A tail of 3 cities.....

If you could give some idea of your preferences and goals it might be helpful. The cities all have pro's and con's, and your interests, goals and political leanings would all be a factor in which city would suit you best.

I'm an outdoor person and coming from Cape Town, enjoy the mountains and the sea. From a work front I guess Toronto might provide more opportunities but I'm really after the Rockies and the west side off Canada.  We will be starting a family in the next 2 years. Big part of my dream/ambition was to live in a country with prominent seasons (winter=snow and summer=hot) house prices are a detergent in Vancouver and seems Calgary does have good value for money. I've also read a lot about immigrants coming over and struggling to find work in their related field of studies/work experience can't belief this to be the case with such low unemployment across Canada and individual provinces (unless there are discrimination happening against immigrants) As stated before I work in banking/asset services in London for the last 3 years. Any tips are useful thanks !

Okay for mountains and ocean you can't beat Vancouver. Golf in the morning ski in the afternoon. The city itself doesn't get a lot of snow in the winter, but you're only an hour and a half drive away from the world famous ski resort of Whistler Blackcombe, there are also local mountains that are only a half hour away and offer good ski runs and other winter activities.  If you don't like rain it can be a hard city and it is expensive, usually less so for renting than buying.  It's a city with tons of food options from all over the world and is geared towards families, with plenty of schools parks and entertainment. It can be difficult to find work (this is true almost any where in Canada), but the  financial industry is always looking for skilled workers, I should know as I used to work in banking.Vancouver has a good arts scene and some theater, but not like Toronto but if outdoor activities are your thing, it's the place to be, biking, walking, running, sports of all kinds, I've even seen the odd game of cricket most of which can be enjoyed year round.

Calgary has employment opportunities within the primary resource sector mainly, but is developing secondary industries to enhance job opportunities. While Calgarians enjoy a certain amount of outdoor activities, but it is as very car (actually pickup truck) oriented city. Banff is also an hour and a half away for skiing, Alberta's cultural capital is Edmointon, but Calgary is constantly improving on this. Calgary is a more politically conservative city than Vancouver. The weather in Calgary can swing wildly at any time of year but tends to be hot in the summer and cold in the winter. They have no ocean obviously, housing is less expensive than either Toronto or Vancouver, and car fuel is less expensive. Being in land other items will likely cost more as they must be transported overland.

Toronto, the largest city in Canada sits on the edge of Lake Ontario, the summers are humid and winter trend to be colder (not like Calgary) but not temperate like Vancouver either. Most people in Toronto live in the suburbs and commute in for work. Toronto has a lovely arts scene and also a diverse range of cultures. There are predominantly more people of Caribbean and African descent in Toronto than either of the two other cities. There are mountains fairly close to Toronto, but a longer drive than the other two cities. Being in Toronto also offers the opportunity to see two other of Canada's cities that are fairly close by, Quebec and Montreal and us only a short flight to cities like Boston, New York City etc. Toronto can also be quite expensive for housing, but makes up for it with thriving night life, great restaurants (to rival Vancouver) and gets a lot of major theater productions that tour the eastern seaboard of the US.

I hope this helps somewhat.