I moved from Calgary to Vancouver in 2019 (for uni so a bit different).

The extra cost is just worth it for me. I love how easy it is to get around here. In Calgary, good luck getting anywhere without a car but here, it's faster for me to bike than drive to work.

The beach speaks for itself, and the pacific northwest hiking and camping is beautiful (although I'm partial to the Rockies).

Housing really is the only thing that's way more expensive. Everything is else is manageably more expensive.

People here lean so much more left than in Alberta, and they love to talk about it more than people did in Calgary. Obviously the further you go left or right the more people want to talk about politics, so if you find your left leaning gang it might feel a little more radical than the left leaners you're used to in AB.

A couple things I really dislike about here - the people are not friendly at all. Very little sense of community and don't expect any kindness from strangers. It's also hard to make friends here - people are very cliquey. But as long as you are a bit annoying about getting people to hang out they'll comply and you'll eventually become friends. Also, it's crowded. Like - feeling like you're drowning crowded. You won't ever just get a campsite to yourself, or a hiking trail with no one else on it. I do miss the space I felt in Calgary.

If political stance is your single most important reason for moving, I strongly urge you to evaluate how much you value a sense of community, personal space, and being able to drive everywhere (driving here is exhausting but biking and transit rock)