Moving to Calgary: Your Illuminating Relocation Guide

Moving to Calgary may well be the greatest opportunity you will ever have in your life.

At the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Calgary is a diverse and prosperous city with an enviable high quality of life: thriving economy, abundance of sunshine, beautiful parks and healthy lifestyle.

This concise and yet informative and helpful relocation guide is intended for all of you who plan to relocate to or just visit this excitingly vibrant and colorful Canadian city.

Geography And Climate

With 1,096,833 people, Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located 80 km (50 mi) east of the Canadian Rockies, at the confluence of the two major rivers that run through it – the Bow River and the Elbow River.

The climate is influenced greatly by the city’s elevation and its closeness to the Rocky Mountains. Average daytime temperatures range from 24 °C (75 °F) in July to -3 °C (27 °F) in January. Calgary enjoys over 332 sunny days (or an average of 2,405 hours) per year, which ranks it among the sunniest places in Canada. Also, thunderstorms often occur during the summer months – more than 22 days per year.

Economy

Calgary is known as the economic powerhouse of Canada – its economy has grown quicker than any other major city in the country. It is the leader in the oil and gas industry, has a very strong job market and is part of one of the fastest growing regions in the country – the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor. Calgarians enjoy high personal and family incomes, great purchasing power and low unemployment rate. The levels of small businesses and self-employment rank among the highest ones in Canada.

The Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranked Calgary as the world’s top eco city for 2010 and the world’s cleanest city for 2013. Also, the latest report from the Economist Intelligence Unit ties Calgary for fifth-best place to live in the world.

Main Sights And Attractions

Calgary Tower

The Calgary tower is a free standing observation tower in Downtown Calgary. When completed in 1968, its height of 191 meters (626 feet) made it the tallest structure of its type in North America. It features a revolving SKY 360 restaurant that offers seating for 200 people and a panoramic view of the city, two observation decks, two staircases with exactly 762 steps from top to bottom and two passenger high-speed elevators which take visitors to the top in 62 seconds. Although Calgary is not an earthquake zone, The Calgary Tower was designed to withstand Mother Nature’s fury, including high winds (up to 161 km/h) and shock.

Fish Creek Park

With an area of 13.48 sq. km. (5.20 sq. m.) and length of 19 km (12 mi), this provincial park is one of the largest urban parks in North America. The park is home to deer, coyotes, owls, beavers and other species of the Canadian wildlife and includes 80 km (50 mi) of trails. The favorite place of many Calgarians during the summer period is the park section where the beach at Sikome Lake is situated.

The second largest park in Calgary, after Fish Creek Park, is named Nose Hill Park – a well-known retreat to enjoy nature and escape the hastened pace of the city for a while.

Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede is one of the world’s largest rodeos and one of Canada’s largest festivals. Promoted as “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth”, it’s held every July and it attracts over one million visitors per year. Because of this grandiose event of national and international significance, Calgary is nicknamed “Stampede City” and “Cowtown”.

Olympic Plaza

This is an urban park and usual gathering place in downtown Calgary. It was created to host the medal ceremonies at the Winter Olympic Games in 1988. Today it’s a popular site for outdoor events, concerts, festivals, etc. Many workers visit this beautiful area to just sit and enjoy their lunches during the noon hour.

Heritage Park Historical Village

This historical park is the largest living history museum in Canada and one of Calgary’s most visited tourist attractions. The park is spread on 127 acres on the banks of the Glenmore Reservoir, and the museum exhibits the Western Canadian History from the 1860s to the 1950s. Most of the buildings are authentic and were transported to the park for display purposes.

+15 Skyway

With a total length of 18 km (11 mi) and 62 bridges, The Plus 15 is the most extensive pedestrian skywalk system in the world.  The system was first open to the public in 1970 and has since served to improve human traffic within the city. And indeed, for more than 4 decades, Calgarians have made extensive use of the +15 system, which connects various buildings above street level – shopping centers, department stores, hotels, restaurants, etc.

A handy +15 Skywalk map can be found here.

Chinese Cultural Center

Completed in 1992, the Chinese Cultural Center is a building located in Downtown Calgary. It is supported by 4 columns with gold ornamentation representing each season, and its dome is covered on the outside in special blue tiles imported from China and installed in traditional layered fashion. The Museum, located inside, exhibits the story of Chinese immigration in Canada.

Curious facts about Calgary

• 

  Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games in 1988.

• The Glenbow Museum is the largest one in western Canada.
• The Calgary Public Library is the second largest in Canada, and sixth-largest municipal library system in North America.
• The Calgary Zoo is the second largest zoo in Canada.
• Calgary International Airport is the fourth busiest in Canada by passenger movement and third busiest by aircraft movements.
• Baitun Nur (“House of Light” in Arabic) is the largest mosque in Canada.

Help Moving To Calgary

Calgary ranks as the first choice for new Canadians just behind Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. 23 % of the city’s population have come from other countries.

Moving company

When relocating to Calgary, you can hire the services of a trustworthy professional moving company to aid you tremendously in your move.

Visas

U.S. citizens should bring a passport when visiting Canada and don’t need a visa for a stay up to 180 days. All other international visitors must carry a valid passport and may need a visa to enter the country. To check whether you need a visa or not, visit the website of Canada’s Citizen And Immigration.

Getting To Calgary

You have a great variety of options to get safely and comfortably to Calgary. Check all of them here:

Jobs And Homes

The Calgary’s unemployment rate is lower than the average one for Canada, and it is projected that the city’s economy will create hundreds of thousand new jobs by 2021. Also, Calgary offers high quality of life in both its urban settings in the heart of the city, and in safe neighborhoods outside the center.

Find out more information about your opportunities at Live In Calgary.

Even more information about Calgary:

• Official page of the city of Calgary
• Official Website of Tourism Calgary
• Events and activities for your family in Calgary
• Calgary International Airport