Moving to Calgary - is it a safe place?

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starfish

For a Canadian city, Calgary has a fairly high crime and murder rate. But most of the crime and murder is related to gang activity, so average middle class people are pretty safe. There are a lot of very nice, very wealthy, very safe parts of Calgary. The schools are definitely safe. There is a lot of security in the schools, as there is in all large American and Canadian high schools, but there is very little violence in Calgary schools. There are drugs and things, of course, but most of the kids aren't involved with them and your son shouldn't have to worry. Calgary is actually in a pretty conservative part of Canada with a lot of religious people. It's a very diverse city with a lot of culture. Macleans Magazine actually recently rated it as the most cultured city in Canada based on how much people spend on theatre and the arts. I think your family will have a nice time there.

And, by the way, I don't currently live in Calgary (although I lived south of it for nearly a decade), but I'm originally from Edmonton (3 hours north and Calgary's "rival" city), so I'm probably understating how good of a place Calgary really is because I'm not "supposed" to like it. :)

Jim B

Lets turn the question around, shall we ?

How safe is Sydney, or Melbourne, ?

Do those cities have teen gangs, drug users, and wild parties ? And how about the murder rate, is it as high as in Canada ?

Of course, Australia has ALL of the same social and crime problems that Canada has.

Gangs are concentrated in low income, welfare supported public housing developments, not middle class home areas. I suggest that if you are being offered a job in Calgary, you won't be living in a slum, will you ? Inner city schools are where the gangs are concentrated, so if your son is attending a school in a nice suburban district, he will be fine. But you need to realize that he will be exposed to "real life " no matter where he goes to school or where you live. He will have to learn to take care of himself, sooner or later.

Take a deep breath and relax a bit.....

Jim B. Toronto.

Wendy

Avoid downtown and the Forest Lawn community and you'll be fine. The North East has more gang activity too, and I also wouldn't live in Bowness. The newer communities are best for low crime rates. I live in a fairly new community and I don't know of any major crimes that have happened in my neighborhood. Or any at all for that matter. I'm sure there's been minor ones, but none that I've heard about. I've even forgotten to close our garage door (in back, open to back alley) and left it open all day, and nothing was missing when I came home and found it like that. Mind you, I still lock my doors even if I'm home, but that's just common sense when you live in a city, large or small.

pinkpiglet126

Calgary is an awesome place to live! The murders you've heard about are all gang related and are 99% gang members who die. Unfortunately one innocent person died the other day but that's the first one in a long time.

Schools are safe for the most part but there are elements everywhere. If your son is mature and stays away from the kids who are party animals he'll be fine. Thousands of kids are in schools in Calgary and very few are gang members.

People here tend to love the outdoors. We are so close to the mountains for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, backpacking, etc.

I think you would love it here.

Mug R

Compared to the rest of Canada Calgary's crime is one of the worst, but Canada in general is safe and Calgary is a good place to live.

Carrie L

My boyfriend is also Australian, and moved here to Calgary just over a year ago. He's loving it so far.
I wouldn't really worry about the crime rates here. I've lived here for 24 years, and the only 'crime' i've had happen to me is that someone opened my car door (i left it unlocked.. oops) and ran off with my license plate and insurance papers.
The murders that happen here are between two gangs in Calgary, but compared to your Rebels in Australia, it's fairly mild.
I'd reccomend to you trying a smaller town, such as Okotoks which is only 10 minutes away from Calgary. The local High School, Foothills Composite High School is absolutely great and caters to kids individual needs. If you'd like to talk a bit more about the Calgary / Aussie transition, just let me know :) I've become a bit of a pro at it!

synchroswimmer1212

OF COURSE! I am in love with Calgary, live here all my life but the thing is that any large city you go to will have violence. Calgary is safe though. There are a lot of very nice, very wealthy, very safe parts of Calgary. The schools are definitely safe.There are mostly all safe areas.Schools are safe for the most part but there are elements everywhere. If your son is mature and stays away from the kids who are party animals he'll be fine. Thousands of kids are in schools in Calgary and very few are gang members. Its not like you can say the north side is bad or this part of town is bad because it isnt. The gang members are stupid and very minimal. Of course there are big percentage of murders but they are focused on low income, stupid, drug users who involve themselves in stuff like that. I would recommend living inner city because you are close to everything. Forest Lawn isnt the nicest and Bowness is getting a little lower but its not bad. I hope you have a good transition if you do come. If you need any help than feel free to ask!

I hope you come to Calgary!

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