So I just completed a program that might give me some job opportunities outside of Winnipeg. Likely Calgary, Vancouver or Toronto. I know we've got lots of people on this form from various cities so any insight from residents would be great

 

Likely I'd be working a > 40 hour a week job in the down town area and renting an apartment close to work. Feel free to add anything you might think is relevant or shoot down anything that is a misconception about these places

 

Calgary Pro's:

 

Probably cheapest to live in.

Would be able to keep my car.

shortest flight home

least amount of taxes

close to banff

shortest move

I don't mind the up and down weather

less taxes

 

Cons:

 

I don't really like country music or anything cowboy related

probably the worst of the cities when it comes to international airports (still better than WPG) for flying internationally

I don't have a bad driving record but I've managed to get a speeding ticket every 3 years or so just often enough to keep merits away, I'm not sure how much different private insurance is than MPI for an abstract like that.

 

Vancouver Pro's

 

I've been to Vancouver a lot and I like the city but don't really know what would set it apart from Calgary or Toronto.

I'm sure next to Toronto it would be the best airport to travel out of for vacation.

 

Con's

 

Warm in winter is nice but if it really is dreary I wouldn't like that. I'd probably travel during the summer so its not like I could get away much for winter.

I think a parking sport in downtown Vancouver would be crazy expensive.

I'm not a hippie

 

Toronto Pros's

 

would probably have the best jobs, maybe not good enough to offset the extra taxes and living expenses compared to Calgary at least for a while

Would be great to travel out of for vacations

I'm not super "Toronto" but I am more "Toronto" than I am hippie or cowboy

 

Con's

 

I doubt I could afford to bring my car

I don't know how bad smog actually is as I've never been there in summer

 

 

In my spare time I like to play in bands. I know in WPG lots of bars have to have live music to keep there liquor license and that keeps live music going, I'm not sure if any of theses cities have the same deal?

 

After reading all this, I'm gonna need a soft chair to curl up in. Or if I want to rock, a rocking chair in the middle.

After reading all this, I'm gonna need a soft chair to curl up in. Or if I want to rock, a rocking chair in the middle.

You're going to need an extra person cuz the chair is for two people to curl up in.

You're going to need an extra person cuz the chair is for two people to curl up in.

As long as you keep to your side of the chair.

Let's all just talk about our feelings now...

I literally just moved from Winnipeg to Calgary.

 

- Housing prices seem much higher than Winnipeg, rental prices are about $300/month more I've found (but if you keep looking you can find a sweet deal - I'm in a 3 bedroom house in an older residential area about 15 min from downtown - think St James - for $1300 + utilities).  But purchase wise, I can't really find anything under $300k.

 

- Overall daily things are about the same price.  Horse board is about $150/mth more expensive (just as a reference point for another "large" monthly purchase) but gorgeous around here so a bit more worth it.

 

- Can't speak on the winters yet but SO MUCH LESS HUMID.  I love it.  

 

- Can't really speak on the social aspect of Calgary, not really someone who goes out unless its to a pub.  

 

- Nowhere has air conditioning... apparently it's because no one needs it.  I NEEDS IT /end gollum impression. 

 

- Lots of good places to eat

 

- Easy to get around (it may be bigger, but Winnipeg is awful for transport anyway)  - I feel like I can get to most places relatively easily within 30 minutes.

 

- I still have the option to move back to Winnipeg after... probably will.  There's no way I can get a house around here for what I pay (and enjoy) in Winnipeg.  Unless miraculously the market explodes in Winnipeg and crashes here

- Easy to get around (it may be bigger, but Winnipeg is awful for transport anyway)  - I feel like I can get to most places relatively easily within 30 minutes.

 

As someone who lived in Calgary, I can say this isn't really true.  The biggest hassle for me in Calgary was getting around.  It's so damn spread out and if you have friends in different corners of the city, be prepared for some real travel time.  And traffic... oh boy.  I'm sure it's worse in places like Vancouver and Toronto, but I've never experienced anything in Winnipeg remotely close to rush hour on the busy Calgary thoroughfares.

As someone who lived in Calgary, I can say this isn't really true.  The biggest hassle for me in Calgary was getting around.  It's so damn spread out and if you have friends in different corners of the city, be prepared for some real travel time.  And traffic... oh boy.  I'm sure it's worse in places like Vancouver and Toronto, but I've never experienced anything in Winnipeg remotely close to rush hour on the busy Calgary thoroughfares.

so much this. transit in calgary is fine if you're going to or from downtown, but if you're going anywhere else via transit it's brutal. It's a city built around driving, but there's really a problem with having a few major roads that you almost have to take to get anywhere and at rush hour it can become total insanity. Granted I live on the south edge of the city, but I've spent over an hour driving  across the city just because of the volume of traffic. Calgary is just such a massive city compared to Winnipeg, not so much population, but the area it occupies. If you're going from one end of the city to the other it's a long way to go. 

As someone who lived in Calgary, I can say this isn't really true.  The biggest hassle for me in Calgary was getting around.  It's so damn spread out and if you have friends in different corners of the city, be prepared for some real travel time.  And traffic... oh boy.  I'm sure it's worse in places like Vancouver and Toronto, but I've never experienced anything in Winnipeg remotely close to rush hour on the busy Calgary thoroughfares.

 

Really?  I've noticed the traffic is bad, but not BAD if you avoid accidents/etc (eg - keep going and get the next trail etc). I've been in some pretty awful traffic in Winnipeg.  Can't really speak on transit in Calgary as I drive.  I haven't had a huge need to drive in the north for example, as everything you need is nearby.  Imo driving across Winnipeg can EASILY take an hour. Transcona to Charleswood? Have fun.  Even Lag - Charleswood, at least 45 minutes.  I dunno, I expected it to be worse, that's all I'm sayin'.

I've been told housing in Calgary is about $200,000 more essentially than Winnipeg as a base. Ie those 250-300,000 homes in the Peg are 450-500.

$200000 is probably over shooting it a bit. probably more like $100000-$150000

$200000 is probably over shooting it a bit. probably more like $100000-$150000

Higher than that. A nice home here in almost half a mill.

well what's your definition of nice? 

_{Wow, you own a house like I do. I think we both know what nice is. You live in Parkland. I live in Bonavista. Communities like that. Mackenzie Lake, etc,}

I bought in Cranston for about 400000, but go across the street there's houses for anywhere from half a mil to a mil. Different people have different thresholds for what nice is. But bottom line when comparing to Winnipeg I don't think 200000 difference is the actual number, just seems way too big a gap. 

I'm sure there is much less differnce between a 400k home in wpg and cal than there was 5 years ago.

My house in Lake Bonavistahere in Calgary is 40 years old  & 1200 sq ft. My brother's house in Island Lakes in Winnipeg is 20 years old & 1800 sq ft & has many more ammenities than mine & my home is still worth more than his. if my brother's home was in Calgary, it would easily be $700,000.

One thing that was different in Calgary when my family was there was winter services. When it snowed the philosophy for plowing residential streets was "wait for a chinook". They would only do residential streets if the road was impassable. Don't know if that's changed.

One thing that was different in Calgary when my family was there was winter services. When it snowed the philosophy for plowing residential streets was "wait for a chinook". They would only do residential streets if the road was impassable. Don't know if that's changed.

same.

same.

 

Do you still have to mow the boulevards in the summer and shovel the city sidewalk (both sides if you have a corner lot) in the winter?

Do you still have to mow the boulevards in the summer and shovel the city sidewalk (both sides if you have a corner lot) in the winter?

Yes. But we have no boulevards.

Yes. But we have no boulevards.

 

I meant the grass between the city sidewalk and the road.

I meant the grass between the city sidewalk and the road.

Nope. Don't have those. We do  have to shovel the public sidewalk in front of our homes. But the sidewalk is right beside the road. No boulevards like you see in Winnipeg.

Nope. Don't have those. We do  have to shovel the public sidewalk in front of our homes. But the sidewalk is right beside the road. No boulevards like you see in Winnipeg.

My memory might be playing tricks with me but I'm pretty sure the neighbourhood where I lived in Calgary did.

Been here 23 years, we don't have boulevards like Winnipeg.

Higher than that. A nice home here in almost half a mill.

That sounds about what my friends have said. There are some nice 1,000-1500 sq foot 3 bedrooms in NK, GC etc for $250-300,000 so something similar for $450-500,000 makes sense.