Thinking of moving to Calgary

[BadKenny]

Re: Thinking of moving to Calgary

As a teacher, you're golden in Calgary....all my friends got fulltime positions right out of school.

If you have 2 degrees, the top end wage (after 12 years) is something close to 70k. Yeah. 70k. I called BS when my friend told me that until he showed me the website.

Housing cost isn't too bad if you wanna come to the NE, (where I am), houses start at like 170k in my area. Richer hoods are where the 300k houses are....so come to Temple, Whitehorn, Rundle, Pineridge....(stay away from Dover, Forest Lawn and Marlborough), they're not bad neighborhoods and cheaper than the rich 'burbs.

[Kevy]

Re: Thinking of moving to Calgary

Edmonton will be little cheaper when it comes to cost. As for things to do i find stuff to do but then im still in highschool and its a totally different croud. We do however have the biggest mall in the world...and you havent been on a rollercoaster till you've been on one under a roof. Shopping in edmonton will be no problem and as for dinner and eating out, i could give you the best places and addresses in the city. Calgary is a more classy and modern city. Where as Edmonton has a lot of older buildings. Our downtown business district however is relativily new. We also have one of the top music and opra halls in North America, and live theater in Edmonton is great. You have to mae a dicision for yourself though because both cities do have their ups and downs. Climate in Edmonton can be the same a Calgary but sometimes Edmonton does get a bit couldr. But seeing the winter we are having now im sure its less snowy here than on the eastern seeboard.

Hope i helped you out. If you have anymore questions just ask, their are more calgarian on this site than edmontonians but ill try to answere most of your edmonton Q.

[zilla]

Re: Thinking of moving to Calgary

My wife and I just moved to calgary about 1.5 months ago after living in Vancouver (Kits) for a year.

I was paying $1050 a month rent + $40 parking + hydro for a 640 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment. I'm paying less than that for a 1200+ sq ft 3 bedroom townhouse here.

Calgary is *cheap* compared to Vancouver and add to that a more favourable income tax structure, no PST, and no front plates required For example, at the Safeway in Kits, milk, eggs, and bread would cost us about $11-12. Here you're looking at about 1/2 that.

You don't have to dial the area code when making local calls (this was always a pet peeve of mine in vancouver).

I live in the south and take the train in to work downtown (~30-35 minutes). It's great, but the normal buses suck compared to Vancouver (some routes stop running at 6pm!)

Driving is great too. it looks like there was some semi-intelligent city planning and getting around the city in a car is not painfull. The anti-driving movement is not as apparent as it is in Vancouver. Also, car theft is nowhere near what it's like in Vancouver.

Also be aware that it is very dry here. Calgary is 3300-3500 ft above sea level (thinner air). Both my wife and I experienced a bit of altitude sickness for the first week or so after we arrived, but we've used to it now.

Still... I miss living 8 blocks from the ocean and all of the trees. At least Banff is only about 1.5 hours away

[cabrio_driver]

Re: Thinking of moving to Calgary

Well it is sounding very good. We're going to put in applications soon and see what happens. I've almost convinced my wife we need to leave where we are now. We're also going to look at Edmonton and the Okanagan in BC. Hopefully, it all works out well for us.

Thanks again.

Oh and I just put in my order for German made 2" lips for my RMs, I'm very excited and wanted to share...

[Tuna]

Re: Thinking of moving to Calgary

Oh and I just put in my order for German made 2" lips for my RMs, I'm very excited and wanted to share...

First let me say, I hate you .

The Okanogan is nice, I lived in Osoyoos for a while. The bigger centers there would probably be better to live though as it's quite a seasonal area so it thrives in the summer and then everything gets boarded up come september. Kamloops or Kelowna probably wouldn't have as big an issue.

[cabrio_driver]

Re: Thinking of moving to Calgary

First let me say, I hate you .

Actually a guy in Vancouver set up a group buy so I'm getting them cheaper than Kodiak lips and they are stronger and have a nicer profile. So I'm very happy. Now we have to get something sorted out for the Focus.

And we only want to live in relatively large areas since we arent' enjying rural life so much. It's just too big a change for us I think. I think Calgary would be my preferance city wise. Edmonton is less expensive which is a plus. And a old friend of mine just bought a place in Vernon. I've spent a lot of time in the Okanogan as its pretty close to Vancouver, so I'm fairly familiar with the areas. My dad also lived there for while when he was younger. So we'll send out applications everywhere and see what comes up.