It looks like there are more jobs available than ever but that it might be hard to find somewhere to rent while we settle in.

“Calgary is desperate to find workers. Once lured here, however, people quickly learn there are few affordable places to live.”

According to the article, the Calgary Apartment Association, which represents the owners of most of the city’s residential rental units has seen the vacancy rate drop to 1.6 percent from 5.1 percent a year earlier. Put another way, there were 259 vacant apartments, compared with 1,050 a year ago.

259 vacant apartments sound as if it might be alright - but in a city of almost 1 million people, it’s hardly any. I imaging the ones in good condition are being snapped up instantly. So that’s a bit of a worry.

“Property managers now have waiting lists and are bombarded with prospective tenants when vacancies arise. One property manager reported 50 calls in one morning after posting an advertisement on a website. And the situation is only expected to get worse for would-be tenants. Net migration is expected to continue to climb. In 2004, 2,253 people moved to the city, according to the CMHC, which predicts 23,000 migrants this year.”

Our current intention is to stay in a motel or B&B for a week or two until we can find somewhere to rent. I hope that’s going to prove do-able.

They visited us this weekend and it was difficult. They were in a questioning mood…

* What if I can’t get a job in Canada? I’ll be throwing away a well paid one here and might not ever get another one…..
* What if there’s a serious illness in the family and we’re in Canada? Would we come back to lend support?……
* Will we come back often to visit? because they are getting a bit old for long-haul flights…..
* Although it’s a bit late in life, what if we have children…. would we come back so their grandparents could see them regularly?….

I must admit, I do now feel guilty about emigrating… and clearly this was the whole intent behind the questions they were asking.

… and then I feel angry that they’re trying to manipulate us.

… and then I think “but these are legitimate questions. If they make us feel so bad, maybe we shouldn’t be emigrating”.

… and then I think about how fed up I am with Scotland and the UK and how trapped I feel and the fact that I just want to get away and do something new.

I’m going to bed soon but I think it will be a troubled night and I hope I don’t lie awake too long worrying about it all.

Calgary is looking good, although I saw a report that they’ve had a lot more rain than usual in Southern Alberta and some farmers are having to hire pilots to spray their fields, because normal farm equipment is getting stuck in the mud.

I’m just dying to get out into the Rocky mountains on a blue-sky day.

In Edinburgh the sun rose at 4.27 am and will set at 10.03 pm. Usable daylight will stretch onwards to nearer 11pm.

We call today mid-summer’s day yet, I hate to say it, the weather feels nothing like what most people would think of as summer. That’s quite typical for Scotland. It’s raining and, a few moments ago, the external temperature readout on my car was 13 degrees C.

I’ve just taken a picture of our wind and rain-swept back garden to remind me of mid-summer’s day - you can see here:

I can think of few sillier activities than sunbathing.

The prospect of lying doing nothing during the hours of daylight while the sun burns and dries out my skin to leave me wrinkly and with the possibility of contracting skin cancer is awful.

I can’t help wishing for a sunnier warmer summer though, just so we can get out and about more - particularly in the wilder parts of the highlands - without the continual threats of wind and rain.

I’m looking forward to Alberta where it’s drier and there will be more dry, sunny days to get outside and hike and climb and ski amongst some fantastic scenery.