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I had the opportunity to visit Calgary (and Saskatoon) this February, for work. I was really quite impressed. The city was clean, everyone was friendly, downtown looked modern and the "plus-15s" were fantastic for avoiding the cold going between buildings. I thought to myself, "Yeah, I could call this place home." (Saskatoon wasn't as impressive, I would prefer not to call it home.)
I'm home now, in Salt Lake City, USA, and home is also nice. I like the United States, but have my issues with it. Our healthcare is garbage, our politics are corrupt beyond words, so many people here choose not to work because it's more beneficial. I don't like that. Plus, you guys use metrics, imperial units suck.
I don't think I'm moving this year, but when I do I think I would seriously like to consider Calgary, but other than my 4 day visit to the city I don't know much about it, so here I am.
I'm 28 and work in mining, as a geologist and have a few years of experience, what's the job market like?
What's housing like? I'm in a middle-class suburb of SLC and have a 20 year old 2,000 sq.ft. (185 m.sq) house that cost me ~200k USD (like 215k CAD). Is that comparable?
I don't have a family yet, but my wife and I want one. Can American citizens move to Canada and bring or have kids without issues? Can they attend public schools there?
What about work? I had no issue getting a NAFTA permit or.. whatever it's called.. but it was temporary. Does Canada want immigrant workers or would they prefer I stay here? Would I have to become a permanent citizen? Can people have dual citizenship?
Traffic didn't seem bad, but I was in a lot of taxis, so maybe I didn't notice.
Crime, I know everywhere has it, but how's Calgary? Good places? Bad places?
I can also speak Spanish, would it be of any use up there? I imagine in Western Canada I don't need French, but would it be beneficial?
Do I have to like the Flames or can I still be an Avalanche fan?
What other information would a prospective American want about life in Calgary?
Job market for a Geologist would be great and they make a lot of money. My buddy is one for CNRL and is probably in the mid 100's a year.
Housing is going through the roof here. 2000 sq ft in a suburb 30min drive from downtown will be over 500K
Canada is more welcoming at the border than the US, as a Geologist you should have no problem getting in. Look into some of the Oil producers to see if any even have sponsorship options. Engineers from overseas and being sponsored all the time.
Depending on where you live, traffic can be horrible and public transit sucks. But that's like everywhere else I'm sure
NE Calgary and central SE Calgary has the most crime. Deeper suburban areas and new developments are great though
Spanish would do nothing for you here besides maybe turn on some ladies at a bar. French is more Eastern Canada
Loads of Avalanche fans here. Cheer for who you want and if someone doesn't like it, punch them in the mouth
Our politics are very corrupt too, google Allison Redford. As for our health-care, Americans are under a misbelief that it's free. Its not free. Far from it. We get taxed a ridiculous amount and it's all hidden in there. But we have to wait months even years for things like an MRI. Our health-care is a joke. Also look into what you'll be paying in taxes. Depending on what you make, our tax rate is through the roof. I pay 46% altogether.
But if you were here in Feb, you know what winter is like. Starts in Oct and ends start of May. I think it's a secure place to work, own a home, raise a family, and have lots of things to do.
And I apologize in advance for our over enthusiastic patriotic drunks. Tim Hortons commercials have brain washed a lot of Canadians to believe we are the greatest people on earth. Its very embarrassing.
Thanks for the replies, friends. I talked with a coworker of mine in the Calgary office. He told me about the additional health taxes, but honestly it still sounded better than here. I don't smoke, so I don't care how absurdly expensive your cigarettes are and my wife and I pay $150 a month (premium) on our medical insurance just to have to pay an additional $2,500 a year (deductible), per person, before insurance will cover anything, at all. And by American standards we have a pretty awesome plan. (Seriously).
And your health cost is covered in provincial taxes right? Maybe I'm wrong on this but Alberta's income tax is 10%. Utah's state tax is 5%. So yeah, double. Then federal taxes are maybe a little more, but not much...
In the US my wife and I pay 10% up to 18k, 15% for 18k-72k and 25% for 72k-146k (we don't make more than 146k).
In Canada we'd pay 15% up to 44k, 22% for 44-88k and 26% beyond that.
So on 100k we'd pay 22,000 in Utah/US taxes vs. 29,000 in Alberta/Canada taxes. This is 7% more, but I think you guys probably have your taxes spent on things you care about, rather than on "MOAR TANX N GUNZ FAR THE ARMEE!" like we have to deal with here.
SLC actually has fairly high crime in parts, though most of it is pristine and crime free. I'm in a really safe area, though some people would probably disagree with me because there are "colored people" out here and long-time Salt Lakers tend to be a bit racist, though the city is definitely changing and growing up, a lot in that manner.
Too bad to hear about housing. I'm not a fan of renting and would prefer to own, but we kind of set our budget at 2.5x our combined annual salary when we bought. It doesn't sound like we'd find anything, comparable to what we have, for that in Calgary.
Happy to hear that the market for geology there is decent. I figured it was, which is part of the draw to the city, but also just because it's beautiful.
I was mostly kidding about the Avalanche thing. I was up in Saskatoon during much of the Olympics and literally EVERYONE had to point out that Canada beat USA in hockey and I was kind of like "Hey, yeah! That's great! I uh... don't really watch hockey!" and received a few shocked looks. It was funny I made it to a minor league game when I got home though. Go Grizzlies!
I looked up those Tim Horton's commercials. Some of them gave me Canada pride. I want a double double now...
Have you looked into the process for immigrating to Canada? (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) Having a job offer in hand is the best way to immigrate BUT Canadian employers are required to hire Canadian citizens first, so it isn't quite as simple as landing a job in Canada. The Federal Skilled Worker program may also work for you if you qualify as a geoscientist, one of the 50 desirable occupations on the list. As of May, CIC now caps (quota system) the number of people who can be admitted into the country within this program, so this is not as straightforward as it used to be.
Housing will be your one issue. $250K will buy you a decent one bedroom condo in a decent area and that's about all....
Home prices are still going up here - 10% YOY Calgary prices for repeat home sales hit a new high
Unfortunately renting is equally as challenging - very low vacancy rate = very high monthly rents.
If you have a look at the following site you can peruse what your dollars will buy here - the vast majority of listings are represented on MLS: Home&
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I made it to a minor league game when I got home though. Go Grizzlies!
