Has Calgary lost it's appeal?

[tanguay'sstillgood]

Originally Posted by redforever

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.

well, you havent really branched out and explored a lot lately, have you? I can think of many more places with more moderate climates, no hurricanes/earthquakes, and far better scenery and nature than calgary. not that i hate the place, but i never thought when i moved here that i would be nervous going downtown on weekends, or that there would be over 20 murders here by the end of august. aside from the price of living (im a renter), the rest doesnt offer much that's too special anymore.

[photon]

Originally Posted by Julio

Actually Photon, it was 763 people for the first 3 months of the year according to Statscan. And of course the big story was that after decades of net outmigration to Alberta, there was a net inmigration to Sask from here.

Oops, you are correct that was for the first quarter of 2007, 2006 was still a net migration from SK to AB of 4000+. Be interesting to see how long that keeps up.

[Antithesis]

I was born and raised in Calgary (actually, a third-generation Calgarian, beat that :P) and I love it here. 4x4 put it brilliantly ... there are problems with every city, and Ken, I think you hit the nail on the head, that a lot of people doing the complaining (not your friend, Dion) are those who didn't get in on the housing boom and aren't so much bitter about the city as they are about missing out.

My whole family is here and that is of the utmost importance for me. I could live anywhere as long as they were there, and almost all of my friends are here as well. I don't see myself moving anywhere else ... even if I won the lottery, I'd probably just pay off my mortgage and buy a condo for the winter down south

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by tanguay'sstillgood

well, you havent really branched out and explored a lot lately, have you? I can think of many more places with more moderate climates, no hurricanes/earthquakes, and far better scenery and nature than calgary.

Where in Canada though? That's the thing- once you leave Canada you have all sorts of issues with immigration, language can be an issue. Whereas when I moved here, a buddy told me he was moving to Calgary, and I said "heck, why don't I move there too."

[Ironhorse]

Originally Posted by redforever

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.

x2.

Just wish we had a bit more scenery other than mountains / foothills, and more twisty roads.

[RW99]

One city that I lived in that was pretty good was Ottawa. A little on the small side, but otherwise it was quite enjoyable. Low crime, lots to do, close enough to other places. If I didn't live in Banff or Calgary, it would be there.

[Red]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

You went to Canadian Tire to service you car? Giggle. (Having worked there, I wouldn't even have a bike assembled there)

Most places don't sticker items with prices nowadays. Makes it too hard to adjust prices, which in today's market, get done weekly. Imagine Future Shop having to slap new stickers on all it's stock everytime they had a sale. And all the people asking for the lower price if they forgot to take them off after the sale. Much easier to change just 1 shelf tag. Although I do agree it's anoying when the shelf tag can't be found.

It's not the easiest place to live, but with that comes the ability to earn a salary like few other places. Money isn't everything, but getting more of it quicker means I get to live like I want to sooner. And it's not like it's a horrible situation right now.

Getting tires or flats fixed is hardly servicing.

The prices in Future Shop were not even on the shelves, the little squares with prices and codes were missing. That's not a plan, that's lack of staff.

[Red]

How long should it take to get a propane bottle filled?

Not as long as it took me today. The one station that I used to go to closed their propane station down for some reason (I am pretty sure why) and the other one Co-op, which is quite a drive from my place has no attendants to get it done in a timely fashion.

But I am pretty sure that this is my fault somehow too, I shouldn't have gone to the place I've been getting propane for years or the co-op.....

[Azure]

Red, the problems you're talking about are bound to be found in every major city. Even more-so in a city that is growing.

That is just a fact of life. But like 4x4 said...I'm glad those kids are working...better that than free-loading on their parents until they're 18.

[Red]

Originally Posted by Azure

Red, the problems you're talking about are bound to be found in every major city. Even more-so in a city that is growing.

That is just a fact of life. But like 4x4 said...I'm glad those kids are working...better that than free-loading on their parents until they're 18.

I was in Kelowna last week and it wasn't like that anywhere. My wife needed to get a bigger purse, we went to a mall, in and out if 5 minutes.

Not to mention that it wasn't like this here only a few years ago. Nowdays everyone seems to be in training and that creates bad service. Some people here don't feel the same way as me, but some of them have parents doing their errands so they don't feel the pain. I am the parent. I am the one responsible to get the vehicles in order, the house fixed up etc. It's a real pain when you have to do a re-do all the time.

Off to back to school shopping. Be nice becasue I'll be really grumpy when I get back

[Ford Prefect]

Originally Posted by psicodude

Maybe off topic a bit, but I don't understand the people that say they want to move to a small town to raise a family. I grew up in Medicine Hat and let me tell you, I got into a ton of trouble because there was simply nothing else better to do. EVERYONE in my school got wasted every weekend, and I would say a solid 50% had been in trouble with the police.

Obviously the same thing can happen in the big city, but at least there are other options for kids. There are a million different activities in the city that just don't exist in small towns. Mind you, gangs aren't a real problem in small towns...

I wouldn't call Medicine Hat a small town. For me, a small town has less than 10,000 population. You're right that crap happens in small towns as well, but in a small town people know who the crack whores are, who's running a grow-op, etc. The main issue for me about small towns versus cities though is simple accountability. In a city, people tend to act like jerks more because they're anonymous ... if a person drives like a jerk on Deerfoot or behaves boorishly at the mall, chances are nobody will know the person anyway so there's no implact on the jerk's personal reputation. In a small town people who might be inclined to behave like jerks tend to be kept in line better because if you do stunned things in public, all your friends and neighbours will hear about it. Simply put, there's more accountability for a person's behavious in a small town ... that's what I like about small towns. It cuts down on the level of public rudeness by a large degree.

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by photon

The funny thing is this is being overblown by quite a bit I think.. last year housing prices in Sask. went up what, 43%?

Completely true. My bro-i-law just sold his house in Regina for about $300k and it was less than half that about 5 years ago. Condos in Regina are also insanely expensive.

[FurnaceFace]

Originally Posted by Five-hole

Weather -- the winters suck but the summers here have to be some of the best around. I love really hot weather though. Having lived here all my life, the winters are really starting to get to me. They're so looooong.

You need to spend a winter in Sask or Manitoba, you'll never complain about Calgary winter again. We get 2-3 weeks of really cold weather, the flatlanders get 2-3 months.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by FurnaceFace

You need to spend a winter in Sask or Manitoba, you'll never complain about Calgary winter again. We get 2-3 weeks of really cold weather, the flatlanders get 2-3 months.

It's the cocktease that gets me more than anything else. If all the cold weather could be concentrated at one time, instead of cold, chinook, cold, chinook, and so on, the winters would seem much shorter. It's that they drag on through May and even June sometimes that I start to pull my hair out.

[Flash Walken]

As a calgarian now living in Vancouver, I can say with almost 100% certainty that I would never move back.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

I wouldn't call Medicine Hat a small town. For me, a small town has less than 10,000 population. You're right that crap happens in small towns as well, but in a small town people know who the crack whores are, who's running a grow-op, etc. The main issue for me about small towns versus cities though is simple accountability. In a city, people tend to act like jerks more because they're anonymous ... if a person drives like a jerk on Deerfoot or behaves boorishly at the mall, chances are nobody will know the person anyway so there's no implact on the jerk's personal reputation. In a small town people who might be inclined to behave like jerks tend to be kept in line better because if you do stunned things in public, all your friends and neighbours will hear about it. Simply put, there's more accountability for a person's behavious in a small town ... that's what I like about small towns. It cuts down on the level of public rudeness by a large degree.

All good points, but the flip side of that coin is everyone knows everything about you. For example, if you get a DUI in a small town, you are screwed (or a hero, depending on the town ) because 95% of the town will no about it withing a few days.

Like I said in an earlier post, everyone has a different opinion on what is important to them. Personally, Calgary still has way more things I love about it then I hate about it. House prices seem to be adjusting a little, and if the powers that be can get traffic, homelessness, and crime under control, then I would be very happy.

[boobaloo]

As a Calgarian now living on Vancouver Island, I'm with Flash. I can't see myself moving back.

[Flames_Gimp]

Originally Posted by tanguay'sstillgood

but i never thought when i moved here that i would be nervous going downtown on weekends,

dude im in a wheelchair and I'm not nervous goin downtown.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Flames_Gimp

dude im in a wheelchair and I'm not nervous goin downtown.

You've probably got a machine gun mounted somewhere on that thing...

[housejunk]

Born in Calgary, lived there for 22 years. I've lived in Van for the last 5 years and except for friends and family (and the Flames), I can't imagine ever moving back.