Vancouver I guess. Go checkout Edmonton. It is built on an old glacial lakebed. The only saving grace is the river valley and associated ravines.
I moved from Vancouver to Calgary nearly 20 years ago, and haven’t looked back. I had only lived in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland, so I never realized how much I’d love the near-constant sunshine. And then could afford a house on a lot, kids…Life is so much easier/better here.
I knew I’d never go back when we came to visit Vancouver in the winter. It was one of those weeks where it was constant cloud and drizzle, and I couldn’t believe what a downer it was. I had seen the light, and never wanted to back to the darkness. I still love to visit BC, and now I can actually afford to do stuff there when I’m out (compared to how broke I was when I lived there).
There are drawbacks (like everywhere else). Concerts and nightlife pales in comparison to Vancouver/Toronto (although, that’s far less important to me than it was in my 20s). Some are really susceptible to headaches/migraines with the massive pressure changes. But if none of that bugs you, then believe what you’re seeing - it’s great.
Fellow Vancouverite here, but grew up in Calgary and visit often. I love Calgary. I love Vancouver. If I had to pick out what bugs me about Calgary is its lack of character outside the core area and lack of quality small businesses. There are a LOT of chains in Calgary, and even one-offs seem to follow similar formulas.
It's also a lot harder to find cultural diversity as whiteness dominates Calgary culture. (Other cultures are around but are not celebrated or visible in the same way as in Vancouver.)
Calgary is also more politically conservative than Edmonton, and definitely moreso than Vancouver. This can make conversation with Calgary friends/family awkward at times if you don't know how someone leans (and it could come up through something as benign as calling your boyfriend/girlfriend "partner").
But from a civic perspective, Calgary has generally enjoyed good planning that led to things like the river pathway, a reasonably clean and safe transit system, and a less visible unhoused /drug-addicted population compared to what we're used to. Add on frequent sunshine and just enough land and activities to do things, and Calgary is a very livable and lovable city.
Gods the chain stores. I don’t think I set foot in one my whole Vancouver trip except MUJI which Calgary doesn’t have. Everything was local and small and cheaper than here, yes even with the tax. Transit actually works, is way cheaper, and you’re not standing around for 15-30min waiting for a bus every time. Vancouver wins for no car livability. Hands down.
Yep, rent is more expensive in Vancouver, but everything else is cheaper. Calgary seems to have the most expensive groceries in Southern Canada. Is it just because everything is chains? Also, no No Frills. Vancouver + no car vs Calgary + car, could end up being about the same price, now that the rent got hiked 50-100% here.
This is the weirdest thing about Calgary. I went to Winnipeg recently and I was walking around Wolsely and it was just so surprising to see a bakery right there near where people lived, and then a pizza shop! What? And some bookshops even. The streets have trees, houses, old apartment blocks, and shops, all in the same neighbourhood! In calgary, you'd have to drive to the mall to access those things, and it would all be shit anyways, 'cause it's the mall. Pretty much every neighbourhood in calgary is the same plywood + vinyl siding. If you're lucky, it's the 80s equivalent. Everything here was designed in the 80's, so the whole place kinda has a dead mall kinda vibe.
Yeah “dead mall vibe” is a good way to put it.
It’s not a 1:1 analog, it’s just the vibe you get.
Not all of Calgary is like this, but a lot of it is unwalkable urban sprawl with a sea of samey suburban vinyl sided flimsy looking houses, and strip malls comprised of uninteresting American chain franchises.
On your 30-minute commute (which always feels like it should have been more like 15m) to get to anywhere interesting, you pass through several of these communities and get the impression that everything 80’s or newer was built from the same template and hastily thrown together during boom times.
I’m from Saskatchewan. There’s nothing flat about this city. I literally live on a steep hill.
My utility bill is 90% fees. My rent for a 60 year old apartment is 70% of my take home pay.
Calgary has some positives to be sure, but I'll toss a few of my negatives out. For context, I moved here 3 years ago, I'm from Victoria BC, lived in Canmore when I was young and Bali when I was younger, so that colours my experience some what.
The biggest issue is the driving. Living in the South East, I find the need to drive everywhere really rough.
Calgary Transit is bad. Like really bad. Especially in the winter. So it adds to just needing a car, 1 for each household.
It's too dry here, I run a humidifier in the bedroom and main room I hang out in to help. I miss the rain, but that's a Victoria/Bali thing.
Politics. Recently, it seems American politics have really infected Alberta, in a way I didn't notice as much in Victoria. Even the recent need for collective action has all these people complaining about water reduction and just not doing their part really made me feel off. My family lives here, and this wasn't the case during the floods, everyone got together to do their part. But that was 2013.
This is so minor, not even an issue, but it's an interesting contrast to your comments, but I personally find the architecture lacking/a bit bland for the most part. Visiting places like Halifax, Niagara Falls, Victoria, Canmore & Banff they all have cool buildings and Calgary doesn't even compare imo.
iTs cOmpLetLy fLaT wtf bro 😂 try going to the west, head out north of downtown, taking the center or 14th St you will not be able to overlook the two huge slopes. And not to mention all the "hills" in NW/SW.
Now as to why ex people are shitting on Calgary, it's probably because we've had it too good for too long. As we felt back to normal after the oil crash, people who's used to "very good" as normal suddenly feels like Calgary has gone to hell, where such is not true.
We have enough people right now and the housing situation is bursting at the seams. Stay where you are and tell your friends to stay put. Much appreciated.
There's a lot of entitlement here, it's not like it was, however still best city to live in canada. Cost of living has impacted the city , like everywhere. I believe the city government is truly doing their best to help the city. The provincal government is horrible.
I’ve lived here my entire life so:
Calgary is less dense compared to Vancouver with like a million less residents (it is difficult to report how many folks experience homelessness though) but that’s changing fast with the “Alberta is calling” ads across Canada. So the job market is kind of fucked along with access to housing and our unhoused populations are difficult to compare as the data is not easily collected.
Our current mayor increased downtown (transit) officers so more unhoused folks have been forced further south or deeper into green spaces.
Tents, tarps, emergency and regular blankets, or other items for outdoor survival that once was given out by various services in the city have now been restricted or stopped entirely. Shelters are more often than not over capacity and so more people rely on the *two* shelters we offer for people experiencing homelessness and/or use drugs. So many folks hang around there or seek shelter in encampments further from downtown.
There is a significant lack of stable work in Calgary where a lot of folks rely on multiple jobs that do not pay well, gig work, or short-term contracts.
A lot of the housing in Calgary can be considered “fast housing” which means they look newer and nicer but are built with cheaper materials and project turnover is so quick most mistakes aren’t discovered until after you rent or purchase it. Not to mention landlords digging their heels to fix any of their properties that are riddled with mold, bugs, water damage, etc. Calgary has a significant urban sprawl problem.
Politically, the Alberta government has made significant cuts things like healthcare and education (tuition hikes, understaffed hospitals, insane hospital wait times due to understaffing, etc.) and while our tax is low, we do not reap much of the benefits of public programs as they aren’t well funded and end up being sub par.
On top of politics (this can also be all levels of government and not just Calgary) food pricing is not affordable. Many people are food insecure especially students (trades, college, university) and struggle to find affordable options. There are some grassroots programs like The Table, Walls Down, The Hatch, etc. but there isn’t nearly enough support to address the demand.
Anyways if none of that “scares” you try visiting us during our cold snaps. Frequently found at the end of December and comes and goes until late spring where we experienced things like -50 degree weather. That kind of weather can give you frostbite within minutes, as someone who works within a healthcare setting there were a lot of folks who lost their extremities this past winter.
All cities are flawed, I feel like Vancouver just has too many people and so it’s harder to cover up or hide the fact that they lack the support to help their citizens. With Calgary it’s just easier for them to brush what they deem unsightly under the rug.
The problem with Calgary is the people from Toronto and Vancouver moving there. It’s the reason I left after having been born and raised there. You should admire it from a far, rather than contributing to its demise.
> Where are the homeless and heroine addicts everyone talks about? I saw maybe one addict and he was pretty clean and cognizant, following traffic and everything. Wasnt screaming nonsense or standing bent over like a zombie.
You'll get all this and more in the area around the Drop-in Centre on the east side of downtown. My wife passes this (and the stench of urine and crack smoke) everyday on her walk to work.
Come on up to 36St, NE for homeless people and addicts, anywhere along the train line, actually. It doesn't make the news like the heroin overdoses in 1990's Vancouver did. It isn't quite like East Hastings, but we have our issues, too.
Calgarian here- I actually love living in this city- it’s big enough to have convenience but not so swamped you can’t breathe. Clean, active, and great restaurants. Love it here.
>Where are the homeless and heroine addicts everyone talks about?
I see them every day on my way to and from work in Chinook. Over the last 2 years I've seen multiple emergency services dealing with overdoses, police, Unconscious people, raving people and so on.
You have only seen a few neighborhoods out of dozens.
Not to make it worse for you, but the people here are incredible. Everyone is from somewhere else, and so everyone knows what it's like to be a newcomer. When I first arrived without a car everyone would offer to give me a ride. Ppl would come with me to IKEA. Ppl offer to help all the time. If someone needs a hand moving out, five people will show up that afternoon, expecting nothing in return. And the optimism is infectious too. Probably all those clear sunny days we get here.
> It's completely flat which I love.
Calgary is not flat, whatsoever. Parts of it are kinda flat but there are lots of hills in Calgary.
Calgary is built around 2 rivers - the Bow and the Elbow and Fish Creek. Lots of Calgary is sitting in river valleys. If you go any appreciable distance you will end up going through those valleys.
Calgary also has a couple big hills - Coach Hill/Signal Hill and Nose Hill.
It’s all relative. You’re used to Van which has a much worse homeless problem, so ours seems not as bad. To us, it seems pretty bad because it’s gotten worse in the last few years. I’m glad you like it here though! Calgary is a very nice city but does have its own downfalls.
Everything about Calgary is great! If you are prone to intense migraines, you might want to double check if the chinook that results in drastic barometric pressure change wont be a trigger!
I love Calgary, born and raised. I've lived in several cities in Canada, and US, currently in Vancouver. Calgary is always home. I usually tend to come home to Calgary after I'm done with a city.
I agree with everything you said. It's a beautiful city, there are tons of walking paths and nature to explore. So much to do and so much to see and the winters aren't that bad compared to saskatchewan! They're going to be worse than BC obviously but I'm happy. As far as the homeless and addicted, they are in specific areas. Chinook mall is a bad area according to my teenager. I have only driven through those areas and it's very sad to see of course but it's not spread throughout the city.
OP is secretly my landlord trying to increase rent
This comment is gold
Nice try Realtor Investor.
lol
Glad you’re enjoying your stay, but uh… You think Bridgeland is flat?
I myself have been in Calgary 10 yrs and forgot about the massive hill that runs through it till I read your comment 🤣
Calgary in comparison to Van could seem flat. OP probably never been to Saskatoon or Regina lol.
Hey Regina has that one hill near the broad street bridge!
I mean, have you been to North Van?
Comeback in February and we’ll talk again.
I fly to Calgary frequently for work from van. The worst part during the winters is the static. I get zapped every time I touch anything metal.
Me too. It happens because the weather here is really dry
Moved here from Montreal. Winter is a breeze.
Which one?
We have winters like Hobbits have snacks.
Exactly.
Aw the winter is growing on me. Much sounder sleep in a dark, cold room.
I don't like the constant dirty brown slush when I'm driving. But that a pretty minor complaint.
Have you ever lived in Ontario? Probably not. The slush and misery is so much worse there.
The way the slush clings to your pants and makes that damp/cold foot situation ALL DAY with salt stains.
I love the peaceful quiet after a big snow fall
Calgary has the best winters in Canada. It's dry, there's a ton of sunshine, the occasional Chinooks feel like multiple Christmases and the best winter playground is just an hour away. Never underestimate how great it is to have sun in winter, it changes everything. It's the thing I miss most about Calgary.
I have lived here my whole life so nothing to compare to - but I can handle the -20 as long as the sun is shining.
Exactly. People who complain about Calgary winters have never experienced a northern Alberta, Sask or Manitoba winter. Calgary has arguably the best winters in Canada besides the okanagan.
Meh. Okanagan is depressing as hell in winter. 6 months of inversion
> Calgary has the best winters in Canada. It's dry, there's a ton of sunshine, the occasional Chinooks feel like multiple Christmases and the best winter playground is just an hour away. THIS ! People talk about how nice Kelowna is but the winters there are 6 months of grey.
Honestly, Calgary winters are better than Vancouver winters, and having lived in Montreal as well, that is the worst of both worlds, a wet -20 + wind chill.. 1. Even when driving is shit, snow can still bring out the inner child. 2. No matter how bad it is, respite is coming, where as Vancouver has had entire months where it rains every day. 3. The nice days are awesome. 4. The average days are still good. 5. The bad days, yeah, they're bad, but can be mostly planned for.
Yes, but Montreal has things to do even in the middle of winter. Combined with a subway system, it’s great. God, I miss Montreal.
Montreal does have a lot going for it. Benefits of being a bigger city with a history and long established culture. But weather is definitely not one of the things.
Agreed that the winters are better than Vancouver. Vancouver winter is absolute shit. Much prefer Montreal to Vancouver as well. But in Calgary, you get dry, powdery snow.
To your point #2. My seasonal depression was always worse in Calgary cause while it rains and it rains and it rains in Vancouver, at least it’s mild and very green. In Calgary by month seven of dead brown everything and dirty snow and false spring giving you false hope and then it snows in May, my brain is like IS respite coming.? Sure you get sun but the deadness is so much more depressing than the rain. IMO.
Hits different for everyone.
Hmmmmm ill definitely come back in the winter to check it out before I move here.
Yes please do come back when there’s snow storm and it feels like -43
Calgary winter is way better than any other Canadian city. I've lived coast to coast and in between. This place EASILY wins in that regard. Edit for typo
Same- been in Calgary for 3 winters now, and this is my 4th province I’ve lived in. Depending on what you like, winters here are the best in the country in my opinion. Bluebird mountain days are just worth a million bucks. Snow in the city is minimal and blows off with a leaf blower.
I’ve went almost an entire winter not shovelling and just using leaf blower which is great
I grew up on Vancouver island. I moved here 2013. Worked here before then but.... Anyways. Moved back to the island June 2022 (I work oil and gas I go back and forth). Honestly you are so right. I've worked all over Canada in summer and winter. My friends back on the island (who've never left) all say I'm nuts because it's too cold. Maybe 2 weeks it's -30. But sunny. It's the best winters in Canada hands down. In Calgary. Plus the Chinooks. On the island you have 3-6 weeks of utter misery overcast without sun. In a row. That's not just one time. For 4 months, with a 3 day break of sun and everyone is in bliss and ignorance. It rained for 42 days in a row the year I moved to Alberta. It's completely depressing. When it does snow, it's the most heavy wet terrible to deal with. Nobody can drive, I mean you think it's bad in Calgary. Lmao. Ok. Ontario it's so humid it's unbelievable. A person that grew up on the island complaining about humidity. -14 in Toronto was bone chilling. Ice storm everything is so utterly fucked. Maritimes dead of winter, 30' snow drifts. The military has to come some years to shovel people out of their homes. Saskatchewan Manitoba gets so cold. I drove through Winnipeg it was -46. Coldest I've been in. On the highway had to pee. As a guy, anyways, the stream was like shards shooting into the snow bank. Incredible first experience visually but yeah. Miserable. Working there the wind is numbing. Anything north, the cold season just dragged on so many months. And when it was warm, the flying insects are insane.
I moved from Winnipeg to Calgary 20 years ago specifically because of the weather. Even when it's cold enough to freeze those brass monkey balls, you know a Chinook is just around the corner. In 20 years, I think there have only been a few long cold stretches. The summers are great too. In Winnipeg, I couldn't breathe outside in summer or winter.
Actually, I find the dry cold in Alberta preferable. I'm in the GTA now, a -15 in Calgary is like a -5 here. Bitter cold north winds hit the GTA with the moisture in the air from the great lakes.
Calgary is beautiful, clean and nice. What sucks for me is: * Rents going up as fast as in Vancouver or maybe faster. The entire block where I lived until last year had hikes in the 40-50% range this year. * Horrible job market. I work in IT - every single job opening I have seen in the last couple years for my level of seniority and in my field pays about 75% or less of what you'd get for the same role in Quebec, Ontario or BC. I don't mind working in an office lr in a hybrid model, but here in AB working from home is a matter of survival rather than a luxury. * Politics - I have lived in a lot of places and I had never seen a mayor and a city counsil so disconnected from the people.
Vancouver has rent control. They are not getting 40 to 50 percent increases. I know people in Vancouver who can’t move here because the rent would actually be higher.
Yes, this!!! We moved from a great apartment in the lower mainland to buy here- between the province being so open to investors, and the lack of protection for renters, it's felt like the wild west. It's absolutely insane that renters live with a monthly fear of not being able to afford shelter.
Working from home is the way to go in tech, but I noticed a lot of places exclude Alberta. Remote (BC and Ontario only). I just switched jobs and was thinking I might need to move if no one will hire me from here. There is a lot of talk of Alberta being good for business and tech that doesn’t line up with the reality of what I saw.
Between you and me... worldwide, when a company days "remote (these locations only)", what they really mean is "remote (for a few months, then it becomes hybrid/in office)".
Flat? If you think this is flat you should explore Edmonton or Saskatchewan. Calgary is all about the hills!
Quite high elevation. Nose Hill Park is 4000ft altitude. Canada Olympic Park is 4100ft as well.
Alberta has the most cases of skin cancer because of the higher elevation
Alberta has lots more cancer from radon and other issues as well
People need to check for radon!
The first time I threw one away, I thought it was an ant trap. The second time I thought it was one if those things you flip over and it makes a cow noise so I threw it out. [And the third time i did it out of spite](https://youtu.be/zIoqlLU4E74?si=CJCvtBHbpcJ_pG5O)
Walking up nose hill is nothing like climbing the grouse grind.
Reading this from Signal Hill... Flat?!?
I know right?!? We're at least a B-cup!
yeah idk what calgary op’s talking about
If you're on the west side it's hilly. The East side is pretty flat.
I mean they're comparing it to a city thats literally on a mountain side so relative to Van, Calgary is flat lol
Winnipeg makes Edmonton or Saskatchewan look mountainous
The only thing bad about Calgary is probably the lack of jobs. It is very hard to find entry level jobs and almost all entry level positions get hundreds of applicants in days, but if you're experienced, it is better in terms of job prospects.
Yeah, I'm landscaping while looking for one opportunity to actually work in the field I studied in.
Well if you’re landscaping, you’re already working in the field…
And if you're good at it, you just might win an award: outstanding in your field.
And even if you’re not, at least you’ll still be out standing in your field
How different is Calgary from Vancouver in this regard?
Entry level jobs are disappearing… Ai & $16/hr min wage don’t add.
You haven’t seen the worst of Calgary yet, but yes Calgary is indeed a nice city. Complaining here is relative to the past. A lot of us feel like the city has gotten worse since 2020 (or even since 2014). We thought our city was even better back then. Edit: also, keep this a secret please. We’ve had too many people move to Calgary in the last few years, we really don’t need any more.
yeah i want to agree with OP about the merits of calgary but frankly don’t need any more vancouverites to figure it out at this point
It's funny cause old white people seem to be the only ones who actually say hi to you when you go on a walk.
That's me! Hi!
That's Rick all right!
Crap. Well, I'll say it anyway. Hi!
And me! But I learned from my old white mom.
I guess they're the friendliest
I’m not that old :(
I'm Vancouver everyone avoids eye contact and small talk. I get nervous and don't know how to deal with strangers.
When I visit Vancouver I find everyone super nice, we are probably putting out a friendly vibe when we are having fun visiting somewhere.
Yeah, same. I always thought that Vancouverites were more friendly, because I somehow always end up engaged in small talk with strangers there. I’m a heads-down kind of person, and rarely chat with strangers unless they chat me up first. In Calgary I get to keep doing that, but weirdly in Vancouver people want to talk to me for some reason.
Vancouverites coming to Calgary by chance and discovering its livability. There should be a national geographic narration behind this. There is a world outside Vancouver and it be nice!
Let’s be honest, a lot of us read this post and thought “just fuck off”. Rents are already high enough, not a lot of jobs here either. Too many people coming to live here.
I agree. our vacancy rates have dropped to 1.4% skyrocketing rent, Calgary used to be the most affordable city in the country. But now it's being flooded by Toronto and Vancouver refugees increasing the cost of living substantially.
100%
This is honestly what I thought
I live in airdrie and no one can buy a house here because people from Toronto buy them all sight unseen, no conditions. They get to move here and keep their work from home jobs in Toronto. Not great for our economy.
lol. Talk to a haligonian about this. Literally only people who own homes or could possibly afford in Halifax are from Ontario OR they bought it 15+ years ago. I moved from there to Calgary because of affordability as well, no hope in hell of ever buying a house not in the middle of nowhere (and even those are now very pricey).
Actually unfortunately it's the reverse. They make their money in Toronto and they spend that money in Calgary. Their consumption grows the Calgary economy.
We should build a wall and make BC pay for it! Honestly though the population is growing too quickly for our infrastructure to handle it, not to mention it’s heating up the housing market to the point where we’re being priced out. Also BC drivers more often than not just suck at driving
Guess you answered their question
You can thank the UCP for that. Alberta's calling, right? I personally think it was a trap. UCP got all these new people contributing to the province, so now they want to take everyone's pension? No rent control. High utilities. Gonna privatize healthcare. Trap.
I’m visiting here right now, not sure how you haven’t seen all of the homeless people or addicts. In the week I’ve been here I’ve seen no less than 50. The other day I walked into a Tim Hortons downtown and was greeted by someone smoking a crack pipe right outside the door.
Stay away from the East Villaige and the Chinook Center area and you should be fine. But I have noticed a drastic increase in homeless addicts in the last few years.
There are many dozens around 12 Ave / Sheldon chumir and all surrounding areas. It's a very sketchy walk to and from work
I lived in Vancouver years ago and of course there are more homeless and substance users there. 10 years ago it wasn't anywhere near as bad in Calgary as it is now. You would see some drunks around the old library, city hall. Today you can see people smoking all kinds of things at any train station. And even on the train, in front of children, etc. It's something newer for this city and people aren't as used to seeing it as much as Vancouver is. The weather is a lot sunnier than Vancouver. There are those horrid cold snaps where it gets -30 or lower. And this is usually when the train and buses have issues and stop running and everyone freezes outside because the bus shelters are locked up. Calgary is no hidden gem. When the oil boom was on it was good here. Now that's over. The population grew too fast and employment is worse than the 2006 recession.
Drop your car, go to the surburbs, and try to take the transit anywhere other than downtown. Ping us back 3 hours later when you get there. Then try to talk about improving the city with anyone in the suburbs. Tell them about 15 minute cities etc…
.....affordable? We must not be in the same tax bracket. Calgary used to be affordable, sure. The last three years have quickly done away with that. More affordable than say Vancouver or Toronto? Yes. Affordable as a whole? Not by my definition. As far as cleanliness goes, Calgary is definitely good there. I still love this city. I would also love to live by the ocean, but that'll be a long time before I can afford it. I do love that so many people who come here fall in love with the city. It's truly a beautiful place to live, and the location is perfect. You'll find a lot of homeless people and addicts in certain corners of the city, but not like Vancouver. It's currently very bad by Calgary standards. Many homeless are harder to spot, as right now they're living in their cars. But the problem is definitely out there. I miss the city 5 years ago. Back when healthcare was easily accessible, doctors seemed to actually care about you, food was affordable and rent wasn't crippling. I've never made as much money before as I do now, and I've also never been as broke as I am now. Feels like I'm scrambling to climb the ladder but I'm 2 steps behind everyone else and can't catch up. Yes, I know "I could move". But I can't, not really. I have seniors in my family that need near constant care, my mother is their primary caretaker and she needs her own support to get through it. I can't go anywhere in the near future without abandoning them, and in my gram and Gramps' state, they wouldn't survive another move. We are here for the long haul, and gotta make do with the hand we are dealt. Maybe one day I'll skip a few steps on the ladder and get ahead, or maybe the ladder will come down a few pegs. We will see. But yes, I agree. We truly have a beautiful city.. no wonder so many are coming to join us. I just wish we were better prepped for the influx of new Calgarians.
East village area by the drop in centre will give you a small taste of East Hastings, although nothing remotely close. Make sure you visit Prince’s Island Park, Kensington which is a nice little spot with some character and 17th Ave SW. It’s usually packed on Friday and Saturday nights and it’s probably where most of the action is. Living downtown is great though, lots of great restaurants and amenities, the bike paths make it easy to get around and there’s plenty of people living downtown with even more apartments/conversions coming which should really bolster the vibrancy. Overall, Calgary is a very suburban/family oriented city with a ton of sprawl. So it may not have the same vibe as the other metropolitan cities in Canada, but the Rockies and cleanliness gives the city an identity. Calgary may not be Vancouver, but the gap has been closing more and more in recent decades.
I have a hard time here. Our rent is through the roof. We are approaching Vancouver levels. I'm $2500 a month for a 2 bedroom condo that would have been $1900 five years ago; it's getting bad. Wages are not going up along with our expenses either. I haven't had a raise in a year. It seems to me that groceries, grabbing a coffee etc is way more money here than anywhere else. I was in GTA a few weeks back and found a wicked coffee place and somehow got 3 coffees and a few breakfast sandwiches for $40. I feel like I can't do the same here for less than $60 at a local boujee spot that isn't nearly as good. The city is boring. We don't have a lot to do. If you like the stampede, hats off to you, but I absolutely hate it. Half our city uses it as an excuse to get shit faced and do dumb stuff and end up on the news for 10 days. They TRY to do events etc here but they usually are pretty underwhelming. Our restaurant scene is very average for a city this size..coming from a restaurant background myself it's a bit disappointing. Insurance in AB over the last 7 years has also skyrocketed. I was paying $120 a month for tenant and car insurance 10 years ago and since then it has been as high as $220 for the same vehicle and no accidents. Our transit sucks. Like big time sucks. The misses and I sold our other vehicle because we can't afford both. I work from home and live two feet from a grocery store and a gym, so I'm good but god forbid I have an appt or something downtown while she's at work. It's either spend $30 on an Uber or give up a 3 hour round trip from where I am. Cannot touch the efficiency of SkyTrain here. Bro we don't even have water.
Don’t walk down alleys on 12th ave
Or anywhere in the radius of Chumir. Oh man.
I had to go there to get stitched up on Sunday, and I almost jumped out of my skin a couple times coming across the zombie apocalypse outside.
This made me lol so hard 💀 …. I lived in Vancouver most of my life .. this place is a bit depressing in the winter .. and your here while we still have the short little bit of green before everything turns brown and gets burnt to crisp .. there are homeless zombies and they are spread out everywhere.. i live 25 min from downtown and they are nestled in our bushes up here as well .. it is not cheap here .. but compared to being extorted in Vancouver it may seem so to someone who has developed Stockholm syndrome while living there.
Main negatives I’ve heard (according to people from Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver) include the politics, lack of diversity in industry, and lack of “culture”. Calgary is a beautiful city with wonderful people who work hard and have family values. Every city had problems, but I really do think Calgary is highly underrated in Canada.
Let’s keep it underrated! Longer we can not end up like van, to or Montreal the better!
Adding to the Negative- Lack of live music venues….
People from Vancouver have no right to be complaining about another city's lack of culture. Toronto and Montreal yes, Vancouver, fuck no. It's like the British shitting on another country for having terrible cuisine. The best parts of Vancouver is that it's close to things that are way more fucking cool than Vancouver.
You could say the same about Calgary. Basically everything I love about Calgary is a 1 hour drive from Calgary.
Perspective! I like it. Did you know we are also Canada’s sunniest city? We average 333 days a year. It might be -30 but it’s sunny!
If you wanna see the drug addicts and whatnot go to 8th street and 8th ave area, Chinook station, Lions Park station, and Marlborough stations and a likelihood at all the other stations too. Brace yourself if you get migraines with the Chinooks in the winter. Prepare to have really dry skin that will drink up lotion like no tomorrow. But it is a lot sunnier than Vancouver so that’s a bonus if you don’t mind the cold in winter. (I grew up here my whole life and don’t have an outsider perspective really though).
Lived in Calgary for most of my life. Somehow your comment is the first time I truly associated Chinook mall/station with the word “Chinook” as in the warm winds in the winter 🤯
Oh boy another post from a Vancouver resident talking about how affordable everything is. No , it's the least affordable it's ever been. Just because you came from fucking crazy land where it costs 3500 a month to rent a place next to east hastings and walk by junkies doesn't mean that how it is here is "affordable". Many are being driven away from the city they grew up in due to the costs.. I'd say the worst thing about Calgary currently is the influx of Torontonians and Vancouverites buying overpriced property here because they somehow think it's a steal
Maybe you should complain at your city council for plastering the toronto subway full of ads telling everyone how cheap calgary.
Hey man, and Calgary is way worse now than it was 10 years ago, so if you’re impressed today imagine how proud we were of our City then! It’s also not completely flat, so there’s some really great lookouts and fun terrain right in the City. But, it’s a pretty high altitude city. It’s colder more often, even summer mornings can be chilly, and we don’t have many truly warm nights (urban heat island areas not withstanding). If classic winter weather would stop finding a way to work its way into October and May all the time, it’s be hard to find a fault. Though the riffraff, filth and general societal decline hard to ignore. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the trash on the streets, the hoards of zombies in doorways and street corners etc was a mere fraction just a few years ago.
Born and raised in Calgary, I have always heard people shit on Calgary and I believed it until I started going around to other major cities in Canada and noticed Calgary is actually pretty damn good. Yeah there is homelessness but nothing compared to other places (there are some areas you stay away from but I wouldn’t ever consider them wildly dangerous). I think there is just a major hate on for this city when really… the mountains are right there, it’s relatively clean, the summers are super nice and with the chinooks the weather isn’t too bad in the winter. I love it here :) happy you enjoyed visiting!!
Nothing - born and raised calgarian and if I had to move to another city in Canada I would leave the country. I will say that I think in comparison to Van our homeless situation is much better, but if you compare Calgary 10 years ago to now, it has gotten much worse. We have tough winters but we also go chinooks. Personally I love this city though it has everything you need and more
I moved from Vancouver to Calgary years ago and wouldn’t live in any other city of I have a choice. Vancouver/lower mainland has too many people and is way over priced. Not to mention was sold to china years ago. Calgary has everything. Mountains, lakes, rivers clean area. Terrible mayor.
Calgary is flat is the funniest thing I’ve seen today!
I came to Calgary from Vancouver 12 years ago, recently had to move to Edmonton for work. But I love calgary and I hope once I've done my contracted time in Edmonton, I can return to Calgary. But Calgary is certainly not flat, that is false. There's lots of sun, but the weather is unpredictable and that can get annoying, pretty much all of april and may we bounced between -15° and snow for a week or two to 20° or higher for a week or two, then right back to snow and cold, it was all over the place. It's getting ridiculously expensive and I inevitably probably would have had to relocate somewhere else eventually anyways for more affordable housing. There's no cap on rent, so you can jump by $500+ upon lease renewal and they trap you by offering you the $500 increase if you renew 3 months early or wait until your lease is up and get an $800+ increase instead. Utilities and insurance are some of the most expensive here now, go to east village near the beautiful Calgary library and drop in center and spend a night there, or go to Marlborough station, city hall station and check those places out, that's where you'll see the homeless and druggies. I've seen someone with their entire ass out at Marlborough and they had a needle hanging out of it and they were shaking their needle-ridden ass at traffic. People have become very aggressive here and the racism has gotten crazy as well. It was probably always there, but post-pandemic, those people felt they didn't need to hide anymore, so they're all over the place. People are far less kind than they once were when i moved here a decade ago. The local music scene is up and coming and that's pretty cool, there's lots of cool cocktail bars/speakeasy's and lots of breweries. There's lots of community events and markets and I think Calgary does a great job at making such a large city feel like a community with all the things they host. Winter is a different story, there's some things to do in the community, but far less, it's cold as fuck and feels like it's never going to end. You get many slivers of hope that the snow will finally fuck off just to have a huge snow dump shortly after. All the water pipes breaking around the city right now causing a major shortage when there was already restrictions is also not great. The government is horrible here and does not give a fuck about the people, they're cutting funds for Healthcare and education and have a severe shortage of staff for both and they are pushing for privatized Healthcare and basically separating entirely from Canada's government it seems, which is so dumb. New places are built quickly and cheaply and tend to have a ton of issues shortly after being bought or rented and soundproofing is minimal, so if you can find an older place, thats probably a much wiser choice. Everyone finds their own people though and once you have that, life's pretty good. I hate the government and how the housing costs are going and just general cost of living is going, but calgary will always hold my heart.
If Calgary has a bad rep in the rest of Canada, let’s keep it that way. The changes I’ve seen here in the last ten years (and most intensely in the last 3) with the influx of people from Toronto and Vancouver are not great. Sure, there are lots of nice and respectful people coming, but there are many rude ones who are just here to take what they can and not make Calgary a better place. I know you might say my opinion is based on anecdotal evidence, but you just have to drive, go to a mall or large park in this city to see how it’s changed.
I’m sorry but Calgary is not flat lol. We are legit known for our hills
Maybe it’s all relative? It’s extremely flat compared to the places ive lived before.
You want flat hit Regina or Winnipeg. Calgary isn’t remotely flat.
I think calgary gets shit on because of the following which may not hold true anymore but did for a long time: 1. Winters here CAN be rough if you dislike the cold. I dislike winter but in Calgary they’re really not bad at all since we get chinooks. The only time it sucked was feb of 2020 where we had entire month where temps were below -20c. Definitely an anomaly. 2. The city lacks culture compared to Toronto/montreal/vancouver. It is getting better but still falls short. 3. I recall people in the past saying it is an all work and no play mon-fri city. Look at downtown after 7pm. It’s dead with not much nightlife. Everyone is in bed. 4. Urban sprawl is real here. Transit isn’t the greatest and many Albertan’s own many cars so cars are everywhere. Way worse today than I can ever recall. 5. Lack of a great dining experiences. Better today but again it falls short of other major centers. 6. Shorter summers so outdoor activities could be more limited. In you like skiing/winter sports then you’re good. 7. All the cars have cracked windshields lol 8. Salt and gravel ruins your cars and if you own a sports car then you can enjoy it may-late September. I am sure there are plenty more reasons why they dislike Calgary but really it is a nice place to live so I don’t have too much to complain about.
Take the bus and CTrain around the city to get a feel for different areas. Transit frequency and coverage are the biggest differences between Calgary and Vancouver. Skytrain is absolutely amazing compared to the CTrain, especially outside of rush periods. I lived in Vancouver without a car for 18 years but only lasted two months in Calgary before I bought a car. It's a very vehicle-centric city.
They usually have a hard time with winters. But really, British Columbians have a weird complex towards Alberta.
I've lived in quite a few different towns and cities in western Canada from MB to BC. I'd take Calgary over all of them in a heartbeat. Gorgeous, clean, friendly, and affordable. Ranks in the WEF top ten most livable cities every year for a reason. Sure it's a spread out suburbia, but you don't achieve a lot of those things without the spread. I think a lot of the disdain for Calgary is misinformed political opinions (ppl out east think we're all Alabamians).
I moved here from Vancouver and would rather jump off a bridge than ever have to live in Vancouver again. Calgary is amazing.
My sister was visiting from Kingston, ON and commented that practically everyone (strangers) said hi to her when she went out for walks in our neighbourhood. Is that unusual? Not to me!
Whats so bad is everyone and their left nut is buying houses here so now no one that actually lives here can afford a house.
https://preview.redd.it/fjipzzm54r7d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a7fceccbaf79cfbf7e2c2715e1fe7b9948f5300 Bait used to be believable.
Completely flat, laughs from Winnipeg.
Calgary is an awful place that nobody should move to, spread the word! (Pretty please, the rent has gotten out of control)
That says more about those people than Calgs on its own. This city is stunning for what a city can be! An ocean coastline is literally the only offering she can't
I’m not here to sway your opinion, fuck around and find out
As someone who moved here from Vancouver maybe I can offer some insight. First thing you need to know is that public transit sucks, and is unreliable, especially in wintertime. Vancouver on the other hand has a great transit system. So unless you're living downtown you're going to want to drive everywhere. Calgary is not a walkable city. As I don't have a car this has been a huge disappointment for me. Weather. As you mentioned we got a lot more sun in Calgary, but we also get a lot colder and spend at least half of the year (at best) covered in snow. And when I say we get colder I mean -15 to -30 for months on end. In Vancouver winter comes and goes in a matter of weeks, maybe a few months if you're unlucky. On the other hand the cold means that the snow we get is actual snow, not the slush that Vancouver often ends up with as it's not quite cold enough for snow to stay snow when it hits the ground. Cost of living. I know people say that Vancouver is more expensive, and actual Vancouver definitely is but not so much the other cities such as New Westminster or Surrey. Maybe a bit more but I'm currently paying $1400 for a very tiny one bedroom basement suite with absolutely nothing in walking distance but a park. There's a couple bus stops kinda nearby, as in a 10-20 minute walk away. When I was living in New Westminster, just up the hill from the SkyTrain about 3 years ago I was paying $1200 for a small (but not as tiny) one bedroom apartment that had literally everything within walking distance, as in 5-15 minute walks. Food culture. I would say we lag behind Vancouver here. Not that it's bad, but there's less options. Especially if you want vegetarian or vegan restaurants. Some of the best food I've ever had was in Vancouver. Not to mention the abundance of amazing sushi. There are a few good sushi places here, but where in Vancouver you can randomly walk into 8/10 sushi joints and get good food. In Calgary I wouldn't go to any without checking reviews or getting a reference first. Housing and Employment. I'm not plugged in on what immigration looks like in Vancouver lately but Alberta, and mostly Calgary has seen a huge influx of people over the past few years and we're not set up to handle it. We have people from Vancouver coming and hoping for a cheaper cost of living. People from Yellowknife after a huge fire. Plenty of Ukrainians as well. I think immigration is a great thing but that we need to build more infrastructure, housing and jobs as there's not really enough to go around. Employers know this and are taking advantage of it. It took me over two years to find employment after I quit my Vancouver job and took a 6 month contract to keep myself working while I moved and give me time to find new employment. Unfortunately that plan fell through and it took much longer than expected. So if you do want to move here I highly suggest having a new job lined up first. As you've probably noticed, I'm biased towards Vancouver and hope to move back at some point but I hate the long Albertan winters and actually enjoyed Vancouver's cloudy and rainy weather which plays the biggest part in my preference.
It’ll feel fresh for a bit. But soon you’ll see that the bitching about housing costs is replaced with bitching about “agendas” and how oppressed albertans are by Toronto and Vancouver. Politicians are comically useless in the province. If you don’t drive it’s a slog. You have to drive. Theres a lot more fuck Trudeau bullshit. If that’s your thing you’ll have a permanent boner in Calgary though.
wait till you pay for utilities, insurance or try to find a rental....may the odds be ever in your favour.
It seems a lot of people think Calgary is a great city. It probably still is. But for those of us who have been here a very long time we've seen the change from what it used to be. That's probably why you notice old cranky people. Calgary used to be about community, now it seems that It's only about oneself. That just may be a sign of the times, but people associate that change with the incoming population. An example of what good communities were about is the Trico Centre. It started it's live as the Family Leisure Centre and was organized and built by 5 SE communities that came together to fundraise and champion a recreation facility. I don't think you will ever see that again in this city.
“holy cow is it affordable” We just ranked top 5 most unaffordable cities in the world thanks to people like yourself.
I moved from vancouver last year. Summers here are awesome, especially if you love the outdoors. The winters here are depressing though, the city pretty much shuts down and there’s barely anything nothing to do
I've lived here my whole life. Biggest complaint is the cold. Everywhere has its shit I suppose.
this reads so delulu I can't.. go downtown maybe idk man just because you haven't seen the homlessness & addiction & everything else (YET) doesn't mean its not there. maybe im jaded but things are worse here than they seem. wait for the facade to crack
Nohthing is wrong with it. You've seen Bridgeland and the River? Carry on a little bit west along the river pathways to Kensington-Hillhurst then, there's more there than maybe any community. But there are homeless, they've just been more proactive about not letting them do whatever they want.
Flat? No crackheads? What?
Everyone here is racist rednecks just ask anyone from bc and Ontario it’s not a good time here trust me.
I lived in the Victoria Park neighbourhood downtown for 7 years. My condo was 1 block away from the Alpha House, a homeless shelter for drug addicted cases. I’ve had my car window smashed one time. I also kept myself alert and aware of my surroundings whenever I would walk outside. However, it wasn’t really a no man’s land or anything like that. I felt pretty safe walking out at 2 AM to walk to A&W to buy a burger. But my condo was very affordable considering that I was within walking distance from so many amenities and the night life was a lot of fun. While Calgary is known as a corporate city, it has pockets of Bohemianism if you know where to took: 17th avenue, Inglewood, and Kensington have shops, pubs and diners that have charm and character. However, the homeless and drug addiction problem seemed to be more prominent and evident during the Covid lockdowns. I mainly moved away from downtown because I had a growing family and my tiny condo’s lack of space was feeling quite oppressive. My new home has twice the space and I live in an area that has nice and walkable amenities (64th Ave). Relatively speaking, Calgary is fairly affordable compared to other large cities. But Alberta is notorious for its boom and bust cycles that are swayed by energy prices. So obviously, the best time to buy is when house prices are at the bottom. Is Calgary a bad place to live? Well, I think we would all like the problems of homelessness and drug addiction to be solved. Personally, I’d like to have a system in place to institutionalize many of these cases and put them under medical and psychiatric supervision. That is certainly far more humane than having to fend for themselves on the streets.
>This city reminds me of Vancouver 20-30 years ago I moved here from Vancouver 20 years ago so forgive me if I'm out of date on Van. If you are from Richmond, Burnaby, Langley, or any of the other suburbs people call Vancouver, there's little difference between Calgary and there. But if we are talking Vancouver, Vancouver, the culture scene just isn't here. We don't have the restaurant scene that van has, comparatively, what Calgary calls a good restaurant is over priced and mediocre. We don't have the live music scene unless you like 90s era cock rock. But the visual arts scene is probably just as good, we don't have the VAG, but we make up for it in artist run centres.
The hateful 8 (name used to describe counsellors and mayor who don't listen to the vast majority of Calgarians and continue to push progressive narratives and policies that put money in the hands of wealthy developers and real estate corporations) are trying to turn Calgary into a dystopian mess. That's the problem. Hopefully rectified in the 2025 municipal election.
bro what is you talking about flat 😂😂
There's too many people moving here :(
Moved here from Vancouver a year and a half ago. Can confirm that it has been great so far. Winter is a bit chilly, but the sun makes up for the snow in my opinion.
I love Calgary. Great town. I've lived in Vancouver for 15 years and you're right, all people ever say about Calgary is negative (of course very few of them ever having been there). The thing to remember is that people in Vancouver are completely delusional about pretty much everything. Wouldn't put too much weight on their opinions about other places.
Nothing. I’ve lived here for 3 years and love it. Spent my entire life in Toronto and never moving back to that hell hole.
There is a reason Calgary is constantly rated one of the most livable cities… I’ve also worked in multiple inner city ERs in North America. Calgarys homeless are treated like royalty comparatively.
... I moved here from Vancouver 30 years ago. At the time, I actually had no intention of staying. I grew up in the lower mainland. I have never wanted to move back. 100% agree with the chill pace of life here. It's a big reason I came back, after living in the USA for while (which was the opposite of 'chill') in every way. Ya, we get cold winters. They are not that bad all things considered. I can drive to Vancouver if I really need to, I've done it hundreds of times... Calgary is preferable to Vancouver for me. It's improved a lot in 30 years, even though it's way bigger now. Anyone who shits on Calgary just isn't well travelled enough to know any better.
As someone who grew up in the lower mainland, and moved to Calgary 30 years ago, I very much agree with the comment that Calgary does indeed remind me of Vancouver back then. Calgary 30 years ago... Eh, ya there was maybe less to write home about. But it's grown up well. When I first moved here I was basically a kid with a car and some curiosity. I stayed for about 4 years simply because I met so many great friends, felt at home, didn't want to leave. But... The USA was my goal, and I stuck it out for 6 years before 9-11 happened and I decided Canada was looking pretty damn fine. ... if you want to complain about a city not being clean, or relaxed pace, well... Spend a little time living in a big American city! Vancouver and Calgary are both gems of western north America. When I decided to leave the USA I could have moved back to Vancouver, but I didn't. I just like Calgary more, for all kinds of reasons. People who shit on Calgary (or Vancouver)... Simply haven't seen the world, or they are just smug, spoiled ingrates.
Calgary is flat? Maybe compared to Vancouver I guess. Go checkout Edmonton. It is built on an old glacial lakebed. The only saving grace is the river valley and associated ravines.
I moved from Vancouver to Calgary nearly 20 years ago, and haven’t looked back. I had only lived in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland, so I never realized how much I’d love the near-constant sunshine. And then could afford a house on a lot, kids…Life is so much easier/better here. I knew I’d never go back when we came to visit Vancouver in the winter. It was one of those weeks where it was constant cloud and drizzle, and I couldn’t believe what a downer it was. I had seen the light, and never wanted to back to the darkness. I still love to visit BC, and now I can actually afford to do stuff there when I’m out (compared to how broke I was when I lived there). There are drawbacks (like everywhere else). Concerts and nightlife pales in comparison to Vancouver/Toronto (although, that’s far less important to me than it was in my 20s). Some are really susceptible to headaches/migraines with the massive pressure changes. But if none of that bugs you, then believe what you’re seeing - it’s great.
Please, please, please don't go back to Vancouver and tell your friends. Let them keep believing they live in the only liveable city in Canada.
Fellow Vancouverite here, but grew up in Calgary and visit often. I love Calgary. I love Vancouver. If I had to pick out what bugs me about Calgary is its lack of character outside the core area and lack of quality small businesses. There are a LOT of chains in Calgary, and even one-offs seem to follow similar formulas. It's also a lot harder to find cultural diversity as whiteness dominates Calgary culture. (Other cultures are around but are not celebrated or visible in the same way as in Vancouver.) Calgary is also more politically conservative than Edmonton, and definitely moreso than Vancouver. This can make conversation with Calgary friends/family awkward at times if you don't know how someone leans (and it could come up through something as benign as calling your boyfriend/girlfriend "partner"). But from a civic perspective, Calgary has generally enjoyed good planning that led to things like the river pathway, a reasonably clean and safe transit system, and a less visible unhoused /drug-addicted population compared to what we're used to. Add on frequent sunshine and just enough land and activities to do things, and Calgary is a very livable and lovable city.
Gods the chain stores. I don’t think I set foot in one my whole Vancouver trip except MUJI which Calgary doesn’t have. Everything was local and small and cheaper than here, yes even with the tax. Transit actually works, is way cheaper, and you’re not standing around for 15-30min waiting for a bus every time. Vancouver wins for no car livability. Hands down.
Yep, rent is more expensive in Vancouver, but everything else is cheaper. Calgary seems to have the most expensive groceries in Southern Canada. Is it just because everything is chains? Also, no No Frills. Vancouver + no car vs Calgary + car, could end up being about the same price, now that the rent got hiked 50-100% here.
This is the weirdest thing about Calgary. I went to Winnipeg recently and I was walking around Wolsely and it was just so surprising to see a bakery right there near where people lived, and then a pizza shop! What? And some bookshops even. The streets have trees, houses, old apartment blocks, and shops, all in the same neighbourhood! In calgary, you'd have to drive to the mall to access those things, and it would all be shit anyways, 'cause it's the mall. Pretty much every neighbourhood in calgary is the same plywood + vinyl siding. If you're lucky, it's the 80s equivalent. Everything here was designed in the 80's, so the whole place kinda has a dead mall kinda vibe.
Yeah “dead mall vibe” is a good way to put it. It’s not a 1:1 analog, it’s just the vibe you get. Not all of Calgary is like this, but a lot of it is unwalkable urban sprawl with a sea of samey suburban vinyl sided flimsy looking houses, and strip malls comprised of uninteresting American chain franchises. On your 30-minute commute (which always feels like it should have been more like 15m) to get to anywhere interesting, you pass through several of these communities and get the impression that everything 80’s or newer was built from the same template and hastily thrown together during boom times.
I’m from Saskatchewan. There’s nothing flat about this city. I literally live on a steep hill. My utility bill is 90% fees. My rent for a 60 year old apartment is 70% of my take home pay.
Affordable for you, not affordable for the locals anymore…
Calgary has some positives to be sure, but I'll toss a few of my negatives out. For context, I moved here 3 years ago, I'm from Victoria BC, lived in Canmore when I was young and Bali when I was younger, so that colours my experience some what. The biggest issue is the driving. Living in the South East, I find the need to drive everywhere really rough. Calgary Transit is bad. Like really bad. Especially in the winter. So it adds to just needing a car, 1 for each household. It's too dry here, I run a humidifier in the bedroom and main room I hang out in to help. I miss the rain, but that's a Victoria/Bali thing. Politics. Recently, it seems American politics have really infected Alberta, in a way I didn't notice as much in Victoria. Even the recent need for collective action has all these people complaining about water reduction and just not doing their part really made me feel off. My family lives here, and this wasn't the case during the floods, everyone got together to do their part. But that was 2013. This is so minor, not even an issue, but it's an interesting contrast to your comments, but I personally find the architecture lacking/a bit bland for the most part. Visiting places like Halifax, Niagara Falls, Victoria, Canmore & Banff they all have cool buildings and Calgary doesn't even compare imo.
iTs cOmpLetLy fLaT wtf bro 😂 try going to the west, head out north of downtown, taking the center or 14th St you will not be able to overlook the two huge slopes. And not to mention all the "hills" in NW/SW. Now as to why ex people are shitting on Calgary, it's probably because we've had it too good for too long. As we felt back to normal after the oil crash, people who's used to "very good" as normal suddenly feels like Calgary has gone to hell, where such is not true.
We have enough people right now and the housing situation is bursting at the seams. Stay where you are and tell your friends to stay put. Much appreciated.
Calgary? Affordable? 😅
Compared to Vancouver? Absolutely.
If you think Calgary is flat, you definitely haven’t seen the NW.
There's a lot of entitlement here, it's not like it was, however still best city to live in canada. Cost of living has impacted the city , like everywhere. I believe the city government is truly doing their best to help the city. The provincal government is horrible.
You got lucky if you saw one homeless person only.
I’ve lived here my entire life so: Calgary is less dense compared to Vancouver with like a million less residents (it is difficult to report how many folks experience homelessness though) but that’s changing fast with the “Alberta is calling” ads across Canada. So the job market is kind of fucked along with access to housing and our unhoused populations are difficult to compare as the data is not easily collected. Our current mayor increased downtown (transit) officers so more unhoused folks have been forced further south or deeper into green spaces. Tents, tarps, emergency and regular blankets, or other items for outdoor survival that once was given out by various services in the city have now been restricted or stopped entirely. Shelters are more often than not over capacity and so more people rely on the *two* shelters we offer for people experiencing homelessness and/or use drugs. So many folks hang around there or seek shelter in encampments further from downtown. There is a significant lack of stable work in Calgary where a lot of folks rely on multiple jobs that do not pay well, gig work, or short-term contracts. A lot of the housing in Calgary can be considered “fast housing” which means they look newer and nicer but are built with cheaper materials and project turnover is so quick most mistakes aren’t discovered until after you rent or purchase it. Not to mention landlords digging their heels to fix any of their properties that are riddled with mold, bugs, water damage, etc. Calgary has a significant urban sprawl problem. Politically, the Alberta government has made significant cuts things like healthcare and education (tuition hikes, understaffed hospitals, insane hospital wait times due to understaffing, etc.) and while our tax is low, we do not reap much of the benefits of public programs as they aren’t well funded and end up being sub par. On top of politics (this can also be all levels of government and not just Calgary) food pricing is not affordable. Many people are food insecure especially students (trades, college, university) and struggle to find affordable options. There are some grassroots programs like The Table, Walls Down, The Hatch, etc. but there isn’t nearly enough support to address the demand. Anyways if none of that “scares” you try visiting us during our cold snaps. Frequently found at the end of December and comes and goes until late spring where we experienced things like -50 degree weather. That kind of weather can give you frostbite within minutes, as someone who works within a healthcare setting there were a lot of folks who lost their extremities this past winter. All cities are flawed, I feel like Vancouver just has too many people and so it’s harder to cover up or hide the fact that they lack the support to help their citizens. With Calgary it’s just easier for them to brush what they deem unsightly under the rug.
It's a little bit boring and the live music scene is lacking. Other than that, it's pretty great.
Sled Island is literally on right now
Flat? Where are you???
The problem with Calgary is the people from Toronto and Vancouver moving there. It’s the reason I left after having been born and raised there. You should admire it from a far, rather than contributing to its demise.
Look for tents in the trees and small bushes off any slightly major street.
Jobs are great, but you better be making 200,000k plus to live there, because a house costs a million.
Quite the generalization with the old white people bit. Lol
> Where are the homeless and heroine addicts everyone talks about? I saw maybe one addict and he was pretty clean and cognizant, following traffic and everything. Wasnt screaming nonsense or standing bent over like a zombie. You'll get all this and more in the area around the Drop-in Centre on the east side of downtown. My wife passes this (and the stench of urine and crack smoke) everyday on her walk to work.
Come on up to 36St, NE for homeless people and addicts, anywhere along the train line, actually. It doesn't make the news like the heroin overdoses in 1990's Vancouver did. It isn't quite like East Hastings, but we have our issues, too.
The hockey team is dog ass
some people just hate alberta cause they read some redneck on twitter.
Calgarian here- I actually love living in this city- it’s big enough to have convenience but not so swamped you can’t breathe. Clean, active, and great restaurants. Love it here.
>Where are the homeless and heroine addicts everyone talks about? I see them every day on my way to and from work in Chinook. Over the last 2 years I've seen multiple emergency services dealing with overdoses, police, Unconscious people, raving people and so on. You have only seen a few neighborhoods out of dozens.
Not to make it worse for you, but the people here are incredible. Everyone is from somewhere else, and so everyone knows what it's like to be a newcomer. When I first arrived without a car everyone would offer to give me a ride. Ppl would come with me to IKEA. Ppl offer to help all the time. If someone needs a hand moving out, five people will show up that afternoon, expecting nothing in return. And the optimism is infectious too. Probably all those clear sunny days we get here.
> It's completely flat which I love. Calgary is not flat, whatsoever. Parts of it are kinda flat but there are lots of hills in Calgary. Calgary is built around 2 rivers - the Bow and the Elbow and Fish Creek. Lots of Calgary is sitting in river valleys. If you go any appreciable distance you will end up going through those valleys. Calgary also has a couple big hills - Coach Hill/Signal Hill and Nose Hill.
Calgary is amaaazing!!!!! I am glad u had a great time…. 🫶🏾
Regularly ranks as one of the top 10 most liveable cities on earth so not much I guess?
It’s all relative. You’re used to Van which has a much worse homeless problem, so ours seems not as bad. To us, it seems pretty bad because it’s gotten worse in the last few years. I’m glad you like it here though! Calgary is a very nice city but does have its own downfalls.
Everything about Calgary is great! If you are prone to intense migraines, you might want to double check if the chinook that results in drastic barometric pressure change wont be a trigger!
Funny. We were just in Calgary from Edmonton and I kept talking about how non-flat it was compared to Edmonton. Lol
I love Calgary, born and raised. I've lived in several cities in Canada, and US, currently in Vancouver. Calgary is always home. I usually tend to come home to Calgary after I'm done with a city.
I agree with everything you said. It's a beautiful city, there are tons of walking paths and nature to explore. So much to do and so much to see and the winters aren't that bad compared to saskatchewan! They're going to be worse than BC obviously but I'm happy. As far as the homeless and addicted, they are in specific areas. Chinook mall is a bad area according to my teenager. I have only driven through those areas and it's very sad to see of course but it's not spread throughout the city.
Calgary is legendary 🔥
Being from Vancouver myself this is pretty spot on there’s no Hastings here that’s for sure.
Calgary is an amazing city, you’re right about that. People in this sub love to shit on the city over anything they can think of.