One of the nicest areas in Calgary is Aspen..located SW of the city..drove by the area on my way. Houses here cost from $650,000 and as high as $7million, but it is very rare to see any property less than $1m in Aspen.

But there are lots of detached houses around 55k in all part of the city. One can get a used detached house for around 450k. Townhouses around 350k and condos around 150 to 250k. I know RBC had a program where they help new immigrants buy there first home, if the person can contribute around 100k as down payment. I am not sure if the program still exist. Anyone landing with lots of cash might one to contact them to find out if the program still exist and what other requirement one needs to fulfil.

Deerfoot trail. Probably the most popular highway in Calgary. Stoney trail is quite popular too. Both highway connects one from the North to the southern part of the city. I prefer stoney to get around anytime i am in Calgary cos it has less traffic.

Passed an Indian reserve...The reserves are usually areas set aside by the government for first nations people. American indians are usually called first nations people cos the settlers met them here. There are many not pleasant stories of how the original land owners were poorly treated by the earlier settlers.

In Canadian reserves, alcohol addiction is high, drug abuse is rampant and the reserves have the highest rates of STI's in Canada. According to my former flatmate, a nurse practitioner working for Health Canada, the reserves are the only place in canada where the transmission of hiv from mother to infant still occur. This is because the mothers go into hiding when they know of their status; they believe social services will take over their child after birth.

Passed Brooks, Alberta. Brooks is also popular for its oil fieds.

Medicine Hat. Popularly called the sunniest city in Canada while Calgary is the sunniest major city.

MH also holds the title of having the tallest teepee in the world. The "world" here means North America.

Teepee were houses built by first nation people before the arrival of settlers. They are durable and also provides warmth and comfort in the harsh canadian winters.

stopped at Dunmore just after MH to refuel both Tank and tummy.

Well done Salmon! Doing a great job! Seems I'm tilting towards Regina. Please how's Regina as compared to Calgary...cost of living wise and the weather? Which areas in Regina can be termed highbrow? And which areas are good middle class? I read the crime rate is on the high side,true? Which areas are"safe"?

Adiahabasi:
Well done Salmon! Doing a great job! Seems I'm tilting towards Regina. Please how's Regina as compared to Calgary...cost of living wise and the weather? Which areas in Regina can be termed highbrow? And which areas are good middle class? I read the crime rate is on the high side,true? Which areas are"safe"?

Accomodation wise, Regina is just a bit cheaper than Calgary. Winters are colder than Calgary. There are less things to do compared to Calgary.

I dont know which areas are termed highbrow in Regina..just here for work, and I try to keep my cost low by sharing flats. Family still resides in Calgary cos we have friends and family around to support each other especially with regards to child minding. Generally, i would say anywhere in Regina is okay except the North Central area.

I have driven through the NC alot of times, all i see are just drunk people.lol.But people believe the area is notorious. The type of alcoholics one sees on Calgary trains at night. Talking about ctrain. To all coming to Calgary. Its better to resist the temptation to jaywalk around the downtown area, it attracts a fine of $150 dollars per person i.e if the fine has not be increased.lol

The crime in Calgary these days is actually higher than Regina. Almost everyweek, there is someone getting shot in Calgary or Red Deer. Three cruisers sped past me on my way to Regina this morning.. it was later reported that two persons where shot dead in a parking lot (SE Calgary) around the time i saw the cruisers. I can only link it to the rise of fentanyl abuse and the high rate of job loss in the Calgary area. Been in Regina for over one year and no report of someone killed by a gun or knife yet.

Still on Transcanada highway.

To those in the agricultural sector.

Pic 1. A field being prepared on a good land for planting season. Could be a Canola or wheat field. There is money in agric here. So much the PM even had to fly to China and Europe to invite investors for Canola and beef respectively.

pic2. Black Angus on a land. if the land is not good for tractors or combines to move on, it would be used for livestock farming.

As the weather warms up, campers and bikers starts increasing in numbers on highways.

Where Alberta meets Saskatchewan on Transcanada highway and vice versa

More bikers. Seems these two are husband and wife.

Swift current, Saskatchewan. Another oil rich city

A small car just to the right of the RCMP cruiser (not visible in the picture getting a ticket. Maybe the driver was overspeeding or going to slow for the speed limit or distracted driving e.t.c .....not a nice situation for the driver of the vehicle.

Arrived. End of long weekend. Work resumes in the morning.

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences guys. Well appreciated.

salford:
Arrived. End of long weekend. Work resumes in the morning.

Salford stop posting these picssss. The first house

Salford you're great. Thanks for everything.

salford:
Arrived. End of long weekend. Work resumes in the morning.

U do well! Have a fab week.

Thank you for sharing this vcole. 100% useful

vcole:
Hello everyone. I landed last month in Calgary. Its been a struggle trying to post because I've been quite busy but i'll try to share my experience thus far.
I have a toddler and I am currently pregnant so we decided not to take a direct flight from Nigeria. We flew medview to London and spent a couple of days there then flew air canada to Calgary. Medview........let's just say that would be the first and last time we would fly them. They were totally disorganized at the Lagos airport in terms of checking in passengers and there was so much uproar which ended up in the flight being delayed by over an hour. However, the aircraft we used was quite large and the leg room in economy was quite spacious and they made up for all the drama with the food which was quite savoury especially if you have a taste for Nigerian cuisine....they had fried and jollof rice (fried rice wasn't great at all, jollof was nice), pounded yam and egusi, amala and ewedu. The pilot more than made up for the delayed departure by landing us in Gatwick only 5 mins later than schedule. Down sides - no in flight entertainment.

Air Canada was good. Aircraft was lovely, in flight entertainment, cabin crew and meals were lovely as well. They are also kid friendly and leg room was good. Flight was smooth until landing which became quite turbulent due to the weather. Flight duration was 8.5 hrs.

At YYC, it took about 20-30 mins to get from the aircraft, go through immigration and pick up our baggage. Then we headed to the department that handles landing and had to wait for about 2hrs before it got to our turn. We landed on a Sunday so I don't know if that was the reason for the long wait. However, I realized that if one of us went to that department and took a number while the other picked up the bags, it would have accelerated things a bit as that was what some people did. Landing took about 5-10 mins.

We had booked a hotel nearby to stay for the first night and they sent us a pick up at the airport. We had found an apartment 2 months earlier on rentfaster.ca and a friend had helped view it and pay a deposit on our behalf and we were to sign the lease which was to start the day after our arrival. We had intended to rent a car the next day, go to meet with the landlord at our apartment, inspect and sign the lease then go get a few necessities since the apartment was unfurnished. However, come morning we realized that we couldn't rent a car because we required a credit card which we did not have. Let's just say things started getting a bit frustrating from that point on..........mostly because moving around is expensive by uber or cabs and although where we live has a good transit system, moving around with a toddler and a bump ism't exactly a glass of wine but oh well, so far so good. Lesson to be learnt - land with a functional credit card and plan to rent a car or buy one as soon as you can especially if you have a family. Then proceed to commence the process for obtaining a drivers license for the province in which you reside.

As regards documentation, we got everything done in the first week...health cards, social insurance numbers, etc. It isn't a complicated process at all.

My impression of Canada (through the eyes of Calgary) thus far........Its a diverse community and most people are pleasant. They make eye contact with you and converse easily. No one has a problem understanding you if you speak proper English with your Nigerian accent. Everyone we have met or spoken to on the phone always always ask you how to correctly pronounce your name and usually get it on the first or second try. Calgary seems lovely to me, the kind of place I would like to raise my kids in.

A few things I have learnt thus far......mobile data plans zap at the speed of light here. Getting a home internet is a huge help in that regard. The weather is actually good this time of year. Child care is expensive so for families with preschoolers, factor that in as a top priority.

Nievel:
Wow nice contributions from you all. Thank you.
I am seriously considering choosing Calgary but people are discouraging us because of the oil sutuation, they claim there are no jobs and a lot of people are even moving to other provinces.
What do you guys think please?

This is how people get into trouble. You should take peoples advice, but also do your own research. Despite the myth, Alberta's economy while heavily dependent on oil, is not the only industry in Alberta. With a high number of seniors on the verge of retiring, a lot of good paying jobs have opened up or will soon. For example, the city of Edmonton is aggressively recruiting for new police officers. Within 3-4 years on the fore you'll be making 94k dollars per year. The Alberta government is hiring multiple positions. These are good paying gov't jobs with benefits and pension plan. The city of Calgary is also hiring and so on. The province of Alberta is more than just oil. These people moving out of Alberta are usually illiterates who were making good money in the oil patch, lost their jobs, and can't compete in the city because they have no or little education. Again do your research. But with Alberta's economy which is still better than most provinces even in an recession, and with fairly low taxes across the board, I wouldn't settle in any other province. That's me personally. Also I work in the oil patch, while it has slowed down, it's slowly picking up. But its not has bad as everyone is making it out to be. imo

Vcole, congrats on your landing. I can imagine how hectic it is settling in. God's blessings and safe delivery.

Maternal, which city in Alberta would you advise someone in healthcare to move to? One that has job opportunities, affordable cost of living, good to raise a young family and considerably big with a sizeable population. I heard St Albert is good but I'm not sure how the job situation is.

Salford, good job! Keep them coming.

Thank you so much. That's why I asked the question here so people on ground can give a true assessment of the situation. I've realised that no matter what one reads in the internet , getting information from people on ground is always the best option. Thanx so much for this info. My mind has been on Calgary long before I got ITA so I'm happy to hear this. Much appreciated.

maternal:


This is how people get into trouble. You should take peoples advice, but also do your own research. Despite the myth, Alberta's economy while heavily dependent on oil, is not the only industry in Alberta. With a high number of seniors on the verge of retiring, a lot of good paying jobs have opened up or will soon. For example, the city of Edmonton is aggressively recruiting for new police officers. Within 3-4 years on the fore you'll be making 94k dollars per year. The Alberta government is hiring multiple positions. These are good paying gov't jobs with benefits and pension plan. The city of Calgary is also hiring and so on. The province of Alberta is more than just oil. These people moving out of Alberta are usually illiterates who were making good money in the oil patch, lost their jobs, and can't compete in the city because they have no or little education. Again do your research. But with Alberta's economy which is still better than most provinces even in an recession, and with fairly low taxes across the board, I wouldn't settle in any other province. That's me personally. Also I work in the oil patch, while it has slowed down, it's slowly picking up. But its not has bad as everyone is making it out to be. imo

@Maternal

Thanks a lot for this.

For some of us already game for Alberta, it feels good to see some positive perspective of the province.

Regards,

maternal:


This is how people get into trouble. You should take peoples advice, but also do your own research. Despite the myth, Alberta's economy while heavily dependent on oil, is not the only industry in Alberta. With a high number of seniors on the verge of retiring, a lot of good paying jobs have opened up or will soon. For example, the city of Edmonton is aggressively recruiting for new police officers. Within 3-4 years on the fore you'll be making 94k dollars per year. The Alberta government is hiring multiple positions. These are good paying gov't jobs with benefits and pension plan. The city of Calgary is also hiring and so on. The province of Alberta is more than just oil. These people moving out of Alberta are usually illiterates who were making good money in the oil patch, lost their jobs, and can't compete in the city because they have no or little education. Again do your research. But with Alberta's economy which is still better than most provinces even in an recession, and with fairly low taxes across the board, I wouldn't settle in any other province. That's me personally. Also I work in the oil patch, while it has slowed down, it's slowly picking up. But its not has bad as everyone is making it out to be. imo

jesusbaby01:
@Vcole i'm in calgary too o...

To buttress vcole's point, i also landed in calgary via Lufthansa-air Canada, did all landing ish at Toronto, entered calgary 3am the following day, the first thing that hit me was the cold OMG it was crazy and i witnessed snow in April. i also got an apartment through rentfaster, a friend helped with deposit and i signed the lease after landing. Moved in a week after, my apartment was furnished so i just moved all my stuffs in. been here 2 months nothing to complain about and my friend made settling in easy for e. Calgary's transit system is a life saver cos i can move without worries.but then i don't want to rely on the transit system by winter. Getting a job is kinda dicey without the canadian experience but people do get jobs so don't let thtat deter you. but i love the system shaa

Hi. Sorry to jump in like this but i would like to know if you had to take your kids with you for all the registration and picking up cards or one person can do it on behalf of all.

What age can kids start proper school? Can they go to just any school or it has to be around where you live? If your kid is young for a class will he still continue in the class he was in Nigeria or will they step him down? Can one get part time whilst getting more certifications? Thanks a lot.

Hello house,

Just wondering why there seem to be few posts on information on British Columbia.
Thinking of relocating there with my wife
Just wondering what the job prospects would be.
I have an engineering degree from the UK and an MBA from Unilag.
Although my work experience is in procurement NOC-B 1225.

any information on the province or others would be appreciated.

i followed a friend to SGI for his drivers test. In sask, all drivers test, insurance and registration are handled by a government agency called SGI. He is about to complete is Msc from the University of Regina. To get engineering positions without a drivers licence in Canada is tough. The license plus good drivers abstract (record) makes one a suitable candidate. He booked his test in a smaller city, and unfortunatly still failed. His 3rd attempt actually. He finally agreed to attend brush up classes.

Imo, the easiest way of passing the road test is to take up brush up classes at a driving school. Some of these driving schools know the exact routes the examiner tests people on. In alberta, calgary to be specific, it cost around $45 to 50 an hour for brush up lessons. It might be cost saving to attend brush up lessons and pass the test once or twice than relying on experience from Nigeria and failing the test more than 3 times or more.

XX01:


Hi. Sorry to jump in like this but i would like to know if you had to take your kids with you for all the registration and picking up cards or one person can do it on behalf of all.

What age can kids start proper school? Can they go to just any school or it has to be around where you live? If your kid is young for a class will he still continue in the class he was in Nigeria or will they step him down? Can one get part time whilst getting more certifications? Thanks a lot.

In some provinces,school starts fully at age 4 and in some others 5.
Yes they step children down,they are put in classes strictly on the basis of their ages.

Adiahabasi:
In some provinces,school starts fully at age 4 and in some others 5.
Yes they step children down,they are put in classes strictly on the basis of their ages.

Thanks a lot. This is food for thought.

SlowlybtSurely:
Vcole, congrats on your landing. I can imagine how hectic it is settling in. God's blessings and safe delivery.

Maternal, which city in Alberta would you advise someone in healthcare to move to? One that has job opportunities, affordable cost of living, good to raise a young family and considerably big with a sizeable population. I heard St Albert is good but I'm not sure how the job situation is.

Salford, good job! Keep them coming.

Go to whichever city can provide you with a good paying professional job period. This notion of "good to raise a young family" is overrated. Anywhere you go in Canada has good schools and social service/benefits for children. Your kids will be fine. With them being young, they'll be fine in the future. You've brought them to Canada where they can prosper with hard work, what else can a parent do ? The parents, who are much older and only have X years to stabilize their future in this country, should start to worrying about themselves more. Your years are numbered to prosper here, your kids aren't. So I say go anywhere that offers you the best opportunity financially. Buy a house, car,etc, and start living. Your kids will adapt. When you get a better feel for the country/ specific area, then move.