Vancouver vs Calgary?

[MaximilianM]

Hello all,

While we await PR status (June AoR), we are trying to research pros and cons of living/working in Vancouver and Calgary. There are the obvious ones (cost of living, climate), but when it comes to day to day details, we don’t really have any friends in Canada to ask. For those who have lived in one of those cities, PR or not, what are your general thoughts on the two cities? Thanks for the help!

 

[canuck78]

Weather is better in Vancouver. Vancouver "suffers" from significant offshore influence (money, language, etc) where as I would say that Calgary still has the multicultural mixing you don't necessarily always find in Vancouver. Vancouver benefits from the tech links from Washington State especially. Think a big issue is whether you have kids and what kind of savings you have. Probably easier to get a job in Vancouver because so many families feel forced to leave or won't consider moving there. Vancouver is a much more cosmopolitan city. Your commute will likely be much better in Calgary. If you have more specific question that would be helpful.

 

[MaximilianM]

Thanks for the insight! No kids, both my wife and I are college educated young professionals. Just scared to hell when we look at rent prices in Vancouver. We also have a dog that makes the search seem harder. Overall, heart wants Vancouver, gut says play it “safe” and settle in Calgary. Both have things we love. Seems like we’d have six months of savings in Calgary vs 3-4 months in Vancouver.