(De-luge-unul Cal-gu-ree-uh)
March 26, 2007 1:10 PM   Subscribe

Delusional Calgaria (De-luge-unul Cal-gu-ree-uh): An affliction that affects 4 out of 5 Nova Scotians living away from home in Calgary. And a second opinion...
posted by Old Man Wilson (40 comments total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by dersins at 1:16 PM on March 26, 2007


oh snap!
posted by chunking express at 1:19 PM on March 26, 2007


Whatever. From that link: 2005 economic growth:

Nova Scotia: 1.6%. 3rd lowest in the country.
Alberta: 4.6%. Highest in the country.

And that was 2005.

Or get TD's stats. TD provides Canada wide and "ex-Alta" stats because Alberta's economy seriously skews te rest of the nation making it look better than it is. And Alberta is kicking Nova Scotia's economic ass across the board.

Now, I hate the west as much as any easterner, but seriously, WTF Nova Scotia? Nobody is buying this. No one is going to move back from Alberta. Forget it.
posted by GuyZero at 1:26 PM on March 26, 2007


Canadians are so cute!

(insert "in-canada-milk-comes-in-bags.gif" here)
posted by facetious at 1:29 PM on March 26, 2007


This is just like a good ol' American regional shitfight except the turds are frozen, and tossed politely.
posted by CynicalKnight at 1:31 PM on March 26, 2007 [3 favorites]


not in calgary it doesn't!
posted by Old Man Wilson at 1:31 PM on March 26, 2007


This is just like a good ol' American regional shitfight except the turds are frozen, and tossed politely.

Yes! The Good Ol' U.S.A. still has an export! The manufacturing sector isn't dead yet!
posted by lekvar at 1:44 PM on March 26, 2007


what's next? ... a website for "boston states syndrome"?
posted by pyramid termite at 1:45 PM on March 26, 2007


Regression to the mean is already happening to some degree.
The cowtown hype has peaked with the realization that the mayor of Calgary is not handing out gold plated diapers to every non-albertan. Somewhere there will be a bump in the road and this mood of irrational exuberance will fade away to the February grey we all know so well.
posted by isopraxis at 1:46 PM on March 26, 2007


As a Calgarian who attends university in Nova Scotia and likes both places, I have to wonder what the government's been smoking. Halifax is a great little city and I'd love to stay there after graduation, but the jobs just aren't present - and those that are available aren't going to help me pay my student loans any time soon. If the government wants to lure ex-pat Nova Scotians back to the province, they should be dealing with the root issues instead of making inane ad campaigns.

People don't leave Nova Scotia because they dislike the place, they leave because it's either that or work down at the Tim's for the next decade.
posted by ZaphodB at 2:30 PM on March 26, 2007


Q. What is the best thing that ever came out of Calgary?

A. Highway 2 North.

(proud to have been born in Edmonton)
posted by furtive at 2:49 PM on March 26, 2007 [2 favorites]


Nova Scotia is the archetypical middle-of-nowhere for me. My uncle lives up around Yarmouth, and I've gone through Halifax, and it seemed like a really appealing place from a "no one will ever bother me out here" standpoint.
posted by phrontist at 2:52 PM on March 26, 2007


I always thought Delusional Calgaria was the hallucination that Calgary is the capital of Alberta.

/high-fives furtive
posted by painquale at 2:55 PM on March 26, 2007 [1 favorite]


People don't leave Nova Scotia because they dislike the place, they leave because it's either that or work down at the Tim's for the next decade.

Similarly, people don't move to Fort McMurray because of the inflated real-estate prices or because they enjoy northeastern Alberta.

Also, this is borderline Pepsi Blue.
posted by oaf at 3:00 PM on March 26, 2007


I like how the third bullet point on the "NS Advantage" page is:

Eassons Transport is hiring in Berwick. Five professional drivers are needed.


Five whole jobs? Tempting.
posted by painquale at 3:01 PM on March 26, 2007


And the pun I was looking for? Pepsi Bluenose.
posted by oaf at 3:11 PM on March 26, 2007 [1 favorite]


oaf: Also, this is borderline Pepsi Blue.

NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO! This is not "Pepsi Blue!" Not close, not "borderline," not at all. If you're going to use stupid, wrung-out, chewed through clichés, can you at least have the decency to use them correctly? Old Man Wilson is not shilling for a company, he's posting a link to an interesting website with a funny video that demonstrates modern social anxieties in Nova Scotia towards western Canada. And you know what, I laughed at it. It was a long set up, but I laughed and laughed during the "intervention." That bit where the mother and the girlfriend read their prepared remarks in a stilted, halting manner was perfectly observed humor. And hell, while I'm ranting, the point of view that, gosh, life might not necessarily be better where there's more money, is perfectly valid, and frankly, doesn't get trumpeted enough. It's not the one, correct point of view, but neither is "life is better with more money."
posted by Kattullus at 3:18 PM on March 26, 2007


Oh, dammit. I go off on a rant, but then oaf twists the cliché and makes it funny. Black eye for me.
posted by Kattullus at 3:21 PM on March 26, 2007


Why don't you Nova Scotians just sell your province to the states, split up the money, and come move to Alberta? You should be able to buy about 5 houses. Or hey, just sell it to us. We'll take it off your hands. We need more vacation properties anyways.
posted by Totally Zanzibarin' Ya at 3:27 PM on March 26, 2007


The government of Newfoundland and Labrador keeps trying to get people to make a similar web site for Newfoundlanders, but the people they hire keep moving to Alberta before they finish the site.
posted by oaf at 3:27 PM on March 26, 2007


The government of Newfoundland and Labrador keeps trying to get people to make a similar web site for Newfoundlanders, but the people they hire keep moving to Alberta before they finish the site.

that was the second attempt ... the first time, they were trying to get spiders to build them a web site
posted by pyramid termite at 3:33 PM on March 26, 2007


Halifax is a great little city and I'd love to stay there after graduation, but the jobs just aren't present - and those that are available aren't going to help me pay my student loans any time soon.

As an IT-guy from the US with an SO interested in moving to NS, I'm really interested in hearing more about this. Is this just a case of YMMV, or is this the general consensus?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 3:53 PM on March 26, 2007


There are jobs. Not as many as other places, but then there aren't as many people here as other places, either. If you're good at being in the right place at the right time with the right skills, you may well get lucky.
I was so relieved to return to NS after a decade in Calgary! It was like being able to breathe clearly again. Nothing against Alberta, but they ought to buy themselves an ocean.
/found employment, but not closely related to chosen field
posted by fish tick at 4:11 PM on March 26, 2007


I spent 5 years in Calgary, in Sunnyside, and my second home became this tiny bar on 10th street, in a strip mall between a Chinese takeout and a laundromat, called the Red Onion. This was a place where there was always somebody to talk to, where the jukebox was stacked with obscure classics, and if somebody had some good weed it was fine to all (sometimes it would be literally everybody) trek out around the corner to partake, as long as you still bought a few pitchers. But what made it so great, for me and a select few, was that it was largely populated by Nova Scotians, who made anyone who dared enter feel immediately at home, that you were among friends. I certainly learnt there that Maritimers had something special.
posted by Flashman at 4:31 PM on March 26, 2007


Having lived in Calgary for over fifteen years, I must say that I agree with the Nova Scotian government's iniative.

Honestly, if you're moving to Calgary to find a job realize that you're leaving behind a lot of beauty and a lot of culture all for higher pay stub. And really, who wants to go spend their pay checks in the city of delusion?

Citizens carry an unearned sense of self-importance because of the recent boom and enjoy paying $10 for a frickin' Stella Artois.

It's crawling with SUV's of every size imaginable (although typically the bigger in Calgary, the better) and the upper scale neighborhoods are filled with pretentious yuppies who enforce unnecessary speed limits just for their own peace and quiet.

And that's just scratching the surface of its selfishness.

There is no 'scene', dissent is discouraged, and the plastic life is the norm. I'm so glad I got the hell out of that place.

Of course, Calgary will always have a place in my heart - but that place is somewhere like Fish Creek Park, it's not in the face of some asshole driving their Explorer to Coyote's to pick up a some drunk sixteen year old wearing a cowboy hat.
posted by ageispolis at 4:37 PM on March 26, 2007


While we're all getting our hate on, I'd like to point out that Calgary has pretty much the most awesome backyard of any city anywhere.
posted by bumpkin at 4:47 PM on March 26, 2007


I've been in Calgary for about 10 years now, after moving out from Montreal. Not quite Nova Scotia, but the job situation was the same when I left.

We were lucky enough to buy a house before the big boom hit, but this place is getting seriously expensive. But still, it's an hour to the mountains and if you don't like your job you can find another one yesterday.

That doesn't mean that I disagree with ageispolis either.
posted by sauril at 4:52 PM on March 26, 2007


I don't deny for a minute that Calgary has some fine assets - the Rockies, the wonderful Chinooks to melt the snow, gorgeous parks, lots of funding for the arts and museums, good public transit, impressive roads, a fascinating blend of cultures, etc. But it's really easy to be lured there when you're young and opportunistic, and it's very difficult to leave unless you have a good support system somewhere else.
posted by fish tick at 5:00 PM on March 26, 2007


Thanks for the Canadian perspective on this. Can anyone explain why Calgary has had this surge in economic prosperity? I don't really understand it (nothing against Alberta, but what's the draw?)
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:25 PM on March 26, 2007


Petrochemicals, mostly; search for Calgary and boom.
posted by fish tick at 5:41 PM on March 26, 2007


I'm from Nova Scotia originally, and for most of my life it has basically always been a complete economic wasteland. I don't begrudge the govt. their advertising techniques, but there's no need to lie to people.
1. There are no jobs, anywhere.
2. Everything is either old, falling apart, or both.
3. That includes the people.
Now, you can blame the rest of Canada if you want (NS does seem to get shat upon far more often than any other province), but the simple fact is that NS has been run by incompetent morons for decades now, with no signs of change.
posted by nightchrome at 6:28 PM on March 26, 2007


Calgary is people. Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeople dude.
posted by blue_beetle at 6:30 PM on March 26, 2007


Hello nightchrome, I am only slightly old, and falling apart just a bit. But wee NS has a vibrant university community (more than ten), with none of them closing doors at this point! Tourism suffered a downturn after the World Trade Center calamity (as it did everywhere else), but things have picked up rapidly there. Offshore exploration for oil and gas continues to provide employment, and the information technology sector is also doing well. Incompetent morons come and go, of course. Come back and vote the morons off the peninsula! We can shop on Sundays now, you know, which brings us kicking and screaming into the mid-twentieth century. Woot.
posted by fish tick at 7:05 PM on March 26, 2007


I'm desperately trying to leave Calgary. I defended my thesis a few weeks ago and am looking to move back to BC (Victoria is my hometown). I second ageispolis. Flashman...the Purple Onion has been replaced by FATS (Fifth And Tenth Street - ugh) and it's not what the Red Onion once was. It's sort of a metaphor for new Calgary vs old actually.

The current catch 22 affecting most of us from my program is that people are too busy to take the time to hire and train new staff. Only one out of 20 planners has, so far, been hired by the various city planning departments despite a 'desperate need'. One guy got offered a job in January, was told to come to work on Monday and when he got there, nobody knew anything about the hiring. The person who hired him was away for the week. He sat at a desk for a week, didn't get paid, didn't do anything, and then was told that there had been a mistake. It's similar in a lot of places. The city is spinning from the growth. It's a great place to get a job at Subway but not as straightforward to get a decent professional job.

Calgary is brewing the perfect storm. Boom, with a potential collapse coming due to lack of water, Kyoto targets, and a slowing US economy. People buying houses in the suburbs are going to get burned bigime when the eventual downturn arrives. I'll be laughing my ass off somewhere far, far away from here. I'll likely be in Vancouver by May, happy as shit to pay $400K for a 2-bedroom apartment.

PS - 10-15cm of snow when we wake up on Tuesday...so they say. Ahh Spring in God's country.
posted by jimmythefish at 12:57 AM on March 27, 2007


Damn, that sucks. I heard from my friend Travis (Colley, I imagine he's still hanging around EVDS a lot) that Rachel and her mom got squeezed out of there soon after I left and it had been enlarged into something called Dixie's Red Onion, which seemed harsh enough...but FATS? Oh no. I wonder where all the old regulars are.
posted by Flashman at 1:36 AM on March 27, 2007


As an IT-guy from the US with an SO interested in moving to NS, I'm really interested in hearing more about this. Is this just a case of YMMV, or is this the general consensus?

It would be like moving to Vermont. Are there jobs there? Sure. Is it a hotbed of economic growth? Not so much.
posted by GuyZero at 6:02 AM on March 27, 2007


Er...that was Red Onion, not Purple Onion. My Vancouver is showing.
posted by jimmythefish at 7:30 AM on March 27, 2007


I'm a transplant to Calgary from the states (via three years in Toronto), been here seven years, half of a legally married, same-sex, mixed-race couple, very much arts-oriented, very actively involved in the film, folk, and fringe festivals, Green/NDP voter, transit user, and am generally thrilled at the dynamism of this place. I could not even get my volunteer foot in the door at TIFF when I lived in Toronto; in Calgary, I'm welcomed with open arms. If you want a "scene" here, you build it, you contribute to it, you don't sit on your basking-in-reflected-glory butt and expect it to wash over you. As a man marginal in too many respects (gay, immigrant, first-generation college grad, working class product but also university professor, not a member of any old boys' club in any way, shape or form now living in a country that desperately loves its old boys' clubs), Calgary is really the only place in Canada for me. I would sooner die than live in what I see as the pure hateful smugness of Vancouver, and as much as I loved Toronto, it simply did not love me back.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 8:15 AM on March 27, 2007 [1 favorite]


painquale writes "Five whole jobs? Tempting."

Ya, the scale is a bit different. Word is Calgary transit has 130 openings for driver/operators. Heck stand on the same street corner in some of the commercial areas for three lights in a row and someone is likely to offer you a job (and not of the regular corner worker variety).
posted by Mitheral at 10:32 AM on March 27, 2007


jimmythefish, we think very similar!
posted by ageispolis at 12:33 PM on March 27, 2007


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