How does Calgary stack up to other North American cities?

[Stephen Ave]

Originally Posted by Rysdad

Quote:
Originally Posted by 401_King
cities of similar sizes, I dont think there is another city in NA greater than Calgary.

Ottawa-Gatineau is better in my opinion.

-cottage country and 1000s of lakes at your doorstep
-much lower cost of living especially Gatineau and a higer median income
-much much much more heritage culture and museums
-french-english mix
-more green space/parks
-very green
-closer to other major areas
-people dont think they live in a big city while its been a 1 million metro since early nineties-no pretention
-beautiful heritage towns such as almonte, wakefield, montebello, carleton place, smiths falls at doorstep
-rideau canal, st lawrence river and ottawa river provide real boating

I understand allot of your arguments, as I grew up in Ottawa area (Nepean), but you can't really compare the two cities. They're different. There are different ways to look at the positive points of each city.


-cottage country and 1000s of lakes at your doorstep
Yes, but if you go a bit farther into BC, you get much nicer lakes than anything in Ontario

-much lower cost of living especially Gatineau and a higer median income
The Ontario side is only slightly higher median income, and for most people in Calgary the cost of living is lower. For anyone who purchased a house more than 5 years ago, the cost of living is actually cheaper here.


-much much much more heritage culture and museums
I'd like to see more of this in Calgary

-french-english mix
This can also be a drawback. Here you don't get the French/English Quebec/Ontario politics, and frankly I prefer this.

-more green space/parks
They are about the same actually. Calgary's park and bike path system is just as good.


-closer to other major areas
That is something I miss


-people dont think they live in a big city while its been a 1 million metro since early nineties-no pretention
Seriously?? C'mon now, Ottawa can be very pretentious. I always thought it was more pretentious than Calgary. Most Ottawans would even agree.


-beautiful heritage towns such as almonte, wakefield, montebello, carleton place, smiths falls at doorstep
I like those towns too, but there are towns here that Ottawa doesn't have like; Banff, Canmore, Bragg Creek . It's an apples to oranges comparison.


-rideau canal, st lawrence river and ottawa river provide real boating
The Rockies provide real skiing and boarding, mountain biking, etc.. Rafting down the Elbow river is something you can't really equal in Ottawa.


There are aspects of Calgary that I like over Ottawa, like the big city feeling it has, with it's LRT and high rise condo towers. Calgarians in general have a much more bold and positive attitude, and although the city lacks historical charm, it's also not held back by it. There is more opportunity for young people in a city like Calgary.

None of that was to say Ottawa is a bad place, quite the opposite, it's a great place. I miss things about it, but also thankful for things in Calgary. I've always thought Calgary and Ottawa were a good comparison because of there similarity in population, but they different in many ways. I've had lots of friends come out from Ottawa to visit over the years, and some like Calgary better, some like Ottawa better.

[Habanero]

Originally Posted by Stephen Ave

None of that was to say Ottawa is a bad place, quite the opposite, it's a great place. I miss things about it, but also thankful for things in Calgary. I've always thought Calgary and Ottawa were a good comparison because of there similarity in population, but they different in many ways. I've had lots of friends come out from Ottawa to visit over the years, and some like Calgary better, some like Ottawa better.

That's a pretty good way to sum it up. They are both good quality cities. I lived in Ottawa back in the 90's when I was attending Carleton. I only moved to Calgary for job reasons, and had planned to move back to Ottawa, or my hometown of Brockville after a few years. 10 years later I'm still here, but I like the city allot more now that I've gotten to know it. Calgary seems to have some kind of energy going for it. I can't put my finger on it, but it's there. It's much different than Ottawa in that regard.

As far as comparing Ottawa to Calgary, really it's more like comparing apples to oranges IMO.

[eemy]

Originally Posted by Stephen Ave

-rideau canal, st lawrence river and ottawa river provide real boating
The Rockies provide real skiing and boarding, mountain biking, etc.. Rafting down the Elbow river is something you can't really equal in Ottawa.

Okay, I'm not going to argue either way that Ottawa or Calgary are better, I find city v. city arguments to be rather ridiculous for the reason you mentioned, they're rarely actually comparable.

That said, I can't let a comment like that pass. The Ottawa River is probably one of the top, if not *the* top whitewater destination in the world, let alone Canada. Are you telling me that the Elbow offers rapids like these? And if so, how do I get there?

• Video Link

I suppose I should include a video of actual rafting on the Ottawa.
• Video Link

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

That said, I can't let a comment like that pass. The Ottawa River is probably one of the top, if not *the* top whitewater destination in the world, let alone Canada. Are you telling me that the Elbow offers rapids like these? And if so, how do I get there?

He said "raft", not "whitewater raft". At least that's how I read it. Two entirely different activities beyond the fact that they both occur on water.

Unless I'm missing something. I've never seen much in the way of great rapids on the Elbow either.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

I ate in that Hard Rock...

[Stephen Ave]

Originally Posted by jeremy_haak

Okay, I'm not going to argue either way that Ottawa or Calgary are better, I find city v. city arguments to be rather ridiculous for the reason you mentioned, they're rarely actually comparable.

That said, I can't let a comment like that pass. The Ottawa River is probably one of the top, if not *the* top whitewater destination in the world, let alone Canada. Are you telling me that the Elbow offers rapids like these? And if so, how do I get there?

I didn't mean rafting as in whitewater rafting. The Elbow is not known for that at all. I meant rafting leisurely through the city with a beers in tow. Floating down the Elbow river through Calgary is a different type of experience than one you'd get from going down the Rideau or Ottawa river. I don't mean, better experience, just a different experience. Another example would be sailing on the Ottawa river, you would generally get a better sailing experience on the Ottawa river, but you can still do that here in Calgary.

You can still get rapids like those of the Ottawa river by going to kicking horse river near Golden.

I'm with you, in that I'm not saying one city is better than the other. I'm pointing out that there are different ways to look at things.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

I ate in that Hard Rock...

Ah, good old Bayou Place. I don't know about you, but didn't Bayou place seem alot like Eau Claire market?

Boris, what did you think of Houston?

[S_B_Russell]

Calgary Is Like Houston - But With More Assholes.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by Surrealplaces

Ah, good old Bayou Place. I don't know about you, but didn't Bayou place seem alot like Eau Claire market?

Boris, what did you think of Houston?

Houston? Well, mixed feelings. Only been there once, that was to visit my aunt and uncle back in 2005. Stayed for a little over a week and also got out to Galveston and San Antonio.

Houston's urban form makes Calgary look like paradise. It has seemingly endless sprawl and freeways, and a relatively dead downtown as well.

However, Houston definately has things going on which make Calgary look very small town. For instance, their investments in rapid transit in recent years have been fairly impressive, their museums and galleries are bigger and better than ours, there are way more distinct neighbourhoods... ex. the galleria area, the museum district... a lot like L.A. in that respect, actually.

[Doug]

The Elbow can't even come close to the Ottawa river in terms of raw sewage discharge or pulp mill effluent.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Doug

The Elbow can't even come close to the Ottawa river in terms of raw sewage discharge or pulp mill effluent.

Same could be said for the air and water quality in much of southern Ontario, but don't forget, Calgary has a *snicker* smog *chuckle* problem *guffaw* too!

*passes out laughing*

[Big Sky]

Originally Posted by S_B_Russell

Calgary Is Like Houston - But With More Assholes.

Is that the most intelligent post you could come up with? You're making your own city like like a bunch of assholes when you post something. Edmontonian forumers, I'm not saying you guys are jerks, I know this dumbass isn't representative of the city.

[Big Sky]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

Houston's urban form makes Calgary look like paradise. It has seemingly endless sprawl and freeways, and a relatively dead downtown as well.

No arguments from me.

I've been to Houston a few times, and I find it too spread out and reliant on the car.

[Western Spaghetti]

Originally Posted by Big Sky

Is that the most intelligent post you could come up with? You're making your own city like like a bunch of assholes when you post something. Edmontonian forumers, I'm not saying you guys are jerks, I know this dumbass isn't representative of the city.

Go easy on the guy, most people,don't know it, but he's mentally challenged.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Aside from similarly energy-based economies, Houston (and Dallas) and Calgary have NOTHING in common. They are completely different demographically, geographically, climatologically. They are very, very, very different sizes. They do not have similar urban forms on any dimension. They are dissimilar with respect to costs of living (Houston is MUCH cheaper than Calgary). They are completely different with respect to what might be called ideology: Calgary is one of the most secular cities in NA, and Houston is one of the most religious.

Houston also has some great funky districts and an arts scene that Calgary should aspire to, so it's not as if Houston is all bad. Houston also is one of the main immigration magnets in the US and is much more ethnically diverse than one might expect for cities in Texas. But Calgary and Houston are as similar as San Jose and Bangalore, or Los Angeles and Mumbai. Similar industries don't necessarily make for similar cities.

[wild wild west]

Re: the Ottawa and Calgary comparison: Having lived in both cities, I would say that about the only things the two cities have in common are population and the colours of their hockey team jerseys. That said, both are great places to live - I think one would be hard pressed to find a place that offers a better quality of life than either one offers.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by wild wild west

Re: the Ottawa and Calgary comparison: Having lived in both cities, I would say that about the only things the two cities have in common are population and the colours of their hockey team jerseys. That said, both are great places to live - I think one would be hard pressed to find a place that offers a better quality of life than either one offers.

Yeah, both cities are nice. I haven't lived in Ottawa, but I've spent lots of time there as my wife is from there.

Originally Posted by furrycanuck

Aside from similarly energy-based economies, Houston (and Dallas) and Calgary have NOTHING in common. They are completely different demographically, geographically, climatologically. They are very, very, very different sizes. They do not have similar urban forms on any dimension. They are dissimilar with respect to costs of living (Houston is MUCH cheaper than Calgary). They are completely different with respect to what might be called ideology: Calgary is one of the most secular cities in NA, and Houston is one of the most religious.

Houston also has some great funky districts and an arts scene that Calgary should aspire to, so it's not as if Houston is all bad. Houston also is one of the main immigration magnets in the US and is much more ethnically diverse than one might expect for cities in Texas. But Calgary and Houston are as similar as San Jose and Bangalore, or Los Angeles and Mumbai. Similar industries don't necessarily make for similar cities.

Couldn't agree more. IMO Houston and Calgary are nothing alike. I find the same thing for Calgary and Dallas, and Austin vs Edmonton, etc.... All of these comparisons. The closest I've seen to Calgary is probably Denver, and that is mainly for a few reasons

-Geographically they are similar with the mountains to the west and prairie to the east
-Both have a similar outdoor scene, with snowboarding/mountain biking etc..
-The downtowns (CBDs) actually feel quite a bit alike.


Outside of that, they don't have much in common.

[Rusty van Reddick]

I wish Calgary had one-fifth the Mexican population of Denver just so we'd get a decent taqueria or two here!

[Aylmer]

Question;
dose it bother the slightest of people to know that the calgarian urban footprint is only slightly smaller than NewYork and it's boroughs?
Calgary may have the boom but not the population zoom!

[The Kid]

Originally Posted by AylmerLover

Question;
dose it bother the slightest of people to know that the calgarian urban footprint is only slightly smaller than NewYork and it's boroughs?
Calgary may have the boom but not the population zoom!

Not "the population zoom"?? While we are not New York, Calgary has been posting massive growth year after year for the better part of a decade. Not sure what your definition of "zoom" is.