The top city in Canada? Calgary

[OracleOfCalgary]

I lived in various parts of Vancouver for 10 years and just visited friends out there last weekend. The greenery and scenery really is mind blowing. I was totally ready to move back until I stepped into my buddy's depressing, moldy little 2 bedroom condo complete with welfare neighbours. $320,000 may not go far in Calgary any more, but it sure will go a hell of a lot farther than that. Not to mention that I make about 50% more money than he does for the same job.

[bradster57]

Originally Posted by OracleOfCalgary

I lived in various parts of Vancouver for 10 years and just visited friends out there last weekend. The greenery and scenery really is mind blowing. I was totally ready to move back until I stepped into my buddy's depressing, moldy little 2 bedroom condo complete with welfare neighbours. $320,000 may not go far in Calgary any more, but it sure will go a hell of a lot farther than that. Not to mention that I make about 50% more money than he does for the same job.

Agreed. Much of Vancouver is a dirty soggy city in a beautiful location/scenery.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by bradster57

Agreed. Much of Vancouver is a dirty soggy city in a beautiful location/scenery.

it is always cloudy there..which means you dont really get to enjoy the scenary that much....but just minutes away from Calgary is some of the nicest scenary in the world...just because you cant see that well in the city means nothing...its still there

[Matata]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

Ya that is a good question...throwing out the we have culture thing is real stupid....please someone tells us how Calgary has no culture...

Only a handful of actors or musicians have ever come out of calgary. Tours (bands, broadway, etc.) avoid the city due to the far travel, weather and lack of neighbouring cities. I think all of the Arts programs at the U of C are rated as poor or below average, no quality buskers or street performers due to the weather. Very few quality venues for music (outside of the 'drink beer and listen to crappy rock bands' places). Our largest cultural event revolves around poseurs in cowboy hats drinking excessively.

I think the lack of culture reflects on the population, you come to calgary to work and make money, not to be a starving artist.

[MarchHare]

Coming from Saint John, which really has no culture, Calgary was a huge step up for me.

The Folk Music Festival is fantastic, and Calgary is large enough to attract most big-name artists for arena concerts (U2, for example). At the same time, smaller, niche bands that don't have the following to play a show in a small town also do concerts here (mainly playing at McEwan).

ACAD is pretty highly regarded as an art institution, is it not?

[moon]

Originally Posted by Matata

Only a handful of actors or musicians have ever come out of calgary. Tours (bands, broadway, etc.) avoid the city due to the far travel, weather and lack of neighbouring cities. I think all of the Arts programs at the U of C are rated as poor or below average, no quality buskers or street performers due to the weather. Very few quality venues for music (outside of the 'drink beer and listen to crappy rock bands' places). Our largest cultural event revolves around poseurs in cowboy hats drinking excessively.

I think the lack of culture reflects on the population, you come to calgary to work and make money, not to be a starving artist.

Most of the things you mention are things that I am glad the city doesn't have. street performers, buskers, starving artists, Arts program at the University are things that are supposed to be positive in a city?

There have been pretty much any concert that I have wanted/needed to see come through the city and the Stampede is certainly a million times better than most "cultural events" that other cities have.

[FlamesAddiction]

After living in Vancouver for several years, I found that "artist" is usually just a nice way of being unemployed. I had a few friends that were "starving artists" and used to live their lives couch surfing. Yet we always seemed to pity them and want to help...

Don't get me wrong, I love the arts and I think one of the things that makes a city nice is the arts. Calgary has some maturing in that regard, but it's a lot more cosmopolitan than people in Toronto and Vancouver give it credit for.

[Muta]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

its not even a fair comparison...calgary is a unicity with no constraints on how big it can grow...

That's a problem. There SHOULD be contraints on how big this city can grow, horizontally. Like most major metropolii, Calgarty needs to start building up... not out. It's alot cheaper this way, and has less of an ecological footprint. This city needs to put serious focus on densification.

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

Calgary gets a unfair rap when it comes to urban sprawl.

It does? Last time I checked, the urban sprawl here was terrible. Any criticism it gets is rightfully deserved.

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Muta

That's a problem. There SHOULD be contraints on how big this city can grow, horizontally. Like most major metropolii, Calgarty needs to start building up... not out. It's alot cheaper this way, and has less of an ecological footprint. This city needs to put serious focus on densification.



It does? Last time I checked, the urban sprawl here was terrible. Any criticism it gets is rightfully deserved.

urban sprawl is bad in every major center, dont kid yourself...

[Muta]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

urban sprawl is bad in every major center, dont kid yourself...

A city of Calgary's size vs. its persons / sq. km is no laughing matter anymore.

[sclitheroe]

Originally Posted by Muta

A city of Calgary's size vs. its persons / sq. km is no laughing matter anymore.

What is the big problem with urban sprawl? We've only got two large cities in the whole province...

And the further out Calgary sprawls, the shorter the drive is to the mountains.... (just kidding!)

[MaxPower]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

urban sprawl is bad in every major center, dont kid yourself...

I don't think he said it wasn't bad in every city, just making sure Calgary was included in that group.

The sprawl here is terrible. Coming into the NW on Country Hills (I'm guessing the rest of the city is the same), all you see is a sea of the same house packed two feet away from each other, barely any trees. It's the worst of both worlds, not dense enough to live cheaply (ie apartments), too dense to live comfortably.

[Ozy_Flame]

Urban Sprawl...

Watch "Radient City" by Calgary director Gary Burns. It shows a disenchanted family in Calgary living in a cookie-cutter house in another superficial suburb.

Urban Sprawl is a HUGE problem, and a contentious issue for us Inner-city dwellers who feel we shouldn't have to pay for services outside of the inner city. Of course, I'm biased because I don't want to pay for the roads that Hummer-driving, Starbucks-drinking suburbanites consume on a daily basis - but I digress...

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Muta

A city of Calgary's size vs. its persons / sq. km is no laughing matter anymore.

And it also doesnt mean much..Vancouver density is much greater than Calgary...they still suffer from the same issues that are pinned on urban sprawl...since most of the working class cant afford to live in the city, they all come in from the burbs..Abby, Poco, Pitt Meadows, Surrey ect...Same with NYC...Toronto...etc..

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by MaxPower

I don't think he said it wasn't bad in every city, just making sure Calgary was included in that group.

The sprawl here is terrible. Coming into the NW on Country Hills (I'm guessing the rest of the city is the same), all you see is a sea of the same house packed two feet away from each other, barely any trees. It's the worst of both worlds, not dense enough to live cheaply (ie apartments), too dense to live comfortably.

Sure..no worse than most other cities, which is my point..

welcome to the prairies

[MelBridgeman]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Urban Sprawl...

Watch "Radient City" by Calgary director Gary Burns. It shows a disenchanted family in Calgary living in a cookie-cutter house in another superficial suburb.

Urban Sprawl is a HUGE problem, and a contentious issue for us Inner-city dwellers who feel we shouldn't have to pay for services outside of the inner city. Of course, I'm biased because I don't want to pay for the roads that Hummer-driving, Starbucks-drinking suburbanites consume on a daily basis - but I digress...

Those were actors....

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by MelBridgeman

Those were actors....

I'm well aware of that. That's why I didn't say it was a documentary.

Regardless, their sentiment is that of many Calgarians fed up with suburban living.

[OracleOfCalgary]

Where does NYC end and Miami start? Now that's urban sprawl...

[OracleOfCalgary]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I'm well aware of that. That's why I didn't say it was a documentary.

Regardless, their sentiment is that of many Calgarians fed up with suburban living.

At least they aren't stuck living in a tiny cement box where all you can see is cement and glass as far as the eye can see...

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by OracleOfCalgary

Where does NYC end and Miami start? Now that's urban sprawl...

now someone just needs to draw the provincial and state boundaries on there.