There are lots of fringe benefits of employments moving to Calgary. After all, Calgary has been ranked the 5th most livable city in the world by The Economist Intelligence Unit from 2009-2015. Population density is low, quality of life is high and housing abundant.The 2016 “livability ranking” report measures 30 factors under five categories: stability, health care, education, infrastructure, and culture and the environment. Calgary received top marks for healthcare, education and stability.

It is arguably the cleanest city in the world

According to the 2014 Mercer Global Financial list of the world’s cleanest cities, Calgary, Canada’s oil capital was top of the cleanliness pile. In 2007, Forbes magazine ranked Calgary as the cleanest city in the world. It ranks top of the list due to its greenery.

People of Calgary follow 5 basic rules to keep their city neat and clean. These 5 points are maintaining sewage system, quality of drinking water, removal of waste products and their recycling, traffic rules and air pollution. There are heavy fines for littering. Even dropping a cigarette butt onto the sidewalk can net you a $500 to $1,000 fine.

There is an excellent system that government educates people and spread awareness to preserve natural environment. Calgary is surely a deserving city to be called as the most cleanest city of the world.

Low Sales Tax

Every province except Alberta has implemented either a provincial sales tax or the Harmonized Sales Tax. If you move to Calgary, you’ll only have to pay the Federal Goods and Services Tax rate of 5 percent.

If you live in other Canadian provinces, Youare paying a combined sales tax of their purchases ranging from 10 percent in Saskatchewan to 15 percent in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

This means that you spend less on items such as groceries, clothes and entertainment. Alberta and Calgary’s public finances are very healthy.

Weather: -27°C, Wind S at 6 km/h, 62% Humidity

Calgary is about 1,042.4 m (3,420 ft) above sea level, the city covered a land area of 825.29 km².Calgary experiences a humid continental climate.

Calgary gets the most sun of any of Canada’s major cities. Summers can be warm and dry with temperatures capable of reaching 30°C. Winters are cold and the air temperature can drop to or below −20 °C on average of 22 days of the year and −30 °C on average of 3.7 days of the year, and are often broken up by warm, dry Chinook winds that blow into Alberta over the mountains. These winds can raise the winter temperature by 20 °C , and as much as 30 °C in just a few hours, and may last several days.

Weather in Calgary is characterized by four distinct seasons. It almost always cools off comfortably at night, when frost can occur at any time of the year.

In summer, daytime temperatures can exceed 30 °C anytime in June, July and August, and occasionally as late as September or as early as May, and in winter drop below or at −30 °C.

Calgary receives low amounts of annual rainfall, with most of its annual precipitation coming in the form of snow during the winter months.

Calgary’s public transport is reasonably good.The system features light rail transit (C-Train), Regular and low-floor buses, and commodity shuttles. The city of Calgary, Alberta, has a large transportation network that encompasses a variety of road, rail, air, public transit, and pedestrian infrastructure. Calgary is also a major Canadian transportation centre and a central cargo hub for freight in and out of north-western North America. Calgarytransit bus routes cover most of Calgary’s main roads.

The C-Train system, its power is completely wind generated and completely free of emissions.Within downtown, you can travel free on the C-TrainOutside downtown, there are free park-and-ride car parks featuring free plug-in block heaters for C-Train and bus users. These heaters are needed in cold weather to keep car engines warm so they can start. The C-Train stations aren’t enclosed, which makes for some very chilly waits in winter.

Calgary’s transport system is mediocre compared with Toronto or Vancouver. Having a car is very advantageous in Calgary. The C-Train is definitely a very good resource for newcomers, but with colder temperatures it’s not always convenient.

Calgary is recognized as a Canadian leader in the oil and gas industry as well as for being a leader in economic expansion. Its high personal and family incomes, low unemployment and high GDP per capital, have all benefited from increased sales and prices due to a resource boom, and increasing economic diversification. Calgary is one of Canada’s wealthiest cities.Low taxes have brought many businesses to Calgary.

Over the last two years, Calgary has been hit hard by falling oil prices and its economy has declined by over 2 percent in 2015 and is expected to decline by 1 percent in 2016.

Approximately 16,000 jobs have been lost in Calgary in the last 12 months to September 2016. The fall in the oil price has reduced employment opportunities as oil producers trim their budgets and cut costs. Calgary’s manufacturing and construction sectors have also been affected by lower oil prices.

Despite the economic downturn, the oil industry and its suppliers still pay some of the highest salaries in Calgary.

Calgary’s unemployment rate in September 2016 was 9.8 percent, higher than the Canadian average of 7.0 percent. The number is higher than a year ago, when Calgary’s unemployment was 7.0 percent. In the boom oil price years, 2013 and 2014, Calgary’s unemployment rate was below 5 percent.

The downsizing of the oil industry means that getting well-paid work will be difficult for many migrants when they first arrive in the city. Many of Calgary’s employers seem to look first for a local employee. If they can’t find a suitable local employee, employers will consider employing a migrant.

There is no general sales tax levied in Alberta, although shoppers need to pay a federal sales tax of 5 percent. Shoppers in other Canadian provinces have to add a combined sales tax to their purchases ranging from 10 percent in Saskatchewan to 15 percent in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Calgary has some wonderful, extensive parkland with unvandalised playgrounds. The parks have attractive paths and cycle routes – especially parks on the Bow River.

Buildings in downtown Calgary are linked by the +15 network of overhead pedestrian bridges, shown in one of the images on this page.

The +15 network is heated, so you can walk around the downtown’s buildings and shops in winter without the need for winter clothing.

The network (so called because the bridges are about 15 feet above the ground) is the biggest network of buildings connected by footbridges in the world, about 16 kilometers (10 miles) long in total.

The city is said to be currently looking at reviewing the Plus 15, though. It does create a problem in that it prohibits foot traffic at street level on downtown streets. This prevents things such as nightlife to really take root and flourish. That’s not to say that there aren’t any restaurants and clubs or things to do in Calgary, though. Some just feel that there might not be just as many as there could be.

In the end, if you don’t want to set foot outside in the winter or during a downpour, Calgary is the place for you.

Calgary quickly found itself at the center of the ensuing oil boom. The city’s economy grew when oil prices increased with the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. During these boom years, skyscrapers were constructed and the relatively low-rise downtown quickly became dense with tall buildings.

Calgary’s economy was so closely tied to the oil industry that the city’s boom peaked with the average annual price of oil in 1981.The subsequent drops in oil prices were cited by industry as reasons for a collapse in the oil industry and consequently the overall Calgary economy. Low oil prices prevented a full recovery until the 1990s.

The city’s preferred residential areas lie in the North West and South West suburbs. These are closest to the Rockies with attractive mountain views.

The North East, where the airport is situated, and some rather industrial parts of the South East are often thought of as less favored locations.

• ›› North West

We’d recommend Tuscany, Edgemont, Country Hills, Dalhousie and Rosedale as good places to begin your search for a home.

• ›› South West

We’d recommend West Hillhurst, Westgate and Spring bank Hill as good places to begin your search for a home.

• ›› South East

We’d recommend McKenzie Lake and Midnapore as good places to begin your search for a home.

Each of these areas has lower than average crime rates and offer residents an above average quality of life.