BLOG | I left Calgary in 2010, was it the right decision?
Calgary has held the highest unemployment rate in Canada for months. There are as many unemployed people in Calgary right now, as residents of Niagara Falls. The effects of the struggling economy are visible. Rush hour traffic was not the gridlock that I remembered it to be, my hotel room faced office buildings with visibly vacant floors, conversations with old friends about work had a more solemn tone.
CBC Radio ·
Now or Never host Ify Chiewetelu. (CBC)
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By Ify Chiwetelu
Leaving Calgary six years ago felt like a risky move. The city had bounced back from the 2009 recession and things were looking good. As I packed up my stuff, well meaning people in my life promised that I would be just fine... when I inevitably moved back to Calgary and started again.
In my new city of Toronto, people joked that I had gone the wrong direction, the trend was moving to the west not away from it! No one was a fan of Ify's life choices circa 2010.
I mean, if I was going to be subject to the highs and lows of an industry, I wanted to be doing something creative, that I was passionate enough about that it would make the roller coaster worthwhile.
Working in the oil and gas sector through a recession was strange. Lunchroom conversations would eventually shift to what company had folded, projects cancelled, who would hypothetically be let go first. It was living in the midst of this uncertainty and stress that made me want out.
Calgary has held the highest unemployment rate in Canada for months. There are as many unemployed people in Calgary right now, as residents of Niagara Falls. The effects of the struggling economy are visible. Rush hour traffic was not the gridlock that I remembered it to be, my hotel room faced office buildings with visibly vacant floors, conversations with old friends about work had a more solemn tone.
After meeting Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, Ify signed his very large guest book. (CBC) There were also things about Calgary that I had forgotten. I forgot that Calgary knows this cycle well, the many booms and busts in the city have built a strongly resilient muscle.
I was grateful to meet corporate professionals who see this downturn as an opportunity for reinvention, newcomers tackling language barriers and a new culture on top of their job search, warmed by the ways individuals and groups rally around the most vulnerable.
While I don't live in Calgary anymore, I was grateful to visit again, and take a little bit of that determination and perseverance back with me.
