Calgary

[MindFlayer]

Is anyone here in Calgary? We are moving in 6 weeks from the UK. Has been many years in the making but finally packing up ready to go.
We are a family of 4. One teenager and a 10 year old. Have visited a few times so well aware of the weather (though probably not prepared for it).

Any insights on the city or general advice? Would love to hear from anyone who has done the move from the U.K. or anyone based there who can be my new friend….😆

Hi OP, I lived in Calgary for many years and although no longer there I’m happy to answer any questions you have. It’s a lovely city - clean, safe and lots of outdoors activities to do. I mainly lived in the south west (Calgary is broadly divided into 4 quandrents) and all have nice and not so nice areas in them. You can check school rankings on the Fraser institute site to find out how they perform generally. You will be able to choose the public (state) or catholic system and both will have school options in each area. No uniforms and the high school system seems quite different to the UK but I’m sure you’ve already looked into that. There is also several private schools, mainly in the west which is one of the richer areas.

The weather will be lovely when you arrive but you will probably get some snow in October and by Christmas it will be very Canadian winter weather. Calgary is nice though as you get chinooks that break up the cold. Being so close to the mountains is great in winter if you want to take up skiing, snowshoeing, fat biking, skating, XC skiing, there’s really so much to do.

Culturally, Alberta is more conservative than many parts of Canada and there is a bit of a red neck vibe with racism and sexism as ongoing problems. However, generally individual people are nice and polite and welcoming.

Hope this helps and enjoy Calgary!