I found myself dragged kicking and screaming to live in Edmonton about 10 years ago. What an ice encrusted shithole. I ordered some Sorel snow boots through some sporting goods store and went in person to try them on and pick them up. The sales clerk said I had a conversation and he asked me if I was going to try to get permanent residency. What a new and bizarre idea! I had to laugh although I tried to swallow it to be polite.
Conversely nearly everyone I met admired the US and wanted to have dual citizenship. Alberta was, after all, the Texas of Canada.
At that time rentals were scarce and we had to woo our potential landlords. We succeeded in leasing a nearly new 3 bed 2.5 bath duplex
from Indians of the young and native born Canadian persuasion. Construction of new houses was going gangbusters - I saw a guy pounding nails into a new build at negative 20 burger units once.
At that time I had no difficulty getting a GP in a new, very close practice (also Indian), a dentist and a specialist. Canada ten years ago wasn’t nearly as bad as today. Even so I packed up and fled home months early. One glum BCP officer at customs in YEG told me he had recently signed up for a 5 year stint there and his wife was leaving back to Texas as soon as she could when their tenants’ lease was up.
The only thing that I really miss is the boarding cattery (white Canadian owner) we used because there isn’t anything nearly as good locally.