Much to consider here. Dow, we briefly talked about Canmore as a great mountain town while climbing. At the time I had not received approval to work remotely.

I'd be the first to say that Boulder is not the right town for everyone, but the same could be said for any place. I greatly appreciate everyone's input. There are a lot of options here of which I was previously unaware.

Boulder.

I lived there for 16 years.

It easily satisfies all the requirements you listed.

Canmore is beautiful and near some pretty awesome stuff. Would be WAY too cold for my liking in winter though. Seemed pretty small to have a lot of diversity in food and people as well.

Luciano136 wrote:Canmore is beautiful and near some pretty awesome stuff. Would be WAY too cold for my liking in winter though. Seemed pretty small to have a lot of diversity in food and people as well.

Not as cold as folks speculate. The Rockies angle west as they gain latitude. Vancouver has bay like weather. Canmore is the most protected mountain town I have seen in terms of wind and inverted warmth (called Chinooks). Way warmer than where I grew up in the midwestern states where wind chills factor in.

Another item most folks don't realize is that Canada is just way more diverse than the US in terms of demographics, no matter what community you want to look at. Calgary has the biggest rodeo in the world basically, no doubt an oil and cow town. However, it has specific Asian markets the size of Costco (i.e. Korean, etc) and its own China town that rivals any outside of San Francisco. Canmore, at approx 11-13K in population has the most diverse population of anywhere I have lived or visited. Half of my friends from Canmore, including some on summitpost, have an eastern European background (Czechs, Croatians, Pols, Bulgarians, Hungarians, etc. The restaurants offer the best selection of any town we have ever lived in, and are particularly diverse. Compared to Incline Village which is a much wealthier town in the US of about the same size, there is no contest. One of our favorite sushi places anywhere is a family owned establishment in Canmore, despite being that far from the west coast. Organic and free range is most abundant, whereas it is non-existent in southern Utah. In fact we never go out to eat in St. George, pop over 100K. Every restaurant in Canmore has outdoor seating. None in St. George do, despite the weather differential. Albeit one "Harbucks" (msp) does exist now, the locally owned coffee shops per capita in Canmore has to be a record for any mountain town. And there has been literally no turnover in these establishments. Some close friends of ours started a restaurant named the Trough Dining Co. which is now considered one of the top restaurants in all of Canada.

You don't hear me bragging about Canmore much, in fact this is the first time I really ever have, because in reality, I just as well the masses in general continue to perceive it as too cold and touristy (thinking of Banff). It is the only mountain town I have ever lived that you cannot go anywhere, grocery store, whatever, without running into folks you actually climb, run or ski with whereas most of the talented folks I climb with in the desert are quite transient.

All being said, I still don't think it is the right choice for Michelle, by a long shot. For my wife and I, it is pretty spectacular. Every little community in that region of Alberta has community, not for profit, horse paddocks (horse co-ops if you will) on potentially valuable set aside Provincial or Federal lands. Never heard of such a thing in the lower 48. Climbing and extreme fitness is the lifestyle choice of that community, including many of the winter Olympic athletes.

I do believe in the end, it would lack the consumerism (no Walmarts, big nightclubs, shows, movie theaters, bowling allies, or malls) that most in the lower 48 or Europe do crave as part of their living environment despite what they might admit to on a board discussion.

Dow Williams wrote: Organic and free range is most abundant, whereas it is non-existent in southern Utah. In fact we never go out to eat in St. George, pop over 100K. Every restaurant in Canmore has outdoor seating. None in St. George do, despite the weather differential.

Most of the food at Chuckarama in Saint George is of organic origin. People sometimes eat in the parking lot, too.

Canmore definitely had a more European feel than many places in the US (I'm originally from Europe). We stayed at a B&B from a guy who lived in Australia and then in Canmore over the summer.

I truly is a very nice mountain town but like you mentioned, for a young(er) single person, it might be not the best fit. I personally would enjoy it a few months out of the year but then would want the 'excitement' of the bigger city back.

MoapaPk wrote:

Dow Williams wrote: Organic and free range is most abundant, whereas it is non-existent in southern Utah. In fact we never go out to eat in St. George, pop over 100K. Every restaurant in Canmore has outdoor seating. None in St. George do, despite the weather differential.

Most of the food at Chuckarama in Saint George is of organic origin. People sometimes eat in the parking lot, too.

My absolute biggest pet peeve of Mormon influence (patio dining), which for the most part the rest of the religion does not bother me or my lifestyle. Virtually no real patio dining in the city limits...a city that has at least 300 days worth of outdoor fraternizing (Canmore maybe has 70 days and every establishment has a patio). No doubt intertwined with some ridiculous liquor license requirement. Better not drink a beer or coffee in public. To pathetic of a deal to even investigate for me. We simply eat, drink, curse, smoke and have wild sex at home when in Utah. In Canmore, we do all that in the streets.

Are there any good movie theaters in Canmore?

dskoon wrote:Are there any good movie theaters in Canmore?

I don't think they need 'em:

Dow Williams wrote:We simply eat, drink, curse, smoke and have wild sex at home when in Utah. In Canmore, we do all that in the streets.

jniehof wrote:

dskoon wrote:Are there any good movie theaters in Canmore?

I don't think they need 'em:

Dow Williams wrote:We simply eat, drink, curse, smoke and have wild sex at home when in Utah. In Canmore, we do all that in the streets.

There ya go!

much better to live it then stare at a screen and pretend it

An American citizen cant just move to Canada, right?. What are the rules?

well, they do prefer you keep your guns south of the border

I ain't no Hulk Hogan, but I'm pretty sure I couild pull myself up some-e-those Canadian mountains! Who would need a gun in Canada? really, I'ts great to have quiet neighbors.

Whattya think I am some damn tea party freak?