A little over a year ago it dawned on me that I should move to another city, somewhere far away. Don’t get me wrong, my home city in the suburbs of Toronto was just fine, but I didn’t feel like I was getting the most out of life with “just fine”. Honestly, the first city that came to mind, and the only city that made sense for my lifestyle, was Calgary, Alberta. I had not been to Calgary before. The closest I had gotten to it was Canmore during a road trip from Vancouver to, well, Canmore. You might be thinking that it’s a little crazy, if not totally insane, to drop everything and move to a city you have never visited, and you’re probably correct in many ways. However, after researching the facts and hearing some firsthand testimonials from friends that have lived in Calgary before, I didn’t know how I could possibly go wrong here. I had a list of demands that went as such:
- The city had to be clean. I value healthy living and the environment you surround yourself in most definitely helps in that pursuit.
- I needed close access to parks, and I’m not just talking simple forest trails, but world-class mountainous hikes within a reasonable distance from home.
- There needed to be a decent, modern, job market, particularly jobs that cater to my many interests.
- It had to be affordable, more affordable than Toronto at least.
- The city has to have a strong sense of culture, whatever culture that may be, as long as it’s friendly.
Calgary is widely considered to be the cleanest city in the world- It regularly tops the prestigious Mercer Consulting Firm Quality of Life list in terms of cleanliness. Factors that come into play to make this list are things like: Environmental laws, enforcement of those laws, green initiatives, amount of waste recycled, and water/air quality, among other things. You can read the studies, or you can take it from me that Calgary wins in most, if not all, of these categories. The main river which runs through town, the Bow River, is not only gorgeous to look at, with its deep blue hues, but is regularly used for various water sports and recreation. It is normal to see residents swimming in it on a hot day, or on rafting expeditions (there are a number of raft services for hire within the city) floating by. There is even a surf club that rides the currents at some of the narrower parts of the river. Back in Toronto, I wouldn’t even dare to put a toe in the Don River, lest I wish to grow another toe somewhere else on my body.
Due to the low amounts of human development in the surrounding areas outside the immediate city, the air quality is regularly good. It is exceptionally good considering Calgary is a large metropolitan city that is also the Canadian hub for the oil and gas industry. Garbage trucks make pickups regularly and 80% of what you throw into the blue bin is indeed recycled by the city’s robust recycling program.
Environmental regulations, especially regarding littering and the maintenance of local parks/wildlife are strictly enforced by a number of different agencies within Calgary and its surrounding area. I can’t ask for much more in terms of a clean-living space and I feel that the move here has ultimately led to a healthier lifestyle for me and my family.
Calgary has access to some of the best parks in the world, both within the city and in its surrounding area- Banff is one of the most well know and beloved national parks in the world. Like art, what makes a park great is fairly subjective, but with Banff… you’d be hard-pressed to find someone on the planet who does not admire its beauty and plethora of opportunities for outdoor activity. It is also a mere 80-minute drive from the downtown core of Calgary. Banff is also only the most well-known of many other nearby parks and wilderness areas in Calgary. There is the grand and much less visited Kananaskis Country, only about a 45-minute drive away, in which you can spend a lifetime trying to hike all of its trails. To the East of Calgary, you can make an easy day trip to experience the canyons and desert-like environment of Drumheller.
Enough about what isn’t in Calgary proper, what about what actually is in this city? If you’re looking at a map of Calgary, you may notice a large green hole in the middle of the Northwestern quarter. That is Nose Hill Park, and it is among the biggest municipal parks in North America. It also happens to be almost directly across the street from my apartment and thousands of other residences. This expansive hill of grass was designed to replicate the natural prairie environment that Calgary is situated in. It’s an amazing place to go for a bike ride, a dog walk, or just an evening stroll. Calgary is actually home to the world’s longest continuous web of pedestrian pathways, clocking in at a whopping 1000 kilometers in total! Yes, Calgary is known as a bit of a car-centric city, but it simply is not talked about enough as a haven for walkers and cyclists alike. If you live in the southern part of the city and Nose Hill is a little too far, the expansive chain of greenery known as Fish Creek Provincial Park weaves in and around many of the southern neighborhoods, not to mention the countless other smaller parks and parkettes dotted throughout. The Douglas Fir Trail, an 8-kilometer path running along the Bow River, had me forgetting at times that I was hiking in the center of a city of 1.3 million people. So much to do right in my backyard!
Whether it’s a day trip to the mountains or a quick walk in the city after dinner, Calgary has made it extremely easy to get my daily steps in and have a dose of nature whenever I please.
Calgary has a diverse and thriving job market- With a nearly 22% growth in the tech jobs market over the last 5 years, Calgary is quickly moving past its dependency on agriculture and oil. This is not to say there aren’t still many agriculture and oil jobs; I needed work when I first arrived and quickly found it as a pipe fitter, which I negotiated a whole $5 increase in pay during my job interview. With an estimated growth of over 80000 new residents over the next 4 years, I cannot see the diversification of the job market here slowing down anytime soon.
As someone who formerly worked in film production, I found I was being hit with job offers in that field on a weekly basis. Many of your favorite tv shows and movies from a number of big-time production companies are being shot in Southern Alberta, and the industry here is yet another that is only growing. Don’t be surprised if you randomly see Tom Cruise walking down 17th at some point.
Personally, I set out to find a job working in environmental conservation when I came here. Given Alberta’s reputation as a nature lover’s hot spot, work in tourism is extremely abundant. With the sheer number of tourists coming to the province every year to visit the parks, whether for hiking in the summer or skiing in the winter, the Alberta Parks system is almost constantly hiring. I was able to land a job at a visitor center that has me driving into a beautiful provincial park almost every day.
Calgary is one of the most affordable big cities in Canada- As with many parts of Canada, Calgary is not much different, in that rental/housing prices are starting to increase. I was shocked though, at how much more affordable it was to rent or buy a house here than in most other big cities. During my search for rental properties here, almost everything I found was less expensive than in Toronto, I’m talking like half as expensive. A friend of mine back home rents a one-bedroom with no washer/dryer for about $2600 per month and he is about a twenty-minute drive from downtown. Here in Calgary, I have a two-floor, two-bedroom, apartment with a full laundry room and the grand total comes to $1350 per month. I’m also only about a ten-minute drive from downtown. Now, comparing housing prices to Toronto of all places seems unfair, but considering the size of the city and all the amenities I have or have yet to describe, it is an amazing deal that I could not overlook.
Buying a house is something I eventually want to do like many other people, but also like many others, prices these days may seem daunting. While locals in Calgary may complain about the rising cost of real estate, the average cost of a home is still well over 50% less here than it is in Toronto. And that cost is across the board, whether it’s for a townhouse, condo, or detached home. I can only imagine what the price differences are between here and in Vancouver. I’d rather not look.
Calgary has a strong sense of identity, and I love it- I’d never seen so many cowboy hats until I moved to Calgary. An item of clothing that’d be mocked in most other large cities, is openly embraced here. This is just one example of how Calgary’s culture is unique and distinctive from many other places in Canada, and how it is not ashamed of it. Although you may not know it while walking down the concrete-covered, skyscraper-strewn downtown core of Calgary, this place was once the epitome of a wild west town. It is nicknamed “Cow Town” for a reason, being the center of the Alberta beef industry since its founding. There are many reminders of this throughout the city, most notably, the yearly stampede. The Calgary Stampede is considered “the greatest show on earth” and is in fact the largest rodeo in the world. It oozes with everything that makes the West so great. But you can experience this touch of country living all year round in these parts. Although I’m not particularly a fan, country music can be heard on the radio in almost every part of the city (it’s growing on me though), horseback riding can be done on almost any trail between Calgary and BC, and beef, world-class delicious beef is abundant and won’t break the bank. It doesn’t hurt that many of the residents here have that friendly and laid-back attitude synonymous with the prairie provinces.
I could go on all day about things I’ve done since I arrived, but I think that experiences are best felt firsthand. Moving here was one of the biggest and best decisions of my life and it has allowed me to continue this amazing adventure on a daily basis.
