Maybe Alberta really is calling? People regret leaving Calgary for Toronto

The “Alberta is Calling” ad campaign has received lots of attention, and now, there is a thread on r/Calgary with a number of people saying they regret leaving Calgary, specifically for Toronto.

It all started with a post from u/aliensuperstar8.

They said, “I’ve got to go back, I miss it so badly. I left in hopes for better opportunities, independence & Idk I guess quality of life as well- you get bored of the small city life, so I yearned for more.”

The post continued, “I thought Toronto would fulfill that to for me, and while I’m not in DT Toronto, I’m in Vaughan, it’s been more hell than I could even imagine. Everything is so expensive and that tax kills me!! And people are much more cold?? I didn’t realize how nice Calgarians were til I got here.”

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They close by saying, “I miss seeing the mountains on my bus rides. I miss Calgary’s amazing sunsets. I miss the bald middle-aged white men who’d tailgate me on the highway with their large trucks. I miss the taste of Calgary’s water bottles (because they taste like garbage over here). I miss the stampede. I miss how small the city is. But anyway! That’s my rant for the day. Maybe I’ll start liking it if I just have a bit more of a positive outlook.”

The mountains, among several other features, are the reason why people are flocking to Alberta, both in tourism and to live here.

With Canmore just 45 minutes away, there are a lot of great things to check out that are close to Calgary as well.

The first post led to a number of different responses in agreement.

One person explained, “The crowds, the hustle, the cost, the traffic, the lack of any green space, and the TRAFFIC, wears away at you,” the post stated. “Yes, there is so much going on in the city, but anything you want to do, so do thousands of other people. Everything has to be so perfectly choreographed to make it worth it. It took all the fun and spontaneity out of having fun. I couldn’t wait to leave, and now I can’t imagine ever living anywhere else but in Calgary or nearer the mountains. This city is the absolute best.”

If the traffic wears you down the way it does this person, Calgary offers some of the best bike paths in Canada to avoid the soul-crushing commutes that our friends out east have to deal with.

Calgary also is quite a bit cheaper than Toronto. The average price of a rental in Calgary is about $600 to $900 cheaper per month, while the average home is $400,000 more expensive in Toronto than it is in Calgary.

If you are looking to buy a house, it will take you just over three years to save up in Calgary. In Toronto, experts say it takes about 30 years to save up for the big purchase.

The idea of Calgary being a better place to live than Toronto also got some endorsements from people who have recently answered Alberta’s call and moved west from Toronto.

“I’ve recently moved from Toronto to Calgary for school after living in Toronto my whole life. Honestly, I have no plans on going back even after school. Even though Calgary is not nearly as big as Toronto I feel like Calgary’s quality of life is 10x better & as time goes and more people from Toronto move to Alberta I’m positive that more opportunities for individuals will start to come up.”

But, Toronto shouldn’t take it personally. Calgary has been named one of the top places to live. Not just in Canada, or North America, but in the entire world.