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Which one is better to live in, Calgary or Edmonton? Why?

Calgary and Edmonton are the 2 biggest cities in Alberta, Canada. The question is which one is better to live in, Calgary or Edmonton? Why?

What are the pros and cons of Calgary vs Edmonton.




As someone who has lived in both cities for more than 3 years and is still living in Calgary:

  1. Weather: you have more sunshine and less harsh winter in Calgary with occasional positive temperature in the middle of the winter because of the Chinook winds: Calgary wins
  2. Cost of life: Edmonton rent, home ownership, food, clothing is slightly cheaper than same items in Calgary: Edmonton wins
  3. Job Opportunities: more blue collar jobs in Edmonton, more white collar jobs in Calgary: tie
  4. Education: Edmonton has one of the top university in Canada called University of Alberta. University of Calgary has a first class business school called Hayskane school of business. Edmonton wins.
  5. City’s architecture: Calgary seems newer, nicely architected and just more beautiful to me by far: Calgary wins
  6. People: just the same to me, no difference: tie
  7. Size and population: Calgary (1.3 million people, 825 km2) is larger and have more people than Edmonton (1 million people, 684 km2): I won’t call this a win
  8. Mountains and lakes : Banff National Park, Lake Louise, Jasper National Park, Waterton Lakes National Park, are all closer to Calgary than Edmonton: Calgary Wins
  9. Summer festivities: Both cities have great and similar festivals, but Calgary hosts the greatest western festival on earth in July called the Stampede. Calgary wins.
  10. Sunshine: Calgary has way more sunshine that Edmonton. In fact, Calgary is amongst the top city with sunshine exposure in the entire country. Sunshine is happiness. Calgary wins.
  11. Politics: Both cities are economically conservative. Edmonton is a little bit more socially liberal than Calgary. Who cares? Tie.
  12. Sports: Flames(NHL)and Stampeders(CFL)in Calgary, Oiler(NHL) and Eskimos(CFL) in Edmonton. Several amateur leagues, indoor and outdoor facilities for soccer, hockey, basketball, football and baseball in both cities; ShowUpAndPlay in Calgary, ShowUpAndPlay in Edmonton : Tie
  13. Bars and Pubs: Cowboys in Calgary, Black dog free house in Edmonton are the most populars. Cowboy culture in both cities but not violent, no guns. Tie ( The 10 Best Nightclubs in Calgary , The Best Nightlife in Edmonton – TripAdvisor )
  14. Downton: See Calgary Downtown inRealTimeNow.com. See Edmonton inRealTimeNow.com They are both vibrant and Nice: Tie
  15. Cleanliness: Calgary is one of the cleanness cities in the world. I am in awe myself whenever I walk downtown and in my neighbourhood of Walden. Calgary wins by far.

 

With all that in mind, I’ll choose Calgary any day.

Resources:




Learn more about Calgary here.
Learn more about Edmonton here.

Are you planning to visit or move to Calgary or Edmonton?

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Things to do to build more diverse technical teams?

What are specific Things to do to build more diverse technical teams?

  • 1. Start at the junior high school level in poor neighborhood by helping schools to teach minority kids how to code.
  • 2. Help set up computer labs in junior high school in poor neighborhoods so that kids who cannot afford the equipment can use the lab.
  • 3. Start coding challenges with prizes in those high school neighborhood and make the kids feel confident about their abilities.
  • 4. Get successful minorities entrepreneurs to host the kids and give them tours of their companies and offices and projects to inspire them.
  • 5. Give internships to minorities kids starting in high school.
  • 6. For the kids in senior high school who missed early adoption to coding, speed them up with after hours coding classes to prepare them for college.
  • 7. In college, make the minority kids feel welcome. Try to make them part of all activities ( computer related or not).
  • 8. For the kids in senior high school who missed early adoption to coding, speed them up with after hours coding classes to prepare them for college.
  • 9. In college, make the minority kids feel welcome. Try to make them part of all activities ( computer related or not). Help find internships from top IT firms (Google, Apple, IBM, etc.) for minorities.
  • 10. When minorities start working after college, welcome them in the team and trust them. Don’t just invite certain kids to dinner and golf. It makes minorities feel unappreciated and unwanted.
  • 11. Give minorities the same opportunity of advancement at work with other employees.
  • 12. Inclusion, inclusion, inclusion in every aspect of the company is the key.
  • Assess the progress of your efforts and adjust. Make sure that team leads or managers are open minded people and make it a priority for them to build diverse teams, because in the long run, it will be a win win for the company

Read more here on Quora.