For Nausheen

DavidC wrote: I have been contacted by a Canadian company about a management position in Edmonton. Do you know of any tips, sites whatever that would help me evaluate an offer or life quality there? All I know is that when I brought up a map of Alberta the room temperature dropped twenty degrees! Thanks, DavidC

Vow, ur thinking of becoming my neighbour

I lived there for barely 6 months. It will be hard to comment much.

For sure the taxes in Alberta are only 7% as compared to 15% elsewhere ... if that helps evaluating quality of life

Edmonton has the largest shopping mall in the world .... for me it wasn't a big deal tho. It looked like a mini "Tokyo Dysney Sea" minus CottonGinny, Laura, or the like  .... well, its nice.

Gas is cheaper, and grocerries are cheaper. 

Car insurance is more expensive, and if you have a new car, or a red/black car, insurance is more.

Bus fares are very reasonable, and I did not have a chance to take a cab, so dont know. The frequency of busses is bad (2 in one hr to most areas).

University of Alberta is the main attraction of the city, (or may be West Edmonton Mall, am not so sure).

I dont know about property, but I think the rents are high.

People are nice, traditional, helpful and friendly.

It is a very scantly populated city, but I lived in Japan for 8 years, so what is scanty for me, could be nice and quiet for you.

Through my daughter's school I learnt there used to be many activities for kids, and families to get involved in. Further, school curriculum in Alberta is better than in Ontario.

Calgary is a two hours drive. Banff and Jasper (more attractions of Alberta) are also not far.

People say that it is the Saudi arabia or Canada, because this province has oil .... i dont know what exactly that means, more money? could be.

you can try http://www.edmonton.ca/portal/server.pt

I think the quality of life depends a lot on how much time you spend on road ... on a daily basis, and on weekends. If u choose to live in residential areas, business areas would be far, and u may spend 1-3 hrs commuting between places each day, depending on what time u leave home or office. If u choose to live near your workplace, it may be more expensive.

Whether conditions are more towards extreems. Its very cold. I saw snow fall in May and in September. So you can imagine how long summers would last. however the heat was melting the canadians   Since the second week of October, everywhere was white snow.

If u come here, do pay us a visit in Ottawa

Wish you all the best.

Nausheen