Denver vs Calgary (Colorado Springs, Aurora, Sterling: moving to, eat, building)

[DenverBound41]

Calgary certainly has the superior skyline but most everything else favors Denver. Hopefully in another 10-15 years the Denver skyline will match Calgary's current skyline.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by DenverBound41

Calgary certainly has the superior skyline but most everything else favors Denver. Hopefully in another 10-15 years the Denver skyline will match Calgary's current skyline.

Calgary looks like an odd city... in that it has such a large, lively downtown, surrounded by rather boring everything else.

[downtownnola]

Denver metro population: 2.8 million
Calgary metro population: 1.2 million

Hard to compare population-wise, as Denver is much larger. What is it that makes Calgary more cosmopolitan? They do have a larger skyline (typical of Canadian cities). Calgary does seem to have suffered terribly by the oil bust. Alberta has been in recession since at least late 2015.

Not saying anything bad about Calgary, but aside from being located near the mountains, I'm not sure that the cities are all that similar.

[Shane73]

I've been to both cities. Calgary's downtown is more of a focal point for the area as that's where the lions share of office space is, not as many suburban office parks and nothing like DTC. They have a big emphasis on public transit that's impressive for the size of the city that it is. Parking in downtown is also more expensive than most cities. Like Denver, Calgary also has a pedestrian mall in its downtown (https://www.google.com/maps/@51.0456...8i6656!6m1!1e1). It's not nearly as long or vibrant as 16th St. Honestly I feel like Denver has more soul, Denver has more visible relics of its pioneering past and more interesting neighborhoods. What I really did like about Calgary was the river right through the city and all the parkland around it and some nice architectural bridges spanning over it.

[Hschlick84]

I also wanted to point out, there's Yoho National Park about 130 miles west of Calgary on the Alberta/British Columbia border, almost like Rocky Mountain National park. I'd check it out if I ever visit Calgary.

Yoho National Park

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/bc/yoho/visit.aspx


[IMG]

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

I also wanted to point out, there's Yoho National Park about 130 miles west of Calgary on the Alberta/British Columbia border, almost like Rocky Mountain National park. I'd check it out if I ever visit Calgary.

Yoho National Park

Parks Canada - Yoho National Park - Visitor Information

I love that you're the tourism bureau for Alberta all of a sudden. Don't forget Banff. It's even closer to Calgary.

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I love that you're the tourism bureau for Alberta all of a sudden. Don't forget Banff. It's even closer to Calgary.

You have to appreciate the natural wonders of beauty.

Comparing national parks are like two lost cousins

Ten Peaks in Banff National Park


Maroon Bells at White River National Forest

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Gee, pretty pictures, but what does this have to do with the Denver forum? I could see someone who currently lives in Calgary starting a thread comparing Calgary with Denver because he or she is interested in moving, but you aren't. In fact you're moving to Arizona soon. So what purpose does this thread serve?

[Hschlick84]

Just comparing the two places on how they're more similar than different. You could easily call Alberta 'North Colorado' and people wouldn't notice the difference. They're practically interchangeable, so it can relate to our state.

[Mr. Analyst]

Originally Posted by denverian

Calgary looks like an odd city... in that it has such a large, lively downtown, surrounded by rather boring everything else.

Sprawl is such an American concept. I'd like to see a more compact, dense urban core and less sprawl. It's better for the environment.