Is Vancouver Better Place than Calgary?

[Chamuel]

Hi all! Thanks for the great advice contributed to my previous inquiry ("is Calgary or Edmonton better place to live?).

Background: I'm a US citizen, and I would like to move to Canada; some place toward the Western side is better for me. Based on what you folks have told me previously about the differences between Calgary and Edmonton . . . and my own research . . . I think I would prefer Calgary as the place to live.

BUT . . . . it has been suggested to me that I should dump both Calgary and Edmonton, and instead move to VANCOUVER. I'm not sure why she suggested that to me.

So . . . would you please help me out once again with your feedback on the advantages/disadvantages of moving to VANCOUVER instead of Calgary?

I appreciate your time . . . and do take your comments seriously!

Chamuel

(presently living in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA--soon to move to Canada SOMEWHERE!)

[Riverwind]

BUT . . . . it has been suggested to me that I should dump both Calgary and Edmonton, and instead move to VANCOUVER.  I'm not sure why she suggested that to me.

A lot people like Vancouver for the weather. It only snows 1 or 2 days a year and the snow melts quickly when it does fall. The downside is it rains almost non-stop from Nov. to Mar. So if you hate snow then Vancouver is the place to be. If you hate rain then you probably need to look somewhere else.

The downside is the cost of housing. A modest 3 bedroom detached house goes for C$300,000 - C$400,000 in most suburbs. If you move way into the valley you can find stuff cheaper but then you are looking a major commute into the city because the road network is poor (Vancouver city planners think that the best way to fix a traffic problem is to refuse to build roads and hope the cars go away). This is not an issue if you can find a job in the same area that you live in - given the way gas prices are going living close to work is probably a good idea anywhere.

Vancouver is a very multicultural city in a good way - in some suburbs whites are a minority but the suburbs aren't ghettos - they are just middle class suburbs with people who happen to not be white. If you like the diversity then Vancouver is great. The number of Sushi restuarants in Richmond (a Vancouver suburb) out numbers the fast food hambuger joints. An there are maybe 2 donut shops in the entire city on 200,000 - that should give you an idea what to expect in terms of cuisine.

The politics of Vancouver is very left wing socially and environmentally. The exact opposite of Calgary in many ways. It is probably the most gay friendly city in Canada. However, the current provincial gov't is right wing economically which means taxes are reasonable (well at least compared to provinces that aren't sittiing on top of huge reserves of black gold). I don't think you will find any place else in North America where the same politicans extol the virtues of tax cuts, legallized marijuana and gay marriage.

If you are into the urban party life, I hear downtown Vancouver is an great place to live. A lot of young people and a fair number of decent rental appartments available at reasonable (for Vancouver) rents. You can live without a car in downtown Vancouver.

[crazymf]

Vancouver is crawling with people. Way too busy for me. And the Fraser valley smells like crap most of the time because there's an overabundance of dairy farms and too much cow crap for the fields to absorb.

[mcqueen625]

If you are going to move to Vancouver I suggest you take a big check-book since it is one of the most expensive places in Canada to live. If you have children the school teacher have just walked off the job andit looks as if in the next little while the whole civil service might follow suit. The only benefit I can see is that they usually get rain in winter instead of snow. Their Premier is a person who abides by a credo, do as I say not as I do. He was arrested stateside not all that long ago for a DUI.

[geoffrey]

Move to Calgary. We need you, our unemployment is under 3% and we are screaming for skilled and unskilled workforce. I don't know what your skill set is, but I'm sure you'd have no difficulty finding a job in Calgary right now.

[kimmy]

Vancouver is unquestionably a better place to *visit* than Calgary... there are many lovely things to see and neat things to do in Vancouver. Visit the lovely waterfront. If you want a startling dose of reality, visit East Hastings Street, but don't stop moving. Go skiing in Whistler. See if you can find a movie or TV production filming downtown. Visit Granville Island. Visit Gastown.

Then get on a plane and be glad that you were just visiting.

-k

[Riverwind]

Visit the lovely waterfront. If you want a startling dose of reality, visit East Hastings Street, but don't stop moving.

A significant number of the homeless on east hastings come from Alberta. Perhaps we should send them back? Vancouver's weather and situation as a port city makes it very attractive to people who have problems paying rent on a regular basis.

[RB]

my daughter and I are heading up to Vancouver this winter to scout about - but will also be back for the olymics so thanks for the info on this thread.

[kimmy]

Visit the lovely waterfront. If you want a startling dose of reality, visit East Hastings Street, but don't stop moving.

A significant number of the homeless on east hastings come from Alberta. Perhaps we should send them back? Vancouver's weather and situation as a port city makes it very attractive to people who have problems paying rent on a regular basis.

Undoubtably. I just mention it as a stop for the brave or the curious, not as an indictment of BC's social policies. I certainly found it to be an eye-opening and sobering experience.

-k

[Riverwind]

I certainly found it to be an eye-opening and sobering experience.

Too bad the people on east hastings don't find it as sobering. The intersection of Hastings and Main is sometimes called 'Wastings and Pain' - an accurate name. I think the fact that the city has such an obvious open sore is one of the reasons people here are more willing to consider harm reduction measures rather than increased enforcement of the 'war on drugs'.

[I miss Reagan]

Calgary is considered the nicest weather in Canada because we have so much sunshine. Vancouver may be warmer but it's rainy. Calgary is almost 10% American which is nice. However, I strongly suggest reading this article before you actually move to Canada. An American's Canadian Experience

Many Canadians are very self-righteous and extremely intolerant of Americans. Even if you are liberal, love the UN, and hate George Bush Canadians will take every opportunity to take out all their inferiorities out on you. You will endless stories of "stupid Americans" who think we live in Igloos etc. etc. It could be a tough move. PM me if you want to hear more.

[ceemes]

Many Canadians are very self-righteous and extremely intolerant of Americans.  Even if you are liberal, love the UN, and hate George Bush Canadians will take every opportunity to take out all their inferiorities out on you.  You will endless stories of "stupid Americans" who think we live in Igloos etc. etc.  It could be a tough move.  PM me if you want to hear more.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What an utter load of bullocks...but then given your choice of nickname, its not all that surprisings.

[Riverwind]

Many Canadians are very self-righteous and extremely intolerant of Americans.

I have seen and heard examples of the intolerance that you describe so I know it exists, however, I find it hard to believe that you would encounter it so frequently to make your life difficult or uncomfortable in Canada. Furthermore, I see the same sort of 'intolerance' for others coming out of 'Micheal Moore' and 'Pat Robertson' segments of the US population so I feel it is unreasonable to describe narrow minded bigotry as a uniquely Canadian problem.

Why don't you to look beyond the faults of some of the citizens of this country in the same way you expect Canadians to look beyond the faults of some of the citizens of the US.

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear Sparhawk,

Why don't you to look beyond the faults of some of the citizens of this country in the same way you expect Canadians to look beyond the faults of some of the citizens of the US.

Well said. I seriously doubt IMR will get a reply, though.

[crazymf]

This truly is a political website. Partisanship abounds even in the choice of cities.

Calgary has the nicest weather???? Are you sampling the BC hemp? What about the Okanagen Valley?

Me, I realistically despise all cities. If you want a nice place to live where the real estate market is low and people are square and friendly, then try any small town in Saskatchewan. The summers are great, winters not so great. Can't go wrong there.

hehe

[theloniusfleabag]

Dear crazymf,

If you want a nice place to live where the real estate market is low and people are square and friendly, then try any small town in Saskatchewan.

I am from Humboldt, SK, so I really take offence to...wait a minute, you are right...

[Boondoggle]

Calgary is considered the nicest weather in Canada because we have so much sunshine.  Vancouver may be warmer but it's rainy.  Calgary is almost 10% American which is nice.  However, I strongly suggest reading this article before you actually move to Canada.  An American's Canadian Experience

Many Canadians are very self-righteous and extremely intolerant of Americans.  Even if you are liberal, love the UN, and hate George Bush Canadians will take every opportunity to take out all their inferiorities out on you.  You will endless stories of "stupid Americans" who think we live in Igloos etc. etc.  It could be a tough move.  PM me if you want to hear more.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think the problems you are talking about have more to do with maturity than nationality, and I know something about Americans in Canada because I've spent plenty of time with them. I've even had an American girlfriend for several years. Not once in my experience have I seen what you describe.

If you look for a partisan political argument, then you're asking for it, but the same could be said for Canadians talking to other Canadians or Americans talking to other Americans. It's best to look for common ground until you get to know people.

Also, I wouldn't take criticism of government personally because Canadians like to talk the same way about their own government, and I'm sure you can find some examples on these forums.

[Montgomery Burns]

Calgary is considered the nicest weather in Canada because we have so much sunshine.  Vancouver may be warmer but it's rainy.  Calgary is almost 10% American which is nice.  However, I strongly suggest reading this article before you actually move to Canada.  An American's Canadian Experience

Many Canadians are very self-righteous and extremely intolerant of Americans.  Even if you are liberal, love the UN, and hate George Bush Canadians will take every opportunity to take out all their inferiorities out on you.  You will endless stories of "stupid Americans" who think we live in Igloos etc. etc.  It could be a tough move.  PM me if you want to hear more.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Spot on. Canadian Pride appears to be nothing but Anti-Americanism. It starts from the govt and its control of the state-run Soviet-style CBC.

[Black Dog]

An American's Canadian Experience

What a worthless piece.

Thus, Canadian media discussion of President Bush's upcoming official visit on Tuesday focuses on the snub implied by his not having visited earlier. It's reported that when he does come, he will not speak to a Parliament that's so hostile it can't be trusted to receive him politely.

Anti-Americanism or anti-Bush? I guess to some, it's the same thing.

Coverage of a Canadian athlete caught doping devolves into complaints about how Americans always get away with cheating. "Blame Canada" song from the "South Park" movie is taken as documentary evidence of Americans' real attitudes toward this country.

Wow, two completely unverifiable statements based on anecdotes. Great reporting.

The ongoing U.S. ban on importing Canadian cattle (after a case of mad cow disease was traced to Alberta) is interpreted as a form of political persecution.

Actually it's (rightly) treated as a case of American protectionism and the sway corporate lobby groups have over politicians.

A six o'clock news show introduces a group of parents and children who are convinced that the reason Canadian textbooks give short shrift to America's failed attempts to invade the Canadian territories in the War of 1812 is to avoid antagonizing the Americans -- who are just waiting for an excuse to give it another try.

Another anecdote. The plural of anecdote is not data.

My noisy neighbors revel in Canada's two hockey golds at the 2002 Olympics because "We beat the Americans in America!"

Which could have just as much to do with the loss to the U.S. in the first World Cup, and to the feeling of regaining our rightful position as the best hockey nation in the world as any anti-Americanism. Of course the authour doesn't bother asking why, just assumes the worst.

The first gay couple to wed in Ontario tells the press, before they say anything else, that they are glad they don't live in the United States.

Gee, could that be because, if they were in the States, they wouldn't be able to get married?

More seriously, in the wake of 9/11, after the initial shock wore off, it was common to hear some Canadians voice the opinion that Americans had finally gotten what they deserved. The attacks were just deserts for years of interventionist U.S. foreign policy, the increasing inequality between the world's poorest nations and the wealthiest one on earth, and a generalized arrogance. I heard similar views expressed after Nov. 2, when Americans were perceived to have revealed their true selves and thus to "deserve" a second Bush term.

Views shared across the world and even within the United States.

, Canadians often point to their system of universal health care as the best example of what it means to be Canadian (because the United States doesn't provide it), but this means that any effort to adjust or reform that system (which is not perfect) precipitates a national identity crisis: To wit, instituting co-payments or private MRI clinics will make Canada too much like the United States.

Rubbish. Canadians don't want an American style health care system because it doesn't work, not because it is American.

[Yodeler]

To wit, private MRI clinics will make Canada too much like the United States.

Rubbish. Canadians don't want an American style health care system because it doesn't work, not because it is American.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The American health care system is too rich for us. We can't afford to give patients an MRI or CT scan or PET scan as Americans can when the the odds of positive results are long.

That's why I proposed to Medicare that they open up sort of gambling clinics. In these clinics patients who are denied a test because the odds of a positive result are long would then have the option of laying down the money for that test, and should it turn out positive ... they would win.

Not at the true odds of a positive outcome, but say ... half that. This type of gambling clinic couldn't lose, Medicare would be rolling in money, and we'd all be tested.

I know I would. From head to toe!

As it is now, Medicare pays zilch, and the Liberals wouldn't even let me claim it on my tax return, even though I DID test positive!

There ought to be a law!

[Yodeler]

even though I DID test positive!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I feel I should clarify.

My CT scan found a couple of 4 mm leisions on my lung, and I was told (and given a written assesment) stating that the possibility of malignancy is minute and that perhaps another test in about a year's time could be a good idea, just to make sure. (Just to make sure that there is no tumor the size of a tennis ball by this time is my guess).

At about the same time, Brian Mulroney and Tammy Faye Baker were also diagnosed with the same thing that I was. We all know what lengths the doctors went to with Brian to make sure he was clean. Tammy Faye Baker's single leison was half the size of mine yet they put her through the same tests that they put Brian through ... hers turned out to be bad news.

The moral of the story? Don't assume that flashing a hundred dollar bill around is enough! Make sure that you tell them who you are! And make it sound good.

Or else these Canadian private clinics will go into "avoid the future costs to Medicare" mode and send you down the river (sink or swim sort of thing).

Next time I'll have to remember to tell them who I am, as Brian and Tammy Faye undoubtedly did.

[Yodeler]

As it is now, Medicare pays zilch, and the Liberals wouldn't even let me claim it on  my tax return, even though I DID test positive!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I feel I should again clarify.

Brian's routine CT scan showed two small lesions and Medicare went to work, spending hundreds of thousands of the taxpayers' money to make sure he's clear of cancer.

I'm not eligible for a routine CT scan, as Brian is, so I shell out $700 to have my tobacco infested lungs scanned . Not only do I get no follow up whatsoever, I even have to AGAIN pull out my OWN cash out of my OWN pocket when it is time to see if my lesions have grown to pumpkin size tumors. To top it off, the present government bastards won't even let me declare these expenses on my f'ing tax return.

AND YOU ALL THINK THAT THAT'S JUST FINE, HUH ???

[Yodeler]

BUT . . . . it has been suggested to me that I should dump both Calgary and Edmonton, and instead move to VANCOUVER. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you put a value on who's in charge, Alberta's Premier, Ralph Klein, beats B.C.'s hands down. As the matter of fact, Ralph is the best of all, better than even your Tim Pannelty, IMO.

If you put a value on how good health care is, Ralph's Province is making great strides towards grabbing the first spot which now belongs to Quebec.

The ex-Mayor of Vancouver calls his city a "rain forrest" for a good reason, so if you like sunshine as Johnny Ray does ... don't go there.

Between the life prolonging sunshine and the life prolonging health care Albertans enjoy .... I'd choose Calgary in a New York minute. But then ... I'd choose New York over Calgary even faster.

[Yodeler]

Tim Pannelty ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oops! ... that's Pawlenty

[Yodeler]

Canadians don't want an American style health care system because it doesn't work.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I've heard many stories of people who, told by Medicare that within a short time they will be knocking on St. Peter's door, go running to the US doctors for help ..... and get it.

Then they go knocking on Medicare's door to get the money they spent in the US .... and get it.

Never heard of any Americans running to Canada for salvation. Have you?