Sell me on Calgary

[Northendzone]

^ I too feel that you likely need to do some research on your child’s condition, because the reality is that you may move here and then find you have to wait months for your child to see a specialist.

You may want to investigate your tax situation as here in Canada we pay dearly for our free health care.

The weather here is frustrating to say the least. April, may and June are soggy with few warm days. July and August are better. September and October have historically been fairly dry; however, the past few years have seen more moisture which makes it seem like a long winter when it drags out to late April and/or snows in may.

[peter12]

Arent there a ton of mid-range American cities that solve the climate/cost of living issue? Denver? St. Louis?

[mikephoen]

Originally Posted by peter12

Arent there a ton of mid-range American cities that solve the climate/cost of living issue? Denver? St. Louis?

No American city solves the gun violence problem or the Republican gerrymandering problem. Or the health care problem. Or the ever widening income disparity problem. There are a lot of countries I would choose to live in before the USA. There aren’t any I would choose above Canada. Not that I think we are perfect, but Canada is a great place to live.

[DoubleF]

Calgary is a pretty young city so it's reasonably well catered towards young families who want to raise children. There's plenty of things that are good, but there are definitely things that should be acknowledged as things that can make it uncomfortable for someone living here.

- The weather is all over the place. Chinooks are warm winds that essentially bring small gaps in winter weather that are like spring time or autumn breaks. Chinooks can also trigger migraines for some people and a flash freeze after a Chinook makes for a nasty commute. Literal ice rinks everywhere. Oh, and it's possible to snow in July.

- Calgary is very dry, especially compared to the coastal cities. On one hand, it's kinda cool that you can air dry clothes on a rack in 3-5 hours and they feel nice and dry, not damp like in humid places. But that same air wreaks havoc on some people ranging from basic dry skin, inflammation of skin conditions, easy nose bleeds, dry eyes etc.

- The mountains are beautiful and really darn close. It's pretty darn easy to get good deals for equipment to enhance your mountain activities. Lots of sunlight is also a weird underrated thing to have.

- Calgary's economy has always been feast or famine and many people forget there's famine. If you're diligent, it's surprising how quickly you can accumulate a solid balance in your savings account. But it's also just as easy to blow through your savings. Calgary doesn't have as much activities as other cities to just plug in, so often times, people spend the money they accumulate to make their own entertainment.

- Do you know anyone in Calgary? Calgary isn't always the easiest place to meet people. Lots of Calgary locals are creatures of habit and prefer to do their own thing/hang out with the people they known forever. Lots of people who are from out of town end up banding together because they are the ones seeking to connect with others. But then again, Calgary is a young city so you'd be in the majority demographic. It might be hard to connect at first, but once you do, it'll generally seem like you'll be accepted into friend circles and exponentially meet people, rather than incrementally meet them. This is kind of a factor of the "not much to plug in, make your own entertainment" factor.

- Cost of living vs salary ratio is pretty damn good if you can get a decent job. It's a pretty good time to be a renter right now. Calgary is a seemingly small place where it seems like most places aren't too much more than a 20-30 minute drive way from the most frequented places. I've lately realized that I've run into quite a few people who are transitioning lifestyle wise and end up slightly frustrated with decision paralysis. It just bizarrely seems like if you want something within an average budget, you can afford to live in nearly every community in Calgary. $2,000 Canadian a month for rent is probably enough to allow you to consider 80% of all communities in Calgary without even starting on looking at the bedroom communities outside of Calgary.

- You want to drive in Calgary and most places never seem to be more than 20-30 minutes away from the most frequented locales. Calgary is not really a place you want to rely on transit, especially with kids. The transit here is adequate, but a vehicle really straddles the line between luxury and necessity when weather flares up (maybe 1-3 times a month on average).


But overall, I think Calgary is awesome. It's home for me and as a young family it offers things overwhelmingly positive to the current stage of life I am in right now vs other cities.

[Wormius]

Apparently there is supposed to be a NY Times article featuring Calgary coming out before the end of the year.


https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-to-visit.html

[FlamingHomer]

If you decide to do something I would highly advise you to rent for a least a year to see if you like the city at all. If so, then you would have a good enough feel that you could choose a neighborhood to settle in from there.

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by _Q_

On top of that, because basic healthcare is covered, your company will likely offer you extended health benefits. Which usually means for no or very low monthly cost from your end ($20 or so per month), you'll have dental, prescription drugs, and paramedical (chiropractor, massage therapy, podiatrist, acupuncture, etc. ) covered with no deductable.

I’d love to know where you work, because neither myself nor any of my friends pay that little for extended health care plans. My company’s plan is extremely basic with hard caps and deductibles, and costs nearly $200/month for a family plan.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

I’d love to know where you work, because neither myself nor any of my friends pay that little for extended health care plans. My company’s plan is extremely basic with hard caps and deductibles, and costs nearly $200/month for a family plan.

Ha I read that too and dismissed it as someone who doesn’t actually know what they pay for benefits.

[GGG]

All the O+G places I worked at had at least 500 per practitioner healt, 80 drugs, 100% dental $1500 cap at no cost to the employee. Most included eye care.

Life and and disability have been a mixed bag though.

I had always assumed this was common for Calgary office type work.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by GGG

All the O+G places I worked at had at least 500 per practitioner healt, 80 drugs, 100% dental $1500 cap at no cost to the employee. Most included eye care.

Life and and disability have been a mixed bag though.

I had always assumed this was common for Calgary office type work.

Yes but you pay monthly for your benefits. My wife pays about $140 a month for hers I do believe.

[PsYcNeT]

Pretty much. Mine is basically the above, except 2500 cap. I don't pay for the benefits, and my wife's company offers more or less the same and she doesn't pay either.

Edit: confirmed she pays 56$ a month auto deducted. Oddly I have no coverage deductions on mine.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Yes but you pay monthly for your benefits. My wife pays about $140 a month for hers I do believe.

I have never paid monthly for my extended health benefits at any company I have worked for. Some have add options to expand dental, eye or drug coverage to better % but the base was always included.

I pay for life insurance and LTD.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by GGG

I have never paid monthly for my extended health benefits at any company I have worked for. Some have add options to expand dental, eye or drug coverage to better % but the base was always included.

I pay for life insurance and LTD.

Many companies use benefits on a flex dollar system. So you get xxx flex dollars and the various benefit choices come out of that. I often declined benefits and took extra vacation days/rrsp contributions as my wife had good benefits.

If you can get $200/month cash instead of the benefits, then the benefits cost you $200/month.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Many companies use benefits on a flex dollar system. So you get xxx flex dollars and the various benefit choices come out of that. I often declined benefits and took extra vacation days/rrsp contributions as my wife had good benefits.

If you can get $200/month cash instead of the benefits, then the benefits cost you $200/month.

Partially true, if you said your Salary is 100k and the employer provides flex benefits worth $2400. Then either your Salary is 102.4k and your benefits cost you $200 per month or your Salary is 100k and the employer has a benefit program paying for $2400 worth of benefits. Not sure if it really matters.

If the question in your scenario was does the employer pay for health benefits I would say yes Extended health coverage is provided at no additional cost to the employee.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by TheIronMaiden

One of these things is not like the other.

Never said they were.
They are all things Calgary has less of than Vancouver however, disagree?

[bob-loblaw]

I grew up in Edmonton and moved to Calgary 20 years ago. As someone who just turned 50 and has asthma/allergies for 45 of them, I find the climate here is excellent for those conditions. I think the Economist ranks us the best in the world for the cleanest air and water. I know I haven't had a serious asthma attack since we moved.

Since the price of medication was mentioned, I have been taking the inhaled steroids for about 25 years, and with my medical coverage I pay about $70 for a little more than three months of use. My Ventolin inhaler costs about $18 with my coverage.

Plus, there's additional savings through Innovicares (essentially run by the drug manufacturers) that will pay the difference between your coverage and getting their original drug instead of a generic one. My daughter needs Concerta for ADHD, and we haven't paid for it at all in several years.

Yes there's some definite gloom around here because of our biggest industry, but Calgary probably still has the highest standard of living in the world. You really don't appreciate it until you travel to other places.

There's a huge history of volunteerism and charity here compared to other places. I also find that Calgarians are very proud of coming from or living here.

Coming from Edmonton, I find people a lot friendlier, drivers are WAY more courteous/better, and the attitudes of people here are WAY more positive. We moved on January 2, 2000. When we left Edmonton it was -18 C, and when we got here it was +6 C. After a week of living here, my wife said to me 'there's no way I'm moving back'. People from Edmonton compare their city to Calgary, Calgarians don't really compare themselves to... anyone. I think that means we have it pretty good.

[blankall]

The asthma thing depends on the cause of your reparatory issues. If you have any kind of grass or ragweed allergy issues, Calgary may be the worst city in the world for pollen exposure. Combine those with horribly dry air, and Calgary can be pretty miserable for large parts of the year.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by _Q_

Don't listen to the naysayers. Calgary is awesome. The economy might not be as hot as it once was, but if you have a job lined up, then there's nothing to worry about. There's also still tons of opportunity out there, just not in Oil and Gas.

I spent three years in the states and moved back exactly a year ago. I don't regret the decision at all. It sounds like you are in the same stage of life as I (late thirties with young family). In Calgary, someone like you can realistically aim to one day buy a house in one of the best neighborhoods, put their kids in a great school and have money left over for a nice car, and a few vacations every year. Your dollar goes really far here.

I've seen the healthcare thing mentioned in here a few times, but I can't stress how much of a game changer for your finances and well-being this is. You never think twice about going to the doctor or emergency room. On top of that, because basic healthcare is covered, your company will likely offer you extended health benefits. Which usually means for no or very low monthly cost from your end ($20 or so per month), you'll have dental, prescription drugs, and paramedical (chiropractor, massage therapy, podiatrist, acupuncture, etc. ) covered with no deductable. When I moved back a year ago, I think I booked 5 massage and chiropractor visits in the first month just for the hell of it.

In terms of weather, I think out of all the big cities in Canada, Calgary has the best weather. Vancouver is gloomy for 8 months of the year, Ontario and Quebec have some really depressing winters, maybe not as cold, but definitely more cloudy and cold feeling, then incredibly humid summers. In Calgary, you'll get consistently nice days even in the winter. Today, for example, it was about 10 degrees, sunny and not even a hint of a breeze. I was outside wearing a sweater and light jacket and was feeling overdressed. Then the summer is pretty glorious here. I think the worst part of the weather here is just how early it gets dark in the middle of winter. But seeing you're from Seattle, you should be fairly accustomed to that.

My one question is, what attracts you to make the move out here? Why not move somewhere cheaper than Seattle but in the States?

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

I’d love to know where you work, because neither myself nor any of my friends pay that little for extended health care plans. My company’s plan is extremely basic with hard caps and deductibles, and costs nearly $200/month for a family plan.

Originally Posted by Weitz

Ha I read that too and dismissed it as someone who doesn’t actually know what they pay for benefits.

Hmm, our company doesn't offer a crazy amount of extended benefits, but we're about $40 a month and get lots of extras on top of dental, prescription etc. Can basically get $1500 a year in massages, therapy, physio etc.

[SeeGeeWhy]

I was born here 37 years ago, becoming less and less sold on it every year, but haven’t been drawn anywhere else.

There is lots to enjoy about it here but there is very low density which means community is also dispersed. I don’t think there is a lot of ambition here. Tough market to launch anything but there are lots of people working to change this so it’s encouraging.

Can’t say enough about the kananaskis corridor, it’s magical.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by slcrocket

Hi Everybody,

I'll try to keep this short; currently living in the states, have always been interested in living in Canada. Feeling like a change might be due in the next year or so and have a few business contacts here (currently in Seattle) that could open some occupational doors in Alberta. My background is in Sales and I'm currently a Sales Manager.

I've been up to Calgary a few times - many years ago when I was in my early 20s I dated a girl who lived there going to U of A, so I was up a few times then. Otherwise, I've only been up for Flames games (most recently for Iginla's retirement). I like what I've seen of the town, definitely a small town feel and one I'm seriously considering.

My wife, however, has never been up there and while we have a family trip tentatively planned there for February, I'm trying to warm her up to the idea as I've only mentioned it in passing to her before. What are the biggest selling points of Calgary as you see them? Conversely, if you think it's a bad idea, I'd be curious about that viewpoint as well.

Lastly, if any of you have done the moving to Canada from the US process, I would love any details/info about that process. Thanks in advance!!

SO after reading all that are ya sold?