What are the Pros and Cons of Living in Calgary?

Canada is one of the most sought after places to live in the world.

It’s not a coincidence that the home of the rocky mountains and rolling plains sees over 30 million tourists yearly.

Although Calgary isn’t the province capital, it is a much-desired place to travel and even a more desired place to live.

There are four quadrants of the city, each appealing to every type of income and stage of life.

One of the most famous cities in Canada, and known worldwide for the annual Calgary Stampede and the host of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Calgary has been named the fifth livable city in the world for seven years in a row now, top in picks for stability, health care, and education.

Whether you’ve called Calgary home your entire life, or you are deciding between making the big move to the city, we have a pretty solid list of pros and cons of YYC.

Why We Love Calgary and Why Sometimes, Not So Much

The Pros of Living in Calgary:

#1. We are the cleanest city in the world, well kind of.

In 2007, Forbes Magazine ranked us the seventh cleanest city in the world and we still uphold that standard.

Why do we have such a high ranking? Well, you could say it’s due to our high littering fines that could run you anywhere from $500- $1000 for even flicking a cigarette butt on to the sidewalk.

We also have some pretty great recycling programs and more recently a new compost program.

#2. This one may seem obvious to those who have called Calgary home, or have been living in this beautiful city for a couple of years, but our insane closeness to the rocky mountains is reason enough to move here.

How can you go wrong when you’re only a mere hour from the vast majority of the mountain landscape.

#3. Those amazing chinooks… am I right? Calgary is known for our winter chinooks that perk up everyone for a couple of days to break up the chilly winter weather.

If you’ve heard Leonardo DiCaprio’s comment about our “climate change” problems, well you know that the quick melting of the snow is thanks to our beloved chinooks.

#4. Calgary has been ranked as one of the best cities to live and work.

We are a world leader in the oil and gas industry making us one of the wealthiest cities in Canada and Calgary has more millionaires per capita than anywhere else in Alberta and even Canada.

But, if oil and gas isn’t your jam, don’t worry, Globe and Mail has ranked it the third “most prosperous” city among 24 cities by the Toronto Board of Trade.

#5. The list could go on, but this little fact is pretty awesome.

Calgary is completely rat-free and among only THREE other cities in the world that are able to claim this title. Aside from Antarctic and Arctic, Calgary is a “no rat” city!

The Cons of Living in Calgary:

#1. Our transit system isn’t the greatest compared to other cities in Alberta and Canada.

Our “C-Train” can be taken downtown, but if you’re looking for going to more remote areas in Calgary, you might be out of luck and may need to take buses to get to your final destination.

A cool fact though, all of the c-trains are powered by electricity from wind farms.

#2. The employment rate took a huge hit due to the most recent recession, making out the unemployment rate 10.2 percent, the highest of any Canadian city.

To give some context, when our city is booming, like it was in 2013, our unemployment rate was only 4.7 percent.

When things in Calgary are great, they’re great, but when they’re bad, they’re really bad, this is thanks to our heavy dependence oil and gas industry.

#3. Calgary’s traffic can get pretty freakin’ bad during rush hour. If you have been stuck on Deerfoot, you know exactly what we are talking about, but it isn’t as bad as Vancouver or Montreal.

Things are improving though with the government funding into improving roads and well, due to the recession, there are fewer people on the road… unfortunately.

#4. Calgary has two seasons it seems like, Winter and Construction.

When we’re not driving on snow and ice-covered roads, we’re stuck in traffic because every road we need to take is under construction.

We love the roads when they’re complete, but unfortunately, it seems like it can take years to be done.

It’s hard to narrow things down, but if you’re thinking of moving to Calgary, we would suggest you have a job lined up because due to our current economic situation, it could be a challenge to get yourself in the market.

If you love the outdoors and looking for a clean and active community, Calgary is the place for you!

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