Thinking about relocating to Alberta, Canada. Can anyone tell me what the place is like?

Question

Thinking about relocating to Alberta, Canada. Can anyone tell me what the place is like?

Answer 1

As has been mentioned, Alberta is a huge hunk of real estate so it would depend what part of the province you go to.

I moved there 40 years ago from Quebec - at the time the main reason was the dry weather - I have had arthritis since I was a kid and the difference in my mobility was immediately noticeable. It was a much smaller place then but i had the pleasure of watching it grow into a beautiful and cosmopolitan city.

When it is booming, it is a fast paced and happy place to be. It now has some very impressive restaurants, theaters, it's own Philharmonic Orchestra, a very good university with a beautiful campus, a very good Technical College - S.A.I.T., A cancer clinic - The Tom Baker Cancer Clinic - I cannot say enough good things about - they got me through a round with beast cancer.

They have the most amazing and award-winning Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society (STARS). Many an Albertan (and others) owes their life to this outfit .

Calgarians know how to put on a good show - The Calgary Stampede every July but also the 1988 Olympics was awesome. They also do an International show for the Petroleum Industry and etc.

The mountains to the west are close enough to see and a short pleasant drive away; the Prairies looking north, south and east leave you knowing you are not caged in, even in the center of town.

And Calgary gets the famous Chinooks. Makes the winter seem shorter. Just watch the western skies for the Chinook arch.

Well that is a bit about the part I know and love but there are a lot of other places to find out about - Edmonton, Lethbridge, Drumheller, Red Deer and Medicine Hat to name a few. :o)

Answer 2

Well...it depends on where you go, but for the most part the whole province is booming.  There are a lot of jobs, and if you were to get a job working in the oil fields and live in their camps, they pay your room and board.  There are TONS of jobs in the oil industry and they are really well paying jobs.  

Alberta can be pretty cold in the winter, but you'll find that in most places in Canada :(

As far as housing goes....it is pretty expensive, again depending on where you go.  A one bedroom apartment in Fort Mac Murray, for example can go for anywhere between 1000-1500$ a month.  But if you get a high paying job that's not too bad.

Everything else, like groceries and stuff is pretty much the same as the rest of Canada- reasonable.

Again, depending on where you go Alberta is a very beautiful place. Rocky mountains, etc.  And most of the people are great as well.  There are a lot of Newfies (people from the province of Newfoundland) who live in Alberta because there aren't any jobs in Newfoundland....and these people are the ones you want to make friends with.  They are the funnest, hardest working, honest, most generous people you'll ever come across!!

Answer 3

That would depend on the part of the province you're looking at moving to.  Alberta's a big place.