"Sometimes It Snows in April" - Prince
Very cold and dry, it is not Toronto and not Vancouver, but good hockey, were my immediate first impressions of Calgary. At the time, I have never been more glad to be from California and have perfect weather in late April.
Every building in Calgary is taller than Calgary, which is pretty sad, but I guess in sense, gives the city character.
I was too young and busy playing hockey to really understand and get a feel for Calgary as a city, but the one day I spent downtown, I thought it was a pretty enjoyable. I would not necessarily want to live here (or root for the Flames).
This may sound disrespectful, but I believe Calgary is the definition of a "layover city". I never had a desire to travel back other than visiting and skating on a frozen Banff lake during the winter. You could probably explore all of Calgary in under 24 hours. I see why Tate McRae got out of there. That's my 12-year-old self and Toronto bias talking, but I still feel the same way.
Here are some photos I took of the skyline at the top of Calgary tower.
Maybe I am too harsh on Calgary, and might need to visit again to have a better opinion.