I posted a comment on an article entitled "Saskatchewan Cost of Living vs Alberta" right here on SMA:

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I thought I explained myself well, so I thought I'd post it here and see if anyone agrees and/or wants to rebut.

I also came up with my favorite new word to refer to residents of Sask -- Saskatchians

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Like many Saskatchians, I moved to Alberta (Calgary) and lived there for a couple years back in the late 90's.

It is definitely not all it's cracked up to be. It may have a few more options in what you can do in your free time but you have LESS free time there.

Once you consider the absolute crazy housing prices, the cost of insurance, the failing infrastructure (roads there weren't built for the traffic they see today) - it does not generally pay off for everyone.

When I lived there, I knew few people my age (21 at the time) that actually rented a place of their own or even just had only 1 roommate. Most people I knew, including myself, where stuffed in a 4 bedroom with 4 or 5 other people. Sure, it made for a good party 24/7 but if you value your privacy like I do, then it's not cool.

I read an article a few years back that if you compare "life paths" between AB and SK - Albertans are nearly 10 years behind Saskatchians in regards to owning there own home, financial freedom, getting married, having kids and whatnot.

The main thing for me that makes Saskatchewan home is that it takes 12 minutes from the door of my house to my desk at work. In Calgary, I've driven an hour both ways just to get to and from work.

So even if you do make more money (which your Alberta pay stub will almost always verify) - once you take into account the higher cost of living and the fact that up to 10 hours of life is sucked from you every week commuting, it doesn't look as good when you actually sit down, think about it and get real.

I don't find it nearly worth it. Lots others have found the same thing and moved back to Sask.

I think it all stems from the fact that deep down - we all think the grass is greener somewhere else. Given the problems with Alberta living I've outlined here and the fact that many of us native Saskatchians leave tons of family and friends behind - it becomes apparent that people just need to suck it up and value Saskatchewan for all the benefits we have and stop taking your valuable knowledge and resources elsewhere.

Is our government perfect? Nope. Do we have mountains to ride off into on a nice Saturday afternoon? Nope. Do we have all the big city attractions? Nope.

I guarantee though that you will value those things all the more if you just visit them once in a while. I have a saying, "I love to visit Calgary/Toronto/Edmonton but I would never want to live here".

But look around, this province isn't just the flat piece of crap people like to think it is. SK has many awesome attractions - we just don't look for them and we sure as hell don't advertise our strengths.

I think it's high time we start.<br><br>Post edited by: Kevin, at: 2007/01/10 09:29

well siad you make some good pionts

It's the herd instinct as usual. How many times I've heard high school kids planning on moving to Ft.Mac in a pack(sorry)upon graduating. We're all capable of thinking for ourselves; very few choose to.
I wouldn't mind more curves in my roads though!

I hear ya there...wouldn't we all?? I think there is some...you just have to ride miles to get to them.

I whole-heartedly agree. I grew up in coastal BC, and have lived in Calgary and Saskatoon, visiting Edmonton and Grande Prairie regularly and I think I'm way better off here than any of those places (though I love my hometown and need to get back to the ocean at least once a year). My concern is that with these super-boomtowns like Calgary and Edmonton seemingly teetering on a system-collapse will people see the light and the tide will change? When cities like that billboard-advertise gas-jockey jobs at $14 an hour and can't fill them because it costs too much to live there something is wrong and the top-heavy city will eventually fall. Will Saskatoon then suddenly be the big boom town, exploding beyond it's capabilities with the rats leaving the sinking ship? People are already buying up lots on the eastern, more affluent areas of town that have no infrastructure in place yet just to be able to buy a new house over there. Cement and lumber supplies run periously close to demand and forget about getting a contractor in to work on your 1968 house! I guess it's hippocritical of me to move here and then say &quot;I hope there aren't too many more people moving here&quot; but I'd hate to see the Paris of the Prairie turn into the SUV-clogged traffic snarl that Calgary is 10 hours a day.
Going into full rant mode now...Must stop before I have an embolism...

I think we can safely grow to double what we have today without seeing too many negative side effects.

I think Sask would be well off if we had 2 mil people here.

I think Saskatchewan may very well be on the verge of being the next promised land and - if nothing else - many of the people who have moved will come back home. I'm hearing more of this kind of thing happening as time goes on...

I like things the way they are now. More people = more crime. You don't want us to have a crime problem now, do you?

I don't mean to be an ass but that's a pretty lousy attitude. There are far more benefits to having more tax payers/people in this province than the supposed hike in crime. I'm not even sure that's accurate.

For example, more people = more income for the cities/province = more money for policing.

I'm not saying that I want Regina and Saskatoon to be the size of Calgary and Edmonton but it sure wouldn't hurt to have a Winnipeg sized city in this province.

Just my 2 cents...

Well, I just saw this thread again since I installed the "Popular Forum Threads" module today (at the top of this page).

So I thought I would mention that I think Saskatchewan is primed for being the #1 place to live in the country nowadays - SP's in power, Alberta raised rates on the oil industry next door and we're over a mil peeps again.

We ain't seen nuttin yet

One of the best kept secrets in ALBERTA. The city of Lethbridge, I've lived in Vancouver, and on the island, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina ,Moosejaw , oh, ya LANIGAN, on into Manitoba, Birtle , Rossburn, Brandon, Winnipeg, now Ontario , Morrisberg. Travelled accross CANADA, even been on the rock Newfoundland, all places have there good things . LETHBRIDGE, we do not put our BIKES away. We can ride every month of the year. Lots have been out Christmas day and New Years day. Some get more riding days in , in Feb. than they do in June. I guess it is not a secret anymore.