So, we've been here in Calgary for over three months and it's time for a brief assessment. Is it better or worse than we expected it would be?
Weather. Well, in terms of weather, I think I really wasn't sure what to expect. You can read stats and listen to people's experiences of a place, but until you've lived there four seasons (or more) it's hard to have an opinion. It's unlike anywhere we've lived before. Everything is in flux, with weather forecasts changing, over and over, at the last minute. First they said this week would be sunny. Then they said it would be rainy. Now they're saying again it'll be sunny (and in fact it is sunny--beautiful!). Weather here is harder to predict because of the mountains, I guess, and can be just about anything at any time of the year. Huge warming trends in the winter; gigantic cooling trends, even snow, in the summer. You just have to go with the flow and be prepared.
Friendliness. This has been a disappointment. We'd been led to expect, from things we'd heard and read, that people here are friendlier than back east. But now I don't think so. If anything, people here may be edgier and more stressed. It's true that I've met some longtime Calgary residents who still exhibit the old, friendly, western style. But I've also met a lot of rough, dysfunctional, even nasty, folks. While still in Toronto I was talking to a university prof who'd just moved from Calgary to Toronto. His assessment was that Toronto people are more laid back than Calgary people. As he saw it, people in Toronto are used to all the traffic jams and what have you. It's old hat. But in Calgary, people who have had expectations that life will go on in a nice, small town kind of way are freaked out by the rapid growth.
Customer service. I knew there were shortages of retail employees, service technicians, and medical personnel in Calgary, but I didn't realize how draining it could be. You get tired of waiting and of people giving poor quality service, or not at all. Example: our elliptical trainer needs fixing--you can't ramp up the tension anymore--and with our extended warranty we called in for service exactly two weeks ago. It's all been complicated and messy and we've had to go back to the store where we bought it (a national chain) and talk to the manager, who was very nice and said he'd get right on it. But we're still waiting. Probably have to give him another call. All this sort of thing is stressful and when you're already worn down from the change of a move, it gets old very quickly.
Opportunities. They truly do abound, but no client or employee is going to hand over large sums of cash for nothing. They are all under pressure and they need you to work, work, work for what you're paid.
The way I'd characterize living here, in short, is that it involves a great chance to get ahead that you would not get back east, but it also involves more risk. You have to gird up the loins of your courage, "play the man, Master Ridley," (as Protestant martyr Hugh Latimer said when being burned at the stake) and "git 'er done."
Weather. Well, in terms of weather, I think I really wasn't sure what to expect. You can read stats and listen to people's experiences of a place, but until you've lived there four seasons (or more) it's hard to have an opinion. It's unlike anywhere we've lived before. Everything is in flux, with weather forecasts changing, over and over, at the last minute. First they said this week would be sunny. Then they said it would be rainy. Now they're saying again it'll be sunny (and in fact it is sunny--beautiful!). Weather here is harder to predict because of the mountains, I guess, and can be just about anything at any time of the year. Huge warming trends in the winter; gigantic cooling trends, even snow, in the summer. You just have to go with the flow and be prepared.
Friendliness. This has been a disappointment. We'd been led to expect, from things we'd heard and read, that people here are friendlier than back east. But now I don't think so. If anything, people here may be edgier and more stressed. It's true that I've met some longtime Calgary residents who still exhibit the old, friendly, western style. But I've also met a lot of rough, dysfunctional, even nasty, folks. While still in Toronto I was talking to a university prof who'd just moved from Calgary to Toronto. His assessment was that Toronto people are more laid back than Calgary people. As he saw it, people in Toronto are used to all the traffic jams and what have you. It's old hat. But in Calgary, people who have had expectations that life will go on in a nice, small town kind of way are freaked out by the rapid growth.
Customer service. I knew there were shortages of retail employees, service technicians, and medical personnel in Calgary, but I didn't realize how draining it could be. You get tired of waiting and of people giving poor quality service, or not at all. Example: our elliptical trainer needs fixing--you can't ramp up the tension anymore--and with our extended warranty we called in for service exactly two weeks ago. It's all been complicated and messy and we've had to go back to the store where we bought it (a national chain) and talk to the manager, who was very nice and said he'd get right on it. But we're still waiting. Probably have to give him another call. All this sort of thing is stressful and when you're already worn down from the change of a move, it gets old very quickly.
Opportunities. They truly do abound, but no client or employee is going to hand over large sums of cash for nothing. They are all under pressure and they need you to work, work, work for what you're paid.
The way I'd characterize living here, in short, is that it involves a great chance to get ahead that you would not get back east, but it also involves more risk. You have to gird up the loins of your courage, "play the man, Master Ridley," (as Protestant martyr Hugh Latimer said when being burned at the stake) and "git 'er done."
posted by Ted | 7:08 AM
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