Calgary versus Edmonton

[bandora]

Hi everyone,

I'm a 20 year old student from Windsor Ontario..planning to move to Alberta in January if all goes well hopefully. I've heard so much about Alberta and its high paying jobs so I hope I won't be disappointed. But there's a dilemma...

Which is better? Edmonton or Calgary? Keep in mind the following:

- I'm a full time student so I need to be close to a university (transferring to either UofA or UofC)
- I will most probably be living on my own or with my current roommate
- I need a good paying job, I'm not looking to get rich overnight..just enough to pay my living expenses and possibly save..is working at the mall for example good enough? What is the minimum/average pay in Edmonton vs. Calgary?
- How is car insurance over in Alberta? is truly cheaper than Ontario?
- What is the minimum age to rent a car?

I need an unbiased opinion...I've read alot of threads already and I'm far more than confused.

I'm also trying to visit Edmonton/Calgary around the end of this month but I don't know where to start..

Your feedback will be highly appreciated..thanks in advance

Thanks again,

- B

 

[wallyj]

It may be more advantageous to pursue your education in Windsor. The cost of living out here is quite high.One bedroom apt. in Calgary will be approx.$750 a month,plus utilities,if you are lucky.I pay $800 a year car ins.,basic,no collision. I really don't know what retail pays,or car rental age,you do need a C.C. though. I lived in windsor for 25 years and do love Calgary,but it is quite pricey. Do some research.I don't know much about Edm. Good luck.

 

[bandora]

It may be more advantageous to pursue your education in Windsor. The cost of living out here is quite high.One bedroom apt. in Calgary will be approx.$750 a month,plus utilities,if you are lucky.I pay $800 a year car ins.,basic,no collision. I really don't know what retail pays,or car rental age,you do need a C.C. though. I lived in windsor for 25 years and do love Calgary,but it is quite pricey. Do some research.I don't know much about Edm. Good luck.

I've been in Windsor for the past 4 years now and I'm losing interest in doing anything. There isn't really much to do anyway come to think of it besides clubbing and all that. Jobs-wise, it's slowing down now that at least one of the Big 3 plants is shutting down by '07-'08. So the general economic mood is depressed. Pay is not all that and 14% tax just makes it worse. If, for example, I'm working 20 hours a week at $8/hr, that's roughly $600/month after tax - bear in mind there aren't that many available jobs to begin with. I live in a medium sized 2-bedroom apartment with a roommate and I pay $350 for rent only. Add ~$80 for electricity and internet (I don't even have TV). Add another ~$80-100 for cellphone bill. We're talking $500-550 a month just for living expenses and I'm only making $600. Tell me that's fair!

If tim horton's pays $13/hr as I heard then I'm sure I can find a similar job in that wage rate if not higher. I really wouldn't mind working 30 hours/week doing anything if I'm getting paid at least $12/hr. As for car insurance, it's anal...literally! For example, If I was to drive a '96 chevy cavalier, I would have to pay ~$4,000/year for insurance (and this is the cheapest I found believe me). That means I can buy another 2 cavaliers with that much premium. Only because I'm "still young". Tell me that's fair!

But anyway enough ranting lol..I really need to get out of here and that's why I'm looking at Alberta.
I'd appreciate if anyone can give me websites to look at..I ran out of search keywords lol.

Sorry for the long post
Thanks wallyj.

 

[bandora]

anybody?

 

[Ariadne]

I've been in Windsor for the past 4 years now and I'm losing interest in doing anything. There isn't really much to do anyway come to think of it besides clubbing and all that. Jobs-wise, it's slowing down now that at least one of the Big 3 plants is shutting down by '07-'08. So the general economic mood is depressed. Pay is not all that and 14% tax just makes it worse. If, for example, I'm working 20 hours a week at $8/hr, that's roughly $600/month after tax - bear in mind there aren't that many available jobs to begin with. I live in a medium sized 2-bedroom apartment with a roommate and I pay $350 for rent only. Add ~$80 for electricity and internet (I don't even have TV). Add another ~$80-100 for cellphone bill. We're talking $500-550 a month just for living expenses and I'm only making $600. Tell me that's fair!

If tim horton's pays $13/hr as I heard then I'm sure I can find a similar job in that wage rate if not higher. I really wouldn't mind working 30 hours/week doing anything if I'm getting paid at least $12/hr. As for car insurance, it's anal...literally! For example, If I was to drive a '96 chevy cavalier, I would have to pay ~$4,000/year for insurance (and this is the cheapest I found believe me). That means I can buy another 2 cavaliers with that much premium. Only because I'm "still young". Tell me that's fair!

But anyway enough ranting lol..I really need to get out of here and that's why I'm looking at Alberta.
I'd appreciate if anyone can give me websites to look at..I ran out of search keywords lol.

Sorry for the long post
Thanks wallyj.

Renting a car is the same pretty much everywhere ... you have to be 21 and you need a visa. Car insurance is privatized so depending on your car and driving history, you can expect to pay about $2000 annually if you've been driving for a few years and have an older car - check with the Alberta Motor Association Website to get an idea about your insurance rates. A lot of jobs are starting at $11 per hour with a 3 month probation and then a bit more; you can negotiate salary because of staff shortages. Every place has a sign "help wanted". The mall near the University of Calgary really wants help at the Safeway and they pay reasonably well (with signing bonus payable after 6 months) with time and a half during Christmas. Most shops are worried about Christmas staff shortages. Rent, depending on where you live, can range from $700 for a 2 bedroom and up. You should check the Calgary Herald rental listings to get a better idea about what is available. There were huge shortages for a while but the market is loosening up a bit. If you are a student, the U of C housing board has a listing for off campus housing. The boom in Calgary is not happening all over Alberta.

Calgary Herald: http://homes.canada.com/calgary/browsecategory.aspx?id=3092

Alberta Motor Association: http://www.ama.ab.ca/cps/rde/xchg/ama

Calgary Safeway Employment: http://shop.safeway.com/superstore/...erstore/leftbar/lft_employment.asp&pn=shop&sn=

U Calgary Off Campus Housing: http://www.su.ucalgary.ca/ooch/listing.php

 

[Ariadne]

So I wrote this long reply including links to all sorts of useful websites in Calgary but when I hit send, there was a message about needing approval before it could be viewed. That was yesterday. I don't know why that happened, but hopefully the message will appear soon.

 

[bandora]

So I wrote this long reply including links to all sorts of useful websites in Calgary but when I hit send, there was a message about needing approval before it could be viewed. That was yesterday. I don't know why that happened, but hopefully the message will appear soon.

thanks do u mind writing it again coz i dont think its going to appear..posting should be instantaneous

 

[Kreskin]

Message has been approved. Being new on the board with a post having multiple links our auto spam checker kicks in.

 

[Carmoral]

I was speaking to my dad in law in Edmonton the other day and he was saying that the rental prices in Edmonton have gone up, but it coincides with the job situations there, he said that there is a big shortage of workers.
I am posting the link to the Edmonton journal; it has some good links there.
Good luck!
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/index.html

 

[bandora]

thanks everyone I really appreciate ur feedback...

I'm still confused, however, as to where I should be headed; Edmonton or Calgary?

 

[Carmoral]

I think only you can decide that bandora, personally I would choose the capital, it is expanding according to all sources, but calgary has some good stuff also.
Think a visit and lots of homework is the order of the day.

 

[bandora]

I think only you can decide that bandora, personally I would choose the capital, it is expanding according to all sources, but calgary has some good stuff also.
Think a visit and lots of homework is the order of the day.

I am planning a visit in the first of November now but I don't have enough time to visit both cities, so I guess it's going to be Ed for now..thanks for your input anything else that you'd like to share?

 

[Carmoral]

I have a cadbury's dairy chocolate and a half eaten packet of crips if you want to share them with me , other than that...not really, I'll be over in Edmonton after xmas ( fingers crossed) that might account to why I am a little biased. hehe

 

[bandora]

I have a cadbury's dairy chocolate and a half eaten packet of crips if you want to share them with me , other than that...not really, I'll be over in Edmonton after xmas ( fingers crossed) that might account to why I am a little biased. hehe

haha that's sweet! Maybe when I'm done my fasting.. I'm kinda excited about all of this

 

[Dixie Cup]

Moving to Alberta

Most likely like Calgary, in Edmonton there is a BIGGGGG housing crunch. I would suggest that you make sure that you have a place to live before moving here. Rent is quite high because, of course, the demand is high. I don't know that you can get a 1 bdrm for much less than $700/mo plus some utilities (power for sure is extra), and $700 might be a little low. You'll also need a deposit to go along with the first months rent. Do like a previous poster said, do your homework. Jobs are plenty so you won't have a problem there. It's finding a place to live where you'll encounter problems. (Check with Grant MacEwan College - they have new living quarters for students and are offering the same to U of A students - just remembered hearing something about it).

Also, what are you taking in University?? By checking which U has the programs/courses you want, that may help with deciding where you want to go.

 

[bandora]

I'm in Business - marketing 2nd year. So I will be attending the Augustana faculty of business at UofA if all goes well. My work experience consists mainly of customer service...so I need to be able to find a job in a similar field..

 

[Dixie Cup]

If you're going to the U of A then you'll be coming to Edmonton. And, with your choice of career, you shouldn't have a problem getting a job!! Good Luck!!

 

[Ariadne]

thanks everyone I really appreciate ur feedback...

I'm still confused, however, as to where I should be headed; Edmonton or Calgary?

You should be moving to Calgary if you want the guarenteed job and employee market. On the other hand, it should depend a little on what you are studying as all universities have different strengths. If you were studying agriculture, you should attend the UA but if you're studying medicine or business you should probably attend UC.

I just finished reading the thread and I see you're in business. The Haskayne Business school at the UC has an excellent reputation. Calgary is not the capital of Alberta, but it is where all the head offices are for oil and gas. Edmonton is a feeder city to the north whereas Calgary is the feeder city to the business end of everything related to oil.

http://www.haskayne.ucalgary.ca/ (check out the news releases)

 

[bandora]

Very interesting...thanks for sharing....to clarify things, for the time being I'm not as concerned with post-graduation career as much as a good job to get me thru university and pay my living expenses..do you see what I mean? Ofcourse, it does matter but that's another 2 years from now..
So you would recommend Haskayne over Augustana eh?

 

[Kylus]

I live in Red Deer a town pretty well directly between EDmonton and Calgary and both have their good and bad points. but if you don't have any post secondary I suggest moving here first theres RDC here the rent is lower but the wages are roughly the same. After a year or what not or general studies you'll have a better idea of what Calgary and Edmonton are like.

Calgary is a larger city and is growing faster then Edmonton is. Edmonton has a larger gang problem. Calgary is slightly more expensive. jobs galor in both cities, and Tims does pay $13 an hour. also during the summer if you want to make some quick cassh you can sign on with one of the oilfeild companies. there are some that pay crap, but most pay $20 or higher from my experiance.

Calgary has basicaly the main airport in Alberta, a lot of flights leaving Edmonton travel through Calgary before going to their destinatins. when allis said and done I would probably go with Calgary if I were you, but you might want to consider Red Deer first. its less then a 10th of the size of eaither edmonton or Calgary with 80 000 people.

Good luck