Despite some of the negative comments you see (Edmonton does have a real winter, on par with Toronto and Montreal for snow, but colder still) Edmonton is a pretty awesome place to live and spend time. It has always been the ugly step brother to Calgary and it took decades for oil wealth to really start to change the city. When it did, it wasn't in the cowtown-n-skyscrapers Texas style you saw in Calgary, but something a little less brash and more focused on arts and culture.
Don't forget as well, you are a short trip to Jasper, the BC interior and all sorts of absolutely amazing places that are busy and fun 4 seasons of the year.
That is all to say, from the perspective of someone who does not live there, Edmonton is an easy place to underestimate. There are many people who would prefer it to Toronto/Montreal just for the simple fact that they can buy a house, get around easily, and be much closer to the outdoors.
Edmonton is an awesome place to live, and even after a decade in Toronto I would move there in a heartbeat if there were opportunities for my spouse.
The history of Alberta actually shows Edmonton and Calgary trading places several times as the premier city in the province. It's only in the last 20 years that Calgary has really pulled ahead.
Edmonton has also traditionally been much more politically liberal than Calgary, which might appeal to some people - during 40 years of Conservative power (under various party names) Edmonton was often swept by NDP candidates, usually the only opposition members in the province.
Edmonton also has an excellent Drama scene - one of the first Fringe festivals outside of Edinburgh (and still one of the biggest), a great folk music festival, a vibrant multicultural scene without excessive ghettoization, and a 1-2 km wide river valley park that bisects the city with walking and biking trails.
I used to visit Edmonton often, and for the warm half of the year, it's just a more livable city than Calgary. Edmonton has actually walkable communities, a sense of genuine hospitality and a constant barrage of festivals. The Folk Music festival is a world class music festival (for the best experience, get on a volunteer crew, they treat you super well). There's plenty of other good music festivals though, like interstellar rodeo (not at all a Country Music festival), and Up+Downdown. Fringe is fantastic. Fort Edmonton is a fun outing if you dig history.
If you do locate up here though, get a group together and learn a couple of winter sports. Once I started snowboarding and snowshoeing, I really started to look forward to winter.
Agree so much. I'm originally from just outside of Edmonton, but have been living in southern Ontario for work since the late 90s. At this point in my life with two kids and with the rest of my family back there, I'd seriously consider moving back there despite the terrible winter and right wing politics [which seems to be changing].
The river valley is fantastic wonderful greenspace. Great festivals and arts culture. Big enough to have most things you need but not too congested. Very friendly people. And the UofA is a wonderful university.
As a Google employee I hope that this DeepMind presence grows over time to be a real Google office. Although I doubt this will happen, I'd certainly welcome the ability to transfer there.
The other big Google engineering office in Canada is in Waterloo. So we at least have a history of co-locating beside excellent engineering universities. The UofA is up there with Waterloo in terms of a excellent CS/engineering.
I've been told my numerous people who grew up there that the winters in Edmonton were brutal. Despite Toronto's reputation being a Canadian city the winters are very mild by comparison and Vancouver, of course, is even easier.
Having lived in Montreal on the other hand I was surprised at the impact a lengthier far snowier winter can have on a city if you didn't grow up with it, after being familiar with Toronto/southern Ontario I found the winters in MTL hard to deal with. A winter-heavy city really does create two very different cities, the summers in Montreal are really amazing though, half the year it's the best city in Canada.
Keeping people inside for winter may be a non-negative in academic research but it's probably the most serious implication to consider lifestyle-wise when moving to Edmonton. Not to mention the lack of access to events (both culturally and industry-wise).
I'm not sure I could be optimistic for a Canadian city for technology outside of Toronto, MTL, and Vancouver, besides the current available talent pool which can create at least a decade-long attraction with someone exceptional like Rich Sutton. Similar to sports teams talent attracting free agents. Which is what we're talking about in this case, with advanced research in AI.
The Manhattan project's success was largely a result of the talent they attracted early on, which blossomed into even more talent as a result, and it was located in the middle of nowhere in an isolated New Mexico town.
City-wise it might not be attractive but talent is what matters at the end of the day. The only risk then is that it can maintain an active research community, aka consistently attracting talent. I'd be measuring the output of the universities with highest priority in this case more than anything.
I'm in Toronto and I'm consistently jealous of the far better quality of cultural events in Montreal. Which is why I still travel there often. So I guess this is more about your tastes and expectations. The majority of top-tier American performers typically visit Montreal on tours (likely due to proximity of NYC) but only occasionally Toronto or Vancouver. By this I mean for music, stand-up comedians, etc.
I'd imagine far far less so in Edmonton. And I don't mean quantity as much as quality.
And I could give a number of examples in terms of just technology, infosec, and design events in terms of quality of the various events available in different Canadian cities.
Granted, but Edmonton is also much smaller than Montreal and Toronto. I think Edmonton would compare favorably to similar-sized North American cities in terms of cultural events.
I remember this soldier telling me a common military mantra was that "there's no bad weather, just bad equipment".
People who move to places with winters who never grew up with it are largely just inexperienced and ill-prepared to deal with it. It really isn't that bad if you have a good jacket, long-johns, and good boots. Plus a bike with winter treads can be just as stable on snow as a road bike on cement.
But regardless it's a time investment and not for everyone. Not to mention limitations it ultimately puts on transportation. Even the well prepared cities get caught off-guard once or twice a year.
Don't forget as well, you are a short trip to Jasper, the BC interior and all sorts of absolutely amazing places that are busy and fun 4 seasons of the year.
That is all to say, from the perspective of someone who does not live there, Edmonton is an easy place to underestimate. There are many people who would prefer it to Toronto/Montreal just for the simple fact that they can buy a house, get around easily, and be much closer to the outdoors.