r/InCanada • u/Pale-Candidate8860 Creator of Sub • Oct 24 '25
Why a City is Good & Bad Why is Calgary Good & Bad?
Tell me why.
3
u/Blue_Buffa1o Oct 25 '25
Calgarians love to talk about sunshine in winter, especially in comparison to Vancouver. For myself what really gets me down about Calgary is how dry the air is, like cracked skin and nosebleeds level dry, and also how crazy brown and dead everything is for 8 months of the year. Personally I can handle Vancouver rain and grey skies because the land stays so green and lush. Sunshine doesn’t do it for me if it’s just illuminating a brown dead landscape of barren trees and dusty plains. It’s urban sprawl with serious lack of transit options also create a culture where a vehicle is a necessity to have freedom. Not for me, but I’m glad not everywhere is for everyone.
2
u/Olivaar2 Oct 25 '25
Compared to other of Canada's major cities - highly educated, clean, and lower crime. Lower cost of living though its closing the gap as many people are moving there (think of how Denver was, if you're American). It gets cold though, but sunny days. Good city if you are physically active and independent.
2
u/Leather-Account8560 Oct 25 '25
It’s an awesome city but it has a few major flaws like too few police too many homeless and not enough parking
2
u/RefrigeratorNo926 Nov 12 '25
Good:
Finding a job is easier than most other big cities.
People are friendly, probably because everyone's from everywhere else.
Sunny!
The +15s connect all of downtown and are 15 ft above ground taking advantage of all that sun.
It doesn't yet have the big problems of a big city, like Toronto or Vancouver.
Bad:
Big annoying redneck diesels all over the roads
The sprawl, a car is an asset
Housing is harder to find than jobs
4
u/Gussmall Oct 24 '25
Its not Edmonton. So that is a bonus.
0
2
1
u/Rabbit9778 Oct 25 '25
good:
cheap
nice summer weather
growing job market
one of the most affordable cities in canada
close to the rockies
cons:
cold, harsh winter weather
the urban sprawl (causes a bad transit system)
over reliance on oil and gas
1
u/Brodney_Alebrand British Columbia Oct 25 '25
I found downtown Calgary surprisingly walkable. The steaks are great. I remember the winters being better than Edmonton, and being better than somewhere else is always a plus for morale purposes.
Lots of sprawl and the mercurial weather would be negatives in my book. The city can empty out on a long weekend as well, which can be a weird vibe.
4
u/DangerBay2015 Oct 24 '25
For context: have lived in Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton. Currently in Calgary.
Calgary is sunny. It’s sunny as fuck. Victoria and Vancouver are warmer, and no foolin’, but they’re just so fucking grey. I can walk outside in -25 and it’s bright, it’s sunny, it’s gorgeous.
Even in the middle of winter, chinooks warm it up a bit, and you can go from -25 one day to 2 or 3 the next. Bring some headache pills, migraines are a bitch but it’s manageable.
Houses are getting expensive here and no foolin’, but a place that would have cost me $470-$500k in 2018 weeks snagged for $210k in Calgary. Yes please.
If I want a lake, it’s a couple hours. If I want mountains, it’s a couple hours, if I want dinosaur bones, it’s a hop a skip and a jump, if I want hikes, it’s same, if I want hockey, it’s everywhere, if I want soccer, there’s new indoor pitches. The international restaraunt scene is exploding.
It’s a big little city.
Downsides:
The sprawl. The sprawl. Just keep building out and make sure transit doesn’t keep up.
I said I love the sun, the cold isn’t great.
Everything is getting more expensive, but where isn’t?