Calgary sits on where the Bow River meets the Elbow River on the plains of Alberta. To the West, the land tilts upwards into the Canadian Rockies, to the East, the plains reach out into open space for about as far as the eye can see. The sky is big here, and Calgary is the big city in the middle of it.

The Stampede is Calgary’s best known event, a ten day rodeo with loads of events related to it – a massive parade, live music, and lots and lots of cowboys. The Stampede started in 1912 and it’s been happening ever since, bringing over a million people to town every June to celebrate the region’s history and ties to cowboy culture, but it’s also a great party.

Calgary’s economy has been closely tied with the oil and gas industry for years. EnCana, North America’s largest natural gas company is in Calgary – and they have the tallest building in town. Oil and natural gas jobs still comprise a huge percentage of the work here; Worley Parsons, Baker Hughes, and Canada Natural all have major operations out of Calgary. Shaw Communications is the big employer in the telecom sector here, and Safeway Canada has their head office in Calgary.

Since it’s only a two hour drive to Banff. a beautiful resort town in the heart of the Rockies, tourism sector jobs are growing in Calgary, too. The city has some of the lowest unemployment in the country, it’s a worker’s market.

The weather in Calgary is quite pleasant – while there is snow in the winters, the city doesn’t typically get the bitter cold of other prairie locations and thanks to the elevation and proximity to the Rockies, the heat of the summer is moderated by cooler evenings.

The arts and culture scene in Calgary isn’t just about cowboys – there’s the brand new Science Center, the Aero Space Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. There are dozens of performing arts and theater venues, and while Calgary’s food scene has plenty of the Western steakhouse establishments you’d expect, it’s also got a farmer’s market that sells local produce and new restaurants are popping up all over.