Has Calgary lost it's appeal?

[Dion]

A good friend of mine and I were having a conversation this morninng and he begins to rant about the city. Quite honestly he likes to complain about everything and anything

Anyway he said people are rude, the cost of living has gone crazy, and all the traffic and construction makes it hard to go anywhere in a timely fashion. In a nut shell he said he hates the city he lives in.

Do you agree with him that Calgary has lost it's appeal?

If so what are your beefs?

If not, what do you like about Calgary?

[Eddie Bronze]

Just speaking from a personal perspective I've been here about 3 1/2 years and can say that for the first 2 1/2 years I really liked it here. Couldn't find anything to complain about. Maybe some small things, but nothing to make the think of moving. The past year though, things have changed, and I can honestly say I don't like it here anymore. I refuse to run the city down, but it's not going to be right for everyone. I'm sure I'm not the only one who is going through this considering the amount of people that moved here in the past 5(ish) years.

[4X4]

I'm born & raised, and still loving this town. I've been to many other cities and have concluded that there's nowhere that has it all. Either cost of living is high, or jobs are hard to find. Too much crime or too much policing. Too many bums or harsh winters.

Complainers are far too common. I'm sure that suicide is their only answer.

[Azure]

If you don't like it anymore, maybe its time to move out?

[Joborule]

My one friend said he didn't like this city, and went back to Winnipeg to chill with his father. When he came back, he said that he guess Calgary is a better city then he thought.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Azure

If you don't like it anymore, maybe its time to move out?

That's what I told my friend. Lets just say there was a long pause after my question.

I moved to a small town a few years ago to find a slower pace of life. So far i'm enjoying it.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Dion

the cost of living has gone crazy

So, he's a renter- right? Or was a renter up until a short time ago?

As a renter I'm sure he has a jaded view. The cost of renting has gone crazy. The cost of living for the rest of us hasn't.

Don't get me wrong, I'm damn lucky to have bought when I did, and I thought I'd be a renter for a long time. But most of the people I hear complaining about Calgary are people who missed out in the housing boom. Which doesn't translate into "Calgary losing its appeal"; it means they are bitter about paying $1500 to rent a 2 BR apartment.

[TurnedTheCorner]

That's it, I'm sending Rico to blow up your friend's car.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So, he's a renter- right? Or was a renter up until a short time ago?

As a renter I'm sure he has a jaded view. The cost of renting has gone crazy. The cost of living for the rest of us hasn't.

Don't get me wrong, I'm damn lucky to have bought when I did, and I thought I'd be a renter for a long time. But most of the people I hear complaining about Calgary are people who missed out in the housing boom. Which doesn't translate into "Calgary losing its appeal"; it means they are bitter about paying $1500 to rent a 2 BR apartment.

Actually he has an inner city home that is mortgage free.

He also has a high paying job.

Trust me when I say I was shocked to hear his comments. Most times I just shut up and let him finish his rant

I agree that a lot of the comments have to do with rents.

Then again there are seniors trying to get by on fixed incomes, meanwhile their property taxes are going up. Or those on disabilities such as AISH whose disability incomes haven't risen with the high cost of living.

There's the road systems, especially the Deerfoot that are having trouble handling the increased traffic volume. Add in all the construction and you have the creations of a nightmare.

Azure had it right when he suggested people should move.

Myself I got tired of the fast paced city life and people always in a hurry to get somewhere fast, so I moved to a small town and am loving it.

[photon]

It's usually people that have lived here for a while that don't like it as much; we remember the good old days.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by photon

It's usually people that have lived here for a while that don't like it as much; we remember the good old days.

That would be my friend and I

[psicodude]

Debating if Calgary is better now or in the past (or comparing it to other cities for that matter) is almost impossible, because everyone has differing opinions on what is important to them. I may think that safety and traffic are important, where someone else may think quality of culture and/or strip bars are important.

I think most people would agree that the quality of life in Calgary has decreased to some degree over the last couple of years, but I chalk it up to massive growing pains. The real test will be the next 5 years, and how we react to the massive growth.

[BlackArcher101]

Hasn't lost its appeal to me. But you have to look at the city I live in now and it becomes obvious.

[Bobblehead]

The things that I like have been here since I moved here a decade ago. The troubles have only gotten worse without any associated additional benefits (I know there are some, just nothing that directly benefits me).

And actually, it isn't the traffic that is driving me crazy. The benefits are all still here, but lately I'm thinking that if an opportunity came up somewhere else it wouldn't be as difficult a decision as it may have been 5 years ago (although the ability to cash in on my house is also a factor in that).

[Hack&Lube]

Personally, being born and raised here and having been to other large cities like Vancouver or Toronto, I have an urge to get out of here as soon as I can. There simply isn't much to do around here but the mountains are good.

[lifer]

My Feelings are similar to Eddie Bronze's. I've lived here for 6 years now, and in the last few months I've started thinking of leaving. I don't want to, I still like it here, but I want to buy a house, and that isn't very easy here, and my perception of the amound of violence here has changed as well. I know the city is growing, so crime obviously will too, but I just don't feel safe in a lot of places here anymore. That wasn't the case 3 years ago.

[photon]

I'm not a big outdoorsy person so the mountains close doesn't mean much to me. I think I'd enjoy somewhere like Vancouver more (if I could afford to live there), but all my stuff is here so...

And family, that's a big one, nice to have cousins and grandparents close for the munchkin.

[redforever]

Originally Posted by photon

It's usually people that have lived here for a while that don't like it as much; we remember the good old days.

I have lived here since 1970 and Calgary is still the best city and area to live in as far as I am concerned.

Moderate climates, both summer and winter, no hurricanes, no earthquakes, and for scenery and nature, we live in God's back yard. Yeah, pace has picked up and so has crime, but overall, great place to live and raise a family.

[RW99]

I work with a lot of people from outside Alberta (east coast, UK, Australia) and I rarely get compliments about Calgary. I basicly hear it's a concrete jungle with cookie cutter houses with a lack of culture and interesting things to do. Sucks to hear as a Calgarian, but it's sometimes hard to counter-attack

[kootenayguy9]

The only Calgary is really missing is any water to speak of (lakes, oceans, etc) That is one thing the BC or even Saskatchewan,Manitoba have over Calgary is water.