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Sunday, May 07, 2006 Myself in front of the skyline of Edmonton on my recent visit in April -Following 11 months of decision and deliberation at 3 large scale Canadian cities in addition to several smaller scale ones that began in February 2005. Towards the end of January 2006 my chosen Canadian college city was chosen. Edmonton, Alberta the major metropolis and Canada's fifth largest city Edmonton, Alberta. -  The downtown core with the pyramids of Muttart Consevatory in front, each with its own tropical biome a sight to behold. Edmonton is a highly dynamic city and area with a true flavor of it's own that cannot be compared to the rest of Canada or the world. The individual flair that Edmonton maintains is its own only. Situated in northern Alberta Edmonton has a booming economic centre for commerce both finance at home, with the US and abroad, a major arts, recreation and tourism side attracting people from across the world. Cutting edge education, research and environmental strategies are also major strengths of Edmonton. The provincial parliament of Alberta resides in Edmonton where Alberta affairs are managed and decided upon. Alberta has so much extra money that each citizen has gotten 2 sets of $400 cheques for each Alberta citizen over the age of 14. People spend huge amounts of money at restaurants, stores and a huge portion of the city has season tickets for sports and arts. The first settlers lived in the area now Edmonton approximately 10,000 B.C. as the ice caps moved away from the area. The natural abundance of lumber, water and animals made this a prime spot to settle. In 1794 the Hudsons Bay Company began opening posts in the present Fort Saskatchewan and the downtown core of Edmonton. Around 1898 it was a major stop off point and began home for many gold seekers who headed to the Klondike region of the Yukon during the gold rush. From then on forth following the discovery of oil in 1905 in Leduc just south of the city, Edmonton has continued to expand.  A aerial view of the University of Alberta's main campus on the south side of the city Edmonton's diverse population of 675,000 in the city with a total of 1.1 million in the Greater Edmonton Region continues to grow and expand. My chosen college The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology or NAIT with 7000 students in the city campuses and 135,000 in appreticships it's a chosen college of many. Its focus is on technical trades a major need in the world. Grant Macewan College with 6000 students is a large scale community college with a wide range of programs. University of Alberta is Canada’s 3rd largest university after University of Toronto and University of British Columbia. A massive research centre and educational nucleus with upwards of 137,000 students U of A has a bright past, present and future. More than 2000 acres of Edmonton is U of A property educating students from 121 nations. A collection of smaller colleges compliments Edmonton's educational enterprise.  The new ulta modern HP Centre on the main campus of NAIT, with one of the countless glass bridges in Edmonton sheltering you from the sometimes bitter cold  Another section of NAIT towers to the sky Alberta is booming beyond belief, and it just doesn't stop. With the world's second largest oil reserve, only smaller than Saudi Arabia the bundles of cash emitted from the oil and gas industry if unfathomable. More than 7 billion dollars in 2005 of this went into the Edmonton economy. Banks, major companies make their home here including countless call centres. A 120 million dollar research park houses 35 medical and research companies immensely involved in the emerging field of nanotechnology. Other research areas across the city research state of the art medicine, computers, processing, petroleum and gas.  The site of the the first discovery of oil in Alberta, which has nome become the world's second largest deposit of oil on earth in Leduc,Alberta just south of Edmonton A common scene in the Alberta countryside with thousands of oil rigs pumping out the province's black gold  The world's largest indoor waterpark in West Edmonton Mall with 14 massive slides including the planet's biggest indoor one, and the biggest wave pool, a true water fantasy!  The Olympic size rink in the Ice Palace at West Edmonton
Europa Boulevard, one of several themed streets in the Mall including a New Orelans one aptly called Bourbon Street, a Chinatown, amongst others Edmonton has a huge tourism market from across Canada and around the world. Americans flock to the city like nothing else. Over 2000 restaurants of all world cultures are to be found in Edmonton. The world's largest mall West Edmonton Mall in the west end with 850 stories, 110 restaurants is a truly sensational entertainment centre. Visiting this year I was completely in awe at the diversity and depth of the mall. In addition you can play hard in the arcades, casino and the world's largest indoor waterpark. With 14 towering slides including the biggest indoor slide and wave pool you will never be bored. Feeling like a tropical resort there's a pagoda serving tropical drinks and you can wear summer clothes in the 35 degree weather equivalent to that of Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. It's such a blast, with just so much to do. An Olympic sized skating rink, 2 mini golf courses, a lake with a pirate ship, bumper boats and a submarine it truly has it all. To have it all truly stayed on the western, artic, Hollywood or truck driver floor of the Mall's Fantasyland Hotel attached to the mall. Each floor and most of the rooms have a theme with the walls, elevators and even the beds joining in for example an igloo bed in the Artic rooms. Spanning 46 city blocks the mall has more than you could ever want. Exclusive European, Asian and American stores are in the mall not found elsewhere in Canada or North America. The historic Alberta Legistature Building, home of Alberta's provincial parliament  One of many funky restaurants lining the one of a kind Whyte Avenue  A whimsical retro car dealership on Whyte  Fun restaurants and shoppes line this famed street, a major gathering place for Edmontonians and tourists alike Other shopping abounds with unique international stores along the Avenue of Nations with stores spotlighting the wares of more than 15 nations. Two China towns are in the city, the original smaller one and one near Avenue of Nations. Whyte Avenue or 82nd Ave has an amazing array of shops of all sorts. Some I went in included Scottish shops which could be a fine store in Dublin, a store with all clothes for dogs and cats and many others varies stores and the funniest restaurants. Whyte is where the city gathers during and after games. Edmonton is home to the National Hockey League Team the Edmonton Oilers who play at their Rexall Centre. They are hugely popular with Edmonton having a major hockey culture, a outdoor store owner saying Edmonton is mental about hockey. It's very true. They have won four Stanley Cups including 3 in a row when Wayne Gretzkey was playing for them. Also home to the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos who won the Grey Cup the top honor for Canadian football in 2005. They play at the mammoth Commonwealth Stadium, built for when Edmonton hosted the Commonwealth Games back in 1978.  Commonwealth Stadium opened in 1978 as the main stadium for when Edmonton hosted the Commonwealth Games, now the home of the CFL team the Edmonton Eskimos winners of the 2005 Grey Cup Edmonton is a major green hotspot with a strong understanding and acknowledgement of the environment. The people of Edmonton greatly enjoy and appreciate the environment. They certainly have countless ways to do this. The city has a series of parks alongside the banks of the North Saskatchewan River that divide the city roughly in half. The north side has the city centre airport, the colleges, West Edmonton Mall and the downtown core. The south side the smaller of the two has the University of Alberta, the funky artsy Whyte Avenue, the international airport, the research park and many residential areas. The river valley is one of Edmonton's very best features. The large downtown and commercial core of the city is just in front of the massive River Valley area. More than 2000 acres of parks, green space and a new Chinese garden celebrating the sister city relationship with Harbin, China. This area is filled with natural beauty and has many walking paths, parks of varying sizes in an area 12 times the size of New York's Central Park. Volunteers run clean ups of the River Valley throughout the year.    Sections of the more than 2000 acres of River Parks around the downtown core  The city also runs a program where volunteers sign up to keep a block clean called "adopt a block". The volunteer is given a kit with bags, gloves and the like and keeps this area meticulous throughout the year. It works when I visited the city I noticed overall it's an extremely clean city. The waste that Edmonton produces is reduced by 60% due to their environmental practices. Edmonton has North America's largest composting facility spanning the area of 8 football fields. Even the landfill though it still needs it, the city has adjustments to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. A thick layer of clay prevents the garbage from leaching into the soil below. In addition a gas collection station in the landfill collects the gas that rises and otherwise pollutes the earth and produces electricity from it. They use this electricity to power 4,400 of the city's houses. Once the landfill is filled to capacity, a comprehensive regeneration program will start to improve the area of the landfill. This is largest plan of this kind for a landfill in the world.  Edmonton is a sea of sparkling light come nightfall on a cold winter's night -Having spent a week in Edmonton & Jasper towards the end of April setting things up, seeing around and experiencing the city I'm excited. Extremely excited because I have selected the perfect place I want to spend tour years studying and pursuing my career of dreams one in the world's largest industry; travel and hospitality. I cannot wait for my return to Edmonton, Alberta in August. Ensure you spend solid time deciding if you do go out of province or state. It's an experience and you will gain so much more than just living in the same culture and place, you have done all your life. Life is not a job, it's something special and spectacular. -
Teague Neal blogged on 10:03 AM
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Teague Neal |
