Would my family and I feel welcome in Edmonton?
Edmonton’s communities welcome newcomers with open arms. The city boasts over 50 international cultures and is home to 500 places of worship. Each year, Edmonton’s Heritage Festival celebrates the city’s multicultural heritage.
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Related Stories
- 3-Day Novel Contest
The 3-Day Novel Contest was an Edmonton thing. And I thought that was pretty cool. As an Edmonton writer it felt really good to be involved in the city that way. - A Day I Will Never Forget
So maybe it wasn’t the best day of my life, but who else in Edmonton has a wedding story like that? - A Lesser Known Edmonton
Within the next year I had come out to my family, which was only possible with the great friends I had met and grown to love, both within the gay and greater Edmonton communities. - A Place to Call Home
The very first day of school I missed the bus, waited for 40 minutes, and was 20 minutes late for class. But it got better. - A Salute to Your History
I'm proud to say that my family is a part of Edmonton's history and has been since my paternal and maternal great-grandparents settled in Edmonton in the early 1900s. I'm grateful they chose Edmonton! - A Soul Awakening in Edmonton
A profound moment happened that got me off the street: my neighbor offered to give me some light. I was very skeptical, yet her place was filled with joyous, beautiful, spiritual energy, and I wanted to experience more. - A Strange Way of Growing On You
We were living in Tanzania when our young son decided he wanted to do nanotechnology. I found that the University of Alberta would be starting this program. But where was this place called Edmonton? - All the Small Things
It's all of the small things, the good people, that make Edmonton what it is. - An Unusual Move
Obviously moving to Edmonton is a little bit unusual for someone who had it as good as I did. - Block Party
There are lots of opportunities in developing neighbourhoods: room for new initiatives, for people to promote change. Working together we transform the area. We’re attracting community to this neighbourhood. - Book + Dog = Reader
I watched a boy – he was around 12 – who’d never seen this before. There were about 5 dogs in the room. His mom was pushing him. And he’s going “Ah no, too old for this.” Too manly, you know. - Bridging Generations with Language
You kind of have to know where you come from. That gives you, I guess, your character ... If this program wasn’t here, I would not have been able to teach my kids any part of their culture really, myself, right? - Cleaning Up
Edmonton Public Schools gave me fantastic opportunities before I even really knew I was ready for them. I was a music coordinator. I was a principal. We had the chance to live in Europe for three years. - Coincidences
Before my father’s illness I never understood organ donation. I went with my father for a workshop on organ donation. There were hundreds of people there who needed a transplant just like my father. - Crossing One Bridge
As I crossed the High Level Bridge today, it reminded me why Edmonton is a great place to call home. My attention was drawn first by the bright blue sky and then the valley which stretches for miles in either direction. - Edmonton Gave Us Our Life Back
Instead, his boss and another lady took it upon themselves to seek out help for Chris and find him a doctor accepting new patients. This was a turning point in Chris’s life. - Embrace
I moved to Edmonton in 1984, from Rhode Island. I was very nervous about my big move, and the only person I knew was my new husband, who had been an Albertan all his life. - Feels Like Home To Me
It’s been a long time since I actually felt that a place is home. I stood there realizing, “Yeah, this is home, and they are my friends.” I’m going to be hanging out with them for years. - Field Trip
We were trying to figure out where in Canada we should live. And then I remember being somewhere in the McKernan area and seeing all these little kids from a daycare out on a field trip. - Fireworks and a Waterfall in Edmonton
We truly do live in an amazing city; I can't think of too many with beautiful blue skies, waterfalls, and fantastic fireworks! - Half a Lion
When I was still taking kung fu, I had the opportunity to take part in Edmonton’s Chinese New Year celebrations. The community all comes out and the streets are just filled with people. - Home
My grandfather had been sent to a concentration camp for 6 months during the Second World War after helping the British army hide weapons on his farm. My father was only 4½ years old at the time of grandfather’s arrest. - Home Is Where The Heart Is
It was supposed to be a stepping stone, but it turned out to be home. - Homesick For Edmonton!
When I arrived to Edmonton for the first time, I was 19 years old. I had come with both my parents, and my three sisters and three brothers, all of us single. - I Am At Home Now
As a mother, I felt we needed to be together somewhere that everyone would be comfortable and I thought Edmonton might be that place. - I Wanna Be A Rock Star and Stuff
RockerGirl Camp is for girls who wanna rock. But 10-year-old Hannah Karvonen Parsons wasn’t sure about going. “I was afraid that everyone was gonna be older than me and that I wouldn’t know anyone.” - I'm Coming Home
My family and I have been lucky in the amount of world we have been able to travel to. As a child my grandmère traveled extensively and we saw many places vicariously through her. - In the Blink of an Eye
Life can be so quick you don’t notice how much you've grown. But I must say: I'm lucky to have lived in Edmonton. - Just Ordinary Citizens
I ran to the car, and began a struggle with the man, thinking my daughter was still inside. He engaged the car and accelerated forward with me hanging on only to smash into another vehicle that had stopped to help. - Kindness For No Reason
It’s so many things that add up to one. It’s like a shoe that fits you. It fits me. It’s gradual, symbiotic growth. When I came to Edmonton from India I felt I had something to prove. - Learning English: 1 2 3
Do you know the I-love-you numbers game? Read about Xiaodong and her family's funny encounters with proper English and numbers. - Leaving Edmonton
Several years ago on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, my husband and I left our home on the East Coast of Canada to drive to Edmonton for work. - Life in the Big City
In 1999, the mine in Grand Cache went bankrupt. Along with about 400 other families, we were suddenly out of jobs and had to move somewhere else. - Life Journey
When I was young I had a dream of being a pilot but this dream was not possible because in my country there was lots of fighting. People have been fighting in Afghanistan for over 30 years. - Life on Jasper Ave
I grew up in a small town and in 2008 I moved to Edmonton on to Jasper Ave. Edmonton's Jasper Ave is my life! - Like A Dream Come True
My baby had major health problems, which is how we ended up in Edmonton. The Stollery Children’s Hospital is the only one in Western Canada that does pediatric liver transplants. - Love Conquers All
Never had I been more proud of my son. Or more ashamed of my own ignorance. It may have been the third day of school for them, but I was the one who learned the lesson that day. - Making Good News
I’d always been in the river valley. I’d been in it every day, canoed it, gone up and down it in a Zodiac. - Match
I found an advertisement in the newspaper for Match.com and figured I should just check it out since I was not finding Mr. Right in grocery stores. - Mill Creek Miscellany
Growing up next to Mill Creek Ravine can teach you a thing or two about life. Colin recalls his never-ending creekside adventures. - My Canadian Atlas
While cleaning a closet last week, I came across the atlas we used when we left Halifax, westward-bound for Edmonton, Alberta. That was August 2001. What wonderful memories! - Once upon a Time, in a Land Far Far Away...
This video is not your average fairy tale. Meet 5 Edmontonians who attended the International Day of Sharing Stories. - Our Great City: Then and Now
I remember when my Dad was working on the Fort Edmonton replica when they were first building it. My Mom and a sister and a brother used to go and take him supper up that way sometimes. - Our Story is Far From Over
Our story is far from over. There will be many more chapters to explore and to write. - Peace in the Valley
I spent my first years of school in Edmonton where I made a lot of friends. Friends who I will never be granted the opportunity to speak to again. - Peaceful City of Nations
Edmonton’s Heritage Festival is a long midsummer weekend of cascading sounds, smells and colourful sights as nationalities from around the world display their foods, dances, traditions and histories. - Potluck
When I first arrived she helped me with the transition to this culture. To the community, and school especially. It saved a lot of time, because when you’re new to a country, sometimes you just don’t know what to do. - Pulse of the City
I'm a small-town girl, born in the Parkland County and raised on dreams I found etched in the prairie sky. - Queen of Trees
At 8 years old I had declared myself Queen of the Trees, and here I was about to go start a life in the city. I took one last look at my little town before it disappeared into its valley. Buildings and skyscrapers would become my new forest. - Sense of Wonder
I do not come from what anyone would call a well off family, and so the move was a little difficult. - Seven Seas Apart
This is a story of similarities and differences; connection and disconnect; familiarity and fear of the unknown. - Start Anew
Eagerly I walked the streets of Robson, went around in Stanley Park, and strolled by Granville Island, but I still felt like I didn’t belong. I missed Edmonton. - The Christie Story
Once you get familiar with Edmonton, she gets familiar with you. It only takes a few trips to the local shops before the workers recognize you. You’ll find a niche to fit in no matter how strange or normal you might think you are. - The People Make the City
It's possible to look at Edmonton and simply see the sports teams with their championship legacies. Or just West Edmonton Mall, the river valley, and all the festivals. But those who only see these things are missing the most important aspect of the city – the people. - The Seasons Were Long
For a kid the summers were so long, and so were the winters. We came to Edmonton in 1980. Looking back I am so happy this country was willing to adopt us. - The Trip Across
I will never forget the look on our collie’s face at the sight. What the heck have you gotten me into? I wondered that myself. - The Wild West
Edmonton is a young city in a lot of ways. I don’t want to say it’s the Wild West, but it kind of is. There’s a lot of opportunity for people who are ambitious and want to try and do things and make an impact themselves. - This Is My City
Edmonton is the perfect place to grow up. Quiet neighbourhoods, an abundance of parks, culture and festivals, and the amenities of a big city combine for year-round kid-friendly fun. - Three Passions, One Lucky Lady!
Music Together has allowed me to combine my three passions – my love of children, my love of music, and my deep love of family – and to find a rich and rewarding career – all without having to leave my home town! - Trees Like Crystal
When I stepped off the plane it was January 21, 1999 and it was -28. It was soooo cold my whole body went into shock till I got to my dad’s house. But that all disappeared the next day when it started to snow. - Virtue Is Its Own Reward
The wallet contained several hundred dollars but he refused a reward. He represents what Edmonton is about. - We're Almost a Family
It feels some days like we're almost a family, like somehow everyone here is contributing their part to making this city into something great, which is in no doubt the direction it is going. - Where a Country Boy Can Stay
The Edmonton river valley is what makes Edmonton a city unlike any other, a city a country boy can live in and stay sane. - Where Everybody Knows Your Name
I grew up in the neighbourhood with Daryl Katz, went to the same school and played tennis together at our community courts. - You Grow Up One Way Or The Other
When you grow up in Red Deer, you are either an Edmonton fan or a Calgary fan.
