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Originally Posted by ssiguy
Zahav..............thanks for the excellent post.
The boom in Alberta is indeed quite different from previous ones because it is not based upon the standard boom/bust oil sector. The gap between Albertan and the ROC wages has narrowed with much of that due to the much slower rate of oil sands expansion where you would get $50/hour just for swinging a hammer. The oil sands are still there but the expansion certainly isn't and Alberta has been weening itself off it's oil-based economy for quite a while much more so than most people think. The unemployment numbers are about average and above BC rates.
So why Alberta? Obviously, it's cheaper, especially when compared to BC, and still offers higher wages and lower taxes but I think it's more than just that. Alberta, and especially Calgary, has matured a lot over the last 30 years. It was just an OK city where it's only real draw was high wages and low cost of living but that is no longer the case. Calgary has excellent transit, excellent roads, while being very clean, safe, and green. It has, with Montreal, the best cycling network in the country, has wonderful and vibrant inner-city neighbourhoods, is Canada's 3rd most multicultural city, and the music and arts scene is finally coming into its own. It has fantastic public amenities and an exceptionally high quality of life.
In short, Calgary has gone from a city you move to so you can make some money and then either head to the Coast or go back home to a city people want to move to for its own sake due to its high desirability and livability. Obviously, the bizarre growth rates the city is seeing will not continue but over the long-term I think Calgary will remain Canada's growth leader as it has so much urban life to offer with little of the urban problems that come with it like you see in Vancouver & Toronto.
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You compare Vancouver and Calgary a lot, and it's always Calgary good - Vancouver bad, so I am going to respond to a few things, because I think you are overstating what Calgary has.
Calgary has not improved urban living all that much over the years. The Beltline is great and all, but 17th Ave is still spotty with parking lots and blank walls lining parts of the street. The East Village is still in a slow growing state, then outside of that, there are very few small neighbourhoods you could call vibrant. There still a long way to go if you are comparing to cities like Toronto and Vancouver. There are probly 10 neighbourhoods in Vancouver comparable to the Beltline, and that's why despite being more expensive real estate wise, there are still people who will pay to live here. And if you are renting, it is about 15% more expensive in Vancouver. Not a huge amount.
Calgary has lots of bike path, but a lot of it is more for adventure riding. There doesn't seem to be as much bike infrastructure for inner city commuters. Vancouver does that better. And I wonder what the measuring standard is because Metro Vancouver has a ton of bike path outside the CoV, and even into the local mountains.
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