Whether you're a fellow Ontarian who's curious about making the move, or are a local looking to see what outsiders think — this is for you. A list of things that I had completely wrong about Calgary, until I actually called it home.
It has a classic Canadian winter
Person in the mountains.
I thought it was like any other Canadian city (winter running from December to March), but boy, was I wrong.
Winter is like eight months of the year here; it's wild. The city is an absolute disaster during a major snowstorm. You'd think, as one of Canada's major cities, it would be prepared for all types of weather. But no. The traffic is horrible, and drivers are terrible.
Just when you think winter is over, you have a snowstorm in April. It really was just a big culture shock to find out you can have a snowstorm one week and then 20 degrees and sunny the following week. I have whiplash because of the weather here. It's hard to keep up.
Everyone's rolling around in cowboy hats and cowboy boots
Calgary Stampede.
Much to my dismay, it isn't a country-western-themed city year-round. I thought that, because of the Calgary Stampede, people really do dress up as Cowboys and cowgirls and go out everywhere. Sadly, that is not the case.
It truly is just a regular big Canadian city, in the grand scheme of things. That said... once the Calgary Stampede hits, all bets are off. You actually look out of place if you aren't in country gear these two weeks of the year.
I'll meet mostly locals
Person in a car.
It really is a city where people move for a fresh start. I find the majority of the people I meet here are from Ontario (I know, shocker there), with a select few from Vancouver, some from the prairies and then a good handful from Calgary, sure.
I think most move for the affordability (especially coming from Vancouver), the mountains, or simply because Ontario doesn't do it for them anymore.
I won't need my car (it's a big city!)
Calgary is massive and so spread out. Unless you are living in the downtown core, where you can walk everywhere, you will need to drive to get to most things in the city.
In contrast, most other major Canadian cities have transit connecting everything. Toronto's got the GO Train or Subway going in just about any direction, both within and outside the city.
I initially thought Calgary would be similar, given how large a city it is, and that I would be able to walk everywhere once I moved here. But once I moved out of downtown, I realized that wasn't the case.
My body wouldn't need time to adjust
Chinooks are weather patterns that make it super warm in the dead of winter.
Although it sounds nice to have a 20-degree day in January, it can absolutely rock your system and give you headaches/migraines, so you don't even get to enjoy the sun.
The high altitude was similar. Calgary is a whopping 3,440 feet above sea level with Ottawa being only 200.. so you could imagine my system was shocked when I tried to go on my first run. I'm not saying I'm the fittest person on the planet, but even a year later, running has proven quite difficult on my lungs.
All I'm saying is, prepare for a full-body adjustment if you plan to make the transition to the city.
You're basically in the mountains
Mountains
I think a common misconception is that you're moving to Calgary to "move to the mountains". But even though the mountains are an hour away, they're still an hour away.
You can't see the mountains from most parts of the city, first of all. Secondly, when you are planning to go to the mountains, you actually have to plan a trip there, whether it's a day trip or a weekend.
Calgary, albeit a hilly city, doesn't actually have any mountains super close to it. It's a trek that you actually need to put time and effort into planning to go for (for me, at least).
So, for all intents and purposes, Calgary is not in the mountains. If you want to "move to the mountains," you'll have to land at least an hour west of here.
Downtown living is where it's at
An apartment
When I first moved here I lived in the Beltline (A.K.A downtown) because I wanted to be a part of the hustle and bustle of the city. I
wanted to be able to walk everywhere, go out to bars and not have to Uber, and just be close to all the excitement. It took me a few short weeks to realize that downtown wasn't everything it was chalked up to be. It was loud, it was dirty, certain parts just smelled bad, and it was too tempting to go out and spend money.
Two months later, I moved to a little neighbourhood only a 10-minute drive from downtown, and I love it. My gym is within walking distance, and my grocery store is across the street. It's quiet and quaint. I love my cozy little apartment. I didn't think I'd ever say this, but I love living in a little suburb instead of right downtown.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.
