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Edmonton is a shity place to live. Should be ranked way lower
Edmonton is literally a cesspool. I've lived in a few places and travelled to many, and Edmonton is by far the worst city I've ever spent time in. I'm happy for the people who enjoy it here but I am personally counting down until I get to leave this place and move back to the west coast! Safety index, pollution, etc. aside....those things are all lovely but they don't give you an idea of what living in Edmonton is actually like. This city is the most vile, redneck place you can imagine. Dirty pickup trucks, people wearing baseball hats and sunglasses inside to fancy restaurants, the sun never shines, the roads are falling apart, the entire city is depressing. It's like something out of a apocalyptic movie. Even Calgary only three hours away is far better than this place. The entire city is built off oil rigs, and you can tell. Horrible, horrible place. I was born here and can't wait to leave.
Edmonton is dirty and polluted. You go outside into the park with your kids at the east and you smell the refineries. Since Canada opens the door for everybody, communication is also a huge cluster fuck, starting from ordering a bagel to tech-support. The government itself is filled with crooks and retards, and you will take notice on that when the oil price collapses, cause savings are made on the wrong ends (schools, health care), property taxes are rising and so far I have not seen any relieve from all this. House prices are very high and renting property is no fun either. No oil no future for Alberta. In regards to the people, you have your d-bags, but also very kind people. The only thing that is annoying is the massive amount of different cultures here. I am getting out the door and have a feeling of living in Manila, cause of those fucking Pilipinos. Everybody who is able to hammer a fucking nail straight into the wall is able to immigrate here, no English required. I get pissed off when I have to use hands and feet to fucking communicate. I took English course to improve my communication skills, that shit should be mandatory. I need to get the fuck outta here.
Edmonton sucks worst place ever,i mean instead on focusing on the important things like health care childcare and so on,we build a arena just to make more money for people who already have more then enough,but at least we pay for a government who is full of crocks and dickheads,who get payd 100.000 a year for trying to find ways to make our lives a citizens even harder.Edmonton should be ashamed
I live in Edmonton, most expensive place for housing, and finding a place is extremely hard. I have a 500 sq ft apartment for 1000.00 per month (nothing included)
Food prices can jump as often as the gas prices. Since a lot of the gas comes from here- you would think we would have cheaper gas, not true, actually cheaper toward the east usually and even in Calgary. from 90 cents per litre to 114.00 per litre over night, and this happens weekly. Pot Holes and Non Stop Road Construction- and someone said it before, they are not prepared for population growth. Most expensive place I have even live.
Edmonton while once being clean affordable and safe is no longer that city. Taxes go up every year to pay for arenas, art galleries, a transit vision that no one will use and will cripple commuting times, a library entity that costs over 50 million a year to run plus its new over the top branches being buit and $500,000 makerspace projects (a fancy cyber cafe/kinko's) ,city politicians that have no experience and who do not listen to the people, a 1% art levy for all projects + the flag.waving arts
council massive salaries that have given taxpayers silver rabbit turds on the side of.the road and $50,000 wall painting of bouncing balls by some overseas artist. ( a ten year old could.have done better)at fitness centers that are black holes for our tax dollars, but not for surrounding communties which use.them.
There are people here living pay check to pay check but council puts art galleries, transit, arenas and their own salaries first.
If you think Edmonton is such a great place you may want to read a bit more and.travel.Our river valley is.useless unless you like to eat nuts and defecate in the.bush.
You will also find that a large percentage of.city poiticians do not stay here after retiring and.if.they do they are only part timers. Not a great endorsement for.such a.great place.....
Alex C. You may not be talking out of your arse but what is coming out of your mouth or from.your fingers is very close to the same product that would if you were.
To comment or judge someone elses life, job or actual experiences without "being there in general" would actually make you an awesome candidate to run for Edmontons city council. They are also totally out of touch with what this city and the citizens require to enjoy life.
You may also want to reread my previous post about our mayors etc that run away to warm.places while the rest of us stay and pay for all their legacy projects.
Maybe I should check to see if "Alex C" was previously employed by the City of Edmonton and you now are talking from your soapbox in good old Uruguay.
You have also shown your ignorance(another quality for city council) by using the US of A as a point about living in Edmonton.
I have actually "in general" lived in the US and it is nothing like here. The only places I found close were in the midwest.
Alex you may require some TP to wipe a little something off your lip.
I have been living here since 1968...The last 12 years, since Mayor Smith left, have been an utter disaster. Mayor Mandel (spendal), gave away our city to developers, we lost the airport for a pie in the sky dream that will never work, our museum for a new legacy project (have a guess what will happen to the land where the old museum sits), and many other things that made our city great! Mayor Iveson has continued the tradition of giving away our land & city to the developers, but added a twist now we have also given the roads to bike lanes, and transit trains that do not work . Same thing as our previous PC government giving away our resources to big oil...Privatizing our provincial parks. Once my last child leaves home ETA 5-6 years, I am out and never returning. I hate how the city has developed and how little is done to help the ordinary citizens who pay the taxes for their schemes and legacy projects. I miss the old Edmonton, the one we loved and grew up with, it is now a city for developers and big business only! Cannot wait to leave!
I agree. When a mayors (Iverson the I want to be PM) acceptance speech identifies that he wants to help special interest groups I knew right away that common hardworking Edmontonians were in for a huge withdraw of funds from their wallets.
With property taxes going up 5% every year it directly makes utilities, insurance, consumer goods etc increase as well.City departments role should be to help decrease costs and reduce loss of taxpayers hard earned money.
What I have seen wasted.
:City road cleaning truck being followed around by another city truck with the driver and his passenger laughing and doing the macerana.
: 8 City police and bylaw officers and their cars at speed traps while you cant even get a officer to your house to fingerprint after a breakin.
:City police car out in Devon dropping of his kid for horse riding lessons.
:Edmonton Public Library spending 30 million on salaries and still creating director of directors jobs (exucutive directors) when libraries should be shrinking their staff. Yes EPL is one of the most expensive libraries to run in Canada.
: Edmontons property taxes are higher than Calagaries and Vancouvers.
:Our garbage and recycle costs $43 a month and increases about $5 a month p/year, Calgarys is $14. Yes people that should be added to your property tax so it is transparent for the cost of living here.
:50 miilion more (150 total) for the fancy designed one way bridge by the kinsmen. Who the hell puts in a one way bridge when everyone knows that we needed another way to cross the
river when the high level is blocked or under repair.
: A useless outdoor escalator so the poor lazy city workers can get to the river valley for a nice walk during their 1 hour plus lunches.
:A $600 million rink that no normal taxpayer will ever be able to afford to see the inside of.
:Fitness facilities that are poorly run and are already huge money
pits like the libraries.
This town is dying. It only survives because of oil and the oil will never be what it was. Green technology is taking over and I intend to be out of this city as soon as I can sell my house.
You know how the media is always telling us how great and vibrant Edmonton is? Well they really wouldn't need to do all this promoting if Edmonton truly was a great city... think about it.
It's all the PC goverment's fault, they ruined this province.
(https://www.numbeo.com/quality-of-life/in/Edmonton)
Biggest shithole in Canada
This city is a shithole
Edmonton’s public transit is terrible . Awful . It is a debacle and a disgrace . Many people in Edmonton live in suburban type housing . Regular Mass Transit directly to these areas is very rare . In this one respect Calgary beats Edmonton . For all of Calgary’s negatives it has this one public amenity over Edmonton . All Edmontonians deserve a modern transit system that covers the entire city . IF YOU ARE THINKING OF MOVING TO EDMONTON YOU SHOULD OWN A CAR IF YOU WANT A CAREER / JOB THAT PAYS A LIVING WAGE ($25.00-$30.00 PLUS AN HOUR) . Many guys I grew up with went into the trades . Every single one of them owns a car and drives . In fact I am the only person older than 25 years old that I know ( that isn’t on Welfare or A.I.S.H. [ I , MYSELF , AM ON A.I.S.H. AND ONLY ONE PERSON I’VE EVER MET ON A.I.S.H. HAD A DRIVER’S LICENSE ] ) that doesn’t own their own car and drive . You have to to hold down a decent job .
not 40 years… 15. Edmonton is 15 years behind in everything.Especially health care. They’ll give a 2yo a punch biopsy for a runny nose.
Get the fuck out of Edmonton. Totally mismanaged bullshit. Edmonton raping the economy and it’s residence.
Why are there so many sick children and sick adults in and around Edmonton? – Every time I look at a newspaper or watch the news there is another sick kid we are supposed to feel sorry for… WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE SO SICK?!??!?!?!??!??!?
Why are there so many suicides, murders, stand-offs, sexual assaults, apartment fires for such a small city? 800 000 people is small. The amount of crime in and around Edmonton is staggering..
I hate living here so much.
Psychologist referral in edmonton = some random idiot calls you and tells you to go to a walk in clinic.
Sad cause we need them to help us cope with living here
I have lived in 12 States, and 3 Provinces- By far the most expensive place I have ever lived. Plus the housing is so bad, I have a 450 square foot Apartment, for 1000 per month. Had to wait 1 months to get into it, because there just isn’t housing available. Plus parking costs money, everywhere. The Gross Provincial Funding must come from Parking- average cost at the University is 1.25 cents per 15 minutes- $5.00 per hour. On the streets it’s closer to 3 or 4 dollars per hour. Even in a home where you have to park on the street, you have to buy parking permit to park at your own home, or you will be ticketed. Gas Price fluctuate from 91 cent per litre to 1.14 per litre over night, with little warning. The taxes on Vehicles from other Provinces or the US are so high, in some cases it’s better to buy a nice used car. The Pot holes are big enough to fall into, while in your car, the troglodytes live down there, I can only assume. The average night out for 2 people, at a dive bar, a movie and maybe a cheap dinner- aka nothing fancy, will cost between 200 – 250 dollars.
The cheese here is awful. If you like cheese, don’t live here. It’s crap.
The Provincial “Sin” tax on Alcohol, Tobacco, and Gas, yes, on Gas, because that’s an addition, not something you have to have to get to work, get’s jacked up at the drop of a hat. In the first 6 months I live here, it was raised 4 times.
Reconsider Moving here. The comment on SPorts teams, they had a Lacrosse Team that won the NLL CHampionship 2015- two weeks afterward relocated to Regina because the Owner of Rexall/New Oiler’s Arena refused to have them in the new facility. A lot of politics here to top off the expensive cost of living/low pay rates. Toronto, Vancouver, Even White Horse, Yukon is better compared to this.
Description of average male in Edmonton:
1) Overweight
2) Drives a truck
3) High school education or less
4) Wears a ball cap
5) Listen to country music
6) No sense of style
7) Uses the words “seen” and “saw” interchangeably
8) Ignorant and loud
9) Smokes
Description of average female in Edmonton:
All of the above expect # 4
In addition:
1) Most likely has two or more children by the age of 24
2) Unmarried
And they can’t drive for shit. I thought driving in Toronto was bad but Albertan drivers amaze me everyday with stupidity. And some Saskatchewan drivers too. They might be worse.
preach on brother.
I’ll add “rampant homophobia” and “douchebag idoltry”.
Lived there for 4 years. Found that if your a guy and your style sense means you dress respectfully, then complete strangers will either give you the ” fuck you” shit eating “Bro, check out that faggot” smile, or drive past you and call you a faggot. Translation: If you aren’t in a pair of jeans, T-shirt and wearing a baseball cap, then their inner homophone will rise to the surface.
Well I guess there is the reasoning of “Protest strong enough and people won’t suspect you’re gay”.
So I suppose Edmonton’s got the highest population of gays in Canada.
Maybe the ” get a trade, get laid, get paid”, “yeah I’m working on my second divorce”, ” I’m better than you because I got me a REAL job” Edmontonians are just angry because there aren’t enough gay bars in the city.
Great post, and very true!
The number of self-entitled ignorant red necks living here is ridiculous! Alberta is the Texas of the US. Wasteful and ignorant province. If you are from a large city and used to people having intellect and class this province is one to avoid.
have lived in edmonton for about 26 years and everything here is true, the urban sprawl is ridiculous, the new high density style homes are hideous, the city looks like a giant work camp with its cookie cutter homes. Go to the Hamptons or any of the newer subdivisions and its like a crappy US town from the 50s with model A or B homes all along the street. The night life is terrible, Im lucky I have a good group of friends that house parties are just a better way to have fun than a bad nightclub with overpriced smirnoff. We would take weekend trips to vegas and end up spending less than if we balled out as hard in Edmonton. They know people want to leave and thats why they also tax the living hell out of flights leaving the country. Its a joke…
The people are good though, yes there are rednecks, yes there are rig pigs but thats due to the job market. It wasnt even like this 10 years ago but Edmontonians are friendly people for the most part and most of the racists keep to themselves. But for how expensive it is to live in Edmonton if you are an average Canadian, which I am, means basics like groceries are expensive. I traveled to Hawaii and for a place that has to import everything, the prices there were cheaper than in Edmonton. I’ve never seriously considered moving away but I’m now looking at options to live in a smaller city where property taxes aren’t going toward wasteful spending like an arena that will benefit a billionaire. People who think sports stadiums actually help the economy are deluded after all the economic studies done throughout north america that prove the contrary. Don’t forget the horrendous public transport and the fact that the LRT intersects some really busy roads that ends up causing huge traffic jams every day. The lack of planning is what really hurts the city and all these spur of the moment decisions are making Edmonton worse.
A big issue resides in the fact that a lot of Albertans have never even left the province, let alone the country to actually experience what other cities have to offer. They think the city is amazing because they have nothing to compare it to. It’s just going to be a forever mediocre city filled with a lot of idealistic people.
Can’t agree with you more. The number of ignorant people living in this city is absurd. I’ve spent most of my living in Toronto and Ottawa and wow was this city a shocker. A year in and I’m ready to go! It’s a different world out here, and one I hope to get away from very soon. I have never encountered so many teen/early 20 something mothers. If you’re from a small town this is most certainly, “Simpleville,” and you’ll like it just fine. Otherwise stay far….far away!
Moved here 5 years ago with wife and son from Ontario. god I miss it and appreciate it so much after being here this long. Edmonton is meh. not a horrible place but after a year of living here I was done. 4 years later and I feel like i’m going to lose my mind.
Don’t very much like a lot of the people who are from here either. Most of the people I like aren’t even from here. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that was shaped like the province of Alberta and it said “Fuck off. We’re full already”. In a nut shell that describes Albertans, from my experience working and living with them.
I was told before coming it was more cultured than Calgary. Maybe but I’d still pick Calgary over this place any day. Edmontonians over hype this place with claiming festival city and all that shit. True festivals happen, but there’s still more and better festivals in other cities in Canada. Edmonton has very little going for it.
As someone’s already said here, it will change you for the worst. I’ve become somewhat more of a bitter person after 5 years here. I’ve tried to find the positive but the few good things it has going isn’t enough. i was hoping it would grow on me after 5 years. It hasn’t. Can’t wait to get out of here next spring.
Anyone thinking of moving here permanently. You’ll regret it. Plus apparently they’re full already.
I lived in Edmonton from 2009-2011, and during that time tried to love it and carve out a happy life there. I was far from happy, though. Even though quality-of-life issues like transit (I lived car-free) obviously affected my happiness, I realized that my greatest unhappiness came from being an “outsider” in a city that does not embrace “outsiders”. Now, the term “outsider” is not exactly the most appropriate as it connotes being born in a place versus not born in a place. The inside/outside culture of Edmonton is far more detrimental; there is an “inside” track for those who think the same, act the same, and do not push outside that box. Everyone not willing to shut up and do the same is an “outsider”.
I live now in a city that has its own problems–what city doesn’t?–but the biggest difference is that here I can be respected for my unique contributions, and the goal is to do my part in my way to continue to make my community a healthy and happy place to live.
Because Edmonton tends toward insulation because it is fairly remote, the hurdle it must jump over completely is this mentality. This type of mentality stifles the kinds of input and ideas that ultimately give a city well-rounded character, depth, and cohesive planning and development. And, unfortunately, this kind of mentality provides the opportunity for corruption and abuse of power; corruption and power trips are never erased completely, but out of all the places I have lived, corruption was by far the worst in Edmonton. (My home city list includes Chicago–notorious for its long history of corruption!–and Edmonton was far worse!)
There were things I liked about Edmonton, and I encountered really kind people who were frightened to take any step that might make them an “outsider” as well as some truly terrible, awful souls who had been granted power they abused, and in so doing created a very toxic environment.
I live in sherwood park just outside edmonton. My family moved here from toronto and i’m in grade 10 age 16 and i’m old enough to see edmonton for what it is. Edmonton is in my opinion the most useless run down redneck hockey loving racist pickup truck loving redneck racist white trash overly polluted poorly made extremely boring lackluster hick town full of foul mouth over patriotic redneck white trash pile of gorilla shit to grace gods green earth.
Now I know that sounded childish but thats as true as ot gets.
1 is the people don’t have any good qualities. There a bunch of retarded rednecks who think they are better then the rest of the world. There extremely racist too. I am italian which is Mediterranean so I am kinda darker and I get no respect because of that. Its a joke here. Who the fuck cares about your color? The day before I entered a 7-11 store wearing a scarf colored after the italian flag because of world cup and some white trash redneck fucker gave me the dirtiest look ever. He was about my age and because im cheering for my team that is bad. And then theres the extreme hicks.
They drive the biggest most pathetic over sized piece of shits on the road. Most rednecks are poor in america but here in edmonton they got lots of $$$$$$ and im not lieing. These people spend anywhere between $80000 to $120000 on their hill billie mobiles. Who would pay that much to modify a vehicle thats made to carry around manure? And those hanging testicles aint that cool either. Usually these trucks also have desiel engines with all emission controls off and straight pipes so they sound like vacuum cleaners and fire out black smoke which is annoying when your walking down the sidewalk and a random truck comes along and fires a shit ton of smoke into your face. Another annoying thing is people who drive by in there vehicles and yell something rude to you.
Walking around sherwood just isn’t worth it. Biking is even worse. You better have a $1000 bike or prepare for the worst bashing possible. In sherwood park you must ride with caution if you have a budget bike. So the only other way to get around is your car but thats bad too. If you have a small car or a european car your branded as a “queer”. Everyone has a pickup and its dreadful seeing them everywhere. No diversity in cars but people are even less diverse. White trash and thats it. Worst is they are as generic as people get. They all have the same lame ass hair cut. Same lame ass baseball hats. They all wear the same clothes and worst of all though I dont mean to be mean but they all look and act like inbreds. Its either there inbreds or just uneducated and deformed by the refinery. Guys are pretty bad but girls are not much better. Though they are pretty they act all snobby about it. They think there the best. Just like guys here girls are racist too. If your not white then your nothing and i’m not white. Back to girls is there rude and arrogant and only like people who look like these “inbreds”. They think there above the rest of this world and its just not true there actually the lowest form of female. People of both genders annoy the crap out of me just as much as their pickups and country music dose. I dont mean to be rude if I did but im just telling the truth.
Yesterday I was hanging out with one of my friends and what was there to do? NOTHING!!! No places to go and no activities to do. Went to tim hortons and then my house and thats it. And then theres sports. In edmonton and surrounding areas people seem to like hockey. Its even worse that hockey players say they always got girls on there dicks. Then they go to say if play or like any other sport your a “fag”. And if you dislike hockey then your treated like a dog. Its stupid but its true. Then theres “hockey moms” who think putting their stupidly named big headed son in hickey makes them good people. You boy suffers enough living with you dont force them into hockey. And they also take their husbands pay while he works down in the oil sands and spends it on stupid shit. Its like the even worse redneck version of the already shitty suburban living.
Then theres housing. Its a joke. All you get are a bunch of 2000 sq ft $700000 generic tract mansions. Every 5th house looks exactly the same. Once I took a walk down the road and found my exact house 5 houses down the street. The only form of character are the old houses which are smaller but nicer. Now not all of edmonton is bad. Some parts have nicer more diverse people, Less of. A hockey following and better vehicles and housing. You got to travel a bit but once you find one of the good parts of edmonton find out where you are and live there. My review of edmonton gives it a 0/10 but some of those good areas dont feel like edmonton but more like calgary get a 7-8 out of 10.
I am a former Maritimer who currently lives in Calgary. I recently went on a road trip with my fiance to Edmonton, and I have to say – it’s absolutely horrid, and I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
For a provincial capitol with a reputation for the arts, more liberal ridings than Calgary and a great university (well, compared to U of C anyway) I was expecting a cosmopolitan city with historical character buildings.
Nope. The first thing I saw was a, outlandish white monster truck heading into Edmonton at breakneck speeds with a Jesus fish stuck to the back. When we stopped for coffee, there was a minivan painted up with angels and large text proclaiming, “JESUS IS COMING BACK!!! ARE YOU READY?!” Apparently Edmonton is ready, as I have never seen so many Jesus-fish in my life – and I live in Calgary. I went there with an open mind, because I’d heard that Edmonton had a better arts scene than Calgary – but it was the most awful city I’ve ever set foot in (and I’m a former flight attendant, so I’ve travelled a lot).
The entire vibe of Edmonton is just wrong. It’s like it’s stuck in the 80s. I actually saw a woman with a mullet. I thought Calgary was bad for box stores – Edmonton has the box store honed to a fine art. Who needs landscaping when you can sport a giant parking lot?
If I could move anywhere, I’d move to Vancouver or Victoria – they are by far the prettiest cities in Canada with a great social/arts scene. I am not a big fan of Toronto – I found it to be horribly unfriendly and somewhat snobbish, but admittedly I was only there for a week and was attending a classical guitar conference with my fiance (my fiance is the guitar player – I was bored out of my mind, but the classical guitar crowd here in Calgary are just as obnoxious). Plus my experience on the subway was a little terrifying (some dude was arguing with his own reflection, like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. LOL!).
Though I never really warmed up to Toronto (I’m sure I would given enough time to pursue things I’m interested in – the service in restaurants was always outstanding and ), I’d live there in a heartbeat over Edmonton. It took me years to learn to like Calgary (only after the recent flood and seeing how people pulled together to help one another have I really gotten to love it) and become accustomed to the rampant conservatism here (being a liberal-minded, pro-science, free-thinking atheist vegetarian environmentalist in Alberta is a dangerous thing to be unless you’re smart enough to hide it. LOL!). I used to think Calgary was the worst city in Canada until I visited Edmonton. The people were unfriendly (even when we didn’t tell them we lived in Calgary! LOL!), the drivers were obnoxious and it oozes conservatism and red-neckery. My fiance asked me if I wanted to see some landmark downtown, and I said, “Nope! I’ve seen enough of this fucking place! Get me the HELL out of here!”
If I could live anywhere in Canada, I would choose Vancouver or Victoria (earthquakes be damned!) for their great arts scene, weather and natural beauty, but you couldn’t pay me enough to live in Edmonton. That city oozes obnoxiousness, new money and conservatism, and though I have wonderful friends that live there, I just can’t take the vibe of that city. Calgary might be a workaholic’s wet dream, and Calgary might be left wanting in terms of arts and culture, but I’d rather live here than in Edmonton, because at least Calgary is trying to move forward (and we have the best mayor in Canada in my opinion). It’s a shame, I expected Edmonton to be a more liberal and artsy city – instead, its landscape is blighted by box stores, jacked-up trucks and a downtown core that looks like it’s seen its peak in 1986. No thanks.
I agree with everything you said, Ben – except I think you held back a bit. LMAO!
Edmonton: The city of bullshit slogans made up to make you feel like a winner.
I lived there from 06 – 10. Hated living there. The funniest thing about these guys who defend the negative points about the city with as much insult and sarcasm as they can, is that they just say the same old tired things, over and over again; parrotting someone else. “F you, lotsa people moving here” “F you, if you don’t like it, why’d you move here?” “F you, our trucks are driven by real men, F your city, faggot”.
The good points though, the cost of living was great while I was there. The employment was good and the wages were great.
The bad points though, were all that you mention but the biggest one for me, was the open prejudice I found from people there. I took a security gig and I couldn’t believe just how much people actually think that rumors about a job a person does, are true and worse, how it somehow gives them permission to attack a peron’s character by calling that person names, yell at them from accross the street and (believe it or not) trying to run them off the road. I had gotten so many “fuck you” smiles from people (you know when people you don’t know give you a shit eating grin? That’s the fuck you smile) while I was living there. What, just for doing a job to put food on my table? I was even at Mucho Burrito at 100 ave and 109 st (the Save on Foods plaza) and the guy serving the food behind the counter, starts trash talking the security guard who was there, IN the store, talking to someone, with the customer.
If I was a Star Wars Jedi master, I’d use the force to pick the Rexall center up and then roll it right down Whyte Avenue on a busy Friday night, when all the “Get a trade get laid get paid” douchebags are at the bars. That would solve 90 percent of that city’s problems.
It’s going to take the city more than riding on the coat tails of hockey, having a transit system that shuts down before midnight, a badass radio station with a stupid slogan like “The station with NO RULES” when they have to follow CRTC regulations and labour laws (what a stupid slogan), the highest murder rate per capita, shitty air quality from the oil sands, and people coming up with poor arguments for defending their city than that, in order to be taken seriously as a city at all.
Back in Australia now for 2 years and thankfully Edmonton is becoming a distant memory. Its too bad that we will have to return to visit friends and family. Thats not the bad part, its just having to go back to a place that i hate. There was one good thing about living Edmonton for 3 years and that was realising what i had back in Australia was better and that my life didn’t have to be surrounded by heavy industry and shopping malls. I understand that for whatever reason some people love Edmonton, but what i didn’t understand was those people who hate Edmonton, but still choose to live there. There is a lot of them. Its those are the people who need to think outside the box and try something different. It will leave more room for those who actually want to be there. I could never live in a place all my life that i didn’t like. Thats like going to a job that you hate, everyday for the rest of your life. Now that would suck.
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.
Hey Robby, I agree with # 7 of your comment. Everyone does look angry here. I`ve seen better smiles from the cracks of peoples assess.
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.
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..
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!!!!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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. :)
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.
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’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.
Wow this comment just adds another point to the original post. Think that the life in AB represents the world. Narrow-minded Albertans.. I also live in Edmonton for a quite awhile looking for an opportunity to get the hell out. Ppl from all the small farm towns can form their own utopia that doesn’t even function thinking that Edmonton is the best place on earth…. Hahaha what a joke…
I grew up in a developing country and been on 3 continents. Edmonton is THE WORST major city I’ve ever been in! By far! Agree with everything you said. In every country, and in every major city, you have problems. But these problems are compensated by positives. Edmonton doesn’t have any. Conservative people, disgusting looking city and infrastructure and awful ass backward everything. The whole province is like a post apocalyptic wasteland that’s trying its best to re-develop after discovering the cure to whatever caused the apocalypse. It’s like they know that they need to re-build after the doom that caused the city to go to waste, but they have no idea how.
Get the fuck out of Edmonton. Totally mismanaged bullshit. Edmonton raping the economy and it’s residence.
This city is a shithole
Biggest shithole in Canada
Edmonton is terrible the people are so rude and are all jerks not to mention the Edmonton public school system is a fucking joke
My name is also Ben. I have lived in Edmonton for a few years now. I’m originally from Ontario. I don’t agree with most of what you listed. I believe Edmonton is a GORGEOUS town with so many AMAZING THINGS to see and do. It is, HOWEVER, populated primarily by the biggest pieces of redneck, right-wing, racist, sexist, cheap, white, middle-aged, male shit. And they all drive giant, spotless, $100,000 trucks, bitch like children about carbon taxes and blame Rachel Notley for the weather. I don’t feel safe letting my family drive on the same roads as these selfish, careless, NEVER signalling morons who will HAPPILY run anyone off the road. It’s really that bad. Just spend 30 seconds on the Whitemud or try one of the roundabouts in the city. Not signaling on a multi-lane roundabout at rush hour is something that idiots and psychopaths do. Edmonton’s got those in spades. Rant over. EDMONTON IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE IT JUST ALSO HAPPENS TO BE FULL OF THE BIGGEST ASSHOLES IN CANADA. I’m moving to BC as soon as possible. Seriously if God’s going to smite a town, it’ll be this one.
Edmonton is shit. A poor excuse for a city. I moved here 5 years ago and the past years have been the most difficult of my life. Every winter I feel like blowing my brains out, but I don’t want my parents to know that I died in a shithole Alberta city called Edmonton. They would never forgive me. The people here are dumb and oblivious. If there was ever a modern equivalent to Plato’s cave, Edmonton would be it. Life is too short to suffer in Edmonton. I am so happy I’m leaving. Fuck this place.
I just don’t understand how people say they work 10 or 12 hour days like it’s something to be proud of all the while the city still looks like shit and projects are still behind. LRT metro line to nait is a ….trainwreck, and the walterdale bridge is delayed, again. Let’s put a pile of silver balls by a freeway so people can marvel at the wonders of our city and call it art.
“man every time I see a cyclist by the road I just want to run it over with my truck” – overheard at school.
“I was in millwoods the other day. Holy fuck, its fucking pakistan out there. People were looking at me like wtf. I’m glad I live in Spruce Grove” – my foreman.
Take a risk, it’s the most Edmonton thing you can do.
I lived here for 2 years now. I am a person who makes his own mind up about things. If others are saying shit about someone or a place I would like to experience it myself before I make my mind up about it. From what I’ve experienced. What is said in this forum is true. People, you are not alone with your thoughts about this place.
and Trevor from Millwoods your comment
“The thing about Edmonton is we’re not trying to compare ourselves to Toronto or Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg Edmonton is just Edmonton and that’s it we barely feel like we’re are part of Canada at the best of times so when you bash us it just reaffirms it and we’ve learned to embrace it because if people out east hate us we must be doing something right”
maybe you don’t feel like you’re apart of Canada because people here don’t act like Canadians. You act like Spoiled Teenagers who think they’re better than everybody else.
PS, when all you could say about a City is Work(school), Drink and going to a Mall, you know your city is just a bunch of Teenagers.
Yup, the douchebag population of Edmonton is still high. says : April 19, 2017 at 7:25 pm
Doesn’t change the fact that the people in your city are a bunch of xenophobic, knuckle dragging assholes.
“Get a trade, get laid, get paid, dude! Oh yeah and if some dude’s by himself and he’s dressed better than someone not wearing an Edmonton Oiler’s hockey jersey, then it means they’re a total faggot”.
That’s the mantra that comes out of most of the dumb asses in your city.
Bored in Edmonton? Well just go down to Whyte Ave or the Oil City roadhouse and start a fight with a cop, just for kicks. No cops available? No problem, just fuck with any security guard you want.
The city’s nice and easy to get around in and the rent was amazing but you guys have some serious rat and vermin problems, aka: the people who live there mixed in with the city being the murder capital of Canada.
Plus it takes ten blizzards before your crews even crawl out of bed to plough the streets in winter.
theres only two types of weather in Edmonton eather really cold or really hot
Edmonton is Alberta’s shitty asshole
10 years later and nothings really changed. Edmonton is still lame.
I’ve been here 7 1/2 long years. The money of course, compared to cost of living back home in Toronto.
About 4-5 years ago I saw potential in Edmonton and thought it could be a great city maybe in the next ten years. Nope. It’s a little better due to a hockey arena and more LRT. but it’s still boring. People are still dicks. And I will gladly be leaving this place finally within the year.
Edmonton is nice if you like the quiet boring life. I’ll admit that. It more for the folly, farmers market, cross country skiing type people. I find that stuff dull as hell so definitely not for me. But if you’re that wait than sure, it’s a good place. Or meeting up in the Canadian tire parking lot with your pickup truck buds.Something that’s also very Edmonton.
I’ll be out of here soon enough. All the best Edmonton.
(From: Top 10 Things I hated about Edmonton)
Worst city in Canada for lifestyle and dating for an educated single male – Edmonton
They used to call it Deadmonton because of the high murder rate (murder capital of Canada). Now we call it Deadmonton because there is nothing to really do here and it’s a deadzone far away from everything, save some small towns and industrial areas.
Some people say Edmonton gets a bad rap and that if you’re open to it it’s a gem and wonderful mid-sized city. Well those are lies and delusions. Just like saying Edmonton is “The City of Champions” on the welcome sign by the main highway. Objectively Edmonton is the worst city in Canada in terms of lifestyle and dating for a single educated male.
I always had this feeling deep down that Deadmonton was a world-class s***hole but couldn’t quite put it into words or explain why. The longer I stay here the more irritable and depressed I get. I got so depressed that I never contemplated that escaping TINdustry Town was even an option. It’s almost like being in the mental asylum in Shutter Island and never thinking you will ever escape.
Here are the top 10 myths busted about Edmonton:
1. Dating is better in Edmonton than in Vancouver or Toronto.
Not if you’re a guy. Let’s say that you do go to one of these famed Edmontonian festivals, well you will be surrounded by children, moms, and kids everywhere. And single moms. Dating for single guys in Edmonton is absolutely brutal. I mean imagine lots of guys moving here for work, and lots of educated women moving away to Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto as soon as they finish university. The dating apps are even worse because you get a few transient women, a few local women, and a huge number of guys who came here for work from all over the country and world.
In Edmonton, obese (generally uneducated) single moms get entitled and have their pick of dates every week on dating apps. Just look at Plentyoffish. The average looking girl with an equivalent education will just unmatch you (or never match) and put 0 effort with a “Hey” at most because she knows she has dozens of guys on the go at any time any day. So you have to lower your standards in Edmonton big time in terms of looks, education, personality, body-type, everything across the board just to get a below average date which almost always goes nowhere. You will never be able to date a woman having the same level of education and looks as you, and never ever from an app in Deadmonton.
There seem to be generally three types of women in Edmonton. The first are the ones with less education and many tattoos with selfies from the mountains and the beach, and generally only here for work. Well newsflash, the beach (in Vancouver I assume) is at least 12h away. The second are the weird, awkward, below average in attractiveness local raised in Edmonton women. The third are the professionals, doctors, lawyers, accountants, and pharmacists who tend to use dating apps purely for entertainment and to window shop for prince charming from the endless Edmonton selection of guys; but these women will still be on the apps months and years later, until they too leave town for Calgary, Vancouver, or Toronto.
And if you do sign up for an online dating app in Edmonton as a guy looking to meet a nice girl, well I might have read somewhere that Mark Twitchell (famous Edmontonian up and coming filmmaker who posed as a girl on the POF dating site in Edmonton and then lured his victim to an Edmonton garage before killing and dismembering him) is back on dating sites as well. Such Edmonton news headlines as "'Dexter killer' Mark Twitchell among members of dating site", "Notorious killer using online dating from prison" and "Convicted killer Mark Twitchell looking for love: ‘I enjoy clever storytelling’".
Fun Fact: Northern Alberta had the highest incident rate for chlamydia at 501.04 per 100,000, followed by Edmonton at 420.53. Edmonton had the highest rates of gonorrhea, at 159.14 per 100,000 population, and infectious syphilis at 17.28 per 100,000.
2. Edmonton is in a great location.
The truth is Edmonton is a northern isolated community that is in an industrial wasteland. There are refineries and flare stacks all around and even in the middle of the city. The weather for 8 months of the year is extreme cold and dry air which can’t be good for you.
If you want to travel anywhere exciting first you will be taking a flight to either Calgary, Vancouver, or Toronto. Anywhere you go is far away, and during the frigid winter any road trip is practically impossible.
The closest thing is Elk Island like an hour away which is the most underwhelming park you will visit. The rest is just adjacent towns filled with heavy industry, manufacturing, and petrochemical refineries. “Refinery Row” is not where you should want to go for a picturesque drive.
Weather wise, expect scorching hot dry sunny summers for 2 months of the year, and bone chilling frozen cold winters for 8 months.
3. Edmonton is a very diverse and cultured city.
This pathetic city doesn’t even have one major open museum and the royal provincial one still hasn’t opened (for years). Entertainment wise you have the commercial money making concerts come like Justin Bieber and back in the day Nickelback, but most of the interesting or non-mainstream acts will be skipping this town for Vancouver or Toronto.
The new art galley is very underwhelming and small, and the exhibits more akin to local kitsch than fine art. There are also a lot of country and just low class bars on Whyte and downtown which constantly get closed and reopened due to shootings and stabbings. The arts scene is mostly local university students and local artists, musicians, models, filmmakers, and actors just waiting for their big break in Hollywood or Broadway. At which point if it ever happens they will quickly leave town.
4. Edmonton has a diverse and bustling food scene.
The restaurants are overpriced and average or below average. They pretty much all serve the same generic goop. Whenever something new opens it will be super crowded because nothing else is going on in town so people default to eating out at the one new place. But don’t worry, it will be unimpressive and still below average, and most likely with poor service. There is no comparison to the food scene in Toronto or Vancouver. Call it a lack of imagination.
5. Edmonton is the festival capital of Canada.
There is actually a festival called Taste of Edmonton where the same below average restaurants come to showcase their food, except once there they double the cost of their regular overpriced menu for the privilege. The other festivals are mostly restricted to the summer months of July and August and they are the same handful of boring festivals every year. Once you see them once there’s no reason to go again unless you have a family with a few small kids with short memories. And yes, I get it that these summer events are popular with the family crowd.
A special mention goes to Klondike Days, CapitalEx, K-Days or whatever it's called now. This is the most overpriced and worst event of the summer. It's like a low-class second-rate amusement park rip-off of the Calgary Stampede, just with the wrong kind of demographic attending and none of the exciting events, all in a parking lot.
6. Edmonton public transit gets you where your life takes you on time.
The LRT is a joke. It’s literally one main line with a slightly branching sub-line downtown that takes like half an hour or more to go just a few short blocks. The whole LRT system only covers about a quarter of the city. On the south side every time it rains, or is windy, or it snows, or it’s just the weekend, the lines get limited to one track and trains slow down or simply stop running altogether. The traffic barriers and track signals malfunction and stop working regularly. Transit fares keep going up every half year and the bus routes keep getting reduced, with some new neighbourhoods not having any service at all. Worst public transportation system ever.
You better get a hemi diesel jacked up truck because then you won’t have to take public transit and you will also be supporting the local oil economy industry by using up more gas. It will also be useful in the winter when you have to navigate mounds of snow and keep from freezing.
7. The roads are brand new and getting fresh paving.
The roads are constantly under construction due to potholes and the summer and winter thaw cycle. There is construction and lane reductions everywhere. Some roads are closed altogether. This happens all the time everywhere except for when they are completely frozen and ice covered.
8. The Edmonton river valley is beautiful.
The river valley is only a few trails and unimpressive. It looks brown and dry most of the time. There’s also only a few parks in the city. Hawrelak Park is the most well known park where most events take place but it’s small and a total let down. Some areas especially near downtown are garbage filled and the downtown river valley area is referred to as “Homeless Tent City”.
9. Downtown Edmonton is where the excitement is.
The downtown is dead in the evenings and weekends. The most action there is all the police patrolling the crime infested downtown core which is filled with vagrants, panhandlers, gangs, and the drug trade, most visible after about 7 PM daily. I usually don’t go north of the river to downtown or north side unless I absolutely have to. The north side is like a crime ridden ghetto, and even worse when taking public transit such as LRT. Yes, there have been random murders and stabbings on the LRT on the north side of the city. I literally shake with fear and clutch my phone tightly with my fingers positioned on the "9" and the "1" when going past Churchill Station (city hall) and heading northbound on the LRT. The only really safe time on the LRT is rush hour traffic during regular weekday working hours.
The downtown view features an abandoned coal power plant, and yes it's still abandoned. And some unimpressive looking 80s and 90s era office towers. Then as you look past downtown, just before crossing the new bridge which took like 10 years to build, you will see to the east endless refineries and flare stacks burning.
10. Edmontonians are friendly and open.
I have found that Edmonton is very cliquey with small social groups of locals sticking to their own little networks. The networks are either due to friends they had when growing up in Edmonton or they can be in terms of professional groups from school or common activities. Either way Edmonton is very cliquey and most Edmontonians emit this stranger danger “don’t even want to talk to you” vibe. If you are foolish enough to try to make a genuine connection with any local girl you’ll be made to feel like some creepy perv just for trying to say hello or start a conversation. This applies equally in person as online with local Edmontonian women.
It should be mentioned that Edmonton also has the largest per capita population of convincts and criminals party due to the several large correctional institutions around the city, and party due to the blue collar northern gateway nature of the city. There is also a lot of drug related property crime that flows through Edmonton because it links the west coast and southern Alberta to Fort Mac and Northern Alberta where there used to be a large transient working population and a lot of disposable cash from the oil industry.
Pretty much a piece of shit place and I wish I could get an apology and my life back but the apology wouldn't cut it.
The truth is, that I find in Edmonton, there is a lot of suffering, Spiritually and Emotionally draining, mentally, psychologically, suffocating as well as, physically tired,
Once I finish uni I'm out of this shit hole. I came back from living abroad for 6 months and holy shit I didn't notice how bad of a city and the people in it is.
The most valuable real estate in Canada is the departure gate at YEG. Of course, you have to drive through the sprawling asshole that is south Edmonton and halfway to Red Deer. But you are leaving that shithole behind, remind yourself, with its eight lane roads packed with asshole drivers, with nothing to look at other that the bottomless awfulness that is that shithole. Some people say Regina is worse. No! Shithole is worse because there is more of it. God what a soul destroying place. Bless this website.
(From: Edmonton Sucks)
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