What's Canada Like?

Canada is huge. It takes over a week to drive from one side to the other and it has SIX time zones. Coming from the UK, it takes a while to get used to that. People tend to measure distances by time.

It's impossible to go into much detail about Canada as a whole, because it has ten provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) and three territories (Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon). They all have their own governments, and so they're all very different politically as well as geographically.

Alberta is one of the prairie provinces, as well as Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Unlike the others though, Alberta has the Rocky Mountains on its western border with British Columbia. Calgary is technically in the foothills, about 100 miles from the mountains. The province is so flat that you can see the mountains from the western part of the city.

So, to answer your question, Canada is varied. There are prairies, mountains, forests, deserts, rainforests and glaciers. Provinces and territories are more like US states than British counties, with their own laws as well as the federal laws.

It's complicated.

How Do I Move To Canada?

Moving to Canada isn't a five minute job, it can take several years if you don't have a job organized. Unless you can organize a transfer within your current employer, that's probably what you should expect. There is also a LOT of paperwork - it's a government process after all - lots of fees, and lots of waiting. BUT, if you stick with it, it's worth it.

When we moved, we went through several cycles of receive forms, complete forms, return forms (with payment), then get criminal record checks and send those back, then get medical reports, which get sent back to the Canadian government.

One thing we asked, and which we get asked now, is "Should we use an agent to help us with our application?". We didn't, but we DID keep copies of every form we sent. The forms were big and detailled, as you'd expect, and an agency would presumably handle that for you. One thing to note is that some agencies say they can get your application processed quicker. I've never understood how this could be right, purely because your application goes into a queue in Canada's immigration department. There's no way to get your application prioritized, purely because if there was, everyone would do it. They may also be able to advise you on which immigration scheme to use; there were several available when we applied. So, in short, it's up to you.

What Are The Downsides To Moving To Calgary?

There are pros and cons to moving anywhere. The important thing to remember is that Canada is not the UK. It's similar enough that you might start to think it's the same, but that's when things will turn round and bite you. It might sound obvious, but if you take a look at many social media posts you'll see that's a problem that many people struggle to cope with, and they end up feeling homesick.

Nobody can say you'll never feel homesick, but you can generally spot people who'll let it get the better of them. So, how can you reduce your chances of being one of them? You need to accept the following:

You're not in the UK any more. That sounds flippant, but it's sometimes easier said than done. Calgary is a 9 1/2 hour flight from London, so travelling between the two is not something you'll want to do too much.
The food here is good, but it's different. You can get UK food, but you'll be shopping in specialist stores or sections of supermarkets, and the products aren't cheap. There's no Gregg's, Marks and Spencer or Tesco. There's Alberta Beef though, which more than makes up for anything else.
You can get British TV here, but it's on specialist channels. The "bad" language is censored on some US-based channels. They don't know all of our rude words though, so there's that...
Lastly, but probably most importantly, the UK is no longer "home". If you keep referring to it as such, people, maybe including you, will wonder why if it's "home" you don't just go back there. And for goodness sake, don't call it "Blighty". That's just annoying for everyone!

What Other Things Should I Know About Calgary?

It gets cold here. Not the sort of cold you get in the UK, but colder than the South Pole at times. If you've ever seen programmes with people with frozen moustaches, where you throw water in the air and ice comes down, it's THAT cold. Frostbite is a real danger in the winter - you're going to need new coats, hats, boots and gloves.

It gets hot here. The sort of heat you get in a desert, because Southern Alberta is basically a desert. Don't worry though because, as we were told: "The rattlesnakes don't start until Medicine Hat".

Houses usually have gas-powered furnaces for heating, and sometimes air conditioning. They usually have humifiers too, because humidity here is very low. It IS a desert after all. Don't be surprised if you get dry skin and nosebleeds because of this. You'll get used to it.

Underground parking is popular here. Many places have several levels of underground parking, partly because of the cost of building downtown, and partly to protect vehicles from the weather. Some organizations with ground-level parking have electrical cords for you to plug in your car's block heater. You don't see them in the UK, but if it's below -10C, you need to plug your car in so that it starts easier. Your house will have external electrical sockets for this too.

When it snows, you're responsible for clearing the snow on your property, and from the path in front of it. Snow that's not on your property can be shovelled onto the road. Snow that's on your property needs to stay on it. You can be fined if you don't clear snow from the sidewalk and your property and someone falls on it. It needs to be cleared within 24 hours of the snow stopping. The city, which makes these rules, is not bound by them, so be careful when you're walking around.

Several times a year during winter, warm winds come over the mountains from BC, and result in dramatic rises in temperature. They're called Chinook winds and they'll melt the snow and ice, but the air pressure will often give you headaches. Luckily ibuprofen and acetaminophen tablets can be bought in 500s or more.

TV, home phones and internet are all delivered by cable, or rather fibre-optics. Your house will usually have a cable socket somewhere. When you decide which supplier to use, they'll usually set everything up for you.

Should I Move To Canada?

Obviously I can't answer that, only you can. Other people will have opinions about whether you should move. One thing you need to be prepared for is name calling from people who probably don't know you. You might be called "Rats leaving a sinking ship," and people might say you should "stay and make the country better!". In the end though, it's your decision. I can only tell you that it's worked for my family, and we're glad we moved.

Where Should I Live In Calgary?

This is a difficult question, because Calgary is divided into four quadrants - South-West, South-East, Nort-West amd North-East. Each quadrant has lots of neighbourhoods, each with their own characteristics.

Without wanting to pass judgement myself, theres's a satirical "Judgemental Map Of Calgary" available online. As well as that you'll want to check the freely-available resources:

Calgary Police Crime Maps

Select the "Crime Maps" button on the left to see crime types and levels
The Fraser Institute School Rankings

You can search all of the schools across Canada to see which are the highest rated. Calgary has some good ones.

Bear in mind that in Canada, public schools are state schools, private schools will cost you money. There are also Roman Catholic schools, and Charter Schools. There are also French Immersion schools, where everything is taught in Quebec French, and a few others. You'll need to research this thoroughly.

There are some towns near Calgary that are domrmitory towns - Cochrane to the west, Airdrie to the north, Langdon and Chestermere to the east and Okotocks to the south. If you live there and work in Calgary, you'll probably be driving at least part of the way to work.