For those Working downtown (or have) how do/did you like it?
I have to say coming from someone who has worked downtown for the past 7 years, i recently took on another job that is NOT DOWNTOWN and i have to say its such a massive relief! I sure dont miss downtown at all.
Downtown was good at first then it became ok, then as time passed it got more and more aggravating. Id get stressed out just getting home from work. I just couldnt take anymore of the congestion and 45min commutes to work and another 1hr from work five days a week. And thats on a normal day! Winters is when i really dreaded the commute as the commute doubles. Life is too short to be wasting that much time sitting in traffic.
It took me almost half hour everyday just to get out of downtown! Then another half hour to get home! Stop n go traffic all the way through.
Even the shuttle bus i couldnt stand 5 days a week, half of the time it was late or didnt show or itd be packed and have to stand or in the summers it would smell like a saskatchewan out house. So since i couldnt stand driving to work 5 days a week or busing t 5 days a week id split it abkut 60/40 driving.
Not just that but its so nice not having to wait or deal with packed or slow or malfunctioning elevators, walking blocks to your car, waiting 20mins to get a coffee. My old employer was too cheap to get properly working elevators as some times we would wait upwards of 10mins! Sometimes it wouldnt even come. Then the elevators would get so packed, that 15 sec ride becomes a 6min ride as you literally have to stop on every floor.
My new job is a 9km 10min drive from home (15mins tops during rush hour) and i only have to deal with rush hour in the morning. For the time it takes me to get home, working downtown it took me that long to walk to my car 2 blocks away and get out the parkade. Then id enter the warzone.
I have to say that it would take a lot to get me back downtown. I dont think i could go back.
Last edited by Cluelessboy; 10-13-2011 at 03:54 PM.
Meh, driving is driving in this city. I work downtown, my wife doesn't. We leave work at the same time and she is closer to home. I beat her home on a consistent basis.
I love being able to walk over to Sunterra, grab a coffee easily, etc. Working downtown is great.
- I like Stephen Ave when it's hot out. Women in this city are highly professional.
- I like choosing between about 30 places for lunch.
- I like how I can walk to most meetings with prospective clients or friends that work elsewhere downtown.
- I like going straight to hockey games after work.
- I live just minutes out of downtown so commutes aren't an issue.
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I love working downtown, but I live in the Beltline and walk to my office (~15-20 minutes each way). I'd probably have a different opinion if I lived in suburbia and had to deal with downtown traffic everyday.
I'm currently working a three month consulting gig for a company not downtown and hate my commute (via CTrain) and lack of nearby choices to buy lunch.
I started working downtown about 2 years ago now and I can honestly say that I could take it or leave it. Nice to be able to get to work easily on transit. Parking sucks the few days a month I would like to be able to drive. Can walk anywhere for lunch if I want, but it is usually a bit more expensive that it might be elsewhere in the city.
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i work on 11 Ave, I really like it down here, although like others I live in Killarney so my commute is a pretty quick drive down bow trail to 10th Ave 15-20 minutes and thats during LRT construction right now
I work on the east side of downtown and live in Spruce Cliff so the commute isn't bad for me, 15min by bus or 45min jog.
A few times during the year I had to go out to the office in NE Calgary and I hated ever moment of it.
Why I like downtown.
- 1000's of places to eat lunch at and not having to drive to get to them.
- Lunch time run along the river pathways.
- Easy to get errands done; banking, dry cleaning, haircut, etc... all at lunch so I don't have to do them after work.
- Easy to get to a pub or lounge for after work drinks.
I miss working downtown when I used to work around Steven ave and the Calgary Tower. Through, I don't miss having to wait for the bus when winter comes around.
Yeah, you don't have a problem with working downtown, you have a problem living in bum-prodding nowhere.
I turned down a job largely because it wasn't downtown. I love working downtown.
-Run your errands, do your Christmas shopping...
-tons of lunch and after work drink options.
-Meet your friends from other companies for lunch, not just stupid coworkers
-Stephen Ave, Olympic plaza, Prince's Island, the River walk. Much better than parking lot surrounding your office building
-easy access to Flames games after work
It's glorious. I love working in downtown Calgary, it's truly the best part of this city.
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For those Working downtown (or have) how do/did you like it?
