I got the best Christmas present ever this year.

[Flames_Gimp]

cant believe the hate for vacouver in this thread... i lived there for 5 years in the late 90's and Loved it.

I'll take the short rainy winter and early spring over -20 and long grueling winters in calgary any day.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by drewboy12

Only thing about Calgary I like is the Flames....Id much rather be somewhere +35 with a beach... Or Vancouver.

Would you rather have a 5000 square foot house here or a piece of crap house in Vancouver?

Vancouver is nice but driving there sucks big time. Can't blame them since it's an older city but seriously, waiting for someone to turn left because there are no left hand turning lanes...??

[First Lady]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

10 day holiday back here in Calgary.

You guys don't realize you live in the best city in this country and one of the best in the world.

I love this place.

10 days.... in July ???

[The Goon]

I visited Calgary almost ten years ago, fell in love with it, and moved here in 2003. This is God's country.

[Jodester]

Moved here from Winnipeg in the early 90's and fell in love with the city. Moved to Saskatoon for 2 years......What a dump that place is, and counted the minutes till i could move back. The city feel and friendliness has changed but in no way compares to the winter dred you feel in either of the other 2 cities i have lived in.

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by The Goon

I visited Calgary almost ten years ago, fell in love with it, and moved here in 2003. This is God's country.

God left this place long ago...............





Sorry it seemed fitting


I dont mind Calgary, IMO its a pretty boring place to live, not much to do except shop in the winter if you cant afford to go skiing and its too cold to go skating or something. Living here as a student and a young adult is redic expensive, houses are overpriced and its really hard to get a good foot-hold.

Calgary is good for making money though, our climate sucks ass, there is no culture, IMO it's too big, and people here can be pretty rude and self-involved.

I can see myself living here for another 5-10 years but i wouldnt turn down the opportunity to leave some day. Living in Kelowna would be ideal for me even though jobs probably suck and cost of living is higher.

[V]

I moved away in August because of work. I don't miss much, but I miss the mountains badly. I would visit at least once a month between May and October. It will take some getting used to, not having that luxury.

[Mad Mel]

There's plenty that I like about Calgary, but once you spend a few years - a few four full seasons - somewhere that has actual, honest-to-god, for real good weather, you cannot subjugate yourself to that crap ever again. There's no dread of the upcoming season. No threat of being cooped up indoors. Riding a motorcycle to work every day of the year isn't a badge of honour, it's a way of life. If I'm ever stuck on the Bow Trail hill in the snow for two hours again, just shoot me in the head.

With respect to the fear of losing your allegiance to your hockey team, that'll never happen. I wore a Canucks jersey proudly in Calgary for over 8 years. It's hanging in my office here. None of you would be any different.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

.

With respect to the fear of losing your allegiance to your hockey team, that'll never happen. I wore a Canucks jersey proudly in Calgary for over 8 years. It's hanging in my office here. None of you would be any different.

NONE of us would ever do that! and people in vancouver wouldn't either. Those jerseys are some of the ugliest known to man.

[Addick]

Since my visa expires at the end of next month and I'm going to wait until the economy picks up to get my next one, I'll probably be getting an extended vacation somewhere in Canada. However, I'm hoping the destination on the ticket will be anywhere other than Calgary. Although I do have certain attachments to it, the city really has become my prison, which I couldn't bear returning to.

For me it's a lifestyle thing, I don't live to work but prefer to work towards living. As such, I need a city that has an urban form that is conducive that. For example, one person said why settle for a tiny flat when you could have a 5000 square foot house. In my case, instead of lounging in my massive entertainment room I'd prefer to walk to a vibrant public space where I could sit down and have a pint/coffee and people watch/read a book/have a chat.

Calgary is not the best place for someone who focuses on 'being' rather than 'having'. At least if you aren't a big outdoors/nature person.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Addick

Calgary is not the best place for someone who focuses on 'being' rather than 'having'. At least if you aren't a big outdoors/nature person.

Bullcrap.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Addick

In my case, instead of lounging in my massive entertainment room I'd prefer to walk to a vibrant public space where I could sit down and have a pint/coffee and people watch/read a book/have a chat.

Calgary is not the best place for someone who focuses on 'being' rather than 'having'. At least if you aren't a big outdoors/nature person.

I have to wonder about this. Do you mean year-round? I know that Calgary's not the best of places to be if you want to be able to sit outside year round and watch the world go by.

But during the warmer months, I've always found it a great place to be. Start at Eau Claire. Grab a coffee, wander to Prince's Island. That place always has a lot of folks to just be around and watch life happen. Walk the paths between Prince's Island and Kensington. Grab yourself another coffee there.

Want more nature in your walk (personally, I love walking the paths due to the river)? Head over and walk around Confederation Park. All the various parts of it. There's always something there to catch the eye. When my wife and I got married, for example, we had an extra 30 'guests' at the ceremony, as folks walking by stopped to watch and cheer.

Want to be a bit more alone from people, but not quite out of touch? Nose Hill. Wander off a path, and you will only see people distantly (usually) and the occasional dog.

I've always found Calgary a great place to live, but that could just be me.

[browna]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

10 day holiday back here in Calgary.

You guys don't realize you live in the best city in this country and one of the best in the world.

I love this place.

Glad to have you back.

As a "lifer" who enjoys "being" in the city, one learns to deal with the changes, not complain about them.

Weather hasn't changed for as long as this city's been around, there are seasons and you learn and adapt to that too.

Pretty close to god's country, when a 45 minute drive your in the middle of mountains surrounding you. Hour and a half on the plane and your on a beach on the west coast, if that's you bag.

I am sure there are many other nice and interesting places in the world to live, but for me, only one place to proudly call home.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Bullcrap.

Really? So Calgary is the best place for one to focus on 'being' rather than 'having'. Considering the City's built form is based on consumption that would be a pretty difficult argument to make.

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

I have to wonder about this. Do you mean year-round?

I meant more city-wide. Although I live in a London suburb that isn't the best example, I'm only a ten minute walk away from a nice high street or a bus ride away from a pleasant town centre with a square. Even the area in front of the train station is something you'd struggle to find in most parts of Calgary, a pub and a couple of shops with lots of people walking by at various times throughout the day.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Addick

I meant more city-wide. Although I live in a London suburb that isn't the best example, I'm only a ten minute walk away from a nice high street or a bus ride away from a pleasant town centre with a square. Even the area in front of the train station is something you'd struggle to find in most parts of Calgary, a pub and a couple of shops with lots of people walking by at various times throughout the day.

I guess I'm a bit more spoiled, then. I live just up the big hill on center street, so am a 10 minute walk from Prince's Island, Eau Claire, and 8th St.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

The best part about Calgary is the fact that when you want to (not that many people do it seems) going out to the mountains is little more than an hour drive away. I think that is what people take for granted more than anything. You can go to any city and find a place that you could sit and have a coffee but what makes Calgary special in a number of ways is the fact that you have the ability to easily get away from all of that and be able to get closer to nature.

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by Addick

I meant more city-wide. Although I live in a London suburb that isn't the best example, I'm only a ten minute walk away from a nice high street or a bus ride away from a pleasant town centre with a square. Even the area in front of the train station is something you'd struggle to find in most parts of Calgary, a pub and a couple of shops with lots of people walking by at various times throughout the day.

I think that's a North American thing rather than specific to Calgary. Retail has become concentrated into bigger stores in bigger shopping centres, and the little guy has been nearly eradicated. With Calgary's growth in recent decades, perhaps it's more apparent there, since so much of the city has been built under that pattern. When I moved to Brisbane, it felt like a time warp back to Canada of the '70's. A butcher, baker and candlestick maker in the little retail district in every neighbourhood. I prefer it; it doesn't keep prices down as much, but you don't have to search for parking.

[Mr.Coffee]

Calgary's awesome and I think if you don't like it, it might have something to do with your attitude. Honestly, there's awesome things about every city, if you focus on them, you can be happy wherever you are.

Sure, the weather isn't all that great sometimes, but the summer month(s) is/are wicked, probably the best weather ever for that one month, not too hot, not too cold, perfect. There's lots to do, lots to see, mountains and Fish Creek, people are generally friendly but sometimes conceited (kind of like, almost everywhere that money is made), there's money to be made here, lots of wicked pubs and bars, roads are well groomed / taken care of, I could go on. Actually, I will. It's starting to be just an awesome urban centre, places like Kensington and Inglewood, lots of trendy stores or if you're not a hippy but rather a spendy person there's the big ass box malls too. If you're not happy in Calgary, honestly, I'd almost have to assume maybe you're more of an ocean / water kind of person.

I lived 3 years in Cyprus... seems to me that most people that spend time away from Calgary come to the realization about how great it is.

[Igottago]

I've lived in Vancouver the last 4 years, and while there are things about it that are amazing...the one thing that constantly annoys me is poeple are generally pretentious or overly isolated from one another. People seem so cautious or skeptical of eachother. Its a strange social vibe there sometimes. People in Calgary are way more down to earth and easy to get to know. And the rainy grey winters in Vancouver really do suck.

Calgary's a pretty good place. A good blend between big/small city, friendly people, lots of open space, very clean, and a decent standard of living for most of its residents. But I would like to see some more urban density in Calgary, some more pedestrian communities that you would find in places like Vancouver. I think its coming along slowly.

[VANFLAMESFAN]

The Calgary v Vancouver debate has been done to death on this board. I've been a huge contributor to that arguement, but I've come to realize it's really pointless. This is a true case of different strokes for different folks. I love Vancouver and couldn't imagine living anywhere else. I visited Calgary a couple years ago and couldn't take the cold. I wanted to leave that city right away. It's all about what you're used to.

There is no right or wrong answer here.