Top 10 Things I Hated About Edmonton
Now that I’m safely ensconced in my friends condo in Toronto happily suckling from the teat of urbanism, density and an efficient public transit system, I think I can safely reflect on the 10 things I hated most from my time in Edmonton.
I know, I know…how could I possibly narrow it down to 10? I’m that good. So, here it is, the top 10 things I hated about Edmonton.
Top 10 Things I Hated About Edmonton
1. Apparent Lack of Any Urban Planning…At All
Now, I know no city is perfect. All major urban centres have gone through periods of rampant growth which throws any sort of coherent planning out the window, but Edmonton has really done it with style. At various times during my stay in Edmonton I had asked long time Edmontonians why the city seemed to grow as an amporphous blob, and most times I recieved vauge answers around “the landscape promotes this sort of growth.”
Oh really…the landscape dictates that you build a sea of big box stores on your main entry to your downtown core, or that you allow parking lots and Walmarts to surround apartment complexes without any thought to walkability? I didn’t realized that those wide open spaces erased any concept of historical preservation, density, or urban planning. I mean, Edmonton covers 680 some sq. km., larger than Chicago, Phillie, Montreal, or…yes, Toronto. And the actual City of Edmonton population is around 730,000. Obnoxious.
2. Lack of Identity
Now, this is a tricky thing for any municipality to grasp. And yet, all the great cities have managed to nail down their “feel.” New York has done it, Toronto has done it, Paris, Chicago…hell, even London, Ontario has a better sense of self than Edmonton.
As the capital of Alberta you would think that the city could come up with something more creative than “City of Champions.” Now, the attempts to rebrand as the “Festival City” are admirable, but a vast majority of Edmontonians seem to prefer resting on the bygone “glory” years of when Gretzky played there. I mean, sure, hockey is big in Canada, but should a city that is trying to portray itself as an urban destination really rely on that as its selling point?
3. Lack of Professional Sports
Bias alert. I don’t enjoy hockey. Never have, most likely never will. I really tried to get in to it when we arrived in Edmonton because, well, there were no other choices. Outside of hockey you have…the Edmonton Crackercats (Think Bad News Bears w/out Walter Matthau there to act all grumpy), Edmonton Rush (arguably more enjoyable than hockey, though), and, oh yes, the soon to debut Edmonton Chill…if only I’d stuck around enough for that!
4. Conservatives
One of the big reasons I decided to move to Edmonton over Calgary was that I heard it was significantly more liberal. This is a lie. I would estimate that those of a small-L liberal mindset (you know, compassion for your fellow citizen, a desire to improve the overall plight of residents as a whole) compose approximately 10% of the population. This is the province that had a record low voter turnout (42%) in the last provincial election, and the sitting Conservative government that refused to address skyrocketing housing prices, especially for rentals (“leave it to to the free market). But, enough people are making enough money in the oilsands that there is no motivation for change. I can’t handle that.
Saving grace on the political scene: daveberta.
5. Oil City Roadhouse/The Ranch
I hate manufactured bars, and these two are the worst of the worst Edmonton has to offer. I’ve never been, but I can still judge, because that’s what I do. If you want to have a theme bar, great. But please, for the love of Christ, don’t try and sell me cow-whores. I know they are trying to corner the 18-19 year old market there in Edmonton, but even I get queasy with the flesh peddling. And the next girl I see in a bustier I’m going to punch her in the face…no doubt in my mind.
When I think of Edmonton’s social conservative scene this is who I will think of. I respect people with different opinions, and I typically will listen for quite a while before smacking them. But this guy is so far gone I don’t even know where to start. In fact, it’s better if you just read his “campaign platform” from when he ran for Mayor of Edmonton.
Apparently this is a big selling point for Edmonton. When I asked people what to do shortly after arriving, going to “the Mall” was in the top 3. I really don’t understand how you can use an enormous shopping mall as a selling point. I try to avoid malls whenever I can. I mean, my idea of fun is not cramming myself into an giant gerbil tube with thousands of others all trying to get an awesome deal on those novelty tshirts at American Eagle. Speaking of punching people in the face…
8. Lack of Tumbleweeds
I saw one…in Drumheller…and it wasn’t even tumblin’. I really thought those suckers would be all over the place…you know, you’re walking along and all of a sudden you hear a whip crack, the wind blows, and Old Man Strathcona rides by herding his tumbleweeds to market. What a let down.
9. Idiots in Big Trucks
Now, I know some people use trucks…farmers, construction workers, and the like. But I also know that the vast majority of jackasses I’ve seen in Edmonton driving jacked up, chromed out, over-sized trucks with various decals of a) naked women, b) Bootleg Calvin’s peeing on something, or c) “Go Oilers Go” are not using their trucks for work.
And why are all of these idiots so small? I pull into the bank and there is a truck pulled across not one, but two handicapped spots. I walk in and try and guess who it might be…sure enough, it’s this little 5’4 dude with a mustache who has to use a step stool to get into his monstrosity of vehicle.
10. Truck Testicles
I had never seen this “fashion trend” until I got to Edmonton and suddenly they were everywhere.
What is this guy thinking? How twisted must your mind be to really think that hanging fake balls off of your truck somehow makes you look…cool…hip…smart…funny…or anything that might remotely be considered complimentary. Is there a whole sector of the population that looks at these and goes, “My, what a nice accessory to that truck, I think much more highly of the gentleman who is driving it.” No, of course not. Everyone who sees this mocks the driver. But someone who puts them on, such as our friend in the picture, must have some serious ED problems.
———–
So, there it is. No more Edmonton for me. In fact, two days in Toronto has already dimmed some of my rage…kind of like Dorothy when she wakes up…almost as if it never happened. Now I just have to rescue Gwen!
94 Responses to “Top 10 Things I Hated About Edmonton”
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there’s a market for tumbleweeds?
I still miss kennedy.
1. agree (sadly)
2. yup (sadly)
3. in our defense, how many cities can carry multiple sports? Look around Canada and only Toronto does marginally better
4. i was hoping no one would remind me
5. i’m too old to comment
6. he was born in Ontario and has only recently made it to Alberta. i resent the fact he’s on a list that describes Alberta!
7. but, for $10 you can ride around the mall on a Segway!
8. this does nothing for your list :)
9. i drive a puny geo metro. don’t get me started
10. i’d never noticed those. i’m curious why you did?
You just hurt Jazz’s feelings
Mark, you might have a point on 3, but #6 is your problem now. I’ll just ignore the fact that he is from Ontario since it goes against my list. Oh, and you caught me on #8, I totally got lazy.
And for anyone who wants another good post on truck testicles or “bulls balls”, go here…the link to the Cornell study is really interesting:
http://www.mtannoyances.com/?p=543
#6 is NOT my problem other than I need to keep that guy moving west!
You forgot the part where 90% of the inhabitants are ignorant douchebags.
Well…I just figured EVERYONE knew that, Lachlan.
You’ve hurt my feelings! I’m crying so hard I can’t type any rebuttal!
I am waiting to see the Top 50 Reasons Not To Talk To Ben As He Moved To Toronto, The Center Of The F-in’ Earth to be published quite soon!!!
Well, “Pat”, if that’s your real name…I’m waiting for the…umm…Top 10 Delicious Margaritas Ben Drank At My House List. So there!
Toronto is the center of the earth? Maybe the canadian earth….
I really think you drank more then 10 margaritas!!!
Now firstly I totally agree with you on the truck thing… I hate those idiots. and the bars catoring to 18-19yos? they should be burned down. But you forgot to mention the fact that we have a CFL team also the fact we are still better then Winnipeg or Regina by far (in everything we do). And too the guy that said that Albertians are all Ignorant douchebags? well guess what we say the same about people from Ont here. Toronto is NOT the center of the universe and oh yeah… We have F1 and CASCAR racing here (that we so easily took from Toronto). Cant figure out our tranist system? Invest in the brain then please because other then the lack of subways (that is also being expanded currently) our bus network is very well designed for the sprawl we have. ALSO the main reason why are are sprawled so much be because our industrial sector is massive and we feed all of Canada with many raw materials and manufacutered goods for their enjoyment. Oh did I mention the fact that the Ont Economy is doing a nose dive to hell while ours is growing and GROWING? Your lack of insight into this city is appaling and we really dont want people from Ontario here anyways. People from other provances are the ones driving up our crime rate. Ide be quite content to see the oilsands shut down forever because I cant stand that polluting monster. Yet the locusts keep coming…. Welcome to the City Of Edmonton NO VACANCIES GTFO!
Ryan,
Lets see:
Idiots – Check.
Nascar? Cascar? – whatever, check.
Oil Driven Economy – Check
Afraid of Change – Check
Fear of outsiders – Check
Inability to understand urban economics and sustainability (big industry=sprawl?) – Check
Unhealthy, unfounded and inappropriate sense of civic pride – Check.
Congratulations, you’re on level with Texas! It couldn’t be done without you.
Ryan,
Jimsey pretty well nailed this one (look up sustainability, I know it’s a big word), but there are a couple of things I wanted to point out, as well.
Are you really holding up CASCAR and F1 as a source of pride? You might not want to do that, it kind of supports my argument.
And, a point of clarification: I never said I can’t figure out how the transit system works in Edmonton. I just said it is terrible. Get it right. And I’m well aware the LRT is being expanded…just not in the right way (why build a second bridge on the proposed east/west line when you could go north of the river and avoid it? Oh, because of pandering to the idiots who keep sprawling out in the southwest.)
Also, what raw materials, outside of oil, are you talking about? Bison? Truck testicles? Besides, the oil Alberta is producing doesn’t “feed all of Canada,” it feeds the refineries in the United States. Way to go.
Oh, and that is a stinging argument at the end there, “City of Edmonton NO VACANCIES GTFO!” You really brought me to my knees.
See, here’s the shitty part for Edmonton and Alberta in general. The boom will slow in the next 25 years. Provincial planning for this has been non-existent (i.e., diversification of the economy, sustainable urban growth) and cities such as Edmonton, which have massive infrastructure grids which need servicing, will begin to hollow out as both the city can’t afford to service outlying suburbs and people can’t afford to live there. However, I can promise that I won’t tell you to GTFO if you want to come to Ontario.
The hell does that mean, anyways…Go Tickle Female Ovaries? A strange insult, but I don’t mind if I do.
Finally, might I gently suggest you download the latest Firefox…it has this great built in spell-checker that could help teach you proper punctuation and word selection. (provances = provinces?)
Fuck you.
Dear Mike,
Three things.
1) Thank you for your valuable input regarding this debate. Albertans continue to impress me with their eloquence and intelligence.
2) It’s quite possible you know my friend Ryan from a couple comments above. Tell him “hello” and lovingly pat his butt for me.
3) I question the accuracy of your joke name.
Hugs and kisses,
Ben
Alright, as a misplaced BC-er (BC-ite? BC-inian? BC-liver?) who’s been in the hell-hole-disguised-as-a-city for almost 7 years I have to say, you definitely have some points. Some good ones even.
#1 – this is obviously a sore spot with people who are born and raised here yet remain…how shall we say uneducated…about how cites can work. If you throw in the very lacking in effectiveness of our transit system our city looks like a big…screw up. Yes we have a lot of buses, but when it gets to -25 in the winter who really wants to take 4 buses to go from one end of the city to downtown? Certainly not me! Our train system is more than lacking, it is practically non-existent and every “extension” they have added or have planned is not doing much to solve these problems. I live in the south east of the city, in an area at least 30 years old, and for me to get to say….that big evil gerbil tube of a mall it’d take almost 2 hours. An easy solution would have been to have trains that went to said mall…but now I doubt we’ll ever see such conveniences…or smartness.
#2 – I completely agree, “City of Champions” was fine when Gretzky and Messier were there to make it happen but as of late we haven’t been very championy…Festival City might be better if they renamed it to “Festival City in the Summer” because essentially from June until October we are a busy place…but once winter comes along…we all hibernate. The more recent one I’ve heard is “Cultural Capital” which, sure fine we have a variety of cultures represented but I’m sure other cities can claim the same (especially when you think that maybe somewhere like to T-O or Vancouver are more port-ish and would have a larger intake of “fresh meat” – lets see how fast I get roasted for that – than a city in the middle of a flat province)
#3 has already been addressed, but lets just say its nice living in a “small” city that still provides some benefits of larger cities at a convenience – I don’t just mean sports wise either – having grew up a few hours from Vancouver it was still living here that I managed to get to a pro-sports game because it was *here* and didn’t involve a 2 hour ferry ride plus insane traffic plus insane prices…just the prices :P
#4 – Alberta in general is disappointingly conservative…there’s no avoiding it, and it really depends on the who/what/where/why as opposed to which city you pick to call “home”. The voter turn out has been depressing since moving here and while you hear all about discontent with our government I’ve yet to see any true chance at the conservatives being kicked to the curb…I think it’ll remain that way until something actually happens…so we’ll see when that is.
#5 – 90% of the bars in this city are aimed at that very age group…it’s depressing and even more so when you go in, see some drunk floozy trying to ride a mechanical bull while some ridiculous remix of a country song blasts louder than a jet plane and a bunch of men stand around in cheap dollar store type “cowboy hats”. Needless to say one avoids such establishments as much as humanly possible (read: ALL THE TIME)
#6 – Whatcott is a waste of oxygen/space/bacteria/etc. ‘Nuff said.
#7 – WEM is an overrated tourist attraction, convenient in that you can hit more than 3 stores at once, but also incredibly inconvenient because 4 or out 7 stores are just copies of one another and the other 3 are “specialty stores” I avoid going there as much as possible and probably average 3 visits a year, which are entire day ones to spend with friends/kids/etc who enjoy the mall while you drown the miserable-ness in copious amounts of caffeine – also…there’s only one Tim Hortons in a mall that is “the biggest in the world” – how UN Canadian can this place be?
#8 – Erm…Tumbleweeds seem to belong mayhaps in a province a bit further east…that weirdly spelt one y’know? Sasquatch? Yeah…there :P
#9 – 100% (and then some) agree, especially being a mom who has to constantly pull kids to safety as some big truck driving idiot jumps curbs in front of Save-On foods because parking further back was too far for their ‘roid monkey bodies to handle. It’s even better when I’m taller than the little shits too….
#10 – see above and then add :WTF!! If I could get away with it I’d spend my days going around the city castrating trucks and then maybe even putting on bumper stickers that say “I got castrated!” or potentially just leave notes like the following everywhere:
Dear Truck Testicle owners: Get a bloody clue/life/idea and get over your lackage of whatever made you think your truck needed balls…I mean the 5′ tires clearly weren’t enough of an indication that maybe, just maybe, you were compensating for something….
Angel,
Thanks for the well written, well thought out response. Are you sure you meant to come to Ben Co.? I’m not sure how to handle someone who doesn’t swear at me!
Seriously, all your points are dead on and well taken. Thanks for stopping by.
Ben
fuck u ur momther sucks cock dickface
Hi Edmontonian,
Thanks for supporting all of my arguments, couldn’t do it without you.
Mind if I try and breakdown your odd insults? Great!
I get the “fuck u” okay, that’s pretty clear, right along the lines of my good friend Mike Oxlong. I’m a little confused over the “ur momther”. I assume “ur” = you are, so I think you are calling me a “momther”.
Is a “momther” like a meat thermometer? Are you calling me a meat thermometer? If so, that is kind of a neat insult.
But, if you’re just trying to say that my “momther” prefers peni, well, I’ve had worse things said to me by my “momther”. Anyway, thanks for repping Edmonton.
Ben
p.s. The email you provided, ben_is_a_fag@hotmail.com, can’t be yours, Jimsey snagged that years ago. He’s calling me a cigarette.
Ben, I just had to say that I grew up in this city my whole life and a lot of your points are very vaild. But the comments made after the fact are quite humerous. It does just go to show how stupid really can be, but I guess that’s what happens when the majority of the jobs out here require no education what-so-ever after the ninth grade. The mall is very over-rated and most people do try to avoid it. The transit system is the worst in Canada as you really can’t go anywhere and when you are trying to connect from one bus to another the other bus always leaves 2 minutes before the one you’re on gets there, so when you have to wait an additional 28 minutes (which always turns out longer since the next bus is always late) in the freezing cold, you learn t hate buses and get your licence sooner. As for truck testicles…….well….. really, you don’t have enough balls of your own you have to make some sort of statement that you have something when you really don’t and probably never will. Always over-compensating, seems to be unwritten rule around here. You come to Edmonton to work as long as the money is here, but if that ever changes the first place most of us will be heading is to Ontario, that is if their grade nine education will get them there.
Savvy
Ben, its sad that you hated much of almost everything you see in Edmonton. Yet, I am just curious why you decided to try and live here.
Edmonton is still a growing and younger city compared to Toronto and Quebec.
Why the heck did you move here in the first place before, not too much jobs out East eh?
Edmonton and Alberta is a city/place for REAL MEN and TOUGH WOMEN, no girly men(like you) will ever be allowed… you have to be tough, there are a whole lot of jobs and you can earn really good money but it takes a whole lot of patience, courage and perseverance.
Dont judge us for our funny looking trucks(because we CAN AFFORD TO MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD AND KICK ASS) and their balls(BECAUSE OUR TRUCK’S GOT ONE and you dont), our one of the worlds biggest malls(die with envy mofo), our the city’s theme(“city of champions”, t’was meant to boost everybody’s morale, not just celebrating hockey) and our bars(you should have gone to our famous gay bar in Jasper Ave, you are not color blinded right, you can easily see the gay flag).
To hell with all of you sucker ass mamas boys and papas bitches, learn to respect our diversity as A DIFFERENT CITY OF DIVERSE CANADA.
Sorry Edmontonians are not as HIGH CLASS SOUNDING and INTELLECTUALLY EDUCATED like who you pretended to be. :-)
Hurt feelings? Suck it up hard and dont worry, its always MORE painful when its true.
Wow!!! I lived in Alberta for five years. Edmonton was a huge part of that. I did find some things I LOVED in Edmonton. There are some great people. There really are some great things to do. Edmonton is for sure a city that you must look hard to find the great things. Once you have done that, they are there.
There are for sure lots of trucks. I have no idea what the hell they are trying to do with those anyways.
It really is sad that there are people from Edmonton who think there is nothing better. Please, please, please, educate!! While it is great to love your city, it is not great to do it like Albertan Edmontontonian.
I loved Edmonton!! I also love, and have lived in many other cities in Canada. Edmonton is not the King Shit. Please travel and have a look around at everything Canada has to offer before handing out inaccurate information. Edmonton was also very Gay friendly. So I really have no idea what Albertan Edmontontonian is talking about. It is mostly people from the very small towns in Alberta that talked/think like that. This is the same in many other provinces in Canada. Closed minded people were the outsiders in Calgary and Edmonton. Even if they still do not understand that they are.
Alberta in no way holds Canada together. If you had a look around you would find just as much and more industry etc. in every other province. It is all of the provinces in this country that keep it together. What about fishing and agriculture to name a couple. Look up in Google what every province is up to. That is the one thing I did not like about many Albertans from the small towns. They were very sure that every other province was sucking them dry. Most of the sucking was being done be Ontario. It is so funny to hear that. I have looked first hand at many provinces. None of them are sucking anything out of you. Every one of our provinces has hard working people, doing a lot of hard work to keep you going also. Oil has not in any way kept us all living and breathing. Oil does not put food on all of our tables. We work at it ourselves.
Edmonton is a great city with some great people. I love Toronto, and Victoria, Montreal and many, many other cities in this country also. I encourage everyone from Alberta to take a look and them for themselves. It not at all what you think.
Thank god you left, you are bar none the most anoying person and the biggest princess in Canada. We dont need crap-stirring-pompous assholes like you in Edmonton. You can take your arrogant attitide back to the big choke, go downtown and enjoy a jam packed urban egocentrical attitude with you, we are better without you and trust me princess, we wont miss your whinning.
So in conclusion FUCK YOU AND YOU SHITTY ATTITUDE..
I love Edmonton, and 1 more thing as much as i hate the truck nuts too i think you left because you thought you had big balls untill you met Edmontoinains.
Egocentrical?
I think I will move back next week just for you. I have seen some Edmonton balls. I Love Edmonton and Its balls. There not bigger then any other provinces though. I love your attitude! It really sets a high standard for anyone who wants to visit. You make your province look bad. Actually I tell everyone what great place it is and tell them to have a look.
Here is just a tiny bit of info for those who think Ontario lives off your Alberta oil. lol
Ontario’s 12.5 million people make it Canada’s most populous and dynamic province. Its share of Canada’s GDP for 2005 was 39 per cent and it is Canada’s leading manufacturing province accounting for 52 per cent of the total national manufacturing shipments in 2004.
The Great Lakes: The Great Lakes are Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Combined, these lakes hold one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. The five Great Lakes, four of which straddle the border between Canada and the United States (U.S.), are the world’s biggest continuous body of fresh water. A Canada/U.S. commission jointly manages the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Basin covers an area of 750,000 square kilometres; this basin includes eight U.S. states, most of southern Ontario and extends into northern Ontario. The Great Lakes support 33 million people, including nine million Canadians and eight of Canada’s 20 largest cities. The lakes provide drinking water to 8.5 million Canadians. The combined shoreline of the Great Lakes is equal to about 45 per cent of the earth’s circumference. The Great Lakes support 45 per cent of Canada’s industrial capacity and 25 per cent of its agricultural capacity, and contribute $180 billion to Canada-U.S. trade annually. The lakes sustain a $100 million commercial fishing industry and a $350 million recreational fishing industry and every year 1.5 million recreational boaters enjoy the Great Lakes.
Manufacturing
Ontario is part of the North American manufacturing heartland and is well situated to serve major Canadian and U.S. markets. Examples of Ontario’s key manufacturing industries include autos, food processing, and computer and electronic products.
* Ontario is North America’s 2 nd largest motor vehicle assembler, after Michigan.
* Ontario exports more vehicles to the U.S. than Japan or Mexico.
* Manufacturing contributes 94 per cent of the province’s total goods exports and 58 per cent of Canada’s total manufacturing exports. The U.S. is Ontario’s biggest trading partner: more than 90 per cent of exports are sent there.
Ontario’s manufacturing sector employs 1.1 million, the second highest level in North America, after California.
Manufacturing has contributed significantly to the province’s job creation in the past ten years. Between 1994-2003 Ontario led North America in manufacturing job growth with a gain of 270,000 net new manufacturing jobs (up 33 per cent) – more than any other Canadian province or U.S. state.
Ontario has over half of the “Class 1″ (highest quality) agricultural land in Canada and even more Class 2 and Class 3 land, both of which are considered very suitable for agriculture. Over 56,000 farms in Ontario, with cash receipts of more than $8.3 billion, account for almost one-quarter of all farm revenue in Canada.
Ontario has many commercial poultry, hog, dairy and beef cattle farms. Cash crops including soybeans, corn, mixed grains, forage crops, and wheat and barley are significant agricultural commodities. Vegetables also account for a considerable share of Ontario’s agricultural production.
While the largest fruit crop is apples, the rich agricultural lands and mild climate of southern Ontario also allow for the cultivation of tender fruits including peaches, plums and grapes, and specialty crops such as tobacco, ginseng, dry beans, and mushrooms. Wineries thrive in the Niagara Peninsula, Pelee Island, and the Lake Erie north shore areas.
Ontario has an extremely competitive trucking industry. Some two-thirds of the value of all Ontario exports move by truck. Cross border truck trips have increased around five per cent a year for the last 18 years. In 2001 Ontario joined the International Registration Plan (IRP) with strong support from the truck and bus companies based in the province. The IRP provides blanket registration for trucks and buses as an alternative to individual (reciprocity agreements, and distributes truck and bus registration fees among member jurisdictions based on the number of kilometers carriers travel in other jurisdictions.
Colleges
There are 24 colleges of applied arts and technology, 3 agricultural colleges, and the Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences, amounting to more than 70 campuses throughout the province. Colleges prepare students for careers in business, applied arts, technology and health sciences. They also offer an extensive range of part-time and continuing education courses, apprenticeships and skills training programs. In 2004/05, a total of 59,419 students graduated from Ontario colleges.
The Ontario College Quality Assurance Service oversees the quality of education at Ontario colleges.
Universities
Admission to university requires six Grade 12 university entry-level credits. Ontario’s universities and university-related institutions offer a complete range of programs in the arts and sciences, as well as graduate and professional programs. Affiliated services of the Council of Ontario Universities help to ensure the high quality of university programs by conducting periodic reviews of the universities’ educational and research activities. Total graduates in 2002/03 at all levels (Bachelor, First Professional, Masters, and Doctoral) numbered over 68,632.
Co-op programs, offered at several universities, provide alternating terms of academic study and work experience. The University of Waterloo was a pioneer, and is today one of the premier institutions in the world offering post secondary co-op programs.
Ontario’s post secondary education system attracts students from all over the world. In 2004, there were close to 23,500 international students registered at Ontario universities. English as a Second Language (ESL) programs are available for students who need to increase their English language skills.
Ontario’s colleges and universities are largely publicly-funded. University tuition fees for a two-semester full-time program in arts and sciences was approximately C$4,350.00 in 2006/07. Tuition fees for college post secondary programs were about C$1,820.00 for the 2005/06 academic year. Foreign students pay additional international student fees.
Private career colleges
In addition to the publicly-funded colleges and universities, private career colleges offer vocationally-oriented training in over 500 locations across the province. Though privately funded, they are registered with and regulated by the Ministry of Education
ben co = tourismontario.com
Sorry that was mostly for Edmonton, Albertan Edmontontonian, and Mike Oxlong.
Wow, Jay…that was, well, a lot of text. Thanks…I think?
I’ve had the great fortune to live in 3 major cities, and 2 different countries in my lifetime. Edmonton is by far the worst. The sad thing is, it could be one of the best. What makes it suck is, like I mentioned earlier, it is full of douchebags (as we’ve seen direct evidence of, by their postings). I think I have only seen 1 person defend this city, with any intelligent arguments.
Teh problem with Edmonton, is that it is full of jobs that require no education, so that is exactly what you get…..a bunch of poorly educated fuckwits, who have no concept of anything outside of themselves and the oilers. If you mention anything outside of their world perception (which lets face it, is nearly everything) you get called a fag (because this is the worst thing in the world apparently).
Edmonton is full of people who have no critical thinking skills, and therefore believe whatever rag media they subscribe to, tells them. They question nothing, and the ones who do are shouted down by the morons who believe the rhetoric by someone who shouts louder.
It’s really like a small sister marryin’ town that grew into a city.
Like I said, it’s sad because it really has the potential to be great, if only someone with any kind of forethought was here to implement it. Unfortunately, as long as the dregs have any sway, we’ll always be a cesspit.
Hi Ben, I think these are funny, whether puttin truck nuts on your ride OR looking for
THE ORIGINAL BULLS BALLS that you eat,
I’ve got some funny pics and articles at my blog if you’d like to take a peek
http://reporter666.wordpress.com/
EDMONTON CAN NOT BE WORSE THAN VANCOUVER!!!!
I Just moved here from Calgary and after 8 months, I am so depressed here, the city is cold and there is absolutely no multiculturalism (unless you call the sole Asian population multiculural).
There are rarely no ther people from other countries here! I came here for school at UBC and I HATE HATE HATE going to UBC (University of a Billion Chinese)! I am used to seeing and interracting with people from the Middle East, Africa, Brazil, El Salvador, Somalia, Ethiopia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Lebanon e.t.c, I miss having and knowing people from all cultures and backgrounds,
I wish I had listened to people tell me not to move to HongCouver! I wish I had a time machine and I could go back and just go to school at U of C or U of A! Now it’s too late, I don’t want to go back with my head down in shame,
I should have listened, Vancouver is a deceptive city, Beautiful at times yes, but within it, the people here are soooooooooo cold, materialistic and miserable, there’s no joy here, I am depressed and riding out 1.5 more year of school before I leave this Yuppie, lonely lonely cold and miserably depressing place! My next destination, either Alberta or Chicago, only time will tell. DEFINITELY NOT STAYING OR APPLYING TO JOBS IN HONGCOUVER AFTER I GRADUATE!
I am disappointed to hear that you’re having such a bad time in Vancouver! Although I’m not exactly sure what more one could want from a city? In my experience, when I was in Vancouver I loved the buzz. Everyone was so friendly and nice and the scenic beauty of Vancouver is breath taking. I haven’t gone to university there, but I must say, it wouldn’t bother me that there where a million Chinese there! I find that comment rude and offensive. Canada for that fact, has a strong Canadian Chinese history and you will find many Chinese in Edmonton as well, particularly in downtown and many own restaurants. So if Chinese people are your problem, well maybe you should leave Canada, not exactly sure where you can go in this world for that matter of fact that doesn’t have a strong Chinese/Asian presence in one way or another!
It’s all pathetically true! Yet there’s so much more. The deal with the big trucks is that they lack in size not only in height but elsewhere as well and have to make it up.
Wow for a guy who didn’t like Edmonton, you spend a lot of time complaining about it. If you drink martinis and margaritas then maybe you shouldn’t have been in Edmonton in the first place huh? However the whole truck testies is a bit stupid.
I’m from here and I agree with a large portion of your list. 1,2,6,9 and 10 are on point.
3) I don’t think Edmonton is a terrible sports town. Yes it is overly obsessed with the Oilers but if NHL is your thing, Edmonton is a fantastic sports town. We are also big on CFL. The Crackercats did suck but The Capitals (the team that replaced the Cats) offer a solid product at the beautiful Telus Field. There are also countless sports bars to follow sports. We also have some great MMA events here, especially when you consider Edmonton’s size.
AHHH I acidentently pushed post….add computor illiteracy to the list.
4) While I dont suscribe to one ideology J think that it is safe to say that I lean to the left. While Edmonton is extremelly conservative, not all of the majority of the conservatives in Edmonton are of the gay bashing/ left media propaganda/slash all social programs, variety. Most of the conservatives here are not overly politically active. In my opinon their conservatism has more to do with the innefeciency of the left than backwards ideology. Unfrotunatly the Conservative have done a good job at selling the “we care about small buisness” line. You can probably guess why that is appealing in Edmonton. Lastly, Edmonton has some innovative and inspiring social programs. The work being done in the at-risk youth feild and restorative justice is amazing despite lackluster funding.
5) Edmonton’s nightlife scene is abysmal. Undebatable. Oil City and The Ranch are the worst of the bunch. However, its not like crappy bars marketed towards young douche bags is an Edmonton invention. These bars exist in every Canadian city.
7) Im not a fan of mall’s either but you have to admit that WEM is a good thing for Edmonton. The majority of people LOVE this mall. For a city as small as Edmonton having an attraction like WEM is remarkable
Dan, thanks for your thoughtful response. I’m constantly amazed by two things with this post: 1) the number of insightful comments it’s received and, 2) the number of jerks who comment on this. You fall in the former category.
I’ve lived in Edmonton for 26 years and agree with almost everything you have to say. For all of the individuals on this website that claim to be a proud citizen you are actually proving many of Ben’s points. Canada is a “freedom of speech” country and he can speak his mind all he wants therefor put your testicles back in your pants and leave them off of your trucks! City of what? Losers and want-to-be Eminem fags.
I one hundred percent agree with your comment
OK, this link was published in the Edmonton Journal, one of the better newspapers here.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/52reasons/index.html
When you list magpies, poplar fluff, a liquor store and a water treatment plant as reasons to like a city in your “Let’s pump up Edmonton” piece, it’s painfully clear that the city leaves a lot to be desired. It’s too bad the year didn’t contain 54 weeks, because then we could have been treated to the gem reasons : #53 Cognitive Dissonance we barely knew ye & #54 No expectation to understand irony.
I do miss the magpies.
Thanks for the list!
Well Edmonton thanks you for leaving please feel free to stay in Toronto, we don’t really want you here anyway. I can understand why you did not like it here but this is my home and i love it.
If you like Toronto stay there.
Also if you are a Liberal that’s great too, but do you know what makes a democracy great, choice. Its a multiple party system and i am sorry many people choose not to vote your way but its not really up to you to criticize a city due to it political leanings. The truth is the Liberal party does not hold Alberta in high esteem so why should we vote for them.
I have been all over Canada and i have never found a city here i did not like they are all great, try going to Detroit and then list off Edmonton as so bad.
Its too bad you can only see the negative and not the positive side to this city.
I am also sorry that a lot of the people who responded to your statements seem to think everybody in Alberta are just a bunch of stupid hicks, take a look around the world and i promise you, you will see the ratio of stupid people to somewhat intelligent people is always going to be 5;1 that’s just people it has nothing to do with region just the species in general.
For the people that say that we from Edmonton are so rude, do you think it might be something to do with people always talking trash about our home you would get a little surly too.
Edmonton is young as far as cities go and all youth go through growing pains there is going to be something to criticize about every city in Canada. I am just sorry we don’t live up to your high standards.
Hi John – did you happen to read my list of 10 things I liked about Edmonton? Any thoughts on those?
EDMONTON IS VERY, EXTREMELY BOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG.
Oh my, its like you read my mind and put all my thoughts of Edmonton, down on paper for me.
I am originally from London, UK but previously lived in Sydney, Australia. I was very disapointed when i arrived in Edmonton. I have been here for nearly two years and have hated most of my time here. The people are nice but the city is shit. I have nothing nice to say about the place and i can’t wait to be on my way again. We are just waiting to for my husbands visa to be approved an then we will be back to Sydney, where the transport is great, there are no box stores, chain restaurants, where the industrial areas are kept to one part of the city (on the outskirts) a place people are proud off living and there is more than a giant mall to visit. Edmonton is a terrible city to live in and will only seems get worse. I can’t wait to get the f%ck out of here.
Hi Ursula, thanks for the comment. I’m still amazed how much interest this post generates a couple years after the fact!
I think I might throw my hat in the ring for the mayoral race, and use that as my platform – “The people are nice, but the city is shit”.
Hello everyone. I have lived in Edmonton for 1 year and 9 months, and am looking forward to my move in 5 days. I have travelled extensively throughout Canada and the USA, and lived in many places incl. Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Calgary, USA and Europe. I came here for work and while here made a great effort to explore Edmonton and surrounding areas. I have been to all the festivals, partied with the rednecks,explored Ukranian heritage, dined in the ethnic restaurants, shopped at the farmers markets, seen all the malls, hiked the river valley, visited small towns and lakes, made friends with educated people and oil workers, locals and foreigners alike. I tried hard to find something about Edmonton to love enough for me to stay but despite all of my exploration and experiences here I have found Edmonton to be lackluster and void of personality and charm. Most cities have a vibe or an energy but Edmonton doesn’t have it, and if it does…it’s so dull you barely feel it.
One thing that really bothered me about this city is the lack of walking communities and connectedness from one community to another. Also, living in Edmonton feels like living in the middle of nowhere. I put a lot of miles on my car and having said that, I will end with a positive note-this province does have good gas prices. :)
I’m from Edmonton and I must say this city is really fucking shitty. Everything about it sucks, the weather sucks, the architecture sucks, the night life sucks, the food selection sucks, ed hardy sucks, ppl who wear ed hardy sucks, how most guys in edmonton think theyre gangster sucks, rich kids who come from good families think theyre gangsters sucks, girls who think theyre from hollywood and try to live their life like its an mtv show sucks, how everyone loves to talk shit and act like their shit dont stink sucks, ppl who think listening to rap music makes them hard sucks (rappers are entertainers, theyre the same as justin bieber cept they swear more. They dont move drugs and they dont care what happens to your life, they just want that $15 of yours), guys who take steroids sucks, the city council sucks, guys who act tough and only fight when they outnumber ppl but speak the “no beef” when theyre outnumbered sucks, random stabbings sucks, innocent civilians getting attacked/mugged sucks, the bounce sucks, wannabe rappers sucks, snow removal system sucks, smoking crack sucks, the scenery sucks, how walking at night is not safe sucks, ppl who make decisions based on what a rapper or scarface would do sucks, idolizing scarface sucks (shits a movie not real, the real scarface died of syphilis)
I’ve had it with this city. I left a couple years ago to travel around the world then came back to find this city become even more of a dump. Ya Edmontonians will defend the city but most likely they havent been outside of alberta and see what other cities have to offer. People who cant distinguish rap /mtv/scarface and real life are pathetic. As for the city iself, it just doesnt have that spark, everything is so gloomy,plain, grey and cold.
Ya, I have lived here for twenty five years, and this city is soooo boring, gloomy, people are not lively, very dreary. I now, have Inertia.
When thinking of Edmonton hubris comes to mind, and it does not matter if the people are blue collar or white collar. Either been nowhere and know everything, or been a few places and still know everything.
Indeed Edmonton is located in the middle of nowhere and this is reflected in the fact for most international flights one has to feed through Calgary or Vancouver.
The essence of Edmonton, often referred to as Deadmonton, is a very large Fort McMurray, hardly cosmopolitan and very dull on every level; mediocre.
Now there is talk of a new taxpayer funded hockey arena and the surrounding district (about a billion dollars) that somehow this is going to miraculously revitalise an entire city, especially the downtown “world class”. Some writer/moron even compared it to the Guggenheim Bilbao. People from all over the globe would be making pilgrimage to see the sacred arena district, where all would be overcome and have some sort of hockey and cultural epiphany . . . I nearly pissed myself.
On the other hand this is pathetic . . . “Build it and they will come”.
Once the arena is built, the city will become harder to live in. It is built only for the pompous and the rich. There will only be more car pollution coming my way. Hoping and praying, I will not get cancer.
Ive lived in my fair share of cites/towns across Canada, even Toronto. No place has left a more bitter taste in my mouth that Edmonton.
Ive found the people to be pretty well off the handle. Ive really never met so many people with psychological/behavioral/emotional problems. No one seems to have any coping skills outside of “gettin fu**in hammered” or cocaine or meth or all three. So many angry, aggressive people. Xenophobia is encouraged. So many internal divisions.. Everyone seems to hate everything, all the time..
Hate towards other provinces, hate towards other races hate towards what side of the city you live on, have towards you if your not from Edmonton. It just goes on and on..And so many people with so much ego and attitude that is un-substantiated..
So much community disconnect, its like living in a twisted version of high school all over again except with adults with the mentalities of teenagers..
Ive had so many negative experiences in Edmonton I have stopped counting.. From going to the bank, to driving , to walking to work in the mornings, to getting food poisoned, fired from jobs with no notice, land lords not returning security deposits, the list goes on and on and on.
You pretty well, explained what living in Edmonton is all about. I agree that Edmonton is a VERY negative city to be living in. I can say this, because I have been living in Edmonton, for thirty LOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGGG YAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWNNNNNNNN years.
6 minutes before this last post of yours, you said you’d been living in Edmonton for 25 years…..is it 30 or 25?
I’ve only been here 8 months and I’m already depressed and anxious to go home. Driving to work is a nightmare, customer service is terrible, and there’s no privacy. While I have met some nice people, the vast majority of my experience has been negative. I lived in Calgary, Jacksonville FL, North Carolina, and Anchorage and this city is by far the rudest. I compare it to the hicks of Kentucky, actually. I’ve seen women beaten in the streets, children being abused, road rage that involved the entire road! I can’t read minds, PLEASE SIGNAL BEFORE YOU CUT ME OFF! I’m sure Edmontonians will be more than happy to say goodbye if I leave…and I will feel the same way. I can’t WAIT until I can say ‘GOOD RIDDANCE ALBERTA’
No do not leave. You are truly giving them a reality check, for the real life of what it is like living in Edmonton.
Edmonton poisons you. Get out before it changes you negatively.
Hey Ben,
Have lived in Edmonton my whole life and am very proud of my city. Will be here for another three years, at least, as I finish my second degree. Found your blog while I was looking for the Top 10 Things to do in Yellowstone, and then decided to look for the same in Edmonton.
I just want to say that your assessment of Edmonton is pretty fair, especially when you balance it with the Ten Things you Liked about Edmonton. There are a number of great things about Edmonton, but there are also a number of not so great things.
To everyone who became filled with rage after reading this post, you need to learn how to be critical and honest with yourself. To everyone who has nothing positive to say about Edmonton, sorry you were so closed minded and unadventurous that you could never enjoy yourself. People on both sides need a good lesson in humility.
Things in life are not black and white, they’re grey, like many winter days in Edmonton, but those always give way to summer nights where the sun just refuses to set, and it’s nights like those where there is nowhere else in the world you’d rather be.
Edmonton is what you make of it, and I’ve made it all that I need and more.
Hey Golden Bear,
Thanks for your thoughtful response, I really appreciate it! I’m consistently surprised by the amount of conversation this post continues to generate, even 3 years after posting. And I agree with your assessment of Edmonton – I fear many people who make their way here via searches don’t notice the companion post, “10 Things I Liked About Edmonton”.
I have many fond memories of my time in Edmonton, and don’t regret living there for the time I did, but it just wasn’t for me in the end.
To all others, thanks for your input (even the rather enraged ones)!
You’ll notice this blog has been pretty quiet – most of my online input is concentrated via Twitter these days, find me here: http://twitter.com/#!/benelling
Ben
Hi Ben,
I’m originally from Toronto (I lived there almost 30 years). I then lived in Windsor, Ontario (and worked in Detroit) four years before moving to Edmonton. I tried hard to enjoy Edmonton, however during my four years there the only thing that really struck me as special was the Fort. Edmonton is not a city; it’s a big town. It possesses the drawbacks of a large city (sprawl, traffic, crime) with very few of the benefits (culture, entertainment). Likewise it lacks the charm of a small town, but it’s not short on boredom. While the river valley is nice, it pales in comparison to the Rouge River in TO (the world’s largest urban nature reserve) and falls short of TO in terms of bike and walking trails. The festivals are nice, however there are far fewer of them then I would expect for a town of this size. I found that there was so much more to eat, do, and see in Windsor (a town less than ¼ the size). I’ve travelled extensively throughout Canada and I was really surprized by (in a bad way) by Edmonton.
I am surprized you didn’t mention crime. The murder rate in Edmonton tops that of Metropoloitan Toronto (a city nearly five times the size). While I lived there I witnessed muggings, was offered drugs several times, had my car broken into three times – my girlfriend had her car stolen twice (both times it was used as a getaway car in a robbery). I felt safer in Detroit.
Of course it all depends on your living conditions. In Edmonton I was a poor graduate student living a rough neighbourhood. Today I’m a College Prof working in Fort McMurray. I quite like Fort McMurray! I wouldn’t mind leaving but I’m tied to my mortgage – a 40 year old attached home that only cost a half million ;). In any case, I like the people I work with and I have almost nothing to do (directly) with the oil sands. I think part of the reason I like this town is that only 50% of the inhabitants are Albertans; which gives the town a surprizing multicultural feel (Edmonton always struck me as the whitest city on earth).
Anyway, everyone has their own perspective…but I certainly have no intension of returning to Edmonton (it pains me just to visit). Incidentally, the tumbleweeds are released downtown and roll through the streets promptly at 8:00pm.
Hey Calm_Blue, thanks for writing – always good to know I wasn’t totally misguided in my conclusions. And sorry to hear about your Ft. Mac mortgage…that’s rough.
What a wast of time seriously if you think edmonton is not a good place then why are you spending so much time explainig why.! Really who cares. What do you love in life nothing? You look like someone who is complaining a lot look in the miror!
Youre the one who has no life seeing as you are actually taking the time to respond to this.
BTW LEARN HOW TO SPELL
Edmonton was not named the city of champions because of hockey but because of black friday and what people went throughthat horrible day do your research moron…
I agree with the bad city planning point it is pretty bad..not much to do in Ed and West Ed does get boring after going there a hundred times over since its the only thing to do next to bar hopping.
and Toronto is not doing better since 40 %of its population is infected with HIV
Top 10 things?
1. the people
2. the people
3. the people
4. the people
5. the people
6. the people
7. the people
8. the people
9. the people
10. the people
1. the people
2. the weather
3. the people
4. the people
5. the people
6. the weather
7. the weather
8. the people
9. the people
10. the weather
this morning, not having been awake for 20 mins, nor outside for more than 10 mins. i hope in my car and pull out down the alley.. i have this idiot from deadmonton on her bike riding on the sidewalk no less, stop on her bike in front of my car and give me a dirty look and swore at me for my bumper being slightly in the sidewalk as i was awaiting to pull out in traffic..
everyday is like this.. just more idiots who get in your face.. im so sick of the fucking morons here..people just dont even know how to “be” they are so inept..
so basically i have an idiot riding her bike on the sidewalk who feels so self important she needs to stop and point out to me that my bumper is in the sidewalk. any normal person could mitigate this by either walking behind the vehicle or by slightly offsetting their path…
deadmontonians = seldom right but never in doubt..
Having lived in Edmonton for 5 years and recently escaped to the West Coast, I totally agree with most everything you say. One error to correct: The Ranch went out of business a year or so ago. It was replaced by a restaurant “the beer market” I think it is called. I only know this because we lived in Old Strathcona. That would be my other response. If you are liberal and live in Edmonton, Old Strathcona is the place to go and is a great place to live – the cultural center of the city.
Youre a zoo bud. After living in Chicago and phoenix the past year, I’ve experienced true big cities, for our size our down town core is nice and the river valley can’t be beat. Especially there walking trails don’t know if you pulled your head out of your ass long enough to check those out. Also I know coming back home and being able to go to the 18/19 year old bars when i was on break from school with my friends was a great time. sorry your an old fuck maybe its time to grow up and get a family. The is always a good time. Also edmontonians are great people in general after living in the U.S. you learn to see what dicks some people can be. Im sure your just another fucking plug who thinks toronto is the center of the universe. I mean the raptors and leafs have really performed the past few years… and edmonton actually had the edmonton capitals for ball last year and the won the north american league championship. And there team featured quite a few ex MLB’ers. It wasn’t a team filled with slap dicks that for sure. I think you need to quit being fucking butt hurt about not being in toronto experience a little more of the world before you say such dumb shit. I know being only 18 i probably have more cultural experience then your bitch ass. I’ve been across canada u.s and europe. and enjoyed my time in all those places. I loved being in big cities as well like toronto or chicago theres an amazing atmosphere but nothing beats home and our river valley not alot of places around the world have that. so get a little more worldly experience and quit being so fucking negative you sound like a bitch.
@Brandon. You sound seriously mentally handicapped, hopefully you got a invitation to visit a mental institution for christmas.
Thanks for taking care of my moderation, m! Saves me the trouble of responding to…interesting…comments.
Came to Edmonton about a year ago. Although I found some nice things here and it is much better in the summer, I agree with 95% of the negative points that were mentioned here.
Nice to read that others had a similar impression of the city. Feels good to know that you are not the only one.
Edmonton
Horrible winters
Terrible sprawl
Boring
Drunken idiots everywhere
Looks like the moon in winter
Feels like Hamilton
In the middle of nowhere
No identity
No culture
No thanks!!!!
Hey, dickcheese it looks like a car show with that lifted truck number 9? You can see the mustang with the hood up dickcheese
dickcheese? Hey, grade 5 called, they want their lameass insults back.
Man the people in that city and mentally handicapped.
I may have to move to Edmonton from Ontario soon, there must be some good there…and I am a huge Oilers fan so that has to be a good start. If you live in the burbs and have a family does that make a difference?
Hi Scott, thanks for taking the time to ask. I wish more readers would take a look at the companion post to this, which is the 10 things I LIKED about Edmonton: http://benelling.wordpress.com/2008/03/12/top-10-things-i-liked-about-edmonton/
Well, in my opinion the ‘burbs of Edmonton are not a happy place. But I’ve always been a city guy. I just feel like living in the ‘burbs would cut you off from the good things Edmonton does have to offer. If you are interested in learning more about Edmonton, feel free to connect with via email and I’d be happy to share my thoughts.
There is no “burbs” really…. The entire civic layout of the city is a total nightmare. Be prepared to put THOUSANDS of kilometers on your vehicles. Also be prepared to buy a $400 000 vinyl sided nightmare of a house.
If you like being inside basically all year round, and dont mind paying $600 000 for a house (after you add in mortgage interest, not to mention property tax :)) for a plain, over-sized, over priced house with no backyard or privacy, in a community of people who are xenophobic, egomaniacs who place every aspect of their own self-worth on how much they can accumulate within their lifetimes, then you will be in heaven.
Also if you don’t mind living in a 1 000 000 000 man work camp(thats what edmonton basically is), with terrible weather all year round, none of the communities being walkable, no parks except the river valley. You will notice massive urban sprawl with a rapid transit system that goes to low traffic/no usefull areas of the city.
If someone asked me to describe the most nightmarish city I could come up with, it would basically be a carbon copy of edmonton.
If your a redneck and love guns, driving for MILES (cause driving on pot-hole riddled roads, with angry, sociopathic drivers is FUN for some weirdos), LOVE spending all year round INSIDE, want to spend FAR MORE MONEY on things than you would in NORMAL parts of the world, and pretend your getting what your paying for, and generally like to live in a dream-like, delusional state, then its probably and OK place to live for you.
O YA, not to mention no culture, the “festivals” are watered down versions of REAL festivals elsewhere. They only throw SO MANY festivals at you in edmononton, just for the sake of being able to say “we have more than anyone”, it just plays into the perpetual inferiority complex the majority of the people embrace..
ALSO you have the morons that WORK in edmonton, but live in places surrounding edmonton (because edmonton sucks according to even the locals) like fort saskatchewan, spruce grove, st albert, sherwood park, leduc, nisku, which creates NIGHTMARISH COMMUTES.. They dont even treat these roads like the highways they should be treated as.. so much traffic, little to no dual lanes and NO LIGHTS AT NIGHT…
I really cant believe a place like edmonton exists in the civilized world… it just seems so tremendously backwards, in ever sense of the word.. as do the peoples thought and behavior patterns..
not to mention the “no zero policy” encouraged in schools, so you have generation after generation of idiots with attitudes running around…
its like living in a out-patient insane asylum..
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What an ignorant fucking idiot. Have fun back in Toronto. Yeah, Albertans are the jackasses, right? Enjoy the transfer payments we make so that you can afford to pontificate on why we are so terrible. Goof. I’d be HAPPY to separate from people like you. Remember when we were murder capital of Canada?! At that point I’m saying to you Ben, “Come back to Edmonton, we missed you the first time”….
how can you feel special about something anyone in the world can access? You dont even have to move to Alberta to get a job, companies just fly you out there because no one in their right mind wants to live around so many raging morons.
Ft, Mac full of non Albertans because they can actually work and not whine about it.
It must just drive you NUTS the immigrants come and “steal your jobs” right? lol
Just because resource extraction companies haven’t set up shop ALL ACROSS Canada doesn’t mean their isn’t extractable resources all over the place. Your province just happens to be be guinea pig number one. Then its off to Saskatchewan.
I have lived in Edmonton way too long. I absolutely hate it here and I am currently trying to get the hell out. My reasons?
1. Cops don’t work anymore they let photo radar do the work. You know that obnoxious truck culture you mentioned? Well you should see it now. No demerits for anything just monthly “bills” in the mail that they pay for speeding and it shows. No one does the speed limit anymore and everyone rides your bumper (I have had people actually try to force me off the road). The city police go to the press once a year and say “We don’t know why folks are speeding but we’re gonna crack down on the bad ones”…and then things stay the same.
I had some friends here for two weeks from another country and they asked me where the police were. All they saw was dangerous drivers and no cops at all. Not one….ever. There were people going down my street one night with bats and axes smashing vehicles. I called 911 and they arrived….three hours later. They let me know there was no one out there and I should not waste their time.
2. They really did leave the word “planning” out of planning and development. Nothing makes any sense. They build a ring road but use the wrong type of material so they have to tear it up and re-pave. I know someone who walked away from the project because of the constant mistakes. Exits being built backwards so they need to be torn down and re-built (to the tune of a cool million) or they are attached to other roads but not the roads that needed the access. And lets not forget the roads. They cut 2/3 of their road budget for two years and let the roads fall apart. Now there are potholes all over the city that will destroy your vehicle. It’s like a non stop obstacle course. They are filling them with cheap fill, but they are all re-opening again.
3. Dumb redneck mentality. I’ve seen intelligent people move here and just start acting beer guzzling stupid. I don’t know if it’s something in the water but it seems to be spreading. This probably leads to the truck and balls scenario you mentioned. It hurts my brain being here.
4. Hey lets put our city in debt and ignore the infrastructure so that we can build an arena for hawkee…and lets give all the profits from the area to the oilers owner…and the parking…and not allow other places to hold events to compete. Brilliant….must be the water.
5. Lack of identity. I spent a few weeks in Calgary this year. Much better than Edmonton and they seem to know where they are going and how they plan to get there. It’s not oil and gas crazy and it really seems to be coming into it’s own. Did I mention I saw police working when I was down there? And it’s clean…
6. Dirty. Edmonton is a damn dirty disgusting city. It’s river stinks (take a ride on the glorious river boat to get a good up close whiff), the roads are always filthy. It’s buildings are brown….I’m sure they weren’t always that way. Everything that opens here glorious and new is eventually run down an fugly with filth.
7. Angry people. Everyone here is pissed off…all the time. I came back from the northern states where everyone was warm and friendly and the first thing I witnessed getting back into Alberta was a guy cutting off another guy at a gas pump, getting out of his MANTRUCK and yelling at the old man “you took my goddamn pump”. Welcome home to Alberta were everyone makes a lot of money, is over-entitled and is pissed off. I find myself getting angry being here.
Time to move on.