Calgary’s Location
Character – Business and Jobs – Best Places to Live – Transport – Summary and Pros and Cons
Calgary:
Is Alberta’s most populous city, with a metropolitan population of 1.2 million. Sits more than 1 kilometre above sea level. Is a prairie city with a climate that is dry, sunny, windy, and cool. Is a three hour drive from Canada’s border with the United States. Is a one hour drive from the Rocky Mountains. Is one of Canada’s wealthiest cities, with a low unemployment rate. Is one of the world’s most livable cities. Is one of the world’s cleanest cities. Has North America’s first wind-powered public transit system – the C Train. Has prohibited pet cats from roaming freely. Has the biggest network of buildings connected by footbridges in the world.Character
High Rise Apartments on the Bow River in Calgary
Calgary sits in a vast, often brown coloured plain in Southern Alberta.
The prairie here is far above sea level: Calgary’s elevation is 1050 metres (3445 feet) above sea level.
Calgary is Alberta’s largest city, larger than Edmonton, the province’s capital. Calgary has grown rapidly in recent years.
Calgary’s latitude – 51 degrees north – is similar to London, Paris, Seattle and Vancouver.
Its high latitude results in long days in summer and long nights in winter.
Calgary is semi-arid – hence the brown landscape.
Sitting on the prairies, the city enjoys plenty of sunshine with low rainfall.
The Rocky Mountains rise dramatically to the west.
Of all Canada’s provinces, Alberta’s character is most like the USA. Alberta has cowboy boots, rodeos, cow festivals (Calgary is sometimes called Cowtown) and American spellings. Its government is to the right of Canada’s other provinces. Alberta has a reputation for socially conservative attitudes.
Calgary has a lower violent crime rate than any other major city in Canada.
Business and Jobs
Oil Pumpjack in Alberta Canola Field
Alberta has the lion’s share of Canada’s oil industry. Its reserves – in the form of oil-sands – are estimated to be second only to Saudi Arabia’s. Calgary is one of Canada’s wealthiest cities.
Low taxes have brought many businesses to Calgary. Small businesses in Alberta pay just 14 percent tax, and there is no payroll tax.
Calgary’s recent spectacular growth rate has slowed as a result of the credit crunch and, in particular, uncertain oil prices.
Calgary’s unemployment rate moving into 2013 was 4.6 percent, lower than the Canadian average of 7.3 percent. The number has improved slightly from a year ago, when Calgary’s unemployment was 5.0 percent and has fallen significantly from 2010 when it reached 7.6 percent. Calgary’s unemployment rate was below 4 percent in 2007 and 2008.
Approximately 40,000 jobs have been created in Calgary since 2011. A strong energy sector and a growing population are expected to drive employment prospects in Calgary in 2013 and beyond.
Downtown Calgary
The oil industry and its suppliers pay some of the highest salaries in Calgary.
The government, universities and schools aren’t quite as generous with their money but offer reasonable salaries and good conditions of employment.
Despite Calgary’s lower than average unemployment rate, getting well-paid work has proved difficult for many migrants when they first arrive in the city. Many of Calgary’s employers seem to look first for a local employee. If they can’t find a suitable local employee, employers will consider employing a migrant.
If you have specialist, in-demand skills in the oil and gas industry, you are less likely to have difficulties.
Getting low paid work is easier.
There is no general sales tax levied in Alberta, although shoppers need to pay a federal sales tax of 5 percent. Shoppers in other Canadian provinces have to add a combined sales tax to their purchases ranging from 10 percent in Saskatchewan to 15 percent in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
Alberta and Calgary’s public finances are very healthy, and the standard of healthcare compares favourably with other parts of Canada.
About Health
Although healthcare is good, Calgary’s breakneck growth means you may find it difficult to get a family doctor when you first arrive in Calgary – there is a shortage.
Calgary Health maintains a list of family doctors currently accepting new patients here (pdf document).
If you haven’t registered with a family doctor, but need the services of one, you can use a walk-in clinic free of charge, provided you have an AHCIP card (Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan card).
When you arrive in Alberta you need to wait three months before you are eligible for an AHCIP card. This applies whether you are relocating internationally or from another Canadian province. To cover you during this time, private health insurance should be considered.
Environment and Getting Around
New Offices with +15 Bridge
Calgary has a very clean environment. It was rated as the world’s cleanest city by Forbes Magazine in 2007 (this is the most recent survey published) and as the world’s fifth most livable city by the Economist in 2012.
Calgary has little litter, and the air is refreshingly clear and crisp. In 2010, Mercer carried out a survey of quality of life in cities around the world and rated Calgary as the world’s top Eco-city on the basis of the city’s waste removal service, sewage systems, water drinkability & availability, and low air pollution.
Cats and dogs must be licensed by the City of Calgary.
Regulations prohibit pet cats from roaming in Calgary; this means that a cat must remain on the owner’s property.
Dogs must not be allowed off-leash unless they are in a securely fenced private yard or a designated off-leash area.
Calgary has 149 public off-leash areas, making a total of more than 1,250 hectares (3125 acres). Just over one-sixth of city parkland is designated off-leash.
Calgary has some wonderful, extensive parkland with unvandalised playgrounds. The parks have attractive paths and cycle routes – especially parks on the Bow River.
Buildings in downtown Calgary are linked by the +15 network of overhead pedestrian bridges, shown in one of the images on this page.
The +15 network is heated, so you can walk around the downtown’s buildings and shops in winter without the need for winter clothing.
The network (so called because the bridges are about 15 feet above the ground) is the biggest network of buildings connected by footbridges in the world, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) long in total.
Calgary’s public transport is reasonably good.
The Bow River, at Banff in the Rockies, west of Calgary
The C Train (a light railway) is reliable and runs from some of the suburbs into downtown Calgary. You can see the C Train’s Stations and routes here.
The C Train is powered by electricity generated by windfarms. Within downtown Calgary you can travel free on the C Train. Outside downtown, there are free park-and-ride-car-parks for the C Train and buses.
Park and Ride car parks feature free plug-in block heaters. These heaters are needed in cold weather to preheat car engines before they can start. The C Train stations aren’t enclosed, which makes for some very chilly waits in winter.
Most Calgarians prefer using their cars to public transport. City officials estimate that more than forty percent of downtown workers use the C Train regularly though.
Calgary’s growth has been faster at times than the government’s ability to cope.
Infrastructure is falling behind population and there can be traffic jams during rush hour.
People coming from larger cities in other countries will find the traffic relatively easy. Getting around is made harder by Calgary’s many traffic lights.
Suburban developments have outpaced school construction. This has led to lengthy journeys for some children and overcrowding of popular existing schools.
Where to Live in Calgary
New Houses – Calgary Suburban Sprawl
An Older Syle Home in Calgary
As Calgary has boomed, migrants have flooded in from Europe, Asia and other Canadian cities.
Suburban development has boomed too.
Calgary’s house prices are still affordable compared with Vancouver but are almost as expensive as Toronto’s.
The city’s preferred residential areas lie in the North West and South West suburbs. These are closest to the Rockies with attractive mountain views.
The North East, where the airport is situated, and some rather industrial parts of the South East are often thought of as less favoured locations.
We’d recommend Tuscany, Edgemont, Country Hills, Dalhousie and Rosedale as good places to begin your search for a home.
We’d recommend West Hillhurst, Westgate and Springbank Hill as good places to begin your search for a home.
We’d recommend McKenzie Lake and Midnapore as good places to begin your search for a home.
Each of these areas has lower than average crime rates and offer residents an above average quality of life.
Summing Up
Into the Rockies
To some migrants, Calgary feels isolated – an island city in the middle of a vast prairie. Unlike Toronto, there are no other sizeable towns and cities nearby. It’s also a long way from the sea or sizeable lakes.
Most migrants, provided they can cope with the cool climate, find Calgary offers an extremely attractive lifestyle.
Calgary’s Negatives
The long, cold winter The rapid thaw and slush when the warm Chinook wind blows in winter The short summer A lack of history, historical buildings, and culture Expensive housing compared with most other Canadian citiesCalgary’s Positives
Low taxes Low unemployment Low crime rate Salaries above the Canadian average Clean and beautiful, with a modern, attractive downtown, a good-sized meandering river, and the rocky mountains backdrop The Rockies are easily accessible by car from Calgary Clean air A sunny climate – one of the sunniest in Canada – with low rainfall Chinook winds bringing mild days in winter Fantastic winter sports – with Canada Olympic Park Friendly people It’s easy to “get away from it all” into a huge province with a small population