Calgary or Toronto

[CCA-Dave]

Originally Posted by skiiipi

In terms of what I like to do outside of work , I enjoy going on spirited drives, skiing, mountain biking , eating out and shopping. The latter would probably be better in Toronto I assume.

Spirited Drives - Neither. Well, Ontario has some great roads and I even run a CCA event there. But policing is nuts and 'spirited' means a whole different thing in Ontario. Now, if track days become your thing it's awesome. Mosport, Shannonville, Calabogie, etc. All close and great fun. But spirited driving using the twisty backroads is going to mean 10kph over the limit.

Skiing - Calgary. I grew up skiing in Ontario, and I love a carving day on corduroy more than most...but 30sec down, and 5min up (plus the line) are enough to have me keeping my skis here.

Mountain Biking - Toss up. If it's XC, there is a lot of nice riding in and/or close to Toronto. Don't expect to be going on rides longer than an hour, unless you like to loop and repeat trails. For DH, it's no contest. Calgary all the way. Toronto DOES have a very tight-night riding community though, and you should definitely join the ridingfeelsgood.com community. Lots of my lifelong friends are from that forum (back when it was called Dropmachine)

Eating out & Shopping - Probably Toronto...but neither are my area of expertise. I only ate one thing off my favourite restaurant's menu for 6 years...

So far based on what everyone is saying here, Toronto seems to be the better career opportunity with a good balance of life as well.

Whoa, careful with that one. "good balance of life and career" is not at all the way I would describe working in Toronto. If I were to generalize, careers in Toronto take priority over everything else. It's very hard for me to explain just how ingrained into Ontario culture it is, but decisions are made work-first...other stuff second. I mean, don't get me wrong there is a part of it that's incredibly satisfying and exciting. It's a phenomenon that's very hard to explain, but is a part of every one of my Ontario friends and family. I wouldn't call it "balanced", unless your career is absolutely one of your personal top priorities. In that case I think you'd argue it as balance. But its very different from a B.C. concept of "work/lifestyle" balance. VERY different.

Not wrong, not 'bad', but definitely not for everyone.

-Dave

[skiiipi]

So just an update

I've actually resigned from my position at Sport Chek after 13 years....and ended up accepting an offer from another (larger) retailer to be an Assistant store manager in Toronto.

So it looks like Toronto will be home for the next few years.

[mk1freak]

when you going?

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by mk1freak

when you going?

I start April 1

[mk1freak]

oh nice i'll be in toronto in may, i'll look you up, maybe ill buy something at your work

[bcrdukes]

Is this an April Fool's Joke?

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by bcrdukes

Is this an April Fool's Joke?

Lol that would be cruel

[murd0c]

congrats, thats awesome and beyond exciting. I have two good friends that moved to Toronto last summer and they beyond love it. So many things to do, better restaurants then vancouver and super close to NY, Boston etc for weekend trips. I think you will really enjoy it.

[fliptuner]

Originally Posted by skiiipi

I've actually resigned from my position at Sport Chek after 13 years....and ended up accepting an offer from another (larger) retailer to be an Assistant store manager in Toronto.

Victoria's Secret?

[Jmac]

If you're in retail, there's likely far more opportunities in Toronto than Calgary.

Edit: I'm late to the party. Congrats on the new position.

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Victoria's Secret?

Lol...no

[mk1freak]

Originally Posted by skiiipi

Lol...no

And here I was planning on buying something sexy I could wear in my hotel room

[RabidRat]

I lived in Toronto for 3 years.

Too late to chime in (looks like you've already moved), but I would've said that 40 years later, would you rather look back on a portion of your life lived on the other side of the fence, really getting to know the culture out east, or would you rather have maybe an extra $30k in the bank because you lived in Calgary, with the lower living expenses?

I would've said that you don't get to know a place and its culture by visiting on vacation the same way that you do by settling down somewhere and making new lifelong friends. While this is true for both Toronto and Calgary, I think there's a lot more to get to know in one vs the other. And then there's the fact that Ottawa, Montreal, and NYC are all close by enough that you can spontaneously head out there for a weekend.

I would've said that you've had easy access to snowboarding and all the best that the west coast had to offer, all your life. But now you have the opportunity to experience something completely, wildly different than what you're used to, not just more of the same by moving one province over to Calgary.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by CCA-Dave

Spirited Drives - Neither. Well, Ontario has some great roads and I even run a CCA event there. But policing is nuts and 'spirited' means a whole different thing in Ontario. Now, if track days become your thing it's awesome. Mosport, Shannonville, Calabogie, etc. All close and great fun. But spirited driving using the twisty backroads is going to mean 10kph over the limit.

Yeah aside from the fact that highways are 16 lanes wide and the flow of traffic is 120 kph (this was really gratifying for me after a lifetime of Hwy 1 loping along at 80 kph). Toronto is a little lacking vs Vancouver when it comes to avenues for spirited driving (ie there's nothing like the Sea 2 Sky). But there are tons of tracks there like Dave said: track days at Shannonville are about $100!! And Mosport is a Grand Prix level track. The GVRD has absolutely nothing on the GTA when it comes to accessibility / availability with motorsports.

Originally Posted by CCA-Dave

Whoa, careful with that one. "good balance of life and career" is not at all the way I would describe working in Toronto. If I were to generalize, careers in Toronto take priority over everything else. It's very hard for me to explain just how ingrained into Ontario culture it is, but decisions are made work-first...other stuff second. I mean, don't get me wrong there is a part of it that's incredibly satisfying and exciting. It's a phenomenon that's very hard to explain, but is a part of every one of my Ontario friends and family. I wouldn't call it "balanced", unless your career is absolutely one of your personal top priorities. In that case I think you'd argue it as balance. But its very different from a B.C. concept of "work/lifestyle" balance. VERY different.

Not wrong, not 'bad', but definitely not for everyone.

-Dave

That's funny, I actually left Toronto because the environment wasn't sufficiently career-focused

[godwin]

It depends what you want out of your career.

GTA is a big area. You have to know where Canadian Tire is going to place you. Could be Mississuaga, Downtown? They are big differences.

With retail changing so rapidly, I think career wise it might be better to work for the parent company. You never know if they are going to pull a BestBuy vs FutureShop type thing. Toronto has more higher end sports chains like Sporting Life etc. Not to mention if you want to go south it is only a hope to downtown TO airport and an hour away.

I think the craziness in real estate in TO is within TO proper, there are plenty of places to sprawl.. surprisingly after leaving TO for a few decades.. I like the feel of Hamilton.. it has really changed.

[swiftshift]

5% Tax up in ALBERTA.

[BoS_DC2]

Late to chime in but here's my two cents anyways


I recently moved back to Calgary after living in the lower mainland for over 20 years. The transition has been difficult for many reasons but Calgary has a lot to offer long term although the economy is to shits due to the oil situation.

It's already been discussed in here but the housing is affordable, much more so than in the lower mainland. <--- this is a major plus

Commute is relatively easy, can get to most places in 20-30 mins due to the free flowing freeways that intersect within the inner city.

I do miss the food scene in the lower mainland. It's mainly chinese/taiwanese cuisine that Calgary is lacking. The vietnamese food here is definitely a strong contender and I would bet that it's better than 80% of the vietnamese restaurants in Vancouver.

The weather has been good overall, it's a dryer climate but I don't quite mind it. At least when it's 29 degrees, it's bearable unlike Vancouver or Toronto. However, due to the dryness, it's been a constant struggle keeping hydrated and moisturized.

My main reason for the move is to buy a place and eventually start a family and I think that can be achieved much faster and efficiently in Calgary, over Vancouver.

Also, car insurance is wayyy cheaper here. My insurance coverage went from $1400 (ICBC) to $800 (Calgary) per year. I was stoked!

Haha.


O

[Traum]

Hey Skiiipi,

It's been almost a month since you moved to TO. How are you liking it over there so far?

I remember when I first went there for school, I totally felt like a village boy being dumped into the metropolis. It was a major eye opener.

But I will always say Vancouver has the best LGs.

[RabidRat]

Originally Posted by Traum

It was a major eye opener.

For me as well. It was like "holy shit, so this is what a city is."

Every time I went back to Vancouver to visit, everything seemed hobbit sized

Man, and the diversity. You really saw every ethnicity there, and had access to good food and the arts representing every culture.

[buhdeh]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

For me as well. It was like "holy shit, so this is what a city is."

Every time I went back to Vancouver to visit, everything seemed hobbit sized

Man, and the diversity. You really saw every ethnicity there, and had access to good food and the arts representing every culture.

lol yeah. The nightlife in Toronto completely destroys Vancouver as well. The number of bars and clubs in the city is pretty crazy (coming from Vancouver)... and they don't even have fake 40 minute lineups. The diversity I see is pretty great. Almost every group of people downtown is made up of mixed ethnicities while in Vancouver it's pretty much group of Asians, groups of brown guys, groups of white guys, etc.

[laklak]

Toronto.............

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by Traum

Hey Skiiipi,

It's been almost a month since you moved to TO. How are you liking it over there so far?

I remember when I first went there for school, I totally felt like a village boy being dumped into the metropolis. It was a major eye opener.

But I will always say Vancouver has the best LGs.

Haha I am actually doing my training for my new job in Vancouver until July
And will be moving to Toronto mid July.

Meanwhile I'm back "home" in Vancouver enjoying the scenery (including the lgs lol)

[RabidRat]

Update!!

[skiiipi]

Originally Posted by RabidRat

Update!!

Haha so been in Toronto for about 2 weeks now and so far I'm liking it. Living at bay & college downtown.

Not used to the heat and humidity yet, but I'm sure I'll adjust at some point.

[murd0c]

as soon as you get adjusted to the weather it will be winter and then you get hit with -40 and snow LMAO