Is edmonton a good place to live? what are the ups and downs?

Question

Me and my family are thinking of moving to Edmonton due to the fact that my dad got a job, but we need to know about the whole quality of life, and the attractions, the crime, all that kind of stuff, this is an easy 10 points!

Answer 1

I live in Edmonton currently and I have for 4 years now. The one thing that you need to know about the city during this time is that it is extremely expensive to live here. Real Estate Market prices the last couple of years have been record high and although they are just starting to come down a little, it is still on the high side!! As far as attractions go there are tons and tons of things to do here especially if you have children. We have the zoo, west edmonton mall which houses the water park, amusement park, aquarium, seal show. There is always tons of things to do here, the city is full of parks, green spaces, recreation centres big and small, team sports. We also are home to the NHL team Edmonton Oilers which is always exciting to attend a game, we have the CFL Edmonton Eskimos as well as a Baseball team. We also have Lacrosse teams and just announced a Professional basketball team as well. As far as crime goes we do have a high crime rate, but coming from a small town myself it is getting alot better. The city and province are really cracking down on crime and it is making a difference. IF you are interested in moving here then I would stay away from the northside, the downtown area for sure. Concentrate on the southside and the westside, those areas are the safest. Call one of your local police stations and they can tell you more on that and what areas to stay away from. Edmonton is known as the festival city and that is exactly what it is, we have hundreds of festivals every year including Capital Ex, Heritage Festival, The Fringe, etc! Edmonton is a beautiful city, it boasts one of the most beautiful cityscapes in the country as well as the largest area of green space available for park use. The beauty of the River Valley itself is reason enough for anyone to move here. Edmonton it a great place to live, it is expanding quickly and making large improvements quickly to make it even better and more accesible to everyone. Visit www.edmonton.ca for more info about the city! Hope this helps......if anything come down for a visit one weekend and experience what we have to offer!

Answer 2

I myself live in the north end of edmonton. Have lived here for 4 years with my husband and family and we have all survived. We are in the Castledowns area of course they are some problems but in reality they are the problems invovled in any area of the city. So many time it ends up being who you hang around with.Like the other person said there is a tonne of things to do in Edmonton. There are also alot of good school programs as well like a golf, soccer, various language and also academic.Good luck with the move

Answer 3

Alberta in general has a reputation for being full of cowboys and oil riggers, but Edmonton, although the economy is driven primarily by oil production is a surprisingly cultural city.   As far as crime goes, it's no different than any other city of its size.  There are problems and there are areas you should stay away from at night.  IMO the downside to Edmonton is the length and severity of it's winters.  Long and cold with short summers.  Lots of sports either as a spectator (Oilers/Eskimos and AAA baseball) or as a participant with rec leagues for hockey and baseball.   All in all, I don't mind Edmonton.  (Don't live there but have visited many times)