3 ms·
Having lived in all those places as well and others. I think Oakland has some very unique problems that Calgary doesn't. Namely that it has historically had a
by boringg 5y ago
Having lived in all those places as well and others. I think Oakland has some very unique problems that Calgary doesn't. Namely that it has historically had a high crime rate (I was in a conference called and watched a drive by with about 15 shots fired off in midday - granted this is 4 years ago but still).
Calgary has a lifeless core and the worst urban sprawl in america but it's also because Calgary is wicked cold - the plus 15 (an above ground network walking between office buildings throughout the core for cold winter days) takes a lot of the foot traffic off the streets making it tough for street level businesses and the quality of produce/food is pretty bleak in Alberta unless you love beef and beets.
Vancouver never gets cold so you can literally walk there all year around and has a vibrant food scene and has geographical constraints limiting outward development.
Im not defending Calgarys lack of vision and innovation but they are dealing with completely different market dynamics (boom and bust) and environment.
In terms of tax payers, Alberta has the lowest tax across the country, not sure how much of it really falls on the tax payers but I'm curious about that.
All in all agree with most of your points, just expanding some of the thoughts.
- pixelgeek 5y agoThe crime rate is definitely a issue and one I wasn't familiar with. I was staying in a hotel just off downtown once and the area looked like the set of a zombie flick after 6pm. > Im not defending Calgarys lack of vision and innovation but they are dealing with completely different market dynamics (boom and bust) and environment. They are but at no point has anyone ever tried to address those problems. It was working and the money was coming in so people were happy. Nothing that Calgary and Alberta is going through now is novel or unforeseen. The boom-bust cycle. The dreadful downtown. People could see the fan and the giant pile of shit but no-one thought it was worth planning for it > All in all agree with most of your points, just expanding some of the thoughts. Thanks for helping the discussion along :-)
- jonahrd 5y agoMontreal has even more brutal cold, yet has a bustling downtown worth walking around -- because it was designed for people. Another anecdote to refute your point: LA has the best weather in the world, but a completely dead downtown that most people avoid.
- phonypc 5y agoMontreal is definitely not colder than Calgary. More precipitation, so snowier in the winter, but not colder.
- boringg 5y agoActually San Francisco has the best weather in the world (very subjective). Agree, there are many other factors at play. Montreal is a very old city though - it was built before industrialization (ie go see the old port).