# Calgary or Toronto



## lestat83 (Dec 30, 2009)

Hey guys,

I'm moving to either of these cities in May and having a really hard time deciding which one is best for me..

Calgary appears to be the safer option, I have a financial background in mining and ultimately see myself doing that long term when I return to Australia, Calgary also appears to be cheaper to live and is just down the road from Banf...

However..

As a single 20 something Aussie guy, from a social perspective, Toronto seems miles ahead in terms of nightlife and meeting people, its the riskier option work wise.

Love some opinions from people in similar situations or who are in the know, it may come down to flipping a coin..


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## Hessi (Mar 17, 2009)

Hey!

I lived in Calgary for a year and I visited TO numerous times and I think your social perspective is pretty accurate!

Calgary is good for jobs and having the Rockies just in front of your door is great if you like outdoor activities. TO is the metropolis with tons of stuff going on and a great night life.
Maybe a few more residents could shed some light for you here.

It really depends what you are after.



lestat83 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I'm moving to either of these cities in May and having a really hard time deciding which one is best for me..
> 
> ...


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## 4drsupra (Sep 1, 2010)

^^^I agree with both you guys I lived in toronto most of my life and visited calgary a few times here is my take on these 2 cities from the last 10 years or so...

toronto:
-great for meeting people and amazing night life...although it has a significantly higher crime rate than calgary.
-corporate world lives and breaths in this metropolisso if this is your line of work including the financial sector this is the place for you.
-things to do during the day...we have an abundance of malls and restaurants with patio's during the summertime and during the winter and u like the winter sports there are a few places you can go to ski and snow board
-toronto is a good balance of the fast life but u are just a few hours drive away from cottage country as well....

calgary:
-u got the stampede...
-lots more snow than toronto during winter and their winter lasts longer too but they got the rockies for a sick view everytime
-lots of manufacturing and oil based jobs here so if you are an engineer or a similar technical line of work this is the place for you...
-life is slower and people are much more chill unlike toronto its either u move of get the F**K out of the way if you dnt wanna be trampled on...

either ways u r screwed with taxes and that is the reason i am not in either of the cities working

there hope that helps...


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## Weebie (Sep 16, 2009)

Engineering sector is still stuffed in Calgary and it's boring. Toronto is a cool city with loads to do. Go there I've spent a bit of time in both.


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## lestat83 (Dec 30, 2009)

Cheers for the reply guys

I'm still a few months away and have jumped between Calgary and Toronto without settling yet.

It's still leaning towards Calgary because of the mining, but the social scene worries me a bit.

How do the cities compare cost of living wise?

Anyone out there with a positive experience of Calgary (Ideally similar situation to me)


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## 4drsupra (Sep 1, 2010)

cost of living is almost the same but you will find a lot more options and better product availability in toronto specially if you like culturally mixed kind of food...if you are in the mining industry i would definitely recommend calgary vs. toronto social life isn't bad there I mean sure u have lesser options for clubs but ideally its the same thing...


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## wannabe-canadian (Feb 19, 2011)

Hello 

Would comebody be able to shed some light on what Calgary is like for a 20 year old? Activities and Social-life wise ?


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## MarylandNed (May 11, 2010)

4drsupra said:


> toronto:
> -great for meeting people and amazing night life...although it has a significantly higher crime rate than calgary.


This would suggest otherwise:

Canada’s most dangerous cities: The rankings - Macleans.ca


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## grumpygirl (Feb 28, 2011)

If you have a financial background and you are of the opinion that the overall global financial situation will get worse before it gets better, Alberta's a better bet over Ontario. Also, Albertans have the lowest personal taxes in Canada. Alberta doesn't have a provincial sales tax - just the 5% GST with a 4% tax on lodging. Combine that with their flat 10% provincial income tax & the federal income tax, it's not a terrible tax situation at all. 

I've not been to Calgary but I've spent time in both Toronto and Edmonton. Toronto naturally has more in the way of culture and nightlife than any Canadian city in Alberta. I can tell you it was a wonderful city in the late '80s and early '90s with fabulous public transit. I don't know if it has changed, but it was safe enough for two sensible 13 year old girls to be going all over town by themselves during the daytime. I also grew up on the American side of the Great Lakes and I have a soft spot in my heart for that part of the world and being near and on the water. On the other hand, the independent streak in Albertans appeals to me greatly - probably because I _am_ from the United States.  I grew up across the Detroit River from Ontario and I'd never been further inside Canada than Toronto until I moved to Oregon as an adult. 

If you are able to visit both places, I think you'll know fairly quickly which one is right for you.


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## PatrickB (Feb 21, 2011)

I've lived in both; born in Calgary, grew up in Alberta, and moved from Calgary (also lived in Red Deer, and a small town in Alberta called Rimbey) to Toronto when I was 28.

Calgary is an okay city, and a lot like Melbourne (albeit with poorer weather). Cold in the winter, though the occasional Chinook (warm westerly winds over the Rockies) can bring the temperature up from -30C to +5C over the course of a few hours. 

Toronto, on the other hand, rarely gets below -10C, and most of the winter it tends to average around the freezing mark, and maybe a little below. If you like winter, then Calgary is a better city....if you don't like winter, well, Toronto won't be perfect, but it's much, much better than Calgary. Spring hits Toronto roughly around March, whereas it can still be quite snowy and cold in Calgary until mid May.

Summers in Toronto are generally hot and muggy (often 30+C with 95% humidity). Calgary, on the other hand, doesn't get above 30C very often, and it's quite dry, so even when it does get warm, it never feels terribly warm. Cools down quite a bit at night in Calgary (I've been golfing during the day in Calgary in shorts and a t-shirt, but had to put slacks and a jacket on while sitting on the patio that same evening). Toronto, on the other hand, tends to stay warm through the evenings; jackets and long pants rarely required in the summer in Toronto.

Cost of living right in Calgary vs right in Toronto....generally a bit cheaper for Calgary, though they have done their best to catch up (when I moved from Calgary to Toronto, house prices were wildly different with Toronto being significantly higher). One advantage for Toronto is that there are plenty of suburbs around to choose from, many of which are pretty reasonably priced (Mississauga, Markham, Burlington etc).

There can be a decent nightlife in Calgary, though it can often seem as though you run into many of the same people over and over again. It's also more of a western culture (ie, country music more so than Toronto, though it's by no means a hick town). You'll find as many dance clubs as you will country bars.

Toronto has better public transit, whereas Calgary has the LRT and bus lines (no subway). So if you wanted to a live a car free lifestyle, it's much easier to do so in downtown Toronto than in downtown Calgary. Calgary pretty much requires that you own a car, whereas you could get by without a vehicle living downtown Toronto quite easily. Calgary is very spread out, and while Toronto is too, Toronto also has almost everything you could hope for within the downtown core (Calgary, on the other hand, is very residential / suburb based).

Also, downtown Calgary tends to "shut down" at night. I had a condo downtown Calgary, and after 6 PM, the downtown core tends to really quiet down. There are a few clubs downtown (Senor Frogs, Cowboys) that were good, but if you wanted to go out and really enjoy a night out, you almost certainly needed a car. Toronto, on the other hand, just got livelier as the night went on.

Taxes are definitely cheaper in Alberta, though generally wages are somewhat lower as a result as well (can't say for sure with regards to the mining sector, however). I wouldn't discount Toronto as a centre for mining companies though; the Canadian Shield (mineral mining galore, including nickel etc) is just north of Toronto by a few hours, so you tend to get the headquarters for major mining firms based in Toronto. That being said, living in France now, I long for the days of Canadian wages and taxes compared to what I pay (or get paid) here in France. 

Calgary, on the other hand, is very oil driven. As the price of oil (and to a similar extent, Natural Gas) goes, so does Alberta's economy. It can tend to be boom and bust very quickly in Alberta (the age old joke in Alberta was always "Please God, let there be another oil boom, I promise not to piss it all away this time").

Calgary will always be my home town (if you do go to Calgary, be sure to stop by Peter's Drive-In on 16th Avenue....best burgers and milkshakes in town), so it holds a special place in my heart.

But if we ever move back to Canada, it would be to Toronto. I could never see myself moving back to Calgary. I always loved going back to visit Calgary, but never to live again.



Patrick


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