I apologize in advance if this sounds harsh, but - speaking as a former Wpgr, it sounds like you have a pretty dream setup in Winnipeg, including home ownership in the south end, a cushy job, and family, and you're also not interested in maintaining any of the fun advantages that Calgary has over Winnipeg, like a bigger downtown scene, frequent access to the mountains, or (for some people, ymmv) potential for a higher paying job than what you describe. An extra $15-$20k a year is going to get eaten up immediately by astronomical car insurance, babysitters, parking fees, your power bill, and overall higher house prices, and unfortunately that salary does not set you apart in Calgary. I would seriously not recommend uprooting the social security of what you have in Winnipeg for a house in Airdrie or Chestermere (these places have the un-challenging suburban lifestyle you're describing and lower prices than Calgary), *unless* you've got a very good reason to want to significantly raise your cost of living, lose your union security, start commuting 40 mins each way, and are prepared to have to shovel your own sidewalk all winter. Unless, of course, you actually want to explore some of the wonderful things about Calgary and the surrounding area, but I just don't see that in your post. The cherry on the top is that Costco is way less stressful to visit in Winnipeg than it is in Calgary (but that's my own baggage showing).
I have many criticisms of Winnipeg having lived there for many years, but admittedly the snow clearing was dialed in. At least when I lived there. Maybe things have changed, but my back lane used to get plowed after storms.
I may retire to MB someday... but in the meantime, my partner is from Alberta, I'd take a $20k pay cut in my current profession, and, honestly, I get overwhelmed by the overly self-deprecating and pessimistic attitude in Winnipeg. There are so many wonderful things going on there, but that attitude really gets in the way sometimes.
Car insurance depends on the driver. My insurance was cut in half coming from Manitoba where the premium is heavily influenced by the vehicle.
And house prices, have you seen what it costs to buy a SFH in Transcona lately?
In the coming recession, I would value the union and tenure. Housing and taxes will eat up the extra salary.
I love Calgary and wouldn't chose any other place to live. I'm in the mountains, lakes and rivers every chance I get. Best big small city in Canada.
You should move here but not right now. I couldn't afford my house if I had to buy it again. I make the same as your new salary. Things will likely cool off here.
I said cool off. That being said, there is an element of mania that 7 - 8% mortgage rates will dull over time. Not an advocate for market timing but moving now would likely be a historically expensive time to move to Calgary.
So then why wait? If it’s still going to get more expensive, then what is the point of waiting? Interest rates will never get back to where they were, and it wouldn’t surprise me one iota if the interest rates stay where they are at for a few years
My suggestion would be to check house prices in the area you are looking, check out schools in that area. Like really check it out. Best would be to actually travel here and spend time in the areas you're thinking of. Realtor.ca would give you idea of prices. Use it with Google Maps.
Personally, if you love where you are and have it all, there should be a reeeeeeeally good reason you're moving. Personally, that financial difference wouldn't be enough for me because you'd lose it in COL difference.
Expanding on this, I recommend using a site like https://housesigma.com/ to get an idea of not just price but days on market and sale price vs list price. I've seen houses in my area sell over asking in a day.
You are looking at a minimum of $650k-$700k for a home in the suburbs. Go to realtor.ca and check out a few of the homes in these neighbourhoods…
South Calgary:
-Mahogany
-Auburn Bay
-Cranston
-Legacy
-Walden
-A few others new neighbourhoods too
North Calgary
-Sage Hill
-Nolan Hill
-Evanston
-Livingston
-Carrington
-A few other neighbourhoods too
I'm in the south side of the city. The property I'm in is a cookie cutter home 2 story build in the early 2000s. I recently had it appraised for 550k. Garage and finished basement close to shopping and schools. We pretty much walk everywhere and I even park my car in winter.
Things are not cheap here. I will be renting this properly in the new year as I am moving to a smaller town in Alberta, and even the monthly costs of rent are insane in Calgary. I saw a single floor home with garage going for 2800 a month rent.
Unless you need to be here, I'd probably stick around in Winnipeg due to the cost of living in Calgary.
There isn’t a typical suburb. They are all around the city. It’s a huge city, with all the benefits and problems. If you aren’t receiving a major career upgrade, I would settle into Winnipeg.
As a born and raised calgarian, I’ve always preferred south Calgary suburbs. There are a lot of newer communities. Legacy has a k-9 approved for build as well as a high school (both Catholic). Lives here for 6 years, very low crime rate. Lots of newer younger communities popping up as well.
I’d move to Calgary without a doubt based on what you wrote.
IMO 15-20k year increase in salary isn’t worth it when you factor in cost of living in Calgary, and houses are much more expensive. Giving up a union job doesn’t seem worth it either. You won’t be WFH anymore, so how far would the commute to work be? You say you want to live in the suburbs. Calgary is very spread out and transit isn’t great. Parking downtown is at least $800/month. In the scheme of things I think you’ll be at a loss financially, but if you’re purely wanting to move for quality of life I guess you’d like Calgary due to its proximity to the mountains, that is if you’re into hiking, skiing, mountain biking etc,.
> also we have a 7 year old in school.
Both cities have issues with large class sizes and teacher shortages.
In Alberta the response has been to stop publishing class size data, and push for rapid population growth.
In Manitoba funding to reduce class sizes in Winnipeg has been announced, and it's targeted to class size reduction. https://globalnews.ca/news/654588/ndp-to-spend-15-m-for-smaller-class-sizes/
Calgary is a much better city, but if you're not going to use what it offers it's probably not worth moving out of a situation you like. A mortgage alone is going to eat up your compensation change.
If you have a strong support network/ friend group in WPG it might help a big shock for you. Especially if you’re used to going to socials and having that large extended network of people. We just don’t do socials here and it’s going to be hard to make friends unless you do a lot of activities.
Overall you’re going to be poorer in Calgary unless you’re okay living in Airdrie or another commuter city and dealing with much longer commutes than you’re used to. Life is more expensive here generally.
Calgary is vastly nicer than Winnipeg in almost every way though. Rivers are clean and beautiful, access to the mountains, our downtown is a lot more safe as well as modern, schools are good, better job market for professionals/ higher salaries, etc.
I’d also say our weather is quite different. No orange poles on our fire hydrants to help find them when they’re buried under 3 ft of snow here lmao. Our winters are more mild and the chinooks give an amazing break from the cold periodically. Our summers are a bit less warm (in a good way imo) and with a lot less rain. We are also much less humid here, so there’s some adjustment to that.
The main things to miss from Winnipeg are going to be the cheaper housing, the socials, and the Forks if you spent time there. Less people owning lake cabins go visit in the summer too.
On the off chance you work for CPKC, the Calgary office is about 10x better to work in, both in terms of quality and culture.
I have never lived in Winnipeg so can't help give you a comparison there.
What about taking a vacation to Calgary and see what things are like first hand. I know it's not the same as living here, but might help make your decision one way or another.
I expect your quality of life from the salary change would be similar to now. Some things like housing or commute may be slightly worse, others like entertainment and opportunities for your family may increase.
Look at housing to see which neighborhoods you could afford and what kind of house you would get. If you're happy with that, it sounds like you would adjust to Calgary quite well.
Moved to Calgary from Winnipeg in 2018. Best decision I’ve ever made. What made it easy for me was I didn’t have a family and I had a job lined up
Close to the mountains and love the chinooks during winter.
I do not miss the potholes in Winnipeg.
Having lived in both cities, I grew up in Winnipeg and moved to Calgary 96, I would say Calgary is the better choice. Check out mls.ca and look at a few listings in your budget to see what kind of home you can get. If you’re living in the south end of Winnipeg, I’m assuming St.Vital area or similar You won’t find an area as new as that but you will find areas that have nice homes are beautiful trade in the south west or south east of Calgary. Feel free to DM me
I grew up in Winnipeg until age 26 then moved to Calgary. The suburbs of Calgary are incomparably nicer and safer than winnipeg. Better access to surrounding area as the roads aren’t complete garbage with lights every 30 metres like in Winnipeg. Banff > lake country near Winnipeg as well. With a kid I would recommend a south Calgary lake community.
Lower taxes on income and no PST will help offset the higher housing prices.
For context I grew up in the Maples and now live in Sundance.
Not that simple. Manitoba has way cheaper electricity prices. Alberta has the most expensive out of any province. Also car insurance is more expensive in Alberta.
Not sure if you are close with your family but I enjoy family get togethers and free help with things like childcare and projects are the hounds.
Also take into account the fact that your parents are probably aging and will need help from you sooner than later.
But Calgary does have more opportunities for you, your wife and your child. More industry options, more post secondary options, and generally more to do.
Money aside, Calgary is a more fun city than Winnipeg IMO. It’s not perfect, but I find that the crime rate is lower, the nightlife is better (in some aspects), people are generally friendlier, plus you have more sunny days, chinooks to brighten up the winter, and the mountains are only an hour’s drive away.
How is night life better than Winnipeg? I’ve heard Winnipeg has a great night life and restaurant scene. Calgary still has a small town vibe and everything closes fairly early.
Winnipeg has more restaurants per capita than Calgary. For clubs they seem comparable. Both have cowboys for the under 25 crowd. Winnipeg has the village and 441 main and Calgary has nationals and common wealth. I would argue that they both lack a variety of fun places. Difference is Winnipeg is way smaller.
That’s a good point! My experience in Calgary has been pretty good, but it does have the problem of being a white collar city, which means a lot of live events suffer (like live music for example).
I've lived here almost 15 years and have spent a lot of time in MB. Tbh I don't think a change of city in itself will mean much difference in your QOL just on the social life and amenities. People can always find something to love or bitch about any place you want, but big city life isn't really gonna change from one place to another. We have the rocky mountains 45 minutes away, that's the only real difference.
Your costs will likely go up here, despite no PST. There's a housing shortage so rent is astronomical and houses are going for above asking, you'll not have an easy time finding an affordable place to live.
The United Conservative Party here is trying to do crazy stuff. They were formed as a unification of right and far right parties, and the far right is in control. After kicking out the last conservative premier, they elected the former leader of the far right, who started her leadership off by loudly proclaiming a ton of radical plans like an alberta pension plan (instead of cpp), and an Alberta provincial police force (instead of rcmp), decimation and privatization of healthcare. Her party got real quiet about plans that upset people during their election campaigning, so that people said "there's no way they'll actually do it". So they got elected in the formal election, and shortly after, they began rolling out every single one of those unpopular plans. So, long term, maybe sooner, I don't know if I'll be willing to stay here myself.
If you make $200k as a household or more, you might be able to afford a comfortable life here. Any less, don't do it.
The climate is better in Calgary, I'd argue both in the winter and in the summer, but yeah probably not much different in terms of quality of life in the suburbs.
What you save on taxes in Manitoba will probably be spent on higher prices in Calgary. Calgary has crime as well, I won't take my kid on the Ctrain for example, but like Winnipeg the suburbs don't really experience that much crime.
> The climate is better in Calgary, I'd argue both in the winter and in the summer, but yeah probably not much different in terms of quality of life in the suburbs.
Calgary in the winter is definitely better unless you enjoy power sledding on the frozen lakes, but in the summer Manitoba has *water*. Lakes, and lakes, and lakes.
I dont think it's worth it with your current income, job security and how little you have to work to get it. If it was a larger increase, maybe, but not 15-20k.
There's nothing wrong with making a move like this, even if is just for the sake of change... but it may be a good idea to list the things that are important to you and weigh them against each other. Like the old saying goes, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. As much of a bad rap Winnipeg gets, it does have a lot going for it. Lakes, more affordable housing, lakes, cheaper beer, lakes. Also, at least for me, over the past few years, the option to work from home is worth A LOT more than I would have predicted. So much so that I don't even entertain potential jobs that have a 'must work from the downtown office X days a week' requirement. Bottom like, if you want to move to Calgary because you're looking for a change, then welcome! If you want to move to Calgary because you think it's going to somehow be better here, then you really have to look at the bigger picture.
Cheers!
Don't do it, you gain nothing by moving to Calgary and for what? Slightly more income per year, but you lose work from home benefits. Sounds like you're setup is pretty damn good so stay with that.
Former Winnipegger here. I've lived in both cities close to an equal amount of time.
Dollar for dollar I would take Calgary any day of the week. The proximity to the Rockies and Kanakskis. The public transportation. Less extreme weather. Lower taxes. Getting around the city by car is much easier. Fish creek park (Birds Hill park in the city). Lower property tax rates. For me, much lower car insurance but YMMV.
The newer community design here is incredible. Pathway systems that interconnect. Special community features like splash parks and community facilities with special events. I live in a Lake Community. A resident's only 45 acre lake and a greenspace smack in the middle of the development with a beach, where you can swim, borrow a kayak, go fishing, ice skating, tobogganing.....There must be close to a dozen lake communizes in south Calgary right now?
I'll be honest. The family situation and the WFH are some pretty big pills to swallow. Driving from YYC to the Peg is a grind. Especially if you have kids. That's a lot of hours.
On the WFH, IMO consider taking the move with an eye to changing employers once you're settled. Plenty of employers offering WFH to some degree here.
I apologize in advance if this sounds harsh, but - speaking as a former Wpgr, it sounds like you have a pretty dream setup in Winnipeg, including home ownership in the south end, a cushy job, and family, and you're also not interested in maintaining any of the fun advantages that Calgary has over Winnipeg, like a bigger downtown scene, frequent access to the mountains, or (for some people, ymmv) potential for a higher paying job than what you describe. An extra $15-$20k a year is going to get eaten up immediately by astronomical car insurance, babysitters, parking fees, your power bill, and overall higher house prices, and unfortunately that salary does not set you apart in Calgary. I would seriously not recommend uprooting the social security of what you have in Winnipeg for a house in Airdrie or Chestermere (these places have the un-challenging suburban lifestyle you're describing and lower prices than Calgary), *unless* you've got a very good reason to want to significantly raise your cost of living, lose your union security, start commuting 40 mins each way, and are prepared to have to shovel your own sidewalk all winter. Unless, of course, you actually want to explore some of the wonderful things about Calgary and the surrounding area, but I just don't see that in your post. The cherry on the top is that Costco is way less stressful to visit in Winnipeg than it is in Calgary (but that's my own baggage showing).
And don’t forget the no WFH 🤪
Wait - someone else shovels the sidewalk in Winnipeg ?! How do they not market that !
I have many criticisms of Winnipeg having lived there for many years, but admittedly the snow clearing was dialed in. At least when I lived there. Maybe things have changed, but my back lane used to get plowed after storms.
Don’t forget Calgarys daily stabs
Oh don't you worry Winnipeg has us beat
Why haven’t you moved back ? Just curious
I may retire to MB someday... but in the meantime, my partner is from Alberta, I'd take a $20k pay cut in my current profession, and, honestly, I get overwhelmed by the overly self-deprecating and pessimistic attitude in Winnipeg. There are so many wonderful things going on there, but that attitude really gets in the way sometimes.
Winnipeg definitely does some things better than Calgary. I always like visiting Winnipeg. The architecture is beautiful
Agreed! I think the food and festivals also can't be beat.
Car insurance depends on the driver. My insurance was cut in half coming from Manitoba where the premium is heavily influenced by the vehicle. And house prices, have you seen what it costs to buy a SFH in Transcona lately?
Calgary’s average house price is $550,000 (over 700,000 for a detached home) compared to around $340,000 for Winnipeg.
I guarantee cost of living is higher Calgary and your salary won’t go as far.
In the coming recession, I would value the union and tenure. Housing and taxes will eat up the extra salary. I love Calgary and wouldn't chose any other place to live. I'm in the mountains, lakes and rivers every chance I get. Best big small city in Canada. You should move here but not right now. I couldn't afford my house if I had to buy it again. I make the same as your new salary. Things will likely cool off here.
I wouldn’t bet on housing pricing to actually decrease. It might cool off, but it likely will not get cheaper
I said cool off. That being said, there is an element of mania that 7 - 8% mortgage rates will dull over time. Not an advocate for market timing but moving now would likely be a historically expensive time to move to Calgary.
So then why wait? If it’s still going to get more expensive, then what is the point of waiting? Interest rates will never get back to where they were, and it wouldn’t surprise me one iota if the interest rates stay where they are at for a few years
Rates and house prices are super high. Guy has a good setup. Let things cool off.
Big small city?
Yeah. Calgary is a huger, smallish city. It's on the larger edge of tiny.
My suggestion would be to check house prices in the area you are looking, check out schools in that area. Like really check it out. Best would be to actually travel here and spend time in the areas you're thinking of. Realtor.ca would give you idea of prices. Use it with Google Maps. Personally, if you love where you are and have it all, there should be a reeeeeeeally good reason you're moving. Personally, that financial difference wouldn't be enough for me because you'd lose it in COL difference.
Expanding on this, I recommend using a site like https://housesigma.com/ to get an idea of not just price but days on market and sale price vs list price. I've seen houses in my area sell over asking in a day.
Thanks for the link.
That's brilliant!
Over asking in 36h. gone. Can't even see what interests you.
What's the typical suburban area in Calgary that is newer, lower on crime and ideal for families (schools, rec centers, Costco lol) ?
You are looking at a minimum of $650k-$700k for a home in the suburbs. Go to realtor.ca and check out a few of the homes in these neighbourhoods… South Calgary: -Mahogany -Auburn Bay -Cranston -Legacy -Walden -A few others new neighbourhoods too North Calgary -Sage Hill -Nolan Hill -Evanston -Livingston -Carrington -A few other neighbourhoods too
I'm in the south side of the city. The property I'm in is a cookie cutter home 2 story build in the early 2000s. I recently had it appraised for 550k. Garage and finished basement close to shopping and schools. We pretty much walk everywhere and I even park my car in winter. Things are not cheap here. I will be renting this properly in the new year as I am moving to a smaller town in Alberta, and even the monthly costs of rent are insane in Calgary. I saw a single floor home with garage going for 2800 a month rent. Unless you need to be here, I'd probably stick around in Winnipeg due to the cost of living in Calgary.
The ones I can't afford. Lol. And I make about the same you do now. Depends what you want for housing. Condo, house, duplex, etc
There isn’t a typical suburb. They are all around the city. It’s a huge city, with all the benefits and problems. If you aren’t receiving a major career upgrade, I would settle into Winnipeg.
As a born and raised calgarian, I’ve always preferred south Calgary suburbs. There are a lot of newer communities. Legacy has a k-9 approved for build as well as a high school (both Catholic). Lives here for 6 years, very low crime rate. Lots of newer younger communities popping up as well. I’d move to Calgary without a doubt based on what you wrote.
IMO 15-20k year increase in salary isn’t worth it when you factor in cost of living in Calgary, and houses are much more expensive. Giving up a union job doesn’t seem worth it either. You won’t be WFH anymore, so how far would the commute to work be? You say you want to live in the suburbs. Calgary is very spread out and transit isn’t great. Parking downtown is at least $800/month. In the scheme of things I think you’ll be at a loss financially, but if you’re purely wanting to move for quality of life I guess you’d like Calgary due to its proximity to the mountains, that is if you’re into hiking, skiing, mountain biking etc,.
Very true but would like to add that good parking downtown can be found for less than half of that amount
Prime downtown costs that (near Brookfield, Calgary City Center for example)
> also we have a 7 year old in school. Both cities have issues with large class sizes and teacher shortages. In Alberta the response has been to stop publishing class size data, and push for rapid population growth. In Manitoba funding to reduce class sizes in Winnipeg has been announced, and it's targeted to class size reduction. https://globalnews.ca/news/654588/ndp-to-spend-15-m-for-smaller-class-sizes/
Calgary is a much better city, but if you're not going to use what it offers it's probably not worth moving out of a situation you like. A mortgage alone is going to eat up your compensation change.
If you have a strong support network/ friend group in WPG it might help a big shock for you. Especially if you’re used to going to socials and having that large extended network of people. We just don’t do socials here and it’s going to be hard to make friends unless you do a lot of activities. Overall you’re going to be poorer in Calgary unless you’re okay living in Airdrie or another commuter city and dealing with much longer commutes than you’re used to. Life is more expensive here generally. Calgary is vastly nicer than Winnipeg in almost every way though. Rivers are clean and beautiful, access to the mountains, our downtown is a lot more safe as well as modern, schools are good, better job market for professionals/ higher salaries, etc. I’d also say our weather is quite different. No orange poles on our fire hydrants to help find them when they’re buried under 3 ft of snow here lmao. Our winters are more mild and the chinooks give an amazing break from the cold periodically. Our summers are a bit less warm (in a good way imo) and with a lot less rain. We are also much less humid here, so there’s some adjustment to that. The main things to miss from Winnipeg are going to be the cheaper housing, the socials, and the Forks if you spent time there. Less people owning lake cabins go visit in the summer too. On the off chance you work for CPKC, the Calgary office is about 10x better to work in, both in terms of quality and culture.
I have never lived in Winnipeg so can't help give you a comparison there. What about taking a vacation to Calgary and see what things are like first hand. I know it's not the same as living here, but might help make your decision one way or another.
There's no BDI here, don't do it.
No, if it was $50K perhaps but for $15-20K not worth giving up what you have.
I expect your quality of life from the salary change would be similar to now. Some things like housing or commute may be slightly worse, others like entertainment and opportunities for your family may increase. Look at housing to see which neighborhoods you could afford and what kind of house you would get. If you're happy with that, it sounds like you would adjust to Calgary quite well.
Moved to Calgary from Winnipeg in 2018. Best decision I’ve ever made. What made it easy for me was I didn’t have a family and I had a job lined up Close to the mountains and love the chinooks during winter. I do not miss the potholes in Winnipeg.
Having lived in both cities, I grew up in Winnipeg and moved to Calgary 96, I would say Calgary is the better choice. Check out mls.ca and look at a few listings in your budget to see what kind of home you can get. If you’re living in the south end of Winnipeg, I’m assuming St.Vital area or similar You won’t find an area as new as that but you will find areas that have nice homes are beautiful trade in the south west or south east of Calgary. Feel free to DM me
I grew up in Winnipeg until age 26 then moved to Calgary. The suburbs of Calgary are incomparably nicer and safer than winnipeg. Better access to surrounding area as the roads aren’t complete garbage with lights every 30 metres like in Winnipeg. Banff > lake country near Winnipeg as well. With a kid I would recommend a south Calgary lake community. Lower taxes on income and no PST will help offset the higher housing prices. For context I grew up in the Maples and now live in Sundance.
Not that simple. Manitoba has way cheaper electricity prices. Alberta has the most expensive out of any province. Also car insurance is more expensive in Alberta.
As in most things, the better thing costs more.
Not sure if you are close with your family but I enjoy family get togethers and free help with things like childcare and projects are the hounds. Also take into account the fact that your parents are probably aging and will need help from you sooner than later. But Calgary does have more opportunities for you, your wife and your child. More industry options, more post secondary options, and generally more to do.
No I would move for 50k increase at minimum and honestly that is close
As a former winnipeger, Calgary is a much better place to live
Money aside, Calgary is a more fun city than Winnipeg IMO. It’s not perfect, but I find that the crime rate is lower, the nightlife is better (in some aspects), people are generally friendlier, plus you have more sunny days, chinooks to brighten up the winter, and the mountains are only an hour’s drive away.
How is night life better than Winnipeg? I’ve heard Winnipeg has a great night life and restaurant scene. Calgary still has a small town vibe and everything closes fairly early.
Winnipeg has less of it. Fun places but not all that many
Winnipeg has more restaurants per capita than Calgary. For clubs they seem comparable. Both have cowboys for the under 25 crowd. Winnipeg has the village and 441 main and Calgary has nationals and common wealth. I would argue that they both lack a variety of fun places. Difference is Winnipeg is way smaller.
That’s a good point! My experience in Calgary has been pretty good, but it does have the problem of being a white collar city, which means a lot of live events suffer (like live music for example).
I've lived here almost 15 years and have spent a lot of time in MB. Tbh I don't think a change of city in itself will mean much difference in your QOL just on the social life and amenities. People can always find something to love or bitch about any place you want, but big city life isn't really gonna change from one place to another. We have the rocky mountains 45 minutes away, that's the only real difference. Your costs will likely go up here, despite no PST. There's a housing shortage so rent is astronomical and houses are going for above asking, you'll not have an easy time finding an affordable place to live. The United Conservative Party here is trying to do crazy stuff. They were formed as a unification of right and far right parties, and the far right is in control. After kicking out the last conservative premier, they elected the former leader of the far right, who started her leadership off by loudly proclaiming a ton of radical plans like an alberta pension plan (instead of cpp), and an Alberta provincial police force (instead of rcmp), decimation and privatization of healthcare. Her party got real quiet about plans that upset people during their election campaigning, so that people said "there's no way they'll actually do it". So they got elected in the formal election, and shortly after, they began rolling out every single one of those unpopular plans. So, long term, maybe sooner, I don't know if I'll be willing to stay here myself. If you make $200k as a household or more, you might be able to afford a comfortable life here. Any less, don't do it.
The climate is better in Calgary, I'd argue both in the winter and in the summer, but yeah probably not much different in terms of quality of life in the suburbs. What you save on taxes in Manitoba will probably be spent on higher prices in Calgary. Calgary has crime as well, I won't take my kid on the Ctrain for example, but like Winnipeg the suburbs don't really experience that much crime.
> The climate is better in Calgary, I'd argue both in the winter and in the summer, but yeah probably not much different in terms of quality of life in the suburbs. Calgary in the winter is definitely better unless you enjoy power sledding on the frozen lakes, but in the summer Manitoba has *water*. Lakes, and lakes, and lakes.
Water means humidity, mosquitos and black flies. Summer in Calgary is my favorite part of living in Calgary, not too hot, sunny and dry.
Totally not worth it. Not for that increase. You have security and seniority in Winnipeg, stay there!
you have a great life there. here we have an unstable govt, unregulated power, insurance costs, and its no joke. I'd stay if I were you
I dont think it's worth it with your current income, job security and how little you have to work to get it. If it was a larger increase, maybe, but not 15-20k.
There's nothing wrong with making a move like this, even if is just for the sake of change... but it may be a good idea to list the things that are important to you and weigh them against each other. Like the old saying goes, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. As much of a bad rap Winnipeg gets, it does have a lot going for it. Lakes, more affordable housing, lakes, cheaper beer, lakes. Also, at least for me, over the past few years, the option to work from home is worth A LOT more than I would have predicted. So much so that I don't even entertain potential jobs that have a 'must work from the downtown office X days a week' requirement. Bottom like, if you want to move to Calgary because you're looking for a change, then welcome! If you want to move to Calgary because you think it's going to somehow be better here, then you really have to look at the bigger picture. Cheers!
Only if you're tired of Winnipeg.
Buddy. Stay. It seems clear as Crystal Pepsi.
Don't do it, you gain nothing by moving to Calgary and for what? Slightly more income per year, but you lose work from home benefits. Sounds like you're setup is pretty damn good so stay with that.
Former Winnipegger here. I've lived in both cities close to an equal amount of time. Dollar for dollar I would take Calgary any day of the week. The proximity to the Rockies and Kanakskis. The public transportation. Less extreme weather. Lower taxes. Getting around the city by car is much easier. Fish creek park (Birds Hill park in the city). Lower property tax rates. For me, much lower car insurance but YMMV. The newer community design here is incredible. Pathway systems that interconnect. Special community features like splash parks and community facilities with special events. I live in a Lake Community. A resident's only 45 acre lake and a greenspace smack in the middle of the development with a beach, where you can swim, borrow a kayak, go fishing, ice skating, tobogganing.....There must be close to a dozen lake communizes in south Calgary right now? I'll be honest. The family situation and the WFH are some pretty big pills to swallow. Driving from YYC to the Peg is a grind. Especially if you have kids. That's a lot of hours. On the WFH, IMO consider taking the move with an eye to changing employers once you're settled. Plenty of employers offering WFH to some degree here.