Feel free to disregard any list with Regina above Saskatoon. Anyone who has been to both places would never rank Regina ahead of Saskatoon. Regina is a craphole. Saskatoon is quite nice.
The only thing Regina has over Saskatoon is the chicks are easier down there.
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Lol, just a passing comment, no need to ruffle your panties over it.
It was a lame comment, as even though population plays a big part, there is clearly way more going on with the discussion than that, if you bother to read.
My panties aren't in a bunch, it was just goofy on your part, is all. If you think it's useless and just a population ranking then don't comment and don't come back to the tread. Pretty simple.
What you did isn't known as a passing comment, it's known as a drive-by on message boards, and for good reason.
Outside Halifax and Quebec, I can't think of too many cities that really punch above their weight class. It makes sense that the list are similar to population.
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Tier 3
Edmonton
Saskatoon
Halifax
Victoria
Winnipeg
Windsor
Am I being too harsh on Vancouver? Probably. But then again Downtown Vancouver has arguably the world's highest DBag : Non DBag ratio so it's a major factor. Plus there's the DTES. Anytime you explicitly avoid a section of the city, that has to bring it down.
This is the most accurate list I've seen this far, mostly because of the placement of Vancouver.
Vancouver is a 1b/2 tier city. You COULD say it's in the same tier as Calgary, but regardless, it IS much closer to Calgary than it is to Toronto/Montreal. I assume it's only up there on some lists because of population and current relevance thanks to the Olympics.
Having travelled extensively and talked to many different people from almost every corner of the world, even as recently as last month, I can tell you the following is true about the "major" cities reputation outside of Canada:
- Calgary is known particularly well by Brits and Aussies. They all know it for it's proximity to the mountains/natural beauty, and nice summers (and the Stampede doesn't hurt)
- Vancouver is known almost solely for the Olympics, the Okanagan is perhaps better known than Vancouver is on a global scale
- Montreal is French, beautiful, and desirable
- Toronto is certainly well known and the most recognisable city in Canada, maybe for poor reasons lately (Rob Ford's name comes up in the weirdest countries) but it's seen as the "capital" of Canada
"Major" cities they've usually never heard of:
- Winnipeg, Saskatoon/Regina, Halifax, Edmonton.
Ottawa and Vancouver have similar recognition as Calgary, it usually seems to be 80-20 for people that go "Oh yeah, that place, it's the one with this this and this". Other cities generally get a "Where is that?" Or "What's there?"
Calgary is extremely popular amongst Brits for vacation and immigration thanks to it's natural beauty, fantastic economy, and liveability. As Oil Stain pointed out, a lot of these things are true for multiple cities in Canada, but fortunately for us, we're better known for it than almost every other city in Canada. Never underestimate the love mountains get from those who don't see them every day in their drive to work.
One of the most desirable things to do in all of Canada (which actually surprised me) for many outside the country is to drive from Calgary to Vancouver (or Vancouver to Calgary) to experience the mountains and how beautiful BC is.
To give a good idea of Calgary's relevance compared with other cities of the world, here are some cities I'd rank them similarly to in the "recognition" sphere:
- Bergen, Norway
- Manchester, England
- Hamburg, Germany
- Perth, Australia
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Denver, CO, USA
- San Diego, CA, USA
- Kyoto, Japan
There are a lot more of course, but it's a general look at the weight class we're in. Some people may agree/disagree, but it's the most accurate list of comparables I can imagine for Calgary on a global scale.
tl;dr
We're certainly not a top tier, world class city, but that's ok. Calgary is a desirable, growing city, well known for it's natural beauty and it's emerging culture.
I think Vancouver has to be ranked in the top tier. It is an amazing city, despite having a hockey team that nobody cares for. Beautiful, near the mountains and ocean, close to amazing places like Whistler, close to the USA...I think it has it all.
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What are we ranking the cities based on? Desirability to live in? If so then I wouldn't rank Montreal in tier 1. I've always thought that Montreal is one of those "great city to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there" type of places. If so, I would say Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver would all be in tier 1, Montreal would be tier 2 and then all the rest follow.
Are we basing this on recognizability? Then I would say Toronto and Montreal are in tier 1, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa are in tier 2 and then the rest follow.
Maybe we should be more clear on how these cities should be ranked. Otherwise it just becomes an exercise in ranking cities based on population.
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Vancouver is a beautiful city, with the mountains above it and the ocean at it's feet, it's tough to beat. It has a thriving film industry which sets it apart too. Shame it's just filled with dbags and loser vegan hippies.
Hopefully Calgary can host the winter games again, that would be another nice notch.
When I first moved to Victoria, I probably would've ranked it as a tier 2 city, but seeing the growth in culture over the past 5 years has me leaning towards a tier 2. The summer is full of cultural events and music festivals and we have a great craft beer scene here. The University is also pretty highly regarded. Plus, being a provincial capital has to carry some weight. The only thing I would argue that holds it back is the fact that there are still a couple of nights a week here that are pretty dead.
Vancouver is a beautiful city, with the mountains above it and the ocean at it's feet, it's tough to beat. It has a thriving film industry which sets it apart too. Shame it's just filled with dbags and loser vegan hippies.
Hopefully Calgary can host the winter games again, that would be another nice notch.
Loser dbag hippies vs. Loser dbag racists is a close call.
I think Vancouver is pretty terrible myself. Everyone gushes about it after going downtown, to Kitts or North Van but 90% of the population lives in crappy megasuburbs that are worse places to live than mid sized cities like Kamloops or Lethbridge and take as long to get downtown as somebody living in Vic.
Normal working folks can't afford any of the nice areas and the average quality of life is not exceptional. Even in terms of culture, I find it just ok, the Vancouver art gallery for example pretty poor compared lots of to other cities of that size. Aquarium is a great attraction, postsecondary is good, healthcare average, public transit average.
I think it has a good rep because tourists go to the nice areas and think thats what it is like to live there but most people aren't jogging in stanley park and then sipping a coffee in gastown.
Tier 2
Saskatoon
Victoria
Edmonton
Montreal - don't like the French English tension
Winnipeg
Tier 5
Regina
Fort Mac
Prince George
I could include some smaller cities I like as well but this will do.
Haven't been to the East Coast but Halifax looks interesting and the area is pretty nice.
I think Vancouver is pretty terrible myself. Everyone gushes about it after going downtown, to Kitts or North Van but 90% of the population lives in crappy megasuburbs that are worse places to live than mid sized cities like Kamloops or Lethbridge and take as long to get downtown as somebody living in Vic.
Normal working folks can't afford any of the nice areas and the average quality of life is not exceptional. Even in terms of culture, I find it just ok, the Vancouver art gallery for example pretty poor compared lots of to other cities of that size. Aquarium is a great attraction, postsecondary is good, healthcare average, public transit average.
I think it has a good rep because tourists go to the nice areas and think thats what it is like to live there but most people aren't jogging in stanley park and then sipping a coffee in gastown.
Vancouver proper is very small. But you hit the nail on the head, it's a resort town now for the many overseas millionaires who own all the real estate.
