# Could anyone tell me what winter is like in Calgary



## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

Hi

Help!! Really worried

My hubby been offered a job in Calgary starting in February 2009
We have never been to Canada and am really worried about how I will deal with the cold, snow etc.

Apart from the cold Canada sounds like a fab place to live but can't stop envisaging me huddled by a fire feeling miserable all winter.

Would appreciate any comments or advice from anyone living in Calgary or elsewhere in Canada


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## SczzyBoy (Jan 1, 2008)

dalaney said:


> Hi
> 
> Help!! Really worried
> 
> ...


I've been living in Calgary since last February fulltime and on and off since Sep 2007. I find the weather here can be pretty cold - it's generally hovering around the o deg. C or below. I missed the really cold snap of -50 in late Jan and early Feb. While these temps may sound really cold they are not as bad as you think. Calgary is pretty high up - 1048m above sea-level and it is VERY, VERY dry. Because it is so dry the cold doesn't feel as bad. I was back in the UK over Christmas last year when the temp was about 4 deg. C and I was freezing. The moist damp really seeped into my bones. Generally, I would put the winter here above the UK as regards comfort.

On the snow - I've seen about 14 days total of snow in Calgary in the last 12 months. The worst was about an 8 inch drop overnight but even that was gone within about 48 hours. Ice on the roads can be a problem but they are so much more efficient over here with regard to snow. They have snow-plough and gritting teams on call and are generally out and about once the snow hits about an inch depth.

Overall, I would put the winters here as more comfortable than the winters back home. It's also really sunny 90% of the time - sunglasses are a must. There's practically no rain between November and April so outdoor stuff happens all year round. And, you smell people having barbies in mid-winter! Super place to live!


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## kiwi downunda (Oct 8, 2008)

Hi Dalaney,

I lived in Ottawa for 11 years, back in NZ now. The first winter I thought I was going to die it was so cold! 

Best advice I can give you is "go for it", you'll have the time of your life and Canadians are lovely friendly people. Get into an outdoor winter sport and it'll make the winter pass faster! Yes, it's cold, and the performance of having to get all dressed up to go to the mailbox is a different way of living, but who cares, it's only weather, the upside is way more than weather. 

Winters are very dry, and very cold (-20C for a couple of weeks in Ottawa in Jan/Feb) with lots of bright blue skies, and the occasional few days of snow storms. Houses are very well insulated and any you will live in will have central heating into all rooms - you will never be cold or damp inside again!

Take a defensive driving course when you get there, because knowing how to drive in the snow and slush is really important. I never had a single accident in 11 years, but every winter on the motorways when the first few snow falls happened it would be bumper to bumper fender benders because people forget from one year to the next how much stopping room they need in snow!

Good luck on your adventure and ENJOY CANADA!!!


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## dalaney (Oct 7, 2008)

HI

Thanks for your replies. You have put my mind at ease slightly. Still very worried about being cold. (I hate the cold!!!!). 

Ive read lots about Calgary and it does look like a fab place to live with lots going on and at least I can learn how to ski, something Ive always wanted to do.

My hubby and kids are really excited so guess I'm going to have to stop bringing them down with my fears of the cold.

thanks again Vicky for your comments here and in the Australia forum.

Anyone else who would like to give me some info on living in Calgary, your comments will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Denise


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## SczzyBoy (Jan 1, 2008)

dalaney said:


> HI
> 
> Thanks for your replies. You have put my mind at ease slightly. Still very worried about being cold. (I hate the cold!!!!).
> 
> ...


This costs me $1200 a month - www.ciarandolan.com/apartment.wmv

And this is what I get when I do a road trip www.ciarandolan.com/sulphur.wmv

The cold doesn't get in your bones here like it does in the UK or Ireland. It's just there and you acclimatise pretty fast. The dryness is harder to get used to but HEARTILY recommend Canada to anyone.


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## ian-joiner (Oct 24, 2008)

bloody cold can reach minus 35 for two days then back to +15 when a chinook wind blows in then drop again


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