Do I want to move to Calgary, Canada?
October 15, 2024 6:49 PM
I’m interviewing for a job in Calgary but I’ve lived on the East Coast of the US all of my life. In theory this would be a career-defining role, but I’m worried about quality of life changes.
I live in Metro Boston right now and have for the past 20 odd years. I’m over 50 and this would be a great job in theory - you never know these days. If this was a job in Vancouver I think I’d be OK but I don’t know anything about Calgary and haven’t been there. I’m married, liberal, love living in Massachusetts for the most part, so I have concerns about leaving my social network and family. Wife is open to the move but shares my concerns.
What red flags should I be aware of? If someone tells me “Calgary is the Cambridge, MA of Canada” I’ll be all set. If someone tells me “It’s the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX of Canada” I will curtail the interview process.
I live in Metro Boston right now and have for the past 20 odd years. I’m over 50 and this would be a great job in theory - you never know these days. If this was a job in Vancouver I think I’d be OK but I don’t know anything about Calgary and haven’t been there. I’m married, liberal, love living in Massachusetts for the most part, so I have concerns about leaving my social network and family. Wife is open to the move but shares my concerns.
What red flags should I be aware of? If someone tells me “Calgary is the Cambridge, MA of Canada” I’ll be all set. If someone tells me “It’s the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX of Canada” I will curtail the interview process.
As someone who lived in Somerville (so next door to Cambridge) for a couple of years, and also spent some time in Alberta for work related reasons, my impression is, Calgary is much more like Dallas / Fort Worth (urban sprawl, oil economy, on the conservative side), except for the weather and the landscape. That part is more like Denver. I would be hard-pressed to find similarities between Calgary and Cambridge.
posted by virve at 7:11 PM on October 15
posted by virve at 7:11 PM on October 15
Calgary is the Dallas of Canada, but it is also the Austin of Alberta. Keep in mind that historically speaking, Canada's right wing has been slightly to the left of the Democrats and while that has shifted, we have nowhere near the same level of evangelicalism pushing our culture wars.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:14 PM on October 15
posted by jacquilynne at 7:14 PM on October 15
On the one hand, Calgary is close to Banff, one of the most beautiful places in North America.
On the other, Alberta often gets called "the Texas of Canada" for good reason--and not just the annual Calgary Stampede.
I think you should go through with the interview, and perhaps if they fly you out, you can see first-hand what you think of the city (which reminds me of Indianapolis or parts of Des Moines).
posted by yellowcandy at 7:18 PM on October 15
On the other, Alberta often gets called "the Texas of Canada" for good reason--and not just the annual Calgary Stampede.
I think you should go through with the interview, and perhaps if they fly you out, you can see first-hand what you think of the city (which reminds me of Indianapolis or parts of Des Moines).
posted by yellowcandy at 7:18 PM on October 15
jacquilynne feels the most right to me, as a resident for ~20 years; there's more arts and culture there than most other places between Vancouver and Ottawa, and it's got a perfectly fine restaurant scene, etc. The mayor is relatively liberal, and the former mayor is currently leading the provincial NDP; as people have said, the current provincial Conservative government is pretty much evil.
What's important to your in your lifestyle in Boston right now? If you like the outdoors, Calgary is great. If a thriving fine arts scene is your thing, maybe not so much.
posted by sagc at 7:25 PM on October 15
What's important to your in your lifestyle in Boston right now? If you like the outdoors, Calgary is great. If a thriving fine arts scene is your thing, maybe not so much.
posted by sagc at 7:25 PM on October 15
if you care a lot about what city you live in, and you love Cambridge, and you hate Dallas, is seems very hard to imagine that you will like Calgary very much. It shares a fair number of things with Dallas (while also being a lot smaller) and pretty much nothing at all with Cambridge
posted by ManInSuit at 8:19 PM on October 15
posted by ManInSuit at 8:19 PM on October 15
(Data point: I have lived in Canada for several decades. I can think of friends who live in, and love: Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Vancouver, Victoria.... I cannot think of a single person who feels that way about Calgary. I do know multiple people who are from there, and left, and are glad. There's selection bias, for sure, but my guess is that I, random person on the green, probably have selection bias that correlates with what you will like.)
posted by ManInSuit at 8:24 PM on October 15
posted by ManInSuit at 8:24 PM on October 15
As a life long Greater Vancouver area person near your age, the only reason I wouldn't move to Calgary is the politics. And I'd feel i'd need to get out of town once a year during Calgary's Stampede craziness. (Well, and the fact the weather patterns there are worse for my migraines, but thats a me problem). That said, putting things into perspective i feel like the american political situation stresses me out much more than canadian political system ever could, even with the Conservative party having a stronghold in Alberta. But the rockies are out of this world gorgeous, and the cost of living is much less than Vancouver, and there are a bunch of other reasons why Canada, even Alberta, is awesome. Yeah, it has problems, but so does everyone. If this is a life changing job opportunity, can you take a long weekend to check out the city and see if you're ok with the vibe?
posted by cgg at 8:26 PM on October 15
posted by cgg at 8:26 PM on October 15
Canada has some cool cities. Calgary is... not one of them. The middle parts of Canada are pretty racist, especially against Indigenous people.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 8:40 PM on October 15
posted by nouvelle-personne at 8:40 PM on October 15
I know plenty of people who love living in Calgary, and a fair number who moved back there or to there from Vancouver. We don't know enough here about you and what's important to you in a city and jurisdiction to live in to say much.
Yes there are loud right-wingers, but there are also plenty of liberals in Calgary. Due to the lower cost of living and better job market, it's more lively than e.g. Vancouver in a lot of ways, I think. Calgary has a reputation for being friendly, I'd say, though that's again by comparison to places considered unfriendly.
There's a lot of reflexive dislike of Calgary from people in other parts of Canada who've never lived there - I'd take those views with a grain of salt and focus on the facts.
posted by lookoutbelow at 9:39 PM on October 15
Yes there are loud right-wingers, but there are also plenty of liberals in Calgary. Due to the lower cost of living and better job market, it's more lively than e.g. Vancouver in a lot of ways, I think. Calgary has a reputation for being friendly, I'd say, though that's again by comparison to places considered unfriendly.
There's a lot of reflexive dislike of Calgary from people in other parts of Canada who've never lived there - I'd take those views with a grain of salt and focus on the facts.
posted by lookoutbelow at 9:39 PM on October 15
What do you care about here? Politics? Arts & culture? Dining? Walkability and bikeability? I think how you feel about Calgary is going to depend a lot on what you are looking for and care about.
Calgary is pretty much the Dallas of Canada, but politically it's definitely to the left of Joe Biden (but it's not the Austin of Alberta, that's clearly Edmonton). Alberta overall has some pretty unpleasant politics for Canada, but that's just not that bad in American terms. Like anywhere, there are pockets of people with more or less left-wing views. In Calgary, you'll find them in the areas across the river from downtown, along with other relatively central pockets.
Calgary is full of immigrants, especially from South and East Asia. Are there racists in Calgary? Absolutely, as there are anywhere, but Calgary isn't small-town Saskatchewan and it makes no sense to paint it with the same brush.
Calgary is very suburban and is mostly made up of single family homes, strip malls, low rise apartments, big box stores and terrible six lane stroads. There are somewhat walkable and bikeable parts of town and bearable transit, but the landscape is very car-centric. There are some nice bike paths, especially along the river and other green spaces, but the overall context is a city made for cars.
As many have mentioned, Calgary puts you within about an hour's drive of some very spectacular mountain scenery, world class skiing and lots of opportunities for hiking, camping, etc. It's cold in the winter, but also dry, so you don't get the salty slop that you might be accustomed to.
Overall, Calgary is just not that big of a city and definitely has a lot less going on that Canada's larger, more world class cities (Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal). If being in a big, walkable, dense city with thriving arts and culture and a lot of left-leaning folks is important to you, then Calgary probably isn't for you. If you want to live somewhere cool, Calgary is definitely not for you. If you're willing to move somewhere that's just OK, you'll probably be fine in Calgary. If you love the mountains, you might be very happy. You probably wouldn't love Calgary, but it might be acceptable.
As someone who has lived a few hours drive from Calgary for most of my life (and was just there over the weekend), I definitely wouldn't put it high on the list of places I'd want to move to. But if there was a strong reason to move there, I'm sure it would be bearable.
posted by ssg at 9:49 PM on October 15
Calgary is pretty much the Dallas of Canada, but politically it's definitely to the left of Joe Biden (but it's not the Austin of Alberta, that's clearly Edmonton). Alberta overall has some pretty unpleasant politics for Canada, but that's just not that bad in American terms. Like anywhere, there are pockets of people with more or less left-wing views. In Calgary, you'll find them in the areas across the river from downtown, along with other relatively central pockets.
Calgary is full of immigrants, especially from South and East Asia. Are there racists in Calgary? Absolutely, as there are anywhere, but Calgary isn't small-town Saskatchewan and it makes no sense to paint it with the same brush.
Calgary is very suburban and is mostly made up of single family homes, strip malls, low rise apartments, big box stores and terrible six lane stroads. There are somewhat walkable and bikeable parts of town and bearable transit, but the landscape is very car-centric. There are some nice bike paths, especially along the river and other green spaces, but the overall context is a city made for cars.
As many have mentioned, Calgary puts you within about an hour's drive of some very spectacular mountain scenery, world class skiing and lots of opportunities for hiking, camping, etc. It's cold in the winter, but also dry, so you don't get the salty slop that you might be accustomed to.
Overall, Calgary is just not that big of a city and definitely has a lot less going on that Canada's larger, more world class cities (Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal). If being in a big, walkable, dense city with thriving arts and culture and a lot of left-leaning folks is important to you, then Calgary probably isn't for you. If you want to live somewhere cool, Calgary is definitely not for you. If you're willing to move somewhere that's just OK, you'll probably be fine in Calgary. If you love the mountains, you might be very happy. You probably wouldn't love Calgary, but it might be acceptable.
As someone who has lived a few hours drive from Calgary for most of my life (and was just there over the weekend), I definitely wouldn't put it high on the list of places I'd want to move to. But if there was a strong reason to move there, I'm sure it would be bearable.
posted by ssg at 9:49 PM on October 15
In case this helps you, as someone who's lived in both Calgary and Vancouver, main reasons I would not move back to Calgary are the car centricity and the long brown winters (compared to Vancouver - but to be fair, Calgary winters are really sunny which does help).
Reasons I would look forward to being back - nature, even just inside the city where there are lots of nice parks, beautiful summer weather, less old money, friendlier vibes, lower cost of living. But I'd select neighbourhoods carefully.
posted by lookoutbelow at 10:06 PM on October 15
Reasons I would look forward to being back - nature, even just inside the city where there are lots of nice parks, beautiful summer weather, less old money, friendlier vibes, lower cost of living. But I'd select neighbourhoods carefully.
posted by lookoutbelow at 10:06 PM on October 15
There's a lot to like about Calgary, but it is stuck in the middle of a province with a very right-wing government that will probably be around for a while. If you're ready to enjoy your neighbours and kick against the pricks in the legislature, Calgary may suit you, but take it from someone in Toronto, where our conservative premier is determined to fuck over this city at every turn, that feeling under siege is pretty awful.
posted by maudlin at 10:09 PM on October 15
posted by maudlin at 10:09 PM on October 15
Saying it's the Dallas of Canada is true but that's like saying Fargo is the most normal Coen Brothers movie. It's still definitely NOT the United States, and such comparisons aren't all that useful unless you're coming from another part of Canada. I figure you should at least go visit for a few days, before making a final decision.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:30 AM on October 16
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:30 AM on October 16
I have concerns about leaving my social network and family.
My comment isn't about the places, but this - people often underestimate how important this is until they move. I am speaking from experience here. I'd argue this should be the emphasis of your question, not the shifting of places.
I would only consider this if the career-defining job you get in Calgary could be a ticket to getting another career defining job back in Boston in 3-5 years, and you can potentially fondly look back on your Calgary years as that time you were adventurous and got to see a different part of North America (especially if you enjoy nature). Your friends and family will likely not change radically in 3-5 years, and you can maintain those ties with annual travel and phone calls, etc.
posted by coffeecat at 6:56 AM on October 16
My comment isn't about the places, but this - people often underestimate how important this is until they move. I am speaking from experience here. I'd argue this should be the emphasis of your question, not the shifting of places.
I would only consider this if the career-defining job you get in Calgary could be a ticket to getting another career defining job back in Boston in 3-5 years, and you can potentially fondly look back on your Calgary years as that time you were adventurous and got to see a different part of North America (especially if you enjoy nature). Your friends and family will likely not change radically in 3-5 years, and you can maintain those ties with annual travel and phone calls, etc.
posted by coffeecat at 6:56 AM on October 16
I have family in Calgary who live an excellent life there. While it's not as pretty as some Canadian cities, it is in a fantastic location if you like: mountains, hiking, long bike rides, swimming, hockey, a real 4-season year, etc. As folks have said, the provincial government is butt - but the city itself isn't any one thing, any more than any largeish city in North America with lots of immigration is.
Do the job interview! See what you think. And never ever discount the value of universal health care in your calculations. (I know Massachusetts has this already, so it might feel less urgent to you than to other USians)
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:23 AM on October 16
Do the job interview! See what you think. And never ever discount the value of universal health care in your calculations. (I know Massachusetts has this already, so it might feel less urgent to you than to other USians)
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:23 AM on October 16
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