Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Culture Shock of Moving to a Major Metropolitan City

Cecil Terwilliger · 02-04-2017, 11:28 PM

Like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo etc from a much smaller city, like Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, or even a small town.

So for example, I was born in Regina, and due to family connections have spent a lot of time there. But most of my childhood was spent in small towns. And even though I lived in a small town just outside of Calgary and spent a lot of time here, I still had a bit of culture shock when I moved to Calgary when I was 16. For example, I had literally never taken public transit before. I was used to being able to walk to the other side of town in 20 minutes, so the idea of a 45 min bus ride to school with two transfers was quite the change. My high school had more students than the town I lived in had people.

Now that I've lived in Calgary for half my life, I'm not daunted in the slightest by anything this city has to offer.

But I often wonder how well I'd adjust if I went somewhere way bigger or way different, or both, from Calgary.

So for anyone that has made such a move, how did it go? How about more exotic places like the Middle East or SE Asia? This presumes you didn't already speak the language and such.

I know there would be a lot of sweet things about doing such a move, sports, museums, culture, food etc, but high population density, the pace of life, costs etc would be obvious barriers.

Obviously going to another English speaking, westernized city would be easier. For example, moving to NY seems a lot easier than Tokyo to me. But even moving to New York seems a bit daunting to me. Then again, I was a bit nervous about going to Montreal alone for the first time a couple of years ago and it turned out to be anything but stressful. I feel like I could easily move there with minimal issues. Same with Toronto, minus the French language barrier. I wouldn't worry at all about moving to TO due to the size or culture shock if the opportunity was there. I know Montreal and Toronto are a long ways off from NY or Tokyo, and I was only there for a vacation, but I'm talking about time to assimilate. I felt almost no culture shock at all. I've been to NY and LA and they definitely felt different.

Another wrinkle would be age. I'm mostly referring to being in high school or older. I know a number of people whose families immigrated to Canada and I feel like it would be a vastly different experience if you were 7 years old vs 35.

Some people seem to never get over it though. I know a few older people who are used to a slower paced small town and even though they've lived in Calgary for years, they still would never take the train alone or drive around the city during rush hour. Or drive downtown at all anytime for that matter.

Sorry. Really long OP.

TL;DR Anyone moved from a smaller city, or town, to a huge city? Was it hard to adjust?

02-04-2017, 11:28 PM	#1
Cecil Terwilliger That Crazy Guy at the Bus Stop Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Springfield Penitentiary Exp:	Culture Shock of Moving to a Major Metropolitan City Like New York, London, Paris, Tokyo etc from a much smaller city, like Calgary, Regina, Winnipeg, or even a small town. So for example, I was born in Regina, and due to family connections have spent a lot of time there. But most of my childhood was spent in small towns. And even though I lived in a small town just outside of Calgary and spent a lot of time here, I still had a bit of culture shock when I moved to Calgary when I was 16. For example, I had literally never taken public transit before. I was used to being able to walk to the other side of town in 20 minutes, so the idea of a 45 min bus ride to school with two transfers was quite the change. My high school had more students than the town I lived in had people. Now that I've lived in Calgary for half my life, I'm not daunted in the slightest by anything this city has to offer. But I often wonder how well I'd adjust if I went somewhere way bigger or way different, or both, from Calgary. So for anyone that has made such a move, how did it go? How about more exotic places like the Middle East or SE Asia? This presumes you didn't already speak the language and such. I know there would be a lot of sweet things about doing such a move, sports, museums, culture, food etc, but high population density, the pace of life, costs etc would be obvious barriers. Obviously going to another English speaking, westernized city would be easier. For example, moving to NY seems a lot easier than Tokyo to me. But even moving to New York seems a bit daunting to me. Then again, I was a bit nervous about going to Montreal alone for the first time a couple of years ago and it turned out to be anything but stressful. I feel like I could easily move there with minimal issues. Same with Toronto, minus the French language barrier. I wouldn't worry at all about moving to TO due to the size or culture shock if the opportunity was there. I know Montreal and Toronto are a long ways off from NY or Tokyo, and I was only there for a vacation, but I'm talking about time to assimilate. I felt almost no culture shock at all. I've been to NY and LA and they definitely felt different. Another wrinkle would be age. I'm mostly referring to being in high school or older. I know a number of people whose families immigrated to Canada and I feel like it would be a vastly different experience if you were 7 years old vs 35. Some people seem to never get over it though. I know a few older people who are used to a slower paced small town and even though they've lived in Calgary for years, they still would never take the train alone or drive around the city during rush hour. Or drive downtown at all anytime for that matter. Sorry. Really long OP. TL;DR Anyone moved from a smaller city, or town, to a huge city? Was it hard to adjust? Last edited by Cecil Terwilliger; 02-04-2017 at 11:37 PM.