Toronto is the biggest city in Canada encompassing about 30 smaller cities and being inhabited by 5 million residents. Interestingly, out of 300 000 new immigrants that Canada receives every year, about 50 000 choose Toronto to start their new life. It is the most multicultural city in Canada as well.
I arrived in Toronto many years ago as a student and I liked my life there. I am from Nova Scotia and I came to Toronto for my postgraduate education, as many people from all over the world do. Years passed and I relocated from Ontario to Alberta. It is a great advantage that the moving industry is so large in Canada that you just find the best movers in Toronto and they are willing to get you to another province.
If you want my opinion about the two cities, here is what I would point out.
Housing is more affordable in Calgary
One of the strong disadvantages of Toronto is the very high cost of renting a place to live and low availability in the rental market. It is really a problem for young families. When my first child was born, we had to engage local Toronto movers to relocate, because our existing building was for adults only. For many years living in Toronto, we were not even close to buying our own house. Housing in Calgary is more affordable, just to give you a rough idea, prices for houses in Toronto start from 1 000 000 dollars, but for a similar home in Calgary, you would be looking at about 500 000 dollars. And you have no problem finding a place to rent if you have kids or pets.
Career possibilities in Calgary
I assume most people move somewhere else when they have a new job offer in a new location, but this was not my case. My family and I just moved, having a strong belief that I will not have trouble finding employment in Calgary. I must admit that this city is balanced in terms of salaries and the cost of living. The employment market is very diverse here, so I managed to find a job with greater pay for the same qualifications and responsibilities that I had in Toronto. The unemployment rate is lower in Toronto, but the salaries are higher in Calgary.
Quality of roads and traffic in Calgary
What I used to complain about a lot is the quality of roads in the Toronto area. It seemed like there were never-ending roadworks when they had to close roads and you had to drive around. I was not happy with road conditions and intense traffic jams when I lived in Ontario. I was really surprised that it was very different in Alberta. It takes me 40 minutes in Calgary to travel the same distance as I was driving in Toronto for almost 2 hours. There are more up-to-date junctions here and overall road quality is higher. Calgary is a rapidly developing city and road and highway infrastructure are improving as well.
Family-friendly Calgary
I enjoy family life in Calgary. In every place where the sidewalks are adapted for people with strollers. Parents may feel comfortable here with quality daycare, abundant indoor and outdoor playgrounds, parks, and children’s activity centers like the Zoo, the Aquarium, and the Discovery Center.
A change of scenery
I find Calgary really enjoyable for its close proximity to the mountains and to Banff National Park. There are marvelous ski resorts here just within a 1 – 1,5 hour drive. Of course, there are many places of interest in Toronto, but I find Calgary’s lookouts very special and unique. Besides, the climate in Alberta is less humid than in Ontario, and the winds are more frequent and stronger in Toronto because it is situated close to the Atlantic ocean.
Any city in the world has something good and something bad about it. All those positive and negative reflections are based on personal experiences. Life changes. Cities change and people change as well. Toronto is not “worse” and Calgary is not “better”, they are just different. In most cases, it is your personal change of priorities that drives your desire to move somewhere else. So, this is just my case. Moving Toronto to Calgary because I grew up, and my goals changed. There were good times when I enjoyed Toronto. Now I am having a good time in Calgary.
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