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I just bought a 5 pound bag of really good red delicious apples at Safeway yesterday for $4.99. Don't believe everything you read in the paper!
Thanks for the tip! I think I'll go to Safeway and get a bag.
You know what I mean about the food costs though... $4 for 1/2 pint of blueberries, $2.50 for a cucumber, etc. Even gasoline in Calgary costs more than in Southern Ontario and the oil comes from Alberta and the gas taxes are lower... Lets not even get into the parking costs...
Calgary and Alberta is by far one of the most pricey regions in North America, basically on par with LA and California but wit -40C and no true beaches to speak of.
Hii guys im very new to this site..i am from india and my husband works for oil and gas here and we are planning to move to alberta as there is a lot of opportunity...can anyone working in the same feild or living in alberta tell me if its safe for us to shift there?and how is the living ,climate, and mostly how the job in oil and gas.please help...
Hii guys im very new to this site..i am from india and my husband works for oil and gas here and we are planning to move to alberta as there is a lot of opportunity...can anyone working in the same feild or living in alberta tell me if its safe for us to shift there?and how is the living ,climate, and mostly how the job in oil and gas.please help...
The quality of life in Alberta is acceptable-to-good, but it isn't the very best that you're going to find. Towns and cities in Alberta are safe for the most part. Take care to pick a safe neighbourhood wherever you end up and you should be alright.
The climate is abhorrent. Get used to five-to-six months of real winter, with the cold temperatures, the ice and the snow that come with true Canadian winters. Some people will drone on about the sunny winter skies or, if they're from Southern Alberta, the chinooks (a warm winter wind that blows only a few days a year during the extraordinarily long winter season) as if either excuse the horrid winter weather. Don't fall for this nonsense. It's cold, it's bad, and there's no getting around it.
There is plenty of work in oil and gas, but do take care to pick your city wisely. Be aware that if your husband has university education from India, then it may not be accepted by many employers or professional bodies as being equivalent to a Canadian university education. This may result in your husband being passed over for some jobs, being refused professional accreditation, or being offered a job that he considers beneath his level of education.
I wish you nothing but the best of luck should you decide to relocate!
The quality of life in Alberta is acceptable-to-good, but it isn't the very best that you're going to find. Towns and cities in Alberta are safe for the most part. Take care to pick a safe neighbourhood wherever you end up and you should be alright.
The climate is abhorrent. Get used to five-to-six months of real winter, with the cold temperatures, the ice and the snow that come with true Canadian winters. Some people will drone on about the sunny winter skies or, if they're from Southern Alberta, the chinooks (a warm winter wind that blows only a few days a year during the extraordinarily long winter season) as if either excuse the horrid winter weather. Don't fall for this nonsense. It's cold, it's bad, and there's no getting around it.
The Climate is abhorrent - as opposed to what? The palm trees in the east? Too funny! Canada has cold winters - everywhere. But Chinooks are very real, and very common.
Yes - the quality of life in Alberta is accebtable if you like a life that is full of activity and natural beauty. Just spent the afternoon hiking around this: (30 minutes drive from my home). But yeah, probably just good to acceptable.
The Climate is abhorrent - as opposed to what? The palm trees in the east? Too funny! Canada has cold winters - everywhere. But Chinooks are very real, and very common.
Yes - the quality of life in Alberta is accebtable if you like a life that is full of activity and natural beauty. Just spent the afternoon hiking around this: (30 minutes drive from my home). But yeah, probably just good to acceptable.
The poster to whom I replied is from India. She deserves to be warned about winter weather in Alberta. Yes, the climate almost everywhere in Canada is abhorrent come wintertime. Only Vancouver and Vancouver Island get the milder winter weather that most people find to be at least a little bit tolerable.
Chinooks are not as common as people like you let on. I lived in Calgary and we only saw two or three chinooks during my time there. Some southern Albertans leave people with the impression that chinooks blow one or two days a week throughout the winter. That isn't true. A handful of times at best, chinooks will blow during a five-to-six month long winter. And while it does warm up when they do blow, some people suffer headaches from the dramatic pressure changes.
Be defensive if you feel it necessary (and for the avoidance of doubt, it isn't), but please don't mislead fellow posters about incontrovertible facts. Quality of life isn't up there for a handful of reasons, terrible winter weather included. For a vast majority of people, mountains do little to make a five-to-six month long winter more bearable. If you're some kind of climber, skier or outdoors enthusiast, then they might, but they otherwise do very little for your average city dweller.
I agree, the poster should be warned about weather in Canada. The remarks you made however, made it sound like Alberta is the only cold place in Canada. I'm not defensive, I just don't like reading misleading information. There are no hot spots in Canada in the Winter. Vancouver is the best option, but its still cold and rainy. This is Canada - its' cold from west to east.
I agree, the poster should be warned about weather in Canada. The remarks you made however, made it sound like Alberta is the only cold place in Canada. I'm not defensive, I just don't like reading misleading information. There are no hot spots in Canada in the Winter. Vancouver is the best option, but its still cold and rainy. This is Canada - its' cold from west to east.
No offense intended, but you were defensive. Had the poster asked about Canada generally -- which she didn't; she asked only about Alberta -- then I would have broadened my warning to include the fact that with the limited exceptions of Vancouver and Vancouver Island, Canada is very cold during winter. Alberta, in particular, can be as cold as Hoth at that time of year.
The weather on the Prairies during winter is unbelievably harsh compared to those places from where most immigrants to Canada move. Such immigrants need to be warned.
People aren't leaving Alberta on a net basis. Calgary's population increased 2.6% in 2012 (pretty significant for one year in a non-boom time). Unemployment remains well below national average (Toronto's rate is higher than the national average) and qualified people seem to be able to find work relatively easily. During the boom, anyone with a pulse could walk into a high paying job....this isn't the case now, but the job market isn't hard to crack.
Calgary is an expensive city by North American standards, but it is pretty similar to other large Canadian cities. Rent is less expensive in Calgary than Toronto, but groceries and consumer goods tend to be more expensive. Salaries in Calgary are relatively high, and most people in Calgary will have a higher thtan their Toronto cousin (Stats Can estimated the median household salary to be approximately 90k in Calgary and 70k in Toronto in 2010). Taxes are also quite a bit lower, especially for high earners.
Winters in Alberta are cold....and dark. You can count on experiencing very cold weather from November to February. You can experience all seasons in October, March, April and May. June and September trend to warmer temperatures, but cold naps are not uncommon in these months. July and August are usually pretty nice.... but never too hot. So the weather does kind of stink.
But you can ski in the winter.
And it is beautiful in the summer.
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