[tsumetai]

Hi...I've been reading this forum for quite sometime but was always too lazy to register. But I've finally done it :tup:


I thought it would be a good idea to see what was the greatest attribute about Calgary that attracts visitors/residents, seeing how the city has changed in many ways and has become "multi-faceted" in other areas.


For me, I would say the best thing about Calgary is the sunset, which is lingering and has different colors. In cities like toronto/montreal, there is no sunset - just light outside, then in 5 minutes, dark.

[Wentworth]

Hi...I've been reading this forum for quite sometime but was always too lazy to register. But I've finally done it :tup:


I thought it would be a good idea to see what was the greatest attribute about Calgary that attracts visitors/residents, seeing how the city has changed in many ways and has become "multi-faceted" in other areas.


For me, I would say the best thing about Calgary is the sunset, which is lingering and has different colors. In cities like toronto/montreal, there is no sunset - just light outside, then in 5 minutes, dark.

I think what attracts people here is simple: jobs. Well, for me, it was jobs and affordable housing, but the second one is gone now. Perhaps the question should be: "What keeps us here?"

I've already answered the question about what I think Calgary's greatest asset is. It's the Bow River pathway system, and to a lesser extent, the neighbourhood pathways.

The sunsets are great, but not nearly as great as the sunrises, if you can get up early enough to catch them.

[YYCguys]

Tsumetai, welcome to the forum! I hope we see more from you! One thing I like about Calgary is its proximity to the playgrounds such as the mountains.

[Witty Nickname]

The ever changing skyline! :banana:

[Distill3d]

Highway 1 West...LOL

Actually, in all seriousness, I'm a huge Flames fan.

[freeweed]

I always wanted to move here because of 1) the mountains and 2) the economy.

More than just the mountains - they're national parks. Plenty of places in Canada have beautiful scenery but it's slowly being eroded by development (think BC just past the Rockies, for one). National parks see just about zero development, and retain their (mostly) natural beauty. The combination of Banff/Jasper/Yoho/Kootenay is unbeatable.

As a result, the mountains never change, and even in the worst times the economy here has fared better (for my circumstances) than most other places. But I didn't live here in the early 80s. What I have seen in every visit here (and now living here) is a vibrant, ever-changing city where there's always something new and exciting happening. Whether it's just some lame mall, or 4 40+ storey towers going up at the same time, or major road infrastructure, it's always a hopping place. You could even say dynamic.

Oh, maybe 3) the C-train. I'll always be a downtown office drone, and I'll always want to live a bit outside of downtown. Plus, driving to work every day would annoy me, so I need a fast and reliable public transit system. Calgary is one of only a handful of places in Canada that can claim this - if you plan for it. Obviously the C-train doesn't cover everywhere, etc, etc, but if you locate yourself on a line, it's freaking awesome.

Edit: that was 3 things. Tough. It's just too hard to choose between all the great stuff here.

[Bigtime]

It's always been my home, and always will be.

Welcome to the forum tsumetai!

[Wooster]

There's a lot I like and some things I dislike about Calgary, but above all it has amazing potential.

[tdurden5573]

Space - its a vibrant metropolis, that can be escaped by driving 20 minutes in any direction. Nothing I like more than getting on my motorcycle, heading west for 20 minutes, then stoping and relaxing....

[fusili]

I would have to agree with Wooster. Lots of things that I dislike about Calgary, but it is my home and I love many things about it. Potential is the greatest thing about it and the fact that it is changing at such a great rate. It is great to be part of that change. Most of the other cities I like are already great, so there isn't much room for improvement.


If I said the best thing about Calgary was that is isn't Winnipeg, would that get me into trouble with some other forumers (1ajs, I am looking at you)? Just kidding of course.

[niwell]

There's a lot I like and some things I dislike about Calgary, but above all it has amazing potential.

Yep.

There are a few things that I really like (and miss) about Calgary. Namely:

-The mountain views
-The extent of the pathway system for weekend rides
-Chinooks in winter

[You Need A Thneed]

... that its home.

[Ferreth]

Here's one:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/85/234222564_d442c99006_b.jpg

[Surrealplaces]

There are alot of things I like about Calgary. Too many to list one thing.

[Calgarian]

The natural environment and extensive parks system is the best thing IMO.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Calgary is meritocratic. Nobody cares about the colour of your skin, who "your people" are, whether you graduated from UCC or McGill or the "right" college at U of T. All that matters is if you can do the job, and then your rewards are only limited by your vision and your effort. Want a film festival? Don't glad-hand with the reigning "arts community"; START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of CIFF did in 2000. Want an indie music fest? START ONE YOURSELF instead of begging for scraps from NXNE as the founders of Sled Island did two years ago. Really loved the Jamba Juice you had in LA but can't get franchise rights to open it up in Canada? START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of Jugo Juice did.

Calgary is a city where one can achieve that stereotyped "American Dream" with all its apocryphal (in the US) myths of meritocracy. It really exists here. Yet Calgary is resolutely Canadian.

[The Chemist]

The mountains, lack of crowds, wide open spaces, and generally polite people.

[Wooster]

Calgary is meritocratic. Nobody cares about the colour of your skin, who "your people" are, whether you graduated from UCC or McGill or the "right" college at U of T. All that matters is if you can do the job, and then your rewards are only limited by your vision and your effort. Want a film festival? Don't glad-hand with the reigning "arts community"; START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of CIFF did in 2000. Want an indie music fest? START ONE YOURSELF instead of begging for scraps from NXNE as the founders of Sled Island did two years ago. Really loved the Jamba Juice you had in LA but can't get franchise rights to open it up in Canada? START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of Jugo Juice did.

Calgary is a city where one can achieve that stereotyped "American Dream" with all its apocryphal (in the US) myths of meritocracy. It really exists here. Yet Calgary is resolutely Canadian.

That's a very good post. I fully agree.

[freeweed]

Calgary is meritocratic. Nobody cares about the colour of your skin, who "your people" are, whether you graduated from UCC or McGill or the "right" college at U of T. All that matters is if you can do the job, and then your rewards are only limited by your vision and your effort. Want a film festival? Don't glad-hand with the reigning "arts community"; START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of CIFF did in 2000. Want an indie music fest? START ONE YOURSELF instead of begging for scraps from NXNE as the founders of Sled Island did two years ago. Really loved the Jamba Juice you had in LA but can't get franchise rights to open it up in Canada? START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of Jugo Juice did.

Calgary is a city where one can achieve that stereotyped "American Dream" with all its apocryphal (in the US) myths of meritocracy. It really exists here. Yet Calgary is resolutely Canadian.

Someone should take this post, put it on a plaque, and have it at every entrance to the city. You officially win this thread and have managed to perfectly put into words something that I've felt but hadn't the words to express (kinda like the ultimate Hallmark card).

[Surrealplaces]

Awesome. You nailed it.

Calgary is meritocratic. Nobody cares about the colour of your skin, who "your people" are, whether you graduated from UCC or McGill or the "right" college at U of T. All that matters is if you can do the job, and then your rewards are only limited by your vision and your effort. Want a film festival? Don't glad-hand with the reigning "arts community"; START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of CIFF did in 2000. Want an indie music fest? START ONE YOURSELF instead of begging for scraps from NXNE as the founders of Sled Island did two years ago. Really loved the Jamba Juice you had in LA but can't get franchise rights to open it up in Canada? START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of Jugo Juice did.

Calgary is a city where one can achieve that stereotyped "American Dream" with all its apocryphal (in the US) myths of meritocracy. It really exists here. Yet Calgary is resolutely Canadian.

[lubicon]

Calgary is meritocratic. Nobody cares about the colour of your skin, who "your people" are, whether you graduated from UCC or McGill or the "right" college at U of T. All that matters is if you can do the job, and then your rewards are only limited by your vision and your effort. Want a film festival? Don't glad-hand with the reigning "arts community"; START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of CIFF did in 2000. Want an indie music fest? START ONE YOURSELF instead of begging for scraps from NXNE as the founders of Sled Island did two years ago. Really loved the Jamba Juice you had in LA but can't get franchise rights to open it up in Canada? START ONE YOURSELF as the founders of Jugo Juice did.

Calgary is a city where one can achieve that stereotyped "American Dream" with all its apocryphal (in the US) myths of meritocracy. It really exists here. Yet Calgary is resolutely Canadian.

There's a lot of good things about Calgary, but you nailed it perfectly Rusty. I couldn't put it better myself.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Thanks guys. Making me grin through what I hope are the dying throes of food poisoning :)

[Me&You]

Thanks guys. Making me grin through what I hope are the dying throes of food poisoning :)

Where did you pick that up? Just got over a spell myself...

[Rusty van Reddick]

Where did you pick that up? Just got over a spell myself...

well I don't know if I caught this from somebody but the intensity and short duration (I was basically in the bathroom nonstop from midnight until 5am but not much drama since then) spells food poisoning to me vs norovirus- last thing I ate was pizza from gondola, lunch had been at Ruan Thai, dinner night before was Oishii Village sushi. We also had sushi at a new grad students orientation thing that was catered and I was one of the few to actually eat the raw salmon but who knows, there are lots of suspects!

[tsumetai]

If you're puking, It's probably from the sushi, my gf had something similar happen. There is a type of parasitic larva that lives right underneath the skin of some types of fish, if the sushi is cut too shallow, part of that layer gets ingested as well. This is also why its also a bad idea to eat raw fish skin.

Her period of sickness (alot of vomiting for 4-5 hrs) was over after she had "puked her guts out".

[Ramsayfarian]

There's lots of things I like about Calgary, but if I had to pick one, I'd have to say our proximity to the mountains.

[Jimby]

I like the climate.

[LFRENCH]

the attitude of "we can do it", comming from a certain community in BC. it amazes me to see calgary get off its ass and do something as opposed to talk for two years about how we can't do something.

[frinkprof]

^Welcome to Calgary LFRENCH. Have you moved here for the forseeable future?

[SubwayRev]

I like that it's always sunny here. When I am other places and there are five consevutive days of overcast and rain...that wears me down. I like sunny days, even if it's -20C, at least its sunny.

[fusili]

Does anyone else notice that most of the things people like about this city don't actually have anything to do with the city itself - ie proximity to the mountains and climate? Don't get me wrong, those are great things, I just wish we had more of the actual city to be proud of rather than things that are in no way influenced by us.

[McPaul]

I don't understand all the comments about the mountains.

The mountains are nowhere near here. This city is flat, not mountainous. You have to drive two hours to even get to the mountains. If you want mountains, go live in Golden, or Squamish, or Denver, or Park City. The mountains have nothing - nothing at all to do with Calgary. The people in this city have to wake up and realize this.

I have to agree with the first poster. The only thing that attracted me to this city was jobs. And the fact that I've been trying to get out of this city ever since I came here, but can't as there are no comparable jobs where I want to be proves this.

The fact that there is lots of growth and development is of course a very pleasant feature about this city, and I do like keeping up with it all, but fact is, I don't use new architecture. I don't control where I work, and can't just decide to work in Jameson, or Bankers Court, or the Bow when complete. I live in the beltline, but my work has relocated out of the downtown. Perhaps if I worked downtown every day, I would be able to appreciate it more. I can follow the growth of new construction in other cities if need be.

No, what I do enjoy about this city is the extensive parks and pathways system extending all around the city. I actually use the parks system regularly and enjoy and appreciate the fact that it's there for me whenever I want it, and is not usually too crowded. The c-train is nice to have as well.

That's what I enjoy about this city.

[The Chemist]

I don't understand all the comments about the mountains.

The mountains are nowhere near here. This city is flat, not mountainous. You have to drive two hours to even get to the mountains. If you want mountains, go live in Golden, or Squamish, or Denver, or Park City. The mountains have nothing - nothing at all to do with Calgary. The people in this city have to wake up and realize this.

.

2 hours from drive from Calgary puts you in Lake Louise! You can reach the Front Ranges in Kananaskis in less than 45 minutes. :koko: And the west side of Calgary is most certainly NOT flat.

[Metro-One]

:previous: Different people have different perspectives of what is close or far.

I know the Canadians and Chinese (because they come from big countries) think of an area 2 hours away as close, but people i know from Japan and Europe consider a place 2 hours away to be far away.

Perfect example - Canadians/Chinese generally think Whistler is close to metro-Vancouver. Japanese/Europeans think that Whistler is far away from Vancouver and would even consider it a decent road trip.

Oh, and I like Calgary's skyline.

[You Need A Thneed]

^^ Yeah, If you live in the Westhills area, or down south by the 22x, you can get to the mountains in less than half an hour. The HWY 40 turnoff is only about a half an hour drive from the Western City limit on 16th Ave.

2 hours will take you from anywhere in the city to Lake Louise, which is nearly 100 km into the mountains.

And Calgary certainly isn't flat, some of the east side is flatter, but still isn't really flat. There's at the very least small rolling hills everywhere in Calgary.

[citizen j]

Its maturity. The city seems to have outgrown its need to over-compensate for not being someplace else. It seems to finally have arrived at a mature level of self-confidence as an urban centre. Bravo. And yeah, plus ... mountains.

[Ferreth]

If I can photograph it, I consider it to be not too far away:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2466/3863206047_6a85dfd23b_b.jpg

As far as an hours driving goes, I don't really notice the time going to the mountains - watching them get bigger and new panoramas reveled around every corner never gets old.

[fusili]

Its maturity. The city seems to have outgrown its need to over-compensate for not being someplace else. It seems to finally have arrived at a mature level of self-confidence as an urban centre. Bravo. And yeah, plus ... mountains.

I think this is starting to happen, but there is still quite a bit of an inferiority complex in this city. How many references do you hear about Portland, Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Houston, Denver even Paris when comparing to Calgary? For some reason we always seem to want to compare what we are doing with what others are doing. Great cities don't compare themselves to others, they work to create an identity of their own. New York, Toronto, Paris and Vancouver are all great cities, all for different reasons, and they don't try to be like the others (at least from my perspective).

[Wooster]

^ I don't know about other cities, but I know Toronto is constantly comparing itself and measuring itself against other cities - Chicago, New York, San Francisco even Vancouver. In my line of work, living in Toronto I hear it all the time. In certain contexts that can get annoying, but I don't think it's necessarily unhealthy for a city like Calgary to look at other cities and what they do well, recognize the city's deficiencies and strive to close the gap. That's not to say we should emulate them, but it's good to observe what cities like Vancouver have done, learn from it and apply that knowledge to our own city-building.

[Ramsayfarian]

I don't understand all the comments about the mountains.

The mountains are nowhere near here. This city is flat, not mountainous. You have to drive two hours to even get to the mountains. If you want mountains, go live in Golden, or Squamish, or Denver, or Park City. The mountains have nothing - nothing at all to do with Calgary. The people in this city have to wake up and realize this.


Tell that to the thousands of people from this city who spend their weekends in the mountains. As someone else mentioned here, distance is relevant. Compared to Winnipeg, Calgary is an alpine city.

The one thing I don't like about this city is people such as yourself who live here, but yet do nothing but bitch about how much living in Calgary sucks, but yet you continue to live here because you can't find employment else where. A city is much like life, you get out of it what you put into it.

[fusili]

^ I don't know about other cities, but I know Toronto is constantly comparing itself and measuring itself against other cities - Chicago, New York, San Francisco even Vancouver. In my line of work, living in Toronto I hear it all the time. In certain contexts that can get annoying, but I don't think it's necessarily unhealthy for a city like Calgary to look at other cities and what they do well, recognize the city's deficiencies and strive to close the gap. That's not to say we should emulate them, but it's good to learn from what cities like Vancouver have done, learn from it and apply that knowledge to our own city-building.

Good point. I think there is a healthy level of comparison and measurement that can improve a city. I think that people's knowledge of places like Vancouver and Portland (the two I hear the most in this city) is a good thing, because it raises the bar for us.

[McPaul]

Compared to Winnipeg, Calgary is an alpine city.

Now that I think we can all agree with. Some might even go so far to argue that compared to Saskatoon, and Regina that we are an alpine city as well.

And you're right, you get out of it what you put in. If you take a look at what I said, you'll see that I'm not bitching about anything. I like the fact that I have a well paying job, and I like the fact that I have the pathways to enjoy every day that are only a few blocks walk away, and that the ctrain gets me where I need to go.

[Wooster]

Tell that to the thousands of people from this city who spend their weekends in the mountains. As someone else mentioned here, distance is relevant. Compared to Winnipeg, Calgary is an alpine city.

The one thing I don't like about this city is people such as yourself who live here, but yet do nothing but bitch about how much living in Calgary sucks, but yet you continue to live here because you can't find employment else where. A city is much like life, you get out of it what you put into it.

There's no question that the rockies will always be a dominant component of many people's lives living in Calgary. It is basically the city's recreational backyard. In some ways no matter how great the city becomes something as magnificant as the rockies will always be probably the best, or near the best aspects of living in the region. However, we would all love to see many more people-magnet destinations develop in Calgary to be truly proud of. It will be nice to see areas like Eau Claire, Stampede Park, East Village, The new Library, and a number of commercial main streets evolve and become true city-wide destinations.

[Calgarian]

I can be in the mountains within an hour and I live downtown, I definitely consider the mountains to be a feature of Calgary, I just spent the long weekend in SE Alberta and SW Saskatchewan and seeing the way people flock to the Cypress Hills makes me appreciate the mountains even more. The fact that I can make a day trip to some of the most beautiful scenery on the planet is absolutely something I love about Calgary.

[freeweed]

The mountains are nowhere near here. This city is flat, not mountainous. You have to drive two hours to even get to the mountains. If you want mountains, go live in Golden, or Squamish, or Denver, or Park City. The mountains have nothing - nothing at all to do with Calgary. The people in this city have to wake up and realize this.

Err.. I have to assume you either are a) very young and not well travelled, b) have never lived in another large Canadian city before, or c) hate outdoor recreation.

Here's how it works: every decent sized city, and I mean EVERY city, has a nearby "recreational playground". This area is never in the city itself. It's what those who do it call "going to the cottage", "getting out of the city for the weekend", "going camping", or something similar. It's basically where the majority of the city goes on weekends in the summer (and maybe winter). Every single city in Canada has something comparable. Key points: it's nowhere near the city, usually an hour or two's drive, and it's often in a very different geographical area than the city itself (part of the point of "getting away" is to see something different).

In Winnipeg it's the Whiteshell/Lake of the Woods area. In Montreal it's the mountains/resorts to the NW of the city. In Toronto it's the huge cottage and lake country centred on Barrie and such. In Vancouver it's more spread out, but Whistler is a good analogue. In Edmonton it's the largish lakes south of the city, and Jasper.

And in Calgary, it's what everyone here calls "the mountains". It's Banff. It's Kananaskis. It's Waterton. It's all the areas, all in the Rocky Mountains, that are an hour or three's drive away.

Go to Winnipeg, and ask someone over 30 who owns a car what the best thing about Winnipeg is. Half the people will tell you "cottage country" - which is an hour (minimum) outside the city. Go to Toronto, and people there talk constantly about their cottages. Go to Vancouver, and the surrounding mountains (that are not in the city) are the big thing.

You might want to take some time away from "trying to get out of this city ever since you came here" and look at what we've got here. We have exactly what every other city has, a great vacation destination within a short drive from home - except ours is visited by several million tourists from all over the world each year.

Again, if you hate the outdoors, I can see a big sigh when people talk about the mountains. But Calgary, for those that love the outdoors, is like living in Paris if you're an art fanatic. It's freaking heaven. :tup:

PS: I can be in "the mountains" in under 40 minutes' drive from my house. It's actually just about the same time to drive to the closest mountain as it is to drive to the south end of Calgary. So unless you're going to claim that people in Copperfield aren't in the city... the mountains might as well be in the city for me.

[Western Spaghetti]

What are you talking about?? You're way, way off base. I'm looking at the mountains out of window from my office. They aren't far.

Just yesterday my girlfriend and I took a drive up to Elbow Falls, which is in the mountains. We didn't even plan the trip there it was just something we planned wjile out for a drive, and it took us a whole 30 minutes to get there. People who live in the southwest part of the city can be in the mountains in little over 20 minutes. The mountains are a huge part of this city's culture.

You mention places like Denver. Denver is certainly considered a mountain city, but depending on where you live in Denver, the mountains take longer to get to then parts of Calgary. My question to you is; do you own a car? If not then the mountains will seem like a long ways away, but if you own a car, then they aren't.

I don't understand all the comments about the mountains.

The mountains are nowhere near here. This city is flat, not mountainous. You have to drive two hours to even get to the mountains. If you want mountains, go live in Golden, or Squamish, or Denver, or Park City. The mountains have nothing - nothing at all to do with Calgary. The people in this city have to wake up and realize this.

I have to agree with the first poster. The only thing that attracted me to this city was jobs. And the fact that I've been trying to get out of this city ever since I came here, but can't as there are no comparable jobs where I want to be proves this.

The fact that there is lots of growth and development is of course a very pleasant feature about this city, and I do like keeping up with it all, but fact is, I don't use new architecture. I don't control where I work, and can't just decide to work in Jameson, or Bankers Court, or the Bow when complete. I live in the beltline, but my work has relocated out of the downtown. Perhaps if I worked downtown every day, I would be able to appreciate it more. I can follow the growth of new construction in other cities if need be.

No, what I do enjoy about this city is the extensive parks and pathways system extending all around the city. I actually use the parks system regularly and enjoy and appreciate the fact that it's there for me whenever I want it, and is not usually too crowded. The c-train is nice to have as well.

That's what I enjoy about this city.

[freeweed]

I also have to take issue with the comment that Calgary is in any way "flat".

There is a 220m elevation difference between my house and downtown. No, I don't scale near-vertical cliffs to come into work every day, but considering that my driveway is actually higher than the tallest skyscraper in Canada outside of Toronto...

I actually have to gear down in my car unless I want to ride the brakes for several minutes at a time. And this is on some pretty major roads here. Cars don't just accelerate on a "flat" surface.

Hmm. Now I want to see a list of large North American cities, ordered by "max elevation difference". I bet Calgary would rank pretty highly on that one.

[Stang]

There is a 220m elevation difference between my house and downtown. No, I don't scale near-vertical cliffs to come into work every day, but considering that my driveway is actually higher than the tallest skyscraper in Canada outside of Toronto...

My ears will occasionally pop if I'm driving E-W in the city. On the weekend I was out of the city on Glenmore to the East, and drove home to Tuscany. Sure enough, as I got close to home, my ears popped.

Not sure what I'm contributing to the thread, but I can't be the only one, can I? :)

And... I do think that the mountains are part of Calgary. Not physically, of course. But they are certainly part of our culture and history.

[Surrealplaces]

Everybody is going to like different aspects of Calgary, and I respect that. I do take issue with the one comment from your post;

"The mountains have nothing - nothing at all to do with Calgary. The people in this city have to wake up and realize this."

Nobody needs to wake up and realize this. The fact is, people in this city have been using and enjoying the mountains for a long time. The mountains are Calgary's playground, and a part of its culture.

No matter where you live in Calgary you can be in the mountains in an hour or less. Heck, I've gone up into the mountains many times just for an afternoon, and all on a whim.

I don't understand all the comments about the mountains.

The mountains are nowhere near here. This city is flat, not mountainous. You have to drive two hours to even get to the mountains. If you want mountains, go live in Golden, or Squamish, or Denver, or Park City. The mountains have nothing - nothing at all to do with Calgary. The people in this city have to wake up and realize this.

I have to agree with the first poster. The only thing that attracted me to this city was jobs. And the fact that I've been trying to get out of this city ever since I came here, but can't as there are no comparable jobs where I want to be proves this.

The fact that there is lots of growth and development is of course a very pleasant feature about this city, and I do like keeping up with it all, but fact is, I don't use new architecture. I don't control where I work, and can't just decide to work in Jameson, or Bankers Court, or the Bow when complete. I live in the beltline, but my work has relocated out of the downtown. Perhaps if I worked downtown every day, I would be able to appreciate it more. I can follow the growth of new construction in other cities if need be.

No, what I do enjoy about this city is the extensive parks and pathways system extending all around the city. I actually use the parks system regularly and enjoy and appreciate the fact that it's there for me whenever I want it, and is not usually too crowded. The c-train is nice to have as well.

That's what I enjoy about this city.

[shreddog]

I first moved to Calgary in February of '94 because of the mountains (sorry McPaul) HOWEVER I have moved away a couple times and always moved back for the same reason - and it wasn't the mountains. Rather, I have continued to call Calgary home because unlike Toronto, London or LA - Calgary is still a work in progress.

What I most like about Calgary is that if you don't like something about, just wait a day because we're building a new city and it's bound to get better and you can join in.

I grew up in Toronto in the 70's and 80's when it was changing from a "WASPy dowager of a city where you could barely buy a drink on Sunday" to the exciting place it is today. Calgary reminds me a lot of that. And echoing Furry - er, Rusty's post, unlike other cities I've had the joy to live in, Calgary allows anyone - and welcomes everyone - to partake in that change.

"Step in, roll up your sleeves and get to work - we've got a city/future to build!"

[kap384]

I first moved to Calgary in February of '94 because of the mountains (sorry McPaul) HOWEVER I have moved away a couple times and always moved back for the same reason - and it wasn't the mountains. Rather, I have continued to call Calgary home because unlike Toronto, London or LA - Calgary is still a work in progress.

What I most like about Calgary is that if you don't like something about, just wait a day because we're building a new city and it's bound to get better and you can join in.

I grew up in Toronto in the 70's and 80's when it was changing from a "WASPy dowager of a city where you could barely buy a drink on Sunday" to the exciting place it is today. Calgary reminds me a lot of that. And echoing Furry - er, Rusty's post unlike so other cities I've had the joy to live in Calgary allows anyone - and welcomes everyone - to partake in that change.

"Step in, roll up your sleves and get to work - we've got a city/future to build!"

Great post/perspective

[LFRENCH]

^Welcome to Calgary LFRENCH. Have you moved here for the forseeable future?

I'm here for a couple years while i finish up my degree at UofC

thanks for the warm welcome :)

[Vascilli]

My ears will occasionally pop if I'm driving E-W in the city. On the weekend I was out of the city on Glenmore to the East, and drove home to Tuscany. Sure enough, as I got close to home, my ears popped.

Not sure what I'm contributing to the thread, but I can't be the only one, can I? :)

And... I do think that the mountains are part of Calgary. Not physically, of course. But they are certainly part of our culture and history.

My ears pop on Bow Trail alone now and then. I can look out from my second floor window and see the entire city. Not flat.

[Tarsus]

It's tough to pick one single thing about Calgary, but having the mountains at the doorstep is nice. If I had to single to one thing, it would be the case of having the best of both worlds, beautiful nature/outdoor life a nearby playground, and a modern bustling metropolis for a city.

[glam]

I grew up in Winnipeg - I loved the city then and I still do now - and I never actually had been to the mountains until 1993, at the end of my first year of university. I was instantly hooked. I 'worked' in Calgary in the summer of 95 just so that I could be close to the mountains, and spent the remainder of my university years drooling over guidebooks and doing the drive out with buddies just to bag some peaks (we were so ignorant back then about the mountains and avalanche danger, etc. that I am just glad we survived) and camp and what not.

I moved out here right after my last exam and haven't looked back, and the mountains were my biggest draw. Other more distant reasons included the pathways, job market, c-train and the city centre - always have been a skyscraper geek.

As for the city being flat, I think I'm well aquainted with what flat is. I have a similar height differential as Freeweed does, and I feel every metre of them on the bike home! :yuck:

[freeweed]

I have a similar height differential as Freeweed does, and I feel every metre of them on the bike home! :yuck:

I'm also from Winnipeg, so believe me, that's why I went off on the whole "Calgary is flat" thing. Flat is 10' of elevation over 25km. Flat is where you can watch your dog run away for 2 hours. Flat is where it's possible (once outside the city) to actually witness the effect of the curvature of the Earth - maximum 24km visibility, ever.

People who've never lived in the actual prairies have no idea what flat is.

[Danma]

I live in Coventry Hills and I timed it -- it took 35 minutes from the front door of my house to the K-Country gate. And we aren't a mountain city? Pfft, whatever. (note: this is since Stoney Trail arrived. Taking CHB west would have made the trip 55-60 minutes)

[Fernando]

Bow River Pathways, Neighbourhoods like Kensington, Mission, 17th and Inglewood. THE BOW!

[Brandon716]

I first moved to Calgary in February of '94 because of the mountains (sorry McPaul) HOWEVER I have moved away a couple times and always moved back for the same reason - and it wasn't the mountains. Rather, I have continued to call Calgary home because unlike Toronto, London or LA - Calgary is still a work in progress.

What I most like about Calgary is that if you don't like something about, just wait a day because we're building a new city and it's bound to get better and you can join in.

I grew up in Toronto in the 70's and 80's when it was changing from a "WASPy dowager of a city where you could barely buy a drink on Sunday" to the exciting place it is today. Calgary reminds me a lot of that. And echoing Furry - er, Rusty's post, unlike other cities I've had the joy to live in, Calgary allows anyone - and welcomes everyone - to partake in that change.

"Step in, roll up your sleeves and get to work - we've got a city/future to build!"

Toronto is changing more today than it ever has before, IMO. Its transforming from simply the largest city in Canada to the newest, one of the most legally open (save for bars shutting at 2am) societies in the modern world with lots of boom left in it. Its burst onto the world scene in the past 20-30 years with vivid intensity.

Calgary I think benefits from being in Canada because it too is part of a society that has one of the best, freest, most respectful legal systems in the world. There is work to be done, but you cannot find many nations more civil and free than Canada. But I also don't see Calgary being the center of where that spirit comes from, its spearheaded in many regions instead of one. Quebec, for example, is an important part of the mosaic. Despite the Bloc being separatist, they did support gay marriage back in the day along with other forces in other regions. Calgary benefited from being part of the mosaic.

Gay marriage doesn't mean a lot to the average person, but it is more about the system in which Canada has and the respect for each other's personal freedom that not every nation has progressed on.

The list can go on and on. Calgary is lucky to be part of a greater nation that helps give it room to build on.

[Calgarian]

Toronto is changing more today than it ever has before, IMO. Its transforming from simply the largest city in Canada to the newest, one of the most legally open (save for bars shutting at 2am) societies in the modern world with lots of boom left in it. Its burst onto the world scene in the past 20-30 years with vivid intensity.

Calgary I think benefits from being in Canada because it too is part of a society that has one of the best, freest, most respectful legal systems in the world. There is work to be done, but you cannot find many nations more civil and free than Canada. But I also don't see Calgary being the center of where that spirit comes from, its spearheaded in many regions instead of one. Quebec, for example, is an important part of the mosaic. Despite the Bloc being separatist, they did support gay marriage back in the day along with other forces in other regions. Calgary benefited from being part of the mosaic.

Gay marriage doesn't mean a lot to the average person, but it is more about the system in which Canada has and the respect for each other's personal freedom that not every nation has progressed on.

The list can go on and on. Calgary is lucky to be part of a greater nation that helps give it room to build on.

Great post :tup:

[Innersoul1]

As someone born and raised in Calgary I find that I often take for granted the many fantastic things that Calgary has to offer. While I find it very challenging to name just one thing that I like about Calgary on certain days, like today, it is easy.

I spent an absolutely fantastic day at Spruce Meadows today. I haven't been out there in years but it truly is a world-class facility! The crowd today was nothing short of amazing. It really is a fantastic family friendly place to check out. Rush tickets for the day were only $5. Mind you nobody checked my tickets today so realistically you could go for free ;)

Love Love Love! Spruce Meadows

[Calgarian]

Isn't Spruce Meadows supposed to move sometime in the not too distant future?

[SFUVancouver]

Fish Creek Park.

[Innersoul1]

Isn't Spruce Meadows supposed to move sometime in the not too distant future?

Not that I know of, more with dealing with sustainability as the city encroaches.

[isaidso]

Calgary Stampeders

[Melroy]

For myself, Calgary is more about the opportunity. I like Calgary enough, there's a few other cities I could easily live in (Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, my old hometown of Hamilton). My reason to move here was mostly job based, but the mountains and the quality of the city has made me feel good about my decision.

For my wife it's different. She's born and raised in England, and had never been to western Canada, only to eastern Canada two times. she was a bit worried about the move, but she's loving it here. She's completely enthralled with the rocky mountains, and really likes the city of Calgary.

[Calgarian]

Not that I know of, more with dealing with sustainability as the city encroaches.

I thought I read something in the papers a few years ago. I hope it doesn't move, the location is great where it is, even if is sis soon to be surrounded by beige.