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Old 07-31-2006, 01:39 PM   #1
shane_c
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Default Regina and Saskatoon

To those of you who have lived in Regina or Saskatoon..... What are they like? Cost of living would obviously be pretty good, how about quality of life and other things like that?
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Old 07-31-2006, 01:42 PM   #2
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Saskatoon is boring as hell.... I grew up there.

Stay away.
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Old 07-31-2006, 01:44 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by SoulOfTheFlame
Saskatoon is boring as hell.... I grew up there.

Stay away.
Whereas Regina is hell.
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Old 07-31-2006, 01:45 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shane_c
To those of you who have lived in Regina or Saskatoon..... What are they like? Cost of living would obviously be pretty good, how about quality of life and other things like that?
I thought you just bought a house here?
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Old 07-31-2006, 01:48 PM   #5
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Regina isn't all that desirable, Saskatoon isn't too bad, though. I've always liked the city, nice river valley, etc. Tons of family still live in the area. Not sure on cost of living, etc, not sure what there is job-wise though.
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Old 07-31-2006, 01:51 PM   #6
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Lived in Saskatoon for a couple years, '98 & '99. Nice quiet place, boring as hell though. It looked a bit dirty last time I was there, over a year ago. Barely any touring acts hit that town, if you like music they you're going to get bored.
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Old 07-31-2006, 01:54 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kryzsky
Lived in Saskatoon for a couple years, '98 & '99. Nice quiet place, boring as hell though. It looked a bit dirty last time I was there, over a year ago. Barely any touring acts hit that town, if you like music they you're going to get bored.
Actually, Saskatoon gets quite a few big acts.
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Old 07-31-2006, 02:01 PM   #8
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Saskatoon isn't that bad. Sure the downtown blows, and there are some rough areas in town, but if you get a house in the newer communities, you should be ok.

No place is boring. You have to create your own fun.
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Old 07-31-2006, 02:02 PM   #9
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I visited both cities a few years ago, and I was surprised just how nice Saskatoon was. Their downtown seems pretty active, and their main street has a lot of recognizable shops and trendy stores.

Regina, on the other hand, was a complete hole. I dunno whether it's just the way the city is set up or poor zoning or whatever, but you couldn't pay me enough to live there. There wer a lot of stores with boarded up windows and abandoned buildings downtown with shady looking people raoming the sidewalks.

From what I saw Saskatoon was 10x better than Regina. It's not saying much still, but one certainly is better than the other, and in a pretty big way.
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Old 07-31-2006, 02:03 PM   #10
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Quote:
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No place is boring.
Waiting for inappropriate Edmonton crack......................
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Old 07-31-2006, 02:15 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobblehead
I thought you just bought a house here?
We did, but at some point might look at moving somewhere else. We don't plan on spending the rest of our life here. Don't get me wrong, I love Calgary but at the same time there are a lot of aspects in our life we gave up by moving to big city.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:18 PM   #12
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Just stay away from Regina. F'ing disgusting, worse than Winnipeg and Edmonton. Seriously.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:33 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scorponok
. Their downtown seems pretty active, and their main street has a lot of recognizable shops and trendy stores.

Regina, on the other hand, was a complete hole. I dunno whether it's just the way the city is set up or poor zoning or whatever, but you couldn't pay me enough to live there. There wer a lot of stores with boarded up windows and abandoned buildings downtown with shady looking people raoming the sidewalks.
Regina's downtown is much better than Saskatoon's.
Saskatoon's downtown is horrible. Old buildings, no skyscrapers (I think the radison hotel is the tallest building there). Mind you, downtowns are hardly the basis of deciding whether a place is good to live in for quality of life
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:46 PM   #14
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Outside of the Leg buildings and grounds, and Wascana Park, not much in Regina. I grew up just north of there and attended university in Regina. Not a nice city. High taxes, very poor services.

Lived in Saskatoon and taught there, much nicer city. In my mind, the two cities really dont compare.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:54 PM   #15
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I quite enjoy Saskatoon to be perfectly honest.

Some of the Pros I like are:
1) cheaper accomodations than Calgary
2) close to a lot of weekend lake areas. It is very easy to own a weekend getaway at many of the surrounding lakes.
3) Northern Saskatchewan is pretty nice in the summer for camping and fishing and what not.
4) Beatiful river valley.
5) The downtown has some nice parts (ie. Spadina area along the river).

Cons:
1) Colder winters than Calgary.
2) Freaking grasshoppers and other bugs in the summer.
3) Higher taxes.
4) Much more isolated than a place like Calgary.
5) Lack of decent work for some professions.
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Old 07-31-2006, 04:56 PM   #16
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The GF is from Regina, so had to make the trek there this spring to meet her family. I've known a lot of people FROM Regina who have universally shat on it so my expectations weren't high - they were pretty dismal actually.

I have to say, I was pleasantely surprised, although I admit to only having superficial exposure to the place. We were in the north end which I guess is the worse end of town and it still seemed to be pretty decent. Houses were generally older but reasonably kept. Lots of mini malls and what for all your basic shopping needs.

Downtown was non existent as you would expect. That said, it's better to have nothinh than to have blocks of squalor like Winnipeg's downtown. I asked to be taken to the crappy parts of town and was show something that resembled the Capitol Hill area of Calgary, circa 1985, but in poorer kept shape. The area was quite close to downtown. Older houses from the 50's, that had let the maintenance go. Many of the inhabitants did look a little sketchy though.


Overall, it's the career prospects and inability to increase earning power that keep people away from Regina and Saskatoon, so if that aspect is not a problem for you then it looks like an OK place to raise a family. Depending on your stage of life, perhaps a nice quiet place to raise a family matters more than having Pearl Jam play a set.
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Old 07-31-2006, 05:14 PM   #17
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I could never live in a city where there is no NHL franchise closely located.
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Old 07-31-2006, 05:19 PM   #18
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I fear the day that my gf starts talking about us moving. I enjoy living in Calgary and would love to live out my days here watching the Flames and walking down to the Saddledome to catch the odd game.
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Old 07-31-2006, 05:20 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CalgaryDesi
No place is boring.
Fort Nelson, BC.
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Old 07-31-2006, 05:26 PM   #20
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Saskatoon's a really cool place to live. In the summer, there are tonnes of festivals and events going on. The Ex (think mini Stampede, minus the rodeo) is starting next week, as is the Fringe festival.

The bar seen is cool, if that's what you're into. Try the Broadway area, which is the trendy, artsy area of the city. There are a lot of great restaurants (Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Burmese, Cambodian, Thai, authentic Italian and Greek), and most of the well-known chains (Earls, East Side Marios, Moxies, Kelsey's, Montana's, Ricky's, and many Starbucks).

As for concerts, we have tonnes. If you're into the indie scene, the Broadway area is the place to go, along with the university. Acts like the New Pornographers, Broken Social Scene, Neko Case, and the Constantines have all been through. If you're into more mainstream stuff, Red Hot Chili Peppers are coming, Rob Zombie was just here, and acts like Aerosmith, Motley Crue, Velvet Revolver, Nickleback, Black Eyed Peas, Fifty Cent, and Metallica have all been through. Pearl Jam was also here last year.

We have a great downtown - I don't know what other people on here are talking about. It's not filled with office towers like Calgary, but it has great shopping, including tonnes of shops (our fashion district) on 21st street and 2nd Avenue. Midtown Plaza, our major mall, is downtown, and is connected to the Centennial Auditorium and Convention Centre. The new 12 screen Galaxy Theatre is scheduled to open this summer (its right across from the Midtown Plaza). And they'll be building a new theatre and hotel on the riverbank just south of the new movie theatres in the next couple of years.

As for sports, we have the Blades, who play at Credit Union Centre (which is a nice arena, but the location sucks). There's also the U of S Huskies football, which is getting a renovated stadium and field so they can host the 2006 Vanier Cup. I also like Huskie Hockey basketball.

There are also a lot of recreation opportunities in and near the city. Lots of trails and parks for joggers and cyclists. If you like skiing, there's Blackstrap, just south of the city, and Table Mountain about 90 minutes west (they're equivalent to COP - not a ski resort but a good place to take the kids for the day).

There's lots of jobs - at least I haven't had any trouble moving up since I started my career. We have a few mining firms (PotashCorp, Cogema, Shore Gold, Cameco) here in the city, and there are many small and medium technology and biotech firms in the city, most located at Innovation Place (which is where I work). There's a husge shortage of labour in skilled trades - construction of all kinds is hot, and you can have your pick of jobs there.

Keep in mind that Saskatoon is a university town and definetly doesn't have the high-pace that you see in Calgary. If 10-20 minute commutes appeal to you, Saskatoon's the place to be. It's affordable and has a lot to offer single people and families.

Here are a few websites to check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon
http://www.tourismsaskatoon.com/
http://www.saskatoon.ca

This one gives a cost comparison of major cities in Western Canada:

http://www.myfutureishere.ca/main.php?pid=606
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