Mostly Calgary related but I do enjoy that there can be a lot of drama within the city and a wide range of disagreements, but we can band together when we need to. The floods really proved to me this is a wonderful place to live.
The weather in Southern Alberta is really not as bad as some of you make it out to be. If you spend a significant amount of time in other places, a lot of you would be shocked to learn how terrible the weather generally is on this continent.
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have things changed since the late 90's when it comes to auto insurance? i was working in calgary in 1997 and bought my truck in brooks. i was going to insure it in calgary but it was insane. i think it was the single male under 25 thing so you pay thru the nose for alberta vehicle insurance. i brought the truck back to kelowna and got my insurance here for about 40% of what it would have cost me to insure it in alberta.
i do have to say - i LOVE coming to visit calgary - so much to see and do (and my wife has relatives in calgary so it's great to get to visit with them too). i can't wait for our kids to be a little older so they'll be able to handle the drive... maybe next summer... maybe??
the one thing in my opinion that kelowna definitely has over pretty much anywhere is the view - it's hard to top looking off my deck and seeing this - just gorgeous.
^^grant it, right now we do have a some smoke in the valley - but it's not even from "our fires" - apparently it's from forest fires in greece, eurasia and ontario! weird!
I had the opposite experience with my vehicle insurance, I came to Alberta from BC and saved around 30% and it's been steadily declining since then (no accidents, vehicle getting older etc). Guessing yours was because of the under 25 (male) category which tends to get hit the hardest. Beautiful views in the valley even with some smoke
I enjoy Alberta but I don't know if its all that great.
The chances I live here in Calgary if I had a bunch of money or a career that could be done in a lot of other places? Probably 0%. In fact if my wife wasn't so against moving I would probably have moved to Denver by now.
The weather in Southern Alberta is really not as bad as some of you make it out to be. If you spend a significant amount of time in other places, a lot of you would be shocked to learn how terrible the weather generally is on this continent.
The weather isn't that bad, it is the season confusion that bothers me.
I have been in a snow storm literally every month of the year in Alberta, that included July and August.
This summer so far has been grand and to be honest the winter didn't bother me, the snow for skiing was great as well.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
The weather in Southern Alberta is really not as bad as some of you make it out to be. If you spend a significant amount of time in other places, a lot of you would be shocked to learn how terrible the weather generally is on this continent.
I think it's mediocre/bad for 90% of the province but south of Fort Macleod it gets considerably better. Unfortunately you have a choice of Lethbridge or Medicine Hat if you want to live in a place with amenities of a city.
I have friends in Spokane so I'm there almost annually and it's crazy how much better their weather is when you consider it's proximity to the Canadian border.
I have friends in Spokane so I'm there almost annually and it's crazy how much better their weather is when you consider it's proximity to the Canadian border.
Other side of the mountains...is the weather very different to Okanagan?
I think it's mediocre/bad for 90% of the province but south of Fort Macleod it gets considerably better. Unfortunately you have a choice of Lethbridge or Medicine Hat if you want to live in a place with amenities of a city.
I have friends in Spokane so I'm there almost annually and it's crazy how much better their weather is when you consider it's proximity to the Canadian border.
Slightly hotter summers, significantly cloudier winters with temperatures slightly higher than Calgary.
I don't know. Sounds like a slight improvement to Calgary at best or probably a wash.
I know it's hokey, but Paul Brandt's "Alberta Bound" song says it all, for me. I've lived in Alberta all my life, with 2 exceptions - lived in the US until I was 3, and we spent 18 months inside the Arctic Circle in Kugluktuk (formerly known as Coppermine). I have a growing love affair with BC, but I only cheat on Alberta with BC, occasionally. I don't know, if push came to shove, if I could move to BC or not. Since we'd need to win a lottery to afford to live out there, and you have to buy a ticket to win...I don't see us moving out there any time soon, haha.
I've lived all over Alberta, from the deep south, to the far north, east and west, and while I have a special affinity for the mountains, this province is just beautiful, no matter which direction you go - just that one bad patch about 3 hours north.
Ya Ha Tinda and the Castle area down south are 2 of my favorite more slightly out of the way places to visit, Ya Ha Tinda especially, since so many people find it too far a drive to visit. Hopefully hitting up Castle at some point this weekend.
We've got it pretty good in Alberta. Lots of variety in geography and weather. Calgary specifically gets mentioned for the cleanest air and water of any major city in the world. Other than snow and cold there's not much to complain about.
Great people, very good health care when needed (others may have different experiences but mine was just fine), pretty low crime.
I haven't travelled a ton, but every time I do I'm always thankful for where I live. We have the highest standard of living in the world in the corridor from Edmonton to Calgary. We're pretty damn fortunate.
In terms of economics for average people it has to be one of the top places to live on the planet.
You really don't need any education to find a well paying job and there are many minimal education jobs that pay outstandingly well compared to other places I have been to or been told about.
The two major cities are just big enough that you have access to basically every option a person might be interested in, but small enough that they avoid most big city problems like crippling traffic, and unaffordable housing.
Summers are just fantastic, and having daylight until 11 pm through most of it is just huge for summer time standard of living.
Social services and facilities for families are pretty top notch.
The only major drawback is 6 months of snow. There are other smaller things such as lack of ocean access, but they are mostly pretty minor.
