Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunk
Terrible defeatism. I understand pessimism, but if we make good choices as a community, we will grow and thrive.
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Yeah, Calgary is definitely coming back. I got laid off from an O&G company ~5 years ago, and started my own online business. That has had ups and downs (thanks COVID) but basically I could live anywhere and still choose to live here. It's great for my kids, the schools are good, good flight connections for escaping winter etc.
But my former colleagues (who all got laid off roughly the same time as me) have accelerated their return to work in O&G recently. And one guy who was worried about getting laid off from his new gig last year at this time recently messaged me that his company just started a 3 rig program (up from zero) and he's really busy. Peyto just mentioned they sold a bunch of gas into the US at $160 per mcf during the recent storm, which is like 50x the normal price. Nice if you can make a years worth of revenue in a week.
I also think our current real estate prices help attract people to the city. I have a 2 BR condo I rent out. My current tenant is a freelancer in a creative profession (he explained, something design related). He moved from Vancouver. He works remotely (even pre-covid) and said the rent I'm charging him for a 2 BR is less than he was paying for a 350 sqft studio in Vancouver. So it's a quality of life improvement for him and he thought he'd try it for a year. That adds both people and vibrancy, imo.
So I think the combination of people who used to be oil and gas dependent starting new paths but choosing to stay in Calgary, cheap real estate/low taxes attracting people/firms to move here, and improvement in oil and gas is going to help Calgary bounce back. There are already some green shoots (single family house pricing is going up) and I think as people can get their vaccines the mood of the city is likely to change for the better.