Elite's Edmonton Guide - Edmonton Real Estate For Sale

RE/MAX Elite’s Guide to Edmonton

About Edmonton

Edmonton is the Capital City of the Province of Alberta, and is otherwise known as the Oil Capital of Canada. Other than benefiting from Alberta’s significantly lower taxes, Edmonton residents benefit from living in a city with a flourishing economy, expansive real estate market, amenities and attractions, and lush green surroundings from the 27,400 acres of parkland it has to offer; the highest parkland to resident ratio in Canada.

Edmonton is a major oil and gas centre, attracting workers from overseas and around the country. As a result, there is a vast infrastructure expansion such as an advanced bus network and rail system. These are affordable and environmentally friendly means of transportation available to most Edmontonians.

Edmonton’s Economy

Edmonton, when compared to most Canadian cities, has very low unemployment rates and a high availability of employment. The predominant commercial sectors in Edmonton reside in oil and gas, otherwise known as petrochemicals; however, the construction, health care, and social assistance sectors have proven to be growing at expansive rates with a high availability of jobs. The city hopes to continue drawing appeal from foreign and domestic workers.

The other employment sectors demonstrating significant promise as of late have been information technology, banking, and biotechnology with employers such as IBM, Canada Western Bank, TELUS, General Electric, TD Canada Trust, and more. Due to a lack of available workers in Edmonton, employment opportunities are particularly high.

Edmonton Weather and Climate

Edmonton has a characteristically continental climate with large variations in seasonal temperatures. The range of climate in Edmonton makes for wholesome winters and gorgeous summers. The most winter-ridden months tend to be December, January, and February, wherein residents can expect average snowfalls of over 8 inches. These months also tend to be the coldest. However, the summers in Edmonton are quite delightful, with average daily maximum temperatures exceeding 20ᵒC in June, July, and August.

The city has milder winters than either Regina or Winnipeg, both further south of Edmonton in latitude. Edmontonians usually enjoy sunny weather, even in winter, and the majority of precipitation comes in summer. Edmonton enjoys a dry climate with little of the summer humidity that bothers many people in Ontario, making it a great place to settle if you enjoy lots of year-round sunshine.

Edmonton’s Educational Opportunities

The City of Edmonton is home to over ten post-secondary learning institutions, three major school boards, including Edmonton Public District, Edmonton Catholic District – for students aged from kindergarten to grade 12, and a Francophone School Board.

Out of the post-secondary institutions in Edmonton, the largest is the University of Alberta, which is regarded as one of Canada’s most prestigious universities and provides education for over 36,000 students each year. Another university within Edmonton is Grant MacEwan University, which has an average student body of 14,000.

Edmonton is also home to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) which offers various undergraduate, certificate, diploma, and applied technical course programs. NAIT educates approximately 29,300 students per year.

Transportation in Edmonton

Due to the large expansion of industry and infrastructure in Edmonton, the city now boasts an advanced busing and city-line train system under the Edmonton Transit System. Edmontonians also benefit from the lowest gasoline and diesel prices in Canada. Public transit routes are vast and accessible to large ranges of Edmonton residents. Edmonton is also home to many bike routes, and scenic walking and biking paths throughout the expansive 27,400 acres of parkland within the city – the most parkland per resident in Canada.

Edmonton’s Recreational Options

Edmonton boasts a large availability of recreational activities and establishments that cater to all age groups and families. One of the largest attractions in Edmonton is the West Edmonton Mall, a former world record holder for the largest shopping centre. The West Edmonton Mall houses multiple recreational activities such as swimming and waterslides while providing customers with an expansive selection of shopping. Stores vary from big-box retailers to independent clothiers. You’ll also find restaurants of all shapes and sizes.

Edmonton’s 27,400 acres of parkland make for beautiful terrain for walking and biking along the paved paths amongst the lush surroundings. There are over 90 kilometers of available pathways for skiing, snowshoeing, walking, hiking, and biking. The city also has many entertainment options such as movie theatres, youth clubs, restaurants and shopping, and varied events and gatherings throughout the year.

Being home to two professional sports teams, Edmonton has no shortage of live sports entertainment. The resident Canadian Football League team, the Edmonton Elks, plays at the 60,000-seat Commonwealth Stadium, while the resident National Hockey League team, the Edmonton Oilers (former team of Canadian legend Wayne Gretzky) plays at the Rogers Arena. Built in less than three years at a total cost of more than $600 million, Rogers Arena officially opened to great fanfare in late 2016; just one more reason to call this great city your new home.

Festival City

Being home to over 30 diverse yearly festivals, 20 theatre companies, and the newly developed Art Gallery of Alberta, it’s no wonder why Edmonton proudly boasts the title of being Canada’s Festival City.

With festivals ranging in Folk, Country, Electronic, Blues, and many more music styles, there’s no shortage of entertainment options when living in Edmonton. International and cultural festivals, like the Edmonton Fringe Theatre Festival, are also largely recognized and attended events that bring the city to life. Edmonton also hosts sporting events and festivals like the Annual Edmonton Dragon Boat Festival.

Aside from larger festivals, the cultural scene in Edmonton flourishes with an exciting nightlife with many different establishments to choose from, and strong film and musical communities.

Relocating to Edmonton

Some of the main reasons people move to Edmonton is for the appealing lifestyle and the availability of employment opportunities. Despite the global economic downtown, Edmonton has proven to be a resilient and reliable city with a flourishing employment market, low unemployment rates, relatively higher wages, and some of the lowest taxation rates in Canada.

Edmonton is always looking for young, skilled, and educated people to come see everything the city has to offer and to join in the economic prosperity of the city.

Edmonton offers business owners the opportunity to bring their businesses to a land of prosperity that also benefits from the lowest taxation rates in the country. With a small-community feel and big-city benefits, Edmonton is the perfect place for your business and your family to thrive.