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6 Reasons Why Calgary Is A Good Place To Live In

Calgary is among Canada’s most underrated cities. Despite being the third-largest city in the commonwealth, Calgary real estate too often gets overlooked by Vancouver or Ottawa. If you’re considering a move to Calgary, check out these 6 reasons why Calgary is a good place to live in.

Calgary Has a Big Population With Lots of Space

Calgary has a population of just over 1.3M, barely less than Montreal. However, unlike Toronto or Montreal, there is still a lot of open space in and around Calgary. The residential neighbourhoods are far from crowded, even close to the downtown core. There are hardly any homes with adjoining walls, and you can be within sight of the city skyscrapers and still have a large front and back yard. Similar to Toronto, many of Calgary’s parks are long, serpentine green spaces preserved around streams that run into the Bow River. Residents can, therefore, take long walks through these natural ribbons without having to go in circles like in typical square city parks. If you’re really looking to get away from the city scenes, you don’t have to leave the city limits. Go to Nose Hill Park, a massive circular park some four kilometres wide. Walk or bike out into the middle of this park and you’ll think you’re right in the middle of a perfectly preserved prairie.

That much space, both natural and artificial, helps this city of over a million people breathe. With a large population, businesses at every level can thrive, musicians can find their crowds, and students of every age can find friends with similar interests. That’s the beauty of a big population, there are so many people to choose from. When you need a break from the crowds, all you’ll have to do is head home. Lots of people and lots of space are just two reasons why Calgary is a good place to live in.

Calgary Now Has a Diverse Economy

Calgary got its start with the oil industry expansion in the early 20th century. Through booms and busts, Calgary grew in size and population till the energy crises of the ‘70s and ‘80s convinced city leaders to work on diversifying business in Calgary. Nowadays oil and gas still play a crucial role in Calgary’s wellbeing, while tourism and tech have risen to further bolster the local economy.

The minimum wage in Calgary is $13.50 an hour while the average salary is $68K, about $10K higher than in Toronto. You’ll make more on average in Calgary and have a lower cost of living than if you lived in Toronto or Vancouver. Calgary is a good place to live if you’re trying to save and earn as best you can in a large Canadian city.

Calgary Has Beautiful Surroundings

You can’t separate Calgary from its landscape. The Rocky Mountains rise up just over 70 kilometres to the west, while the expansive plains seemingly go on forever in all other directions. Calgary itself sits on the transition point between plains and foothills, so the western side of the city is several hundred metres higher than the eastern side. Residents of Calgary often find themselves packing up the car on the weekends for a quick two-hour drive up to Banff to go hiking, camping, and canoeing in arguably the prettiest provincial park in Canada. If you love to ski or snowboard, you’ll find no shortage of slopes within a few hours’ drive of Calgary.

Closer to home, you can go kayaking on the Bow River, which runs right through the center of Calgary. When the weather is nice (as it often is in Calgary), you can often spot locals paddling their way down the bow while others relax on the pebbled shores. Besides the job opportunities and the high population, access to nature is one of the top reasons why Calgary is a good place to live in.

Calgary Real Estate Is Great For First-Time Home Buyers

Homes for sale in Calgary are significantly more affordable than in Toronto. The median home price in Calgary is $596K which, for the third-largest city in Canada, easily makes Calgary the top Canadian city for first-time home buyers. Since 2000, Calgary real estate has gone through periods of growth and periods of a plateau, with no significant dips in home values for longer than a year or two. The city has no natural barriers to expansion, and the housing market is not as competitive as in Toronto or Vancouver.

If you want to live in an affordable single-family home in Canada, Calgary is one of the best big-city markets to find what you want. Most homes in Calgary were built between 1960 and 1980, while you can find an expanding supply of mid-to-high rise condo buildings rising up in and around downtown Calgary.

Calgary Has Good Weather

Typical of great plains cities, Calgary has over 300 days of sunshine per year. If you’ve lived your whole life dreading lake-effect snow in southern Ontario, you won’t have to deal with much snow in Calgary. Thanks to the warm chinook winds that sometimes roll over the Rockies, you can be surprised with long stretches of warm weather even in the depths of winter. Likewise, in the summer, the weather can change dramatically from morning to evening, with temperatures shifting twenty degrees or more.

Though Calgary doesn’t get a lot of snow, it can snow a little at literally any time of the year, as Calgary has recorded snowfall for every calendar month. With all that said, summers in Calgary are known for being mild and sunny, and since you’re so far north those summer days seem to go on forever. As far as Canadian winters go, the lack of significant snow is one of the top reasons why Calgary is a good place to live in.

Calgary Has a Growing Food Scene

While Calgary is still mainly known for classic foods like pizza, hamburgers, etc., east Asian cuisine is becoming a much more prominent part of the city’s dining culture. Korean food from the street level to sit-down restaurants is on the rise thanks to the influx of immigrants from South Korea. Though perhaps not as enticing as nearby Banff, or the affordable housing, good food is just one additional reason why Calgary is a good place to live.