An American Planner in Calgary

At the request of several of my friends, I'm starting a blog about my new adventures in Canada. As you may know, I am from the Seattle area and recently got a job offer in Chestermere, Alberta which is just east of the City of Calgary. Since it is the only job offer I've gotten in 5 months, I gratefully accepted. It hasn't been an easy decision since it means uprooting my kids and postponing college for my daughter who is about to graduate from high school, but I have secretly always wanted to do urban planning work in a foreign country so am really looking forward to the opportunity. Please note that there are very few things that I do consistently on a daily basis and this blog is no exception and that I'm still somewhat of a blog newbie so will work on the format of the blog as well. Comments and suggestions are welcome. 

Let's start with some fun facts:

Canada in General:

- They didn't get rid of the monarchy like we did. On the one hand, as an American, I can't help thinking "Suckers!" On the other hand I think, "Hm, these folks managed to get representation with their taxation without a bloody revolution. That doesn't sound so bad." 

- They have cool spellings for things: cheques, litres, colour. If it's a tale, they spell it "story." If it's the next level of a house, they spell it "storey." 

- They use the metric system. Urgh. Everything is in kilometers, hectares, celsius. I'll have to learn not to panic when they say it's 10 degrees. Although, it really does get to be the real 10 degrees and I'm not really looking forward to that folks.

- Canada provides free medical care to all its residents. This does not include vision or dental but these things can be paid for with inexpensive supplemental policies. I'm sure I'll be talking a lot about this. 

- Canada is the only country in the world that pays strippers in coins.

Working in Canada:

- Americans can work in Canada with what they call a "work permit" and there are varying degrees of difficulty obtaining a work permit depending on the kind of work you do.

- My profession happens to fall under the category of "urban planner" which is a profession specifically listed in the NAFTA agreement as one that has the least difficult application process for obtaining a work permit. All I had to do was take the offer letter and my college degree certificates with me when I crossed the border into Canada. The work permit is a document that the border agent stapled into my passport. 

- Now that I have a work permit I have to apply for the Canadian equivalent of a Social Security card (S.I.N). At the same time I'm issued this card I will be issued a medical card entitling me to FREE MEDICAL CARE. Canada rocks.

- I need this S.I.N. card to open a Canadian bank account which I will need to cash my paychecks (spelled cheques here in Canada) which are in Canadian dollars. (They're called Loonies. Hee hee.)

- Spouses of workers in my category can get a work permit as well. I'm still checking on dependents.

- Calgary in particular has a booming economy due to the oil industry Alberta has a shortage of workers at all levels. The border agent told me that Tim Hortons, which in my opinion is Canada's version of Dunkin Donuts, actually brings busloads of Americans up to Canada to work in their restaurants. 

Living in Canada:

- I will have to register my car and get Canadian car insurance. The American who held my job position before said that registering his car was the most difficult logistical thing he had to go through. I guess I'll see.

- My new job will make it so that I have to file a Canadian federal tax return and I will also have to file an American tax return but not have to report my Canadian earnings. 

- The cost of living in Calgary is high. Gas is more expensive. (Don't let the $1.35 figure fool you - that's per litre.) Food is higher. Housing is higher. And housing is somewhat scarce. 

- Calgary has great public transportation. The city of 1.2 million people has a healthy light rail system (but don't call it light rail - they won't know what you're talking about. It's the "C-train." Not sure why.)

- Calgary is home to the Calgary Stampede which I believe is the biggest rodeo in the world. I've seen pictures of Princess Kate Middleton visiting the Stampede in a cowboy hat and boots, so that's gotta say something, right?

- Calgary has many, many beautiful parks and trails as well as several in-door recreational centers that are like YMCA's but on steroids (three ice-skating rinks, courts of all types, indoor water-slides). They do have YMCA's too, but most of the recreational centers are run by the City of Calgary and it's 15,000 employees. 

Bringing kids to Canada:

- If you have college-aged kids wanting to go to school in Canada, they will have to pay international tuition. (Boo!). If you have primary or secondary-aged kids, they can go to school for free if you have a work permit. (Yay!) 

- Despite the Toronto Blue Jays, Calgary High Schools do not have baseball teams. Apparently that doesn't indicate the level of interest in baseball, however, since Calgary High Schools don't have hockey teams either. (The first thing I was told was never to make fun of hockey.) Baseball and hockey are played in little-league types of organizations. 

- Canadians play American-style football but they have slightly different rules and slightly different football fields.