TexOctWed -
Canadians have interesting relationships and opinions about their cities. I often wonder if this is true of other countries in the world?? (. . .in my experience which includes several European countries, it is not - there the "tribalism" seems to be country-related or even region-related rather than city related. . . ).

To get to my point, Canadians seem to "pick" cities that they hate, and others that they love.
The most obvious example is Toronto. This huge city seems to be almost universally hated by Canadians living in other cities, many of whom have never been there. Cynical comments disparaging Toronto as a "self-absorbed centre of the universe" are typical.
Ottawa is another city which seems to get panned more often than not. Here the criticism is that it is a drab boring government town.
And Edmonton gets routinely knocked, usually with misleading comments about its weather.

None of this is useful, and doesn't do anything to give you information about the relative merits of any one of these places.

I've lived in Toronto for a number of years, and have family living in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa - so I'm very familiar with all of them. There are pros and cons to every city (most of them man-made!!), but I'll bet that your overriding consideration when you make your choice will be economic (as in - where are the jobs??).
Currently I live in Edmonton, and I will never hesitate to strongly encourage anyone to at least come and visit the area, and even to move here!! It's the kind of place that gives you enough opportunity to arrange a wonderful quality of life while giving you enough time and resources to "stop and smell the roses" !!

Well, TexOctWed, you have gotten some really great replies here with alot of info on all 3 cities. I think maybe at this point, it would be helpful to know more about your particular interests, and line of work in order to better answer your questions.

All 3 cities you are inquiring about would be great places to live in and raise a family and all for different reasons. Your lifestyle, interests, children's interests, type of education etc. would be the determining factors in my opinion.

I would not discount any of these cities because they all have alot to offer, just depends on what you want.

If you care to share some more info, perhaps it would be easier to narrow down which city fits your requirements.

WOW! I didn't mean to cause arguments...

I have asked the same question on another forum and my fiance and I have sat down and really talked it out. First and foremost, we are going to begin the immigration process as it could take us a long time to have status.

Overall, we prefer Edmonton, but will still consider the others. Vancouver is our second choice. Fi is being laid off this year so that's why we chose to pick up and move to a place we love. It will mostly likley be semi-permanent; meaning we probably will come back to Texas. We do not have children at the moment, but will probably move back to Texas in time for our children to start school. We are young and just want to experience other areas. We have the time and oppurtunity now, and we won't have that again. I luckly am in a field where I can find work. He on the other hand is different. You guys have provided a lot of great info and only God know what's our future holds. I will keep you updated. Thanks again!

Oh yeah! I thought I would add that it's 98 degrees F here today! HAs been for about 25 days and will be for another 45 days or so!!!

TexOctWed, the president of the Canadian division of an American owned oil company, who obviously has a good sense of humour about himself, tells a joke at his own expense. The joke is a true story. His promotion to his current, Calgary-based job involved a transfer from Texas, where he had spent his entire career up to that point.

When he arrived in Calgary, he met with the department heads and managers of the Canadian division, so they could brief him on the working conditions here. The first thing he found out was that the timing of the exploration cycle was different from what it was in Texas. The ground in northern Alberta and northern British Columbia is too wet to support drilling rigs in many places, so much of the drilling waits until the ground is frozen and continues as long as the ice can support the weight of the rigs. Then, during "spring breakup," when the melting starts, much of the drilling stops.

Just to make sure he understood what he'd heard, the new president repeated all of the above, then said, "Now let me see, is there a special name for this drilling phase?"

One of the managers replied with a dead pan expression, "We call it winter."

You are a young couple with no children, and no plans to have them in Canada? I doubt that Edmonton is the place for you. Reconsider both Calgary and Vancouver (if you can afford Vancouver, I can't imagine a better place to live for a couple of years). If you had kids I would strongly reccomend Edmonton.

Why not take a trip up here and take a look before making your decision? You could take an awesome 2 week trip seeing these three cities and the Rockies. Bringint it back to travel . . .

On another note "stats", and especially averages can never discribe the differences in weather between Calgary and Edmonton. There is no doubt that they are quite different, but you'd have to live through both to beleive it.

Most importantly, I had my best hair days in Calgary. ;-)

LOL April, you nailed it! Calgary wins.

You must have that wind-blown look April !!!

My vote for an Alberta address is Canmore. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains, Canmore is small town a quick 80 miles from Calgary and 15 minutes to Banff.

Just a much delayed additional thought. When someone says that the prices in a particular city are WAY higher, there is usually a reason. If you can somehow afford to purchase a home in that "preferred" area, you'll usually find that when you get ready to sell years later, you're value has increased at an even greater rate than in the other places. So if you consider buying a home an "investment" it is often the wisest choice to go for the places that have the highest housing costs.

Just my two cents worth haveing spent the first half of my life in Calgary and the second half in Edmonton.
Calgary has the worst climate in Canada (maybe the whole civilized world). You cannot look at "average temperatures" to tell the story.
Calgary summers are atrocious. As soon as the sun sets the temperature plummets, precluding those glorious outdoor patio evenings we get in Edmonton in the summer when the sun doesnt set until 11 pm.
And if it is not cold it is windy (30 degrees celcius with a howling wind is not pleasant, but it brings the "average temperature" up).Or there is a thunderstorm. Or whatever. It is just never pleasant there.
Winters have a higher mean temperature because of those chinooks. Then the snow melts, it turns muddy and ugly, and you cannot keep your car or house clean, and the entire city is brown. Then the cold returns and all the mud puddles freeze and you break your neck walking anywhere and smash your car on the icy roads.
I once saw and article comparing Canadian major cities, looking at paramaters that acutually mattered for lifestyle, rather than "mean" temperature. Things like frost free days, days without wind, days without rain or thunderstorms,average hours of daily sunshine, average humidex indexes etc. It was surprizing, but Edmonton came out very close to one of the most pleasant climates in Canada, the only major drawback being the long cold winters (which give the place an undeserved bad reputation).But there are ways of dealing with those- take the money you save not living in Vancouver and fly to Hawaii for two weeks, for example.And when Calgary gets a chinook, Edmonton gets the tail end of it, so the temperature moderates, but not to the point of turning the city into a slush pot.
Having said that, the weather here (in Edmonton) can really suck too. This has been one of the worst summers I can ever remember. Nothing but rain, wind, and cool temperatures. Must be "global warming ' again. Probably from the pollution from those Calgary industries.

I'm very happy having our kids grow up in Vancouver. They have gone to excellent public schools and the cultural and nature and public infrastructure are great. But if I had to live in the suburbs or even in a different area of Vancouver my opinion might be quite different. Note that if you have to buy a home in Vancouver right now the price will probably shock you judging by the posted Texas price. You can get more house for your money by a long shot if you choose Calgary or Edmonton. If you are considering a particular district in the Vancouver area, post about it and I will give my opinion.

When I visited Calgary in the winter on several occasions, it was probably just luck but I really enjoyed the sunny, cold climate as compared to damp, miserable rain and grey skies. The climate from November to June in Vancouver is not my favorite. But for at least several months the Vancouver climate is quite splendid.

Hello again, TexOctWed
I'd be interested to know whether you have made any decisions since you stirred this up.
I am surprised that no one commented on the significant political differences between BC and AB. Certainly these differences impact our lives in many ways.
One of the downsides (which some might term "soul&quot to having the best climate is that it attracts all kinds and all vote. Politics in BC is chaos. It has an atmosphere of entitlement which does not exist in AB.
You should be aware: in BC, do not say the words "softwood lumber". In AB, do not say "BSE". There is much outrage in these provinces about US trade practices.
I'd try Edmonton primarily because its the easiest to get around but it is difficult to imagine a Texan in Edmonton in February.
Welcome, let us know how it works out.
Mariposa in Calgary

Thank you. You make me feel really welcome to Edmonton!!

We have not made a decision but will be visiting Toronto in November and Vancouver in February. I'll make sure we skip over to Edmonton to see if we can hack it!

This is great! Canadians are SO tribal! I'm also a vet of all 3 cities. And they do all have appalling suburbs, on that I agree.

Edmonton has a unique and strong sense of community and very nice people. Great for families. Huddling together for winter survival has it's rewards.

Calgary's chinooks are the most incredible phenomenon and will spoil you forever. It's like God is breathing on you. And I think it's the safest of the three.

A nice summer day in Vancouver on the seawall is absolutely unbeatable. There is a reason most of the world lives on the sea.

Good luck to you TexOctWed! I also agree with the person who suggested visiting all three. And bring your "American by birth, Texan by the Grace of God" bumper sticker because that's just the best sticker ever (grin).


Chris

Where are you TexOctWed? I have thought of you many times.
In the early fall, a rookie on the local pro football team (Stampeders)who was from Texas was quoted in our major newspaper (Herald) as saying that he had had "no concept it could get so cold".
During the US election, we became a minor campaign stop due to the 80,000 Americans who reside in Calgary. Many of them were also interviewed and most, even those from Texas appear to acclimatize very well. We actually got off quite lightly until Christmas but it's been a grunt since.
I believe I can welcome you to Canada and Alberta wherever you end up. Best of luck, Mariposa

Well, Edmonton is cold! At least to a Texan it would be. Even my Finish friend from Helsink finds Edmonton cold!
Calgary gets more Chinook winds and warms up once in a while.

Vancouver is fog. So I hear.
But the climate is milder.
How about Victoria. More British than London! But it is really dark in January!

Lovely place, however. Real estate there is high.