Tell me about life in Alberta!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Well, after looking for a full-time job since last July, and finding nothing, I am slowly coming to the conclusion that Ontario doesn’t need me.

Yesterday I was at a presentation by Manpower, which I seem to remember was once a part of the Canadian federal government, but which now seems to be a multinational recruiting corporation. The broad theme of the presentation was “come to Alberta and make money, especially if you’re in the trades or can drive a big truck”.

So, what’s life like in Alberta?

I have heard horror stories of working in the oil sands, Fort MacMurray and north: sky-high wages, but overcrowding and expensive housing, fights on payday, all that crap. If this is true, I seriously wouldn’t fit there.

My question is more about life in Calgary or Edmonton. What is the job market like there for a technical writer? Especially one who formerly worked as an electronics technologist and can probably haul some of those skills out of storage?

Is housing expensive or hard to find in Calgary and Edmonton? Do most people live in houses or apartments? Are the cities captive to automotive sprawl, or do they have reasonably-comprehensive transit systems as well? What are the cultural scene and societal attitudes like? Are people looking westwards to China these days? Are people tolerant of difference? Do people recycle? What’s the music scene like? What’s the cost of living like?

I have to admit that I am jealous as heck that Calgary has Mayor Nenshi, for example, which is a huge good sign.

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Calgarian chiming in.
Calgary job market is HOT. I can’t speak to jobs for technical writers, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find them in demand. I’d check Monster and Indeed (job search sites) to see what’s happening. In fact, let me check right now…

Indeed pulls up 44 jobs. I don’t know what fits for you, but that’s a data point
http://www.indeed.ca/jobs?q=technical+writer&l=Calgary%2C+AB

Housing is expensive and pretty hard to find. Lots of houses, but also quite a few apartments. Tons of sprawl, but the transit system is at least adequate if you’re reasonably central. The outskirts have some brutal wait times.

Calgary is constantly getting better on the cultural front. More diverse all the time. That said, it ain’t Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. Especially art and history. Hardly any reasonable museums. Music scene is decent. We’re a bit remote for large touring acts to land here, but there’s a bit of everything with Sled Island and the Folk Fest both attracting some pretty great small to medium acts. Several rock fests as well - X-Fest and Virgin Fest.

Lots of recycling around here. Organic recycling is in the works next. I think Edmonton is a bit of a recycling hub if that’s important to you.

Cost of living is high, with housing being the most notable cost. Parking rates are insane, with Calgary being one of the most expensive places to park in all of North America.

The draw for this cowpoke is the job market, nature on our doorstep, the vibrancy of an entrepreneurial city and a nice downtown.

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Calgary here too. I’m not sure what the demand is like for technical writers, but if you can find a role in O&G you can make a decent living.

phreesh answered most of your questions pretty well, but I’ll just add a few data points:

We own a three bedroom bungalow in an older neighborhood technically considered ‘inner city’ (barely) that we purchased for $455,000. It takes me about 20 - 25 minutes to drive downtown/home during rush hour, which I never do, because it costs me $35 a day to park across the street from work. The cheapest parking lot I can find within a kilometer of work is $17.

I either take transit or bike to and from work 95% of the time. I live within walking distance of the LRT and it costs me about $2.75 each way (or you can buy a monthly pass for much cheaper). Door to door is 45 minutes if I walk to the train (about 1 km). If I drive to the train, that cuts about 15 minutes off the trip. I almost never get a seat on the train during rush hour.

Biking to work involves roads and bike or multi-use pathways. They are maintained very well and are generally cleared before the main roads in the winter, oddly enough. Most companies provide free or very low cost bike parking (mine is even undergroud/inside).

Downtown becomes a ghost town in the evening/weekends generally, but the city is working to change that. We do have some good culture/music stuff, such as Shakespeare in the Park, outdoor concerts, really good free-ish performances/live acts during Stampede in July, and we do get some good shows. As mentioned, we generally get passed over for some of the larger concerts, mostly because our stadium can’t host their productions/stages (though Edmonton can).

We have a pretty good recycling program in place, and for the most part, the city is clean. We have lots of parks and green spaces, and a comprehensive pathway network through the city. Our infrastructure is lacking and hasn’t kept up with our population growth, so driving can be frusterating.

The best thing about Calgary is access to the mountains. If you’re an outdoorsy person, Calgary is the better choice between us and Edmonton. However, we are a city of immigrants and wealthy cowboys who don’t care about maintaining the ‘Calgarian’ identity. While I personally don’t notice it, some say people here are rude.

I love Nenshi and think he’s making good changes in our city. I personally hope he gets re-elected for another term, but the older generation doesn’t really like him. His win was a product of his fantastic social networking and subsequent ability to get young voters out.

Fort McMurray is a place where you live to work. That’s it. There is no housing, and the housing you can find costs upwards of a quarter of a million. Those that work up there generally live in camps or shared housing. You do not live in Fort Mac because you like it up there (unless you are from there - then I guess you might feel tied to the area).

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Another Calgarian chiming in.

Almost exactly what EmAnJ said above, ( I do drive, because I bring my two year old to daycare downtown with me, so biking/transit are not for me. I pay $230/month for a parking stall in a lot in between the daycare and work on the west end of downtown.)
plus…

Weather. Calgary has some seriously crazy weather. It can be awesome, if you like that kind of thing. It was snowing at my house this morning. Earlier this week I had hail and rain on my drive home so thick I could barely see to change lanes.

Oil and Gas pays really, really well. If you can fit your skills into an oil and gas company, you will be well paid.

The recycling is awesome. Big blue cart, dump everything in it, and it gets picked up once a week. You don’t even have to sort. I live in an area that is test-piloting the organics recycling, and I really hope they extend it to the whole city because it’s working really well for us.

You will occasionally find the odd redneck Calgarian, but for most part we are nothing like the cowboy/redneck/racist/homophobe stereotype that is out there about us.

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Also, Banff is a only 2 hours away, and its an easy drive. The skiing is glorious in the winter and the scenery is magnificent. Skiing all day, Banff Hot Springs at night… that’s living. I’ve never been in the summer, its supposed to be beautiful, though crowded in town.

My overall impression is that if you like outdoorsy stuff, you’ll find it by the bucketload.

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[quote=“the_Lady, post:4, topic:623005”]

…Weather. Calgary has some seriously crazy weather. It can be awesome, if you like that kind of thing. It was snowing at my house this morning. Earlier this week I had hail and rain on my drive home so thick I could barely see to change lanes…/QUOTE]Murrican here from Kentucky, who has never set foot in Alberta, or Ontario outside of the summer months. I understand that the winters can be brutal (-40 C not being uncommon). We occasionally get “Alberta Clippers” here which are fast moving fronts of polar air that come screaming down from northern Alberta. By the time they arrive here, they’ve been warmed up to -10 C or so, so I can imagine what it’s like when they come though Alberta. I’ve heard, though, that people just dress warmly, use common sense, and don’t let it keep them from getting out.

I’ve been to Vancouver, Toronto, Georgian Bay, Montreal, QC, the Lac St. Jean region and Fredericton. I hope to add Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Charlottetown to my list someday.

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Vancouverite chiming in: Ha!

I just gave notice at the best job I’ve ever had, because my wife (not from here) has been beating the drum that it’s just not affordable here, and with the arrival of our second child I am fresh out of “yes, buts…”

Decided on Alberta because it has the most attractive cost of living. (Compare Calgary with Vancouver) Spoiler - we make less money and pay more for almost everything. :smiley:

One more month here, and we’re moving to Lacombe. (Outside Red Deer.) I am terrified. Hoping I can find some junior IT position in O&G. Or… you know… anything.

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Yes and no. Calgary gets Chinooks, the winds come off the mountains and the temps can rise by 20 degrees in the space of hours, but the wind itself can cut right through you. This past winter we had a week of -40 weather but that’s not that common, not that it doesn’t get cold but it doesn’t get and stay that cold usually. Edmonton tends to get and stay cold in the winter but again not always that cold.

I’ve lived both in Edmonton and Calgary, I liked each in their own way. If you’re a foodie, Calgary is the better place to go. We have three permanent farmers markets (well, more like two and a flea market which expands in size for food in the summer). Edmonton has one farmers market, the others are catch as catch can types that set up in parking lots during the weekdays. For restaurants, there’s some pretty good people here. If you watch FoodTV we have a couple Top Chef contestants, lately there’s been a bunch of places on Eat St and You Gotta Eat Here (some of which I’ve already eaten at lol).

The others seem to have hit other high points though.

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Others have hit the high points. I’ll address the technical writing question, having been a tech writer in Calgary before.

There is a lot of opportunity, but you’ll rarely hear about it in public. A lot of it is the result of networking, and it doesn’t take much to be a part of the network. But a lot of this networking occurs through the STC, so if you’re not already a member, you may want to look into that.

Be prepared also for the “are you incorporated?” question. I’d guess that most tech writing in Calgary is done on a contractual basis; and unlike what I recall from Ontario, Alberta companies demand that you incorporate if you are going to do contract work for them. As a lawyer, I understand why (companies do not want to be found liable by CRA for EI premiums, CPP payments, tax withholdings, etc.), but it was a bit of a shock to me when I moved here from Ontario. Generally speaking, incorporation is not a big deal, but it is something you may want to be prepared for.

Other than that business aspect, there’s a lot to like. Public transit in Calgary could be better, but that holds for any Alberta city, and nothing compares to the TTC/GO system of southern Ontario. But Calgary has plenty of green spaces, and nice old neighbourhoods with trees and parks just like in Toronto. Kensington is kind of fun (and has one of the best comics shops I’ve ever seen), the Bird Sanctuary is a place I always head for when I am in town, and there is an amazing used bookstore in Inglewood. Shakespeare in the Park is a treat, as is the Folk Fest. And don’t forget Calgary’s ComicCon.

Others have touched on Banff, but while it is beautiful, it is also world-famous and often crowded. A lesser-known, and much less crowded park, is Waterton Lakes National Park, about three hours south of Calgary (an hour and change west of Lethbridge). Plenty of mountains, lakes, canyons, and hiking trails; and deer, mountain goats, and grizzly bears. Somewhere, I’ve got a photo of the bear that ran in front of my car. Not something I’d want to tangle with, but I was safe in my car, and he was in a hurry to cross the street.

Perhaps you might consider a trip out here, Sunspace, just to scope out the area. I’m sure that the Calgary and Edmonton (and Lethbridge) Dopers would be happy to acquaint you with the Alberta they know.

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Thanks, everyone! I’m hoping to hear more from the Manpower guy. But it is all food for thought. I’m trying several other approaches, and nothing is certain, but if I end up with an interview there, I’ll let you know!

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The driving hassles/cost of working downtown is a factor for a lot of people - my choice is to never work downtown if I can help it. I have an assignment right now near the airport (which is near where I live) - it’s about a 15 minute drive in good conditions, no cost for parking, but I haven’t even bothered to look into a transit option - there probably isn’t one, or it would be three transfers and 1 1/2 hours to get there. That’s just the reality of living here now - you have to make choices. If you want to use transit, you probably have to work downtown and live on a transit route. If you want to avoid downtown, you have to have a car.

I think roommates are becoming much more common here - I checked out some rents last week, and it was like $1000 for one bedroom, and $1200 for a two bedroom - that’s a bit of a no-brainer.

My take on the societal attitudes here is that Calgary is very much a city where no one was born here - I think that tends to increase tolerance. The opening line in conversation when you meet someone new here is, “So, where are you from?” :slight_smile: As others have said, Calgary is nowhere near as redneck as outsiders seem to think. We’re about making money, no denying that, but we’re also about recycling and making better environmental choices and trying to do things better in realistic ways. We know our money comes from oil & gas, but we’re not the bunch of environmental rape & pillagers that we’re portrayed - we understand that you can’t just shut down production of oil and put, what, half a million Calgarians out of work.