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?

 

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

 

Yeah my memory was playing tricks. Found a picture of the house I lived in and it didn't. 

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

 

I was never looking at $400,000 houses in either place but there's not even the option for the house I was looking for (under $200,000) here. Same house looks to be around $350,000 in a decent area here.  How do people afford houses here? It's insane. 

 

That said, from quick glances those "new" 1200 sqft houses in Calgary are kind of comparable to the new construction in Winnipeg (Waverley Heights etc) - around $350,000.  Probably much less fancy inside though.

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.

 

That's probably true, but I know when I was looking NK/GC wasn't even an area I was considering.  There are definitely some lower cost areas (still safe obviously) where you can get nicer housing at a lower cost in Winnipeg.

I live in McKenzie Lake. Bought 15 years ago for $225,000, currently valued at $570,000. 2,000 sq ft. House prices in Calgary are high for sure. When I first moved here they had things called starter homes which sold for around $130,000. Now nothing is really available for less than $300k.

For me it takes 20 mins to get down town for work (I leave at 5:50am) and 30 mins to get home (I leave at 3:30pm). If I leave at 4 the trip take 45 mins and f I leave at 4:30 it's usually 60+ mins to get home. Rush hour seems to start at 3:30 and ends around 7:00.

Places to eat are not an issue and better places pop up all the time.

Still kills me sometimes that I didn't keep the condo I used to own in Calgary 10 years ago when I moved back to MB.

Still kills me sometimes that I didn't keep the condo I used to own in Calgary 10 years ago when I moved back to MB.

Everyone I know in the city who bought before 2005 was laughing about how much the value shot up, everyone who bought after curses not getting in before. Just an unreal price hike over that year. 

Moved from Morden to a town of about 8000 in 2007. About an hour north of Calgary. There's a lot i miss about MB (fishing at our Victoria Beach cabin...sigh) but AB is pretty great. Once you've lived in the mountains, its nearly impossible to live anywhere else. I just bought for 230k but its a 2007 1300 sq ft starter bi-level. Housing is steep but Wpg has gone up a ton, too...