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Hi guys , I am new to this forum and this is the first time me posting here. I am seriously interested in moving to alberta ( Edmonton or Calgary ) from Toronto. I'd appreciate if I can have all sort of basic info. ( Rent, salaries, local traveling, ) regarding moving from somebody who is living in one of these two places.
I'll appreciate all the replies.
Thanks & have a good day !!!
Rajuuu.
The promises of more money are not real, and the inflation in Calgary is obscene. Some pubs can charge as much as 8 dollars for a beer. There are lots of crap jobs in construction and tim hortons is hiring, but otherwise you'll have to grind your way in at some jeans-wearing hick Calgary outfit. Its a cold winter-warzone for a lot of the year, housing prices are inflated heavily and it's SO uncultured you'll go crazy. From what you are probably used to in the Toronto metro area, you will definitely be disappointed with Calgary, a town that is trying so desperately hard to be cosmo and still not quite there yet. The police are everywhere, it feels like a military communist state, and the traffic is horrendous. Obviously, I don't recommend it.
I've never lived in Calgary, but I can give you a little info about Edmonton. Rents are an issue here, because with the oil boom, rent increases are becoming a little ridiculous. There's been talk of rent protection, but the conservative gov't is unlikely to go there. We moved here two years ago and live in a nice downtown 2 bedroom apartment. Our rent has increased twice since arriving and is now 40% higher than it was last year. Having said that - if you're accustomed to Toronto rents, you'll probably not be as shocked as the rest of us. Salaries in white collar fields tend to be similar to Ontario. The oil boys make a killing...my brother takes home $11,000/month roughnecking (but it's a filthy, dangerous, never-home kind of job, so more power to him). As the poster above mentioned - the winter is freezing and lasts forever, and there is not nearly as much to do as some other places. I find Edmonton far from everywhere in terms of travel - Calgary is 3 hours away, the rockies are 4-5 hours away, and in all other directions are straight roads leading to more prairies. Having said all of that, Edmonton is not nearly as redneck as people are led to believe, the people are friendly, the city is beautiful through the summer and fall and the economy is on fire.
I've actually heard of people doing the opposite - leaving Alberta.
You asked about Rent and Sallary. The reality is that the two are the same as in Toronto when done in a ratio
(huh?)
for example. Lets make this an easy comparison. Rent is done monthly and jobs usually hourly. Lets do all of this monthly. Lets say that you'd make $2500 at a certain job in Toronto and pay $1000 rent at a certain room. That same job could get you $3000 in Calgary, but renting the same room might be $1500. Therefore even if you are literally making more money, it's all being eaten up by your rent. The only thing you actually get out of your higher cash flow is the oppertunity to pay more taxes.
That's not to say there is no oppertunity in Alberta. There are certain jobs that WILL pay you more then what the rent will eat up - but these are jobs in the oil field. If your willing to physically work hard (as one person put it - to make your body hurt) then you will rake it in.
Think $5 for 4 apples at the grocery as an example...
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!
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Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi guys , I am new to this forum and this is the first time me posting here. I am seriously interested in moving to alberta ( Edmonton or Calgary ) from Toronto. I'd appreciate if I can have all sort of basic info. ( Rent, salaries, local traveling, ) regarding moving from somebody who is living in one of these two places.
