Should I move back to Calgary?

[RichieRich]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Homeless people asking me for money is an emotional accosting.

Summer before last we were in Victoria. Drove by some cattle/animal truck during a rain storm and had our vehicle covered in liquid sh*t. Then parking in downtown Victoria resulted in at least 10+ bird turdbombs daily (we couldn't do parkade due to roofbox). So I have a crappy relationship with Victoria, but our trip was awesome.

[Locke]

You could try moving back to Calgary....but I have it on good authority that there are no vacancies in Tuscany Calgary....

[troutman]

Originally Posted by SeeGeeWhy

Naramata is where I want to be. What life stage were you in when you lived in Penticton?

I was there in the mid-90s - my first law job after articling. I think I would like a place in Naramata too.

[SeeGeeWhy]

Originally Posted by troutman

I was there in the mid-90s - my first law job after articling. I think I would like a place in Naramata too.

Hey man, the invite will always be open if I make it.

[sketchyt]

Pretty much everyone I know who moved away from Calgary in the last 10-20 years loved crapping on Calgary when they lived here and now wonder if they should move back.

My general sense for this sort of thing is that if you live (and appropriately employed) in a first world city and you're unhappy with where you are, it probably doesn't have much to do with the city... it's likely just you and your ability to be happy as a person.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by afc wimbledon

Victoria has the option of buggering off to Vancouver or Seattle quite easily though, in a way it gives you the best of all three

With a minimum $150 fee for a ferry round trip. I love the island and have thought a lot about a potential move, but that stupid ferry is the ultimate deal breaker

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by peter12

Vancouver is great if you can live between Alma and Victoria and the water and 30th Ave. Otherwise, the suburbs here are just as dry, boring, and depressing as they are in Calgary. Worse even, because most of the houses are forty years old and there are no sidewalks in the further out suburbs.

And they take longer to get to. Seriously, try driving to suburban Delta from downtown during rush hour. It's a 2 hour debacle. I did say I'd be doing the commuter thing in your situation but that's from Squamish; if you have to go south or east, you might as well just drive straight into False Creek and be done with it.

People love to trash Calgary car culture, but the same damn thing exists in the Lower Mainland. I need a car to get to North Van, Richmond, both of the ferries, any of the ski hills, etc...

This isn't quite true though. I have no idea what it's like in Covid but the whole city was completely navigable with a bike and a transit pass. Maybe not all the ski hills per se, but even there you can get to Grouse on a bus. Not a shuttle, a normal, city bus drives right up to the gondola. North Van = Seabus, Richmond = Skytrain right to Richmond Centre (I have no idea why you'd want to go there but there you are). As for the ferries, there are multiple buses, private and translink, from downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay. The Tsawassen ferry terminal is a bit tougher to do by transit I'd imagine, but it's not exactly a quick drive in a car, either. It was easier when there was still Car2Go but it's not that bad, and it's miles ahead of Calgary in terms of accessibility because the train actually goes to the place you want to get to, rather than a station several blocks away across a massive parking lot in -15 degree weather. You just have to put up with getting rained on.

Originally Posted by stampsx2

I’ve been to Vancouver so many times. Sorry but what is so vibrant and great about Robson that you don’t get on 17th ave? What can you do there that you can’t do in Calgary?

Sushi, for one thing. But the main thing is that there's one 17th ave in Calgary. There are several in Van. Robson is mostly shopping and restaurants rather than bars, but there's Granville, there's Gastown, there's Commercial, there's 4th Ave, there's the area around Kits Beach around the corner to Hadden Park, there's Yaletown. Peter's certainly right to note that the vibrancy of all of that is not what it was 15-20 years ago, but even in non-Covid times, it's all pretty comparable to what 17th has been over the past half decade here. There's just more of it there, and more variety.

I suppose there’s granville island but it’s a bit overhyped if you ask me. It’s just a farmers market on the water. If you take your food outside there’s crazy seagulls eyeing your food.

No one really goes to Granville Island.

Originally Posted by rubecube

Downtown Victoria can be pretty vibrant in the sense the summer months, but yeah, overall Calgary has much more going on.

On the plus side, Victoria has Clive's Classic Lounge. Which completely rules. If I lived around there I would be their biggest regular.

... Unfortunately, that's about it.

[peter12]

If you want me to do a street by street comparison, I would happily do so. You are right that Vancouver has a few more high streets, although I haven't been to Calgary in sometime, I would say that it did have the Kensington area, 4th St. 17th Ave, and Stephan's Ave.

Commercial, Main, 4th Ave, and Robson are all really nice in Vancouver, but suffer from business vacancies, widespread public drug use, etc...

Hands down though, you will not find as walkable a food neighbourhood as Robson west of Burrard. I love the West End. Best food in town, especially if you love Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

Yeah, Granville Island is just a giant parking lot now. It's ####.

This isn't quite true though. I have no idea what it's like in Covid but the whole city was completely navigable with a bike and a transit pass. Maybe not all the ski hills per se, but even there you can get to Grouse on a bus. Not a shuttle, a normal, city bus drives right up to the gondola. North Van = Seabus, Richmond = Skytrain right to Richmond Centre (I have no idea why you'd want to go there but there you are). There are multiple buses, private and translink, from downtown Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay. The Tsawassen ferry terminal is a bit tougher to do by transit I'd imagine, but it's not exactly a quick drive in a car, either. It was easier when there was still Car2Go but it's not that bad, and it's miles ahead of Calgary in terms of accessibility because the train actually goes to the place you want to get to, rather than a station several blocks away across a massive parking lot in -15 degree weather. You just have to put up with getting rained on.

Yes, but, it is pretty inconvenient. If you live along Skytrain, you are laughing, but Vancouver has been pretty reluctant to actually develop along the train routes.

Otherwise, yes, the region is pretty well connected with public transit, but once you leave Vancouver proper, the bus schedules etc can get pretty spotty. Getting to Tsawassen ferry terminal can take over 2.5 hours by bus/train with all the connections.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Svartsengi

I would not move back here if I were you. What about the Okanagan?. If you don’t mind the cold how about Prince George?. Hope you and your partner find a location that works out for the two of you.

Prince George? I feel the same reaction in my stomach as when Dion said he makes macaroni and cheese with Cheese Whiz.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by peter12

I hate Vancouver, I've always hated Vancouver. It's too expensive, too dark, too rainy here. The people suck. The sports teams sucks. The usual attractions are too full of people. Nobody wants to spend money on anything except for housing.

Err, so why did you just tried to buy a house there?

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

With a minimum $150 fee for a ferry round trip. I love the island and have thought a lot about a potential move, but that stupid ferry is the ultimate deal breaker

I would imagine most Calgarians would like the option of taking their car to either Seattle or Vancouver for $150 and a couple of hours travel time, it has to beat driving to Edmonton or Medicine Hat (no disrespect to Medicine Hat and its excellent truck stops I have used on the way to Winnipeg many many times)

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Sliver

lol, like WTF. If he's trying to choose between Calgary and Vancouver, I'm pretty sure the Caribbean is as far removed from that as it gets.

He said they were also looking down south.

[Mazrim]

I fought off the winter blues in the Okanagan (lake-effect cloud in the valley) by going into the mountains regularly to get above the clouds. I can only imagine it's even worse in the lower mainland. You definitely can't beat prairie sunshine in the winter, even if it gets colder here.

[afc wimbledon]

Originally Posted by peter12

If you want me to do a street by street comparison, I would happily do so. You are right that Vancouver has a few more high streets, although I haven't been to Calgary in sometime, I would say that it did have the Kensington area, 4th St. 17th Ave, and Stephan's Ave.

Commercial, Main, 4th Ave, and Robson are all really nice in Vancouver, but suffer from business vacancies, widespread public drug use, etc...

Hands down though, you will not find as walkable a food neighbourhood as Robson west of Burrard. I love the West End. Best food in town, especially if you love Japanese, Korean, and Chinese.

Yeah, Granville Island is just a giant parking lot now. It's ####.



Yes, but, it is pretty inconvenient. If you live along Skytrain, you are laughing, but Vancouver has been pretty reluctant to actually develop along the train routes.

Otherwise, yes, the region is pretty well connected with public transit, but once you leave Vancouver proper, the bus schedules etc can get pretty spotty. Getting to Tsawassen ferry terminal can take over 2.5 hours by bus/train with all the connections.

For the life of me I have always wondered why there isnt just a huge ferry terminal out by the airport that could share transport and parking and service the whole Island, both Twassen and Horseshoe Bay are just the dumbest places to put ferries for Vancouver

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

On the plus side, Victoria has Clive's Classic Lounge. Which completely rules. If I lived around there I would be their biggest regular.

... Unfortunately, that's about it.

Clive's has a cool vibe but it's still a bit of a tourist trap. There are better cocktail bars in the city at this point.

Unfortunately most of the cool #### that goes on in and around Victoria isn't immediately accessible to people who don't live here.

[afc wimbledon]

Victoria has an excellent Oddfellow's lodge with an awesome hall complete with snooker tables (plural) in their own snooker room, its in the heart of downtown and built in the 19th century.

Of course none of you get to visit it but trust me its frickin awesome

[activeStick]

I'm also originally from Calgary and currently live in Vancouver, so I can relate in that sense. Not going to comment about my income though, not my style.

The unaffordability of the real estate out here is ridiculous and that won't change (don't let others convince you that the market will correct, because it won't). I was fortunate enough to get into the market in the 90s on a cheap townhome here and there's no way in hell I'm going to get back into the market now. I'm currently renting downtown because my own unit is too big for me (single guy). Is real estate affordable in Calgary though (not more affordable, but affordable, period)? It seems like real estate across Canada is mostly not aligned to salaries unless you're talking SK, Ottawa and the Maritimes, so I'm not sure you're going to an affordable place with respect to real estate by going to Calgary.

If you're moving because you're tired of the constant rain and persistent lack of sun, I completely understand. People love to talk about the mild temperatures out here (which they're correct about) but fail to mention the 8 months of gray skies and rain. It really wears on you and this year without being able to go away somewhere with sun for vacation has definitely impacted me.

Also, obviously having jobs when you and your partner move out there would be ideal and I personally wouldn't do it without having something lined up. I hear Calgary's not great right now for work but Vancouver never really was so at worst it's maybe the same? But I wonder if waiting until covid is over before moving might be a better option?

[Bunk]

Yes, you should move here. Great bang for the buck for the type of quality of life you can get. Pick a neighbourhood you like, and life is good. There are plenty of great, walkable hoods with tons of amenity.

[activeStick]

Also, what's wrong with renting? Freedom of movement and if you want a change you do it.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Also, what's wrong with renting? Freedom of movement and if you want a change you do it.

Nothing wrong at all. It can be a lifestyle choice and an long-term investment choice to not buy into real estate. I think "buying a house" has been hard-baked into people too much in recent years - there are options.