Calgary great to place to have kids but pricey to grow old in, says study

Calgary may be a great place to have kids and live in, but it is not a place to blissfully grow old in, according to the 2019 Vital Signs report.

Seventy per cent of Calgarians surveyed feel the city's quality of life "is good or excellent" and think the city is a great place to raise children.

However, only 38 per cent believe Calgary to be a "great place for seniors to live," and just 34 per cent believe the city's aging population "has a high standard of living."

These findings are according to the 2019 version of the annual study, which surveyed 2,236 Calgarians.

Since 2007, the Calgary Foundation has annually released a Vital Signs report combining research and a citizen survey on issues tied to quality of life.

"We hope that reading this report sparks a conversation among all Calgarians and a desire to work together to make our city a better place to live," the report says.

On the topic of city satisfaction, the report found residents who have lived here under a year are more optimistic about the economy than long-term residents of a decade or more.

Other key findings in the report include:

Housing

• Only 26 per cent of Calgarians believe that seniors have access to affordable housing.
• Chronic homelessness in the city is worse than in the rest of Alberta as 68 per cent of those without a permanent home in Calgary experience homelessness in a recurring pattern.

Employment

• The unemployment rate is down from last year but is still among the highest in Canada.
• 52 per cent of people in the city have trouble affording essentials like food, shelter and clothing.

Mental Health

• About three-quarters of Calgarians feel stress related to personal finances.
• Eighty-nine per cent of seniors would define their mental health as excellent/good as opposed to 49 per cent of younger Calgarians identifying that way.
• Half of the city doesn't think there is timely enough access to mental health care.

Arts & Culture

• The city had $125 million in economic output from its arts sector.

Environment

• Seventy per cent of Calgary businesses have recycling programs.
• Calgarians commute mostly by car at 64 per cent, then by transit at 17 per cent and by bike at three per cent.
• The percentage of individuals who choose to ride transit has gone up for the first time in four years.
• Calgarians using blue and green bins have reduced landfill waste by 30 per cent.

Identity

• Twenty-eight per cent of Calgarians "often or sometimes feel uncomfortable" due to their religion, culture, skin colour, language, accent, gender and/or sexual orientation.
• Ten per cent of Alberta's children are Indigenous but 69 per cent of them are in alternative care arrangements.