Living in Calgary
As you look down from the window of the aeroplane, the first impressions of Calgary are that its smaller than any known US city. Then as the downtown comes in your view it seems even smaller. Yes the downtown area of Calgary is indeed very small consisting of just a few avenues and streets. Now that I have lived here for a year, I have started liking this town. Its spread across a vast area but the population is less than half of Pune. The people are very friendly and courteous. The roads that run east to West are Avenues and the ones that run North to South are termed Streets.
After you land and go towards the baggage claim area you find out that the airport is indeed small to be called an International Airport. It however is very neat with clear signages. The airport staff is courteous. Infact all the people I have met till now are friendly and helpful. As soon as you claim your bags and get out of the terminal building a blast of cold air hits you. Yes. It is like entering the freezer of a refrigerator. Calgary seems to have only 2 types of weather - cold and still more cold!
When I landed here it was -14 deg C and within a week it was -26 deg C. I was fortunate as the week before I landed here the temperature had dropped to -48 deg C! This was very cold even by Calgary standards! I stay in downtown and the good part is that almost all the commercial buildings seem are interconnected. These buildings are connected to each other by glass tunnels and are called +15 system. The name has been coined as these tunnels are at a height of 15 feet from the ground. You can really beat the cold as these tunnels are heated. You also get maps for the +15 walkways!
The city is very expensive. I am in a single bedroom apartment and am paying $1000 for it. I was lucky 'cos other apartments charge between $1200 to 1300 for a 1 BHK flat. The deposit is usually equivalent to one months rent. The newer the building more expensive it gets. The flat is fully carpetted with heating, water and electricity charges as part of the rent. The Kitchen is equipped with electric stove, kitchen cabinets and refrigerator. They rarely provide microwaves and dishwashers. Among other amenities there is a mini gymnasium and a table-tennis and pool table. There also is a community room with an electric stove and TV.
The city is divided into four zones - North East, South East, North West and South West. Indian community and Indian shops are predominantly in the North east part. These Indian shops sell everything from sari's to vegetables, Maggie noodles, Hindi/Punjabi/Malayalam/Telugu movies to Parle G biscuits. One such shop is Fruiticana or Apna Punjab. Just opposite Apna Punjab is OK. It also has the same stuff. But most of the grocery is North Indian stuff. Some typically Maharashtrian or South Indian stuff is hard to get. Instant packs of dosa, uttappa are available. There is now a ICICI bank here. Moneygram (charges $12 per $1000) and Western Union are other options. The charges reduce as the amount you send increases. Here some information on the Indian community related stuff. The numbers may have changed.
Indian Restaurants in Calgary
# Bombay House 636 Centre St SE, Calgary Ph 403-261-0845
# Glory of India 515, 4 Ave SW Calgary AB T2 OJ8 Ph 403-263-8804
# Mango Shiva 507 8th Ave SW Calgary, AB T2P 1G1 Ph 403-290-1644
# Moti Mahal 201, 1805 14th St SW Calgary, AB T2T 3T1 Ph 403-228-9990
# Rajdoot 2424 4 St SW Calgary, AB T2S 2T4 Ph 403-245-0181
# Taj Mahal 4816 MacLeod Tr. SW Calgary, AB T2G 0A8 Ph 403-243-6362
# Tandoori Hut 5, 201 10th St, NW Calgary, AB T2N 1V5 Ph 403-270-4012
Hindu Temples
# Hindu Society of Calgary 2225, 24th Ave NE, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 8M2 Ph 403-291-2551 http://www.calgarymandir.ca/
# ISKCON Calgary 313, 4th St, NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 3S3 Ph 403-265-3302
Indian Grocery Stores
# A1 Spices 96, 55 Castle Ridge Blvd NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-285-2446
# Desi Bazaar Bay # 143, 5120-47 th St, NE, Calgary, AB T3J 3R2 Ph 403-285-2446
# Continental Food 3253, 34 Ave, NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-250-2448
# OK General Food Stores 3250, 60 St NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-293-1168
# Bangla Bazar 6-9915 Edmonton Trail NE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2E 6T1
# Apna Punjab Grocerices & Movies 300-5075 Falcon Ridge Blvd NE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T3J 3K9
The Real Canadian also stocks some Indian stuff.
Indian shops
# Bhatia Cloth House 1001-5075 Falconridge Blvd. NE. Calgary, AB. T3J-3K9 Ph 403-293-3369
# Delta Foreign Exchange #146, 3132-26 St, NE, Calgary, AB Ph 403-291-4546
# Khalsa Credit Union #604, 4656, Westwinds Dr, NE Calgary, AB Ph 403-285-0707
# Overseas Fashion #135, 5120-47 St, NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-568-1660
Gurdwaras
# Sikh Society of Calgary Ste 10, Box 22, SS3, Calgary, AB T3C 3N9 Ph 403-452-9616
Indian Real Estate Agents
# Mohinder Jhutti 455, Marsh Rd NE, Calgary, AB T2E 5B2 Ph 403-239-3941
# Raghbir Basati 205-525-28 St SE, Calgary, AB, T2A 6X1 Ph 403-531-8800
Indian Attorneys
# Randhawa Law Office 115, 5120-37 St, N.E., Calgary, AB Ph 403-590-8224
# Shory Law Office 140-55, Castleridge Blvd NE, Calgary, AB, T3J 3J8 Ph 403-216-1198
# Subhash #12-6208, Rundal Horn Dr, NE Calgary, AB Ph 403-280-9920
The C-Train or Calgary Transit runs across the city. All the stations and trains have facilities for the physicaly challenged. The ticket costs $2.50 for a 90 minute journey. Within these 90 minutes you can travel on any train or bus route, any direction any number of times. It takes approximately 30 minutes by the train to reach from one end of the city to the other one way. This train is free in the downtown area. The service is so good that most people travel by cars till the nearest C-Train station (park their car) and take the train to travel to downtown. Another reason could be the parking rates in downtown. These vary from $2 per hour to $30 for 8 hours!
There are a few Indian restaurants in downtown and as elsewhere they are very expensive. A lunch buffet is around $13 to $17 plus taxes. Dinner buffets are more expensive. Indian restaurants are referred as East Indian restaurants. There are many fast food outlets like KFC, McDonalds, Wendy's etc. Though the food at Indian restaurants was acceptable, I truly missed the authentic South Indian style Rassam, Sambar and Dosas.
Generally the Internet charges in Calgary are as follows:
256 kbps connection - $20 per month for six months and later $25 per month
5 mbps connection - - $29 per month for six months and later $43 per month.
The main internet providers include Shaw, Telus and Primus. Similar rates are for TV's with free to air channels too.
Cellphones - CDMA is the dominant technology and most of the offers are bundled with a cell phone. The best offers are for 3 years package. Some of the operators are Telus (http://www.telus.ca/), Shaw (http://www.shaw.ca/), Rogers, Primus. Prepaid cards for GSM mobiles are also available for as low as $20 per month. The talk time reduces daily. Another alternative would be to buy calling cards. These are in denominations of $5. Yet another method is to buy an online card from Raza.com or Reliance or Airtel.
The main shops that sell grocery are Walmart, Safeway (www.safeway.ca/), Real Canadian super store (www.superstore.ca/) and Co-op. The rates of some foodstuffs are - White bread $2.40 onwards, Cabbage (450 gms) 2.50 onwards, Tomatoes 6-pack $4.50 onwards, - Fresh vegtables are available at Safeway and Co-op (www.calgarycoop.com/). There is also this place called as the Farmers Market (www.calgaryfarmersmarket.ca) where you can buy farm produce at low rates. The 1 Dollar shops are pretty useful if your stay is going to be short and you are not inclined to do a lot of investment. For furniture, bedroom furnishing, kitchen utensils Walmart (http://www.walmart.ca/), Ikea (www.ikea.com/ca/en/) and The Brick (www.thebrick.com/) are good. Sears (http://www.sears.ca/) is good but the rates are on the higher side. For buying electronic goods there is always Best Buy (http://www.bestbuy.ca/) and Future shop (http://www.futureshop.ca/). Laptop Depot (http://www.laptopdepot.ca/) is good for buying refurbished laptops at a very low price. Incase one wants to buy some used stuff then there are some websites such as craigslist (http://calgary.craigslist.ca/), buysell (http://www.buysell.com/classifieds/Calgary.html), usedcalgary http://www.usedcalgary.com/). These sell everything from used apartments to kitchen utensils. For the more adventurous Calgary also offers an active night life at rates starting as low as $5. But since this is a family blog lets discuss this offline!
There are some newspapers that are distributed free. These include Metro (largest distribution in free newspapers in Canada http://metronews.ca/home.aspx?city=calgary ), 24 hours (http://www.calgarysun.com/24hrs/24hrs.pdf) and the Calgary classifieds.
Some information on the + 15 concept:
The first bridge was built in 1970 linking the Westin Hotel and Calgary Place across 4th Avenue. The system soon became called the "Plus 15 System" because it is roughly 15 feet above ground level. From the first parts of the system which were built 30 years ago, over 16 kilometres and 57 bridges have been constructed since then. The system today is the largest of its kind in the world.The system is provided as a part of commercial development that takes place in the Downtown. New developments are required to connect into the system by providing walkways and bridges that connect the development to neighbouring ones. In exchange for this, the developer is allowed to add more floorspace to the proposed building: this is known as "bonus density".
After you land and go towards the baggage claim area you find out that the airport is indeed small to be called an International Airport. It however is very neat with clear signages. The airport staff is courteous. Infact all the people I have met till now are friendly and helpful. As soon as you claim your bags and get out of the terminal building a blast of cold air hits you. Yes. It is like entering the freezer of a refrigerator. Calgary seems to have only 2 types of weather - cold and still more cold!
When I landed here it was -14 deg C and within a week it was -26 deg C. I was fortunate as the week before I landed here the temperature had dropped to -48 deg C! This was very cold even by Calgary standards! I stay in downtown and the good part is that almost all the commercial buildings seem are interconnected. These buildings are connected to each other by glass tunnels and are called +15 system. The name has been coined as these tunnels are at a height of 15 feet from the ground. You can really beat the cold as these tunnels are heated. You also get maps for the +15 walkways!
The city is very expensive. I am in a single bedroom apartment and am paying $1000 for it. I was lucky 'cos other apartments charge between $1200 to 1300 for a 1 BHK flat. The deposit is usually equivalent to one months rent. The newer the building more expensive it gets. The flat is fully carpetted with heating, water and electricity charges as part of the rent. The Kitchen is equipped with electric stove, kitchen cabinets and refrigerator. They rarely provide microwaves and dishwashers. Among other amenities there is a mini gymnasium and a table-tennis and pool table. There also is a community room with an electric stove and TV.
The city is divided into four zones - North East, South East, North West and South West. Indian community and Indian shops are predominantly in the North east part. These Indian shops sell everything from sari's to vegetables, Maggie noodles, Hindi/Punjabi/Malayalam/Telugu movies to Parle G biscuits. One such shop is Fruiticana or Apna Punjab. Just opposite Apna Punjab is OK. It also has the same stuff. But most of the grocery is North Indian stuff. Some typically Maharashtrian or South Indian stuff is hard to get. Instant packs of dosa, uttappa are available. There is now a ICICI bank here. Moneygram (charges $12 per $1000) and Western Union are other options. The charges reduce as the amount you send increases. Here some information on the Indian community related stuff. The numbers may have changed.
Indian Restaurants in Calgary
# Bombay House 636 Centre St SE, Calgary Ph 403-261-0845
# Glory of India 515, 4 Ave SW Calgary AB T2 OJ8 Ph 403-263-8804
# Mango Shiva 507 8th Ave SW Calgary, AB T2P 1G1 Ph 403-290-1644
# Moti Mahal 201, 1805 14th St SW Calgary, AB T2T 3T1 Ph 403-228-9990
# Rajdoot 2424 4 St SW Calgary, AB T2S 2T4 Ph 403-245-0181
# Taj Mahal 4816 MacLeod Tr. SW Calgary, AB T2G 0A8 Ph 403-243-6362
# Tandoori Hut 5, 201 10th St, NW Calgary, AB T2N 1V5 Ph 403-270-4012
Hindu Temples
# Hindu Society of Calgary 2225, 24th Ave NE, Calgary, Alberta, T2E 8M2 Ph 403-291-2551 http://www.calgarymandir.ca/
# ISKCON Calgary 313, 4th St, NE, Calgary, Alberta T2E 3S3 Ph 403-265-3302
Indian Grocery Stores
# A1 Spices 96, 55 Castle Ridge Blvd NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-285-2446
# Desi Bazaar Bay # 143, 5120-47 th St, NE, Calgary, AB T3J 3R2 Ph 403-285-2446
# Continental Food 3253, 34 Ave, NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-250-2448
# OK General Food Stores 3250, 60 St NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-293-1168
# Bangla Bazar 6-9915 Edmonton Trail NE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2E 6T1
# Apna Punjab Grocerices & Movies 300-5075 Falcon Ridge Blvd NE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T3J 3K9
The Real Canadian also stocks some Indian stuff.
Indian shops
# Bhatia Cloth House 1001-5075 Falconridge Blvd. NE. Calgary, AB. T3J-3K9 Ph 403-293-3369
# Delta Foreign Exchange #146, 3132-26 St, NE, Calgary, AB Ph 403-291-4546
# Khalsa Credit Union #604, 4656, Westwinds Dr, NE Calgary, AB Ph 403-285-0707
# Overseas Fashion #135, 5120-47 St, NE, Calgary AB Ph 403-568-1660
Gurdwaras
# Sikh Society of Calgary Ste 10, Box 22, SS3, Calgary, AB T3C 3N9 Ph 403-452-9616
Indian Real Estate Agents
# Mohinder Jhutti 455, Marsh Rd NE, Calgary, AB T2E 5B2 Ph 403-239-3941
# Raghbir Basati 205-525-28 St SE, Calgary, AB, T2A 6X1 Ph 403-531-8800
Indian Attorneys
# Randhawa Law Office 115, 5120-37 St, N.E., Calgary, AB Ph 403-590-8224
# Shory Law Office 140-55, Castleridge Blvd NE, Calgary, AB, T3J 3J8 Ph 403-216-1198
# Subhash #12-6208, Rundal Horn Dr, NE Calgary, AB Ph 403-280-9920
The C-Train or Calgary Transit runs across the city. All the stations and trains have facilities for the physicaly challenged. The ticket costs $2.50 for a 90 minute journey. Within these 90 minutes you can travel on any train or bus route, any direction any number of times. It takes approximately 30 minutes by the train to reach from one end of the city to the other one way. This train is free in the downtown area. The service is so good that most people travel by cars till the nearest C-Train station (park their car) and take the train to travel to downtown. Another reason could be the parking rates in downtown. These vary from $2 per hour to $30 for 8 hours!
There are a few Indian restaurants in downtown and as elsewhere they are very expensive. A lunch buffet is around $13 to $17 plus taxes. Dinner buffets are more expensive. Indian restaurants are referred as East Indian restaurants. There are many fast food outlets like KFC, McDonalds, Wendy's etc. Though the food at Indian restaurants was acceptable, I truly missed the authentic South Indian style Rassam, Sambar and Dosas.
Generally the Internet charges in Calgary are as follows:
256 kbps connection - $20 per month for six months and later $25 per month
5 mbps connection - - $29 per month for six months and later $43 per month.
The main internet providers include Shaw, Telus and Primus. Similar rates are for TV's with free to air channels too.
Cellphones - CDMA is the dominant technology and most of the offers are bundled with a cell phone. The best offers are for 3 years package. Some of the operators are Telus (http://www.telus.ca/), Shaw (http://www.shaw.ca/), Rogers, Primus. Prepaid cards for GSM mobiles are also available for as low as $20 per month. The talk time reduces daily. Another alternative would be to buy calling cards. These are in denominations of $5. Yet another method is to buy an online card from Raza.com or Reliance or Airtel.
The main shops that sell grocery are Walmart, Safeway (www.safeway.ca/), Real Canadian super store (www.superstore.ca/) and Co-op. The rates of some foodstuffs are - White bread $2.40 onwards, Cabbage (450 gms) 2.50 onwards, Tomatoes 6-pack $4.50 onwards, - Fresh vegtables are available at Safeway and Co-op (www.calgarycoop.com/). There is also this place called as the Farmers Market (www.calgaryfarmersmarket.ca) where you can buy farm produce at low rates. The 1 Dollar shops are pretty useful if your stay is going to be short and you are not inclined to do a lot of investment. For furniture, bedroom furnishing, kitchen utensils Walmart (http://www.walmart.ca/), Ikea (www.ikea.com/ca/en/) and The Brick (www.thebrick.com/) are good. Sears (http://www.sears.ca/) is good but the rates are on the higher side. For buying electronic goods there is always Best Buy (http://www.bestbuy.ca/) and Future shop (http://www.futureshop.ca/). Laptop Depot (http://www.laptopdepot.ca/) is good for buying refurbished laptops at a very low price. Incase one wants to buy some used stuff then there are some websites such as craigslist (http://calgary.craigslist.ca/), buysell (http://www.buysell.com/classifieds/Calgary.html), usedcalgary http://www.usedcalgary.com/). These sell everything from used apartments to kitchen utensils. For the more adventurous Calgary also offers an active night life at rates starting as low as $5. But since this is a family blog lets discuss this offline!
There are some newspapers that are distributed free. These include Metro (largest distribution in free newspapers in Canada http://metronews.ca/home.aspx?city=calgary ), 24 hours (http://www.calgarysun.com/24hrs/24hrs.pdf) and the Calgary classifieds.
Some information on the + 15 concept:
The first bridge was built in 1970 linking the Westin Hotel and Calgary Place across 4th Avenue. The system soon became called the "Plus 15 System" because it is roughly 15 feet above ground level. From the first parts of the system which were built 30 years ago, over 16 kilometres and 57 bridges have been constructed since then. The system today is the largest of its kind in the world.The system is provided as a part of commercial development that takes place in the Downtown. New developments are required to connect into the system by providing walkways and bridges that connect the development to neighbouring ones. In exchange for this, the developer is allowed to add more floorspace to the proposed building: this is known as "bonus density".
The glass enclosure (tunnel) that joins the two buildings is the Plus 15. More info on it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/+15
Link for Map of Calgary - http://www.calgary-city-maps.com/Calgary-downtown-map.html
Another good site is http://calgary.foundlocally.com/index.htm
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