Am I a British Columbian, or still an Albertan?

[palominodrew]

I have long been curious on this one. My family and I moved to Winfield from Calgary in 2012, and I felt like I had FINALLY found my true home. This meant not only a roof over my head, but a love for the relaxed energy here, focus on leisure, traffic that did not feel like a constant Daytona 500. In short, it took only a few months before I felt like a British Columbia resident, and no longer felt like (to quote the t-shirt I once saw) "Just an Alberta Man living in a BC World".

However, a colleague of mine who moved here from southern Alberta around the same time got into this conversation last week, yet when I mentioned my relative ease in shifting identities, she looked at me like I had three heads. "REALLY??", she said. "I have never stopped being Albertan, and sometimes I really miss it and want to go back!" I was as surprised at her answer as she was at mine.

So my question is: Did you move between provinces, and if you did, which do you identify as being a true resident of, and is that loyalty important to you?

[Ka-El]

I think you are what you want to be. I moved to BC from Calgary when I was 25. I’ll always be Alberta-born, and I’ll go to my grave as a Stampeders fan but that’s as far as it goes. Hey, I still love Calgary (an amazing city) and have family I visit (in the summer), but BC is an amazing place to live (even outside the Okanagan Valley) and it has been my home for more than thirty-five years (living and working in more than one place). As far as loyalty goes, I am first and foremost a Canadian.

[LordEd]

Easy test: if you see a red license plate, does that alter your opinion of their driving ability?

If positive opinion, still Albertan.
If negatively, welcome to BC

[Ka-El]

When I was living in Calgary I thought those folks had to be the worst drivers in the country. Then I moved to BC. What an awakening. Merge lanes? Turn lanes? Signal lights? Double yellow lines on the road? Wow! What are those things for?

[Bsuds]

When I was living in Calgary I thought those folks had to be the worst drivers in the country. Then I moved to BC. What an awakening. Merge lanes? Turn lanes? Signal lights? Double yellow lines on the road? Wow! What are those things for

If you are an Albertan they are for you to ignore!

[Poindexter]

I moved from Ontario 37 years ago and while I am a product of my eastern upbringing, I was immediately a British Columbian.

I was a teenager when I found out we were moving to BC and I recall whining about it to other classmates at the bus stop. Was living in a small cheese town in North Eastern Ontario so I really had no idea what I was in store for so due to the unknown was not looking forward to the move at all.

Then one of the kids who overheard me at the bus stop came over and started telling me how lucky I was. He described his trip to Whistler, salmon fishing on the Coast and seeing Orca. It was the first time I had even considered that a place like this existed. He wasnt lying and living here it has allowed me to do things I never would have imagined.

So while I'm a Canadian first, a close second to that is that I'm a proud British Columbian.

[Ka-El]

Then one of the kids who overheard me at the bus stop came over and started telling me how lucky I was. He described his trip to Whistler, salmon fishing on the Coast and seeing Orca. It was the first time I had even considered that a place like this existed. He wasn't lying and living here it has allowed me to do things I never would have imagined.

BC is an amazing province. I am so grateful for the time I spent living in the north, and my job at the time taking me to such remote locations as Stewart, Telegraph Creek and even Atlin. Many amazing experiences I'll always value and remember.

[palominodrew]

I grew up in Grande Prairie, got my degree in Lethbridge, and worked as a teacher in both Stony Plain and Calgary. So the full Alberta experience! At the time I couldn't imagine ever living anywhere else, and was proudly Albertan. And then... I noticed over time how much more relaxed and able to breathe I felt when I drove west and hit Three Valley Gap or so. This stuck with me. My family and I eventually relocated because we figured out that actually moving to BC was the only way I would be able to find work here, and we needed to turn down the "speed of life" from a 10 to a 5 or 6. Both for my wife and I, but also our kids.

My identity switched because I wanted it to, as someone talked about in a previous post. I started to be more proud of where I lived here in BC because it reflected who I was becoming as a person, and the changing values accompanying it.

But I'm still a Flames fan - there has been no switching to the Canucks.

[JLives]

BC is an amazing province. I am so grateful for the time I spent living in the north, and my job at the time taking me to such remote locations as Stewart, Telegraph Creek and even Atlin. Many amazing experiences I'll always value and remember.

I was born in Smithers and spent my early childhood in Stewart, Houston, Tumbler Ridge and Chetwynd before moving to the Shuswap when my Dad passe away. Born and bred British Columbia here. We truly live in paradise.

[rustled]

I have long been curious on this one. My family and I moved to Winfield from Calgary in 2012, and I felt like I had FINALLY found my true home. This meant not only a roof over my head, but a love for the relaxed energy here, focus on leisure, traffic that did not feel like a constant Daytona 500. In short, it took only a few months before I felt like a British Columbia resident, and no longer felt like (to quote the t-shirt I once saw) "Just an Alberta Man living in a BC World".

However, a colleague of mine who moved here from southern Alberta around the same time got into this conversation last week, yet when I mentioned my relative ease in shifting identities, she looked at me like I had three heads. "REALLY??", she said. "I have never stopped being Albertan, and sometimes I really miss it and want to go back!" I was as surprised at her answer as she was at mine.

So my question is: Did you move between provinces, and if you did, which do you identify as being a true resident of, and is that loyalty important to you?

[stuphoto]

When I was living and working in Alberta I always said I was a British Columbian. Partly because Alberta never felt like home, and partly because I knew I would eventually move back to BC

Today I would almost say it's where is your cell phone area code based out of.
If your phone number is a 403, or 780, or 587 based area code you are an Albertan.

If it's a 604, or 250, or 778 then your a British Columbian.

[Cactusflower]

My family moved to the West Kootenays from SK when I was 7 years old. I still have relatives living in Saskatoon and P.A. who I visit from time to time, but I would never consider moving back there. My mother, on the other hand, always felt claustrophobic living in the mountainous terrain of the Kootenays........at first, but she never felt the need to return to SK either.

I hope you don't mind if I make a couple of Jeff Foxworthy observations here:
If you've lived in B.C. for several years and still drive a vehicle with red and white licence plates.........you might be an Albertan.
If you drive the biggest SUV or pickup truck known to man.........you might be an Albertan.
If you drive around with an ATV constantly in the back of your truck.......you might be an Albertan.
If you always tow a jet-ski behind your truck....... you might be an Albertan.
If you are found driving a 40-ft. Class A motorhome on a pot-hole riddled dirt road to some remote B.C. campsite......you might be an Albertan.

[Bsuds]

I think that if you plan on staying then you are a BCer.

If you plan on returning or moving to a different province then you are still an Albertan.

I have traveled to many different countries and I will always be a Canadian first and a British Columbian as well and never intend or want to live anywhere else.

We traveled to Alberta this Summer and you couldn't pay me to live there!

[JLives]

I have long been curious on this one. My family and I moved to Winfield from Calgary in 2012, and I felt like I had FINALLY found my true home. This meant not only a roof over my head, but a love for the relaxed energy here, focus on leisure, traffic that did not feel like a constant Daytona 500. In short, it took only a few months before I felt like a British Columbia resident, and no longer felt like (to quote the t-shirt I once saw) "Just an Alberta Man living in a BC World".

I think you answered your question right here. Definitely a British Columbian.

[Verum]

What matters is how you see yourself and I'm glad to see that most are so welcoming of you.

A simple question though, and everyone, please feel free to answer. Do you consider yourself a British Columbian first or a Canadian first?