Places we consider home & newcomers

[shootingstar]

It continues to floor me, since I've moved to Calgary last fall, I've met several folks at different times, who also just moved from Vancouver. I know it is the job market, but man....it is a sacrifice. I thought I was one of the wierd...

Mind you, mountains are 100 kms. west of here. At least if one gets tired of prairied browness/flatness. When locals can afford time and money, they escape there..or Phoenix, AZ.

People looking at my place..since I'm giving up lease. Gosh, one woman sayin' she missed Toronto. I knew what she meant since I lived there nearly 20 yrs. myself and know it well.

[NbyNW]

I know it is the job market, but man....it is a sacrifice. I thought I was one of the wierd...

Mind you, mountains are 100 kms. west of here. At least if one gets tired of prairied browness/flatness. When locals can afford time and money, they escape there..or Phoenix, AZ.

Yep, it's a tough transition. I thought when we moved to Edmonton it would be like any other transition I've done in the past. It turned out to be much more difficult, for reasons I didn't anticipate.

At least in Calgary you have lots of flights to many different destinations. A lot of Edmontonians will fly out of Calgary for this reason. And, you are closer to the mountains.

And the consensus seems to be that Calgary has better restaurants, transit, neighborhoods and a more diverse economy.

I don't get the snowbird thing, either. More than a few of our neighbors spend 4-6 months of the year out of town. IMO, it's not a great way to build a sense of community.

I just can't find it in myself to commit any more of my personal energy to a place where even the locals so readily condone the outflow of the greatest of their financial, cultural and intellectual resources. At least that's how it feels to me most of the time. Life is too short.

[Trek-chick]

I moved quite a bit right out of college. I lived in California, Ohio, Vermont, Massachusetts and Florida ( briefly ). I have no regrets about moving so much... Glad I did it when I was younger but, Michigan will always be "home" to me.

It was hard being away from my family so I am glad I moved back.

My sister is in New York ( Long Island ) and I miss her a lot. It is hard not getting to spend time with my 4 nieces and not seeing them grow up

I think that is the hardest part about moving away.....

[Crankin]

I moved away from MA when I was 15 and hated Florida the whole time I lived there (almost 5 years). The cultural differences were too much for me, especially in the context of the time period, 1969-1974. When I moved to AZ, my parents had already moved there a few years before me. I considered it home, though I was "from" MA. I never considered moving back east. I had lots of friends, a good job, etc. However, after I had been married a few years, we took a vacation to the Cape. My DH is from Philadelphia and had never been here, but his growing up years were very similar to mine. AZ was getting crowded, polluted, and we kind of saw the political writing on the wall, although nothing like what is going today. I realized I really missed the seasons; when some of my friends started flying to LA to buy gold jewelry, I said "that's it." There's more to life than the newest shopping mall. And endless summer. I hated the heat and at that point, I couldn't afford a condo in San Diego for the summer, or even a cabin in Pinetop. It all came down to values and what we wanted for our kids. It was a huge sacrifice in terms of what we could afford here compared to Tempe, at that point.
Almost 21 years later, I have never regretted this decision. However, I am very glad I have lived in other places. New Englanders are often insular and complain about the weather constantly... what I love and appreciate, a lot of people deal with by going to Florida; ugh. There's a skewed perception about the worth of a private college education here and living in a place where about 75% of the people are college educated (the town where I live) makes people here unable to understand demographics in most parts of the country. The pressures to "achieve" are relentless. I swore I would never do to my kids what I experienced in the city I grew up in, but I did it, and they are better off. DS#2 never really warmed to MA, even though he was 5 when we moved here. He swore he would go back to AZ, which he did for a year, and then he joined the military. When someone asks him where he is from, he says Tempe... on the other hand, my older son is a total city person, the consummate Bostonian.
I do have "warm feelings" for Tempe and we have considered maybe spending a few weeks in AZ a year when we are no longer working. I would not move there, though. We fell in love with Carefree/Cave Creek on our trip last month, as they are still the way AZ was when I first moved there. I would not be able to live in Tempe or Scottsdale again. Too crowded, too many malls, and no place to ride with a stop light every mile or less.

[jordanpattern]

I actually escaped from Edmonton in 2008 (I'm now living in San Francisco), and while I don't miss it terribly, it, like Calgary, is one of those places that you can really love once you get to know. Actually, I've spent plenty of time in both cities, and I prefer Edmonton (sorry, OP), but I've grown to love both.

I think the keys are digging a bit below the surface and also just getting out into your new city rather than sticking close to home. Whereas in a place like Vancouver, there are always lots of things happening, and the weather is nicer, so it's easier to get outside, and it's easier to hear of interesting things happening, in places like Calgary and Edmonton, you need to keep your ear a bit closer to the ground. It's also easier to want to go out in a 9 degree Vancouver winter than it is in a -35 Alberta one, but once you just force yourself to get out of the house, even though it's cold, it feels great.

Oh, and the other thing is be sure to check out your local libraries, coffee shops, music stores, book shops, and bike shops. All those places can be community hubs, and nothing makes you feel more at home like finding friends and a sense of community. Also, read the free weekly papers - there are always listing of things going on, which are useful, but you also can get a feel for the issues people are concerned about in town, which I always find makes me feel more engaged with my surroundings.

I don't know how new either of you are to Calgary and Edmonton, but if either of you is interested, I'd be happy to post some of the good places I know there if that would be helpful!

All in all, Alberta is a weird place, and I can imagine it's the kind of place that takes a while to "get," but it can also be a wonderful place to live that people become very, very attached to, so I hope you both come to love it!

[bmccasland]

Born and raised in the military, and still haven't settled down. I have trouble with the question about "hometown." Where are you from? That's usually the last place I lived.

I loved New Orleans, but then there's the politics, poor public schools, hurricanes, crime rate. But when they play "Do you know what it means, to miss New Orleans" on the radio - YES! The thick soft air, ferns on the ancient oaks, Spanish moss, music, where being called "Baby" isn't a bad thing.

And now I'm in the PNW, where I'm having trouble breaking into the click of the office groups, missing my friends. Not quite knowing how to fit in.

I keep looking for a reason to stay, somewhere.

[shootingstar]

"Home" is how completely one embraces time and place into your being and outlook at times.

My parents immigrated to Canada in their 20's. They are now 82 and 77. They have never been back to China since that time. I am certain during the first decade in Canada they wanted to return but there was no money and plane flights back in the 1950's and early 1960's used to be very expensive.

We offered as gift to buy my parents plane tickets to visit China. They have/continue to have no interest. They have not gone back to visit. China as they knew it best was BEFORE Mao /Communism took root in China. So much has changed. I know they didn't want to go back, because so much has changed it would be unrecognizable and would make them sad.

"Home" is Canada. It is where they have placed their roots for life, where all their children were born and were raised, as well as all their grandchildren. I respect people who come from culturally different countries into a new country and adopt their new home country in a way that it seeps into their being and outlook.

Because I have lived Kitchener-Waterloo, London (Ontario), Toronto, Vancouver and now Calgary, which are in geographically contrasting areas of Canada...I actually feel MORE Canadian as a result. Cycling as a tourist in Eastern Maritime provinces, Quebec and visiting the Arctic (for a short time), complements how I feel, appreciate and understand my home country.

Compared to 20 years ago, I feel as if I have a broader, more diverse understanding of Canada's identity, and key historic-cultural regional differences, as well as climatic differences which I took very much for granted.

My thoughts of Calgary now probably reflects my adjustment. I've been here only past 5 months. I sense the city overall as struggling to break free from its prairie paraochial conservatism and the grip of the oil-energy economic influences. It will never break free of the latter since the provinces economy depends on it (and it is Canada's energy producing engine like Texas is).

I personally find artisitic expression that is original in imagery lacking...beyond cowboy images and energy/oil stuff. There is no clear, dynamic artistic sensibility that one can identify..that ie. "yes, that comes from Alberta". The voices on issues of social justice are way more muted, here compared to Toronto and Vancouver. It's obvious what does not get reported in the local press or even how public consultation is conducted where certain groups of people are excluded by language, socio-economic class, etc.

It's not horrible, it's just people are focused on...earning a living, making money, etc.

Interestingly, alot of long-time Calgarians have visited Vancouver and many do enjoy the west coast. You find less people going over to visit Toronto..not just because it's just abit farther away (2 hr. extra plane flight), but psychologically many long-time folks see themselves as part of Western Canada....although Western Canada has different cultural identities. Northwest coast culture /life and politics is different than Alberta.

[NbyNW]

My thoughts of Calgary now probably reflects my adjustment. I've been here only past 5 months. I sense the city overall as struggling to break free from its prairie paraochial conservatism and the grip of the oil-energy economic influences. It will never break free of the latter since the provinces economy depends on it (and it is Canada's energy producing engine like Texas is).

I personally find artisitic expression that is original in imagery lacking...beyond cowboy images and energy/oil stuff. There is no clear, dynamic artistic sensibility that one can identify..that ie. "yes, that comes from Alberta". The voices on issues of social justice are way more muted, here compared to Toronto and Vancouver. It's obvious what does not get reported in the local press or even how public consultation is conducted where certain groups of people are excluded by language, socio-economic class, etc.

It's not horrible, it's just people are focused on...earning a living, making money, etc.

This has been my experience in Edmonton as well. In my case, it also means that if I were to stay there I would probably have to change careers, which I'm not willing to do.

I feel like I made an honest effort to build a life there, but it's been a non-starter for the most part. So it's been a fairly easy decision to begin the process to move back to Seattle.