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I've been living in Houston, Texas for years and am considering a move to Alberta, either to Calgary or Edmonton. Can any locals describe how the two cities compare? Things that matter to me include cost of living, dining and entertainment options, the arts, accessibility to nearby natural beauty, decent airport with flights to the US, and the middle-aged "single again" demographic (of which I am one). Would appreciate any comparison of the "feel" of the two cities.
Unless you're going on an expat package, I wouldn't do it, but that's just me. If you're getting paid in the now devalued Canadian dollar, it's a horror show. If you're getting paid in USD, then things will actually be pretty good.
This is assuming equivalent dollar for dollar;
Cost of living - both are insanely expensive compared to Houston. Figure 20-30% more across the board in general, and 50% more for housing. Fuel, groceries, liquor and income taxes are significantly more. Sales tax is less, and property taxes are way less.
The easiest way to charactarize the two cities, while a bit simplistic, works pretty well. Edmonton is a more blue collar/government town and Calgary is more white collar/business oriented.
Calgary wins in natural beauty in a walk. Edmonton has an amazing river valley/Legislature, but the Rocky Mountains and Banff/Kananaskis Country are an hour away from Calgary.
Calgary has better direct flight connections, especially to the US.
Edmonton has a much better arts scene, especially with Edmonton Fringe Festival, but Calgary does have proper philharmonic/ballet/resident theatre companies. Edmonton gets better concerts due to bigger stadia/more up to date facilities.
Both are open welcoming cities, but remember that Canadians, as a rule are less open than Americans, and especially Texans.
You will tragically miss decent Mexican/Tex-Mex, as there is none. However Asian food will go toe to toe with anywhere in the world. Alberta beef is fantastic, and will stand up to anywhere I've been in my eight years in Houston. There's less of a cutting edge food scene, but Houston is really head and shoulders above anywhere short of NYC, LA or Vegas in North America, so it's not really a fair comparison.
Sports, you gain NHL Hockey, but lose out on NBA/NFL/MLB. If you like baseball, I hope you like the Blue Jays, because that's about all you'll get. NBA is marginally better. NFL coverage is decent, but obviously no rooting interest, and you gain the CFL, which would take a whole thread just to cover the differences in an essentially identical game.
Other things to consider, you have a neutered version of iTunes, Netflix and Amazon. Ordering anything across the border will likely garner you hefty fees that make it prohibitive. Cars, dollar for dollar are more, but are actually a better deal right now if purchasing only in USD. Travel is more costly, but going to Cuba is easily done.
We made the reverse move in 2007, and honestly, I can't see us ever going back. Between the climate and fiscal differences, that more than makes up for the healthcare/political/religious craziness.
WOW, thanks for the extremely detailed and informative reply, mikeyyc! You really covered a lot there, even down to the different versions of Netflix and amazon! (agreed: the Canadian versions are annoyingly-neutered; I actually have a screenshot on my phone of YouTube (Canada) telling me a Gordon Lightfoot video that I can watch no problem here in Texas "isn't available in your country" when I was in Ontario. How ironic.).
I'm actually a Canadian, so I'm quite familiar with some of the Canadian things you mentioned, but you definitely gave me some other aspects to carefully consider before making a move. Lately (specifically, since a divorce a few years ago), I really haven't felt "at home" anywhere, and I long to find that place again.
The biggest challenge you have is that you're looking at moving from what is close to the cheapest first world city of size to an area that's economically depressed, yet still very expensive.
I've lived in both cities and can add that Edmonton is more rough. Years ago, I started a new office job in downtown Edmonton and went to open a bank account on my lunch break. Seconds after I walked into the bank, a man entered behind me and collapsed. He had been beaten and was stabbed. This is in broad daylight in what was supposed to be the business district of downtown. I've lived in Calgary now for 20 years and have never seen anything close to that.
I admit that was probably just a bad coincidence and not reflective of Edmonton as a whole, but the year that I lived there was filled with a lot of other examples of the people people a lot more "hard" (blue color as some say). It's why I left.
Calgary on the other hand as a more upbeat vibe, better recreation (the mountains) and more amenities.
Which would you say is a better place to live for someone who is not considered "professional" ? What I mean to say is my last job was a call center, and my degree is in criminology. I'm looking to work as a community officer, and or entry level of any kind.
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