Big cities are all expensive, in their own way. Clearly Vancouver is its own beast.
Food is a toss up. Most fruits don't even come from Canada it seems, outside of some from the valley. It's weird thing to even consider, unless you're looking to move to the territories most foods will even up.
Also, a mixed race family? That's not even a thing to consider to be honest. Calgary's a diverse city, we're not confederate raising hillbillies, anywhere in Calgary. Airdrie's nice, but FML going South in the morning and North in the afternoon. Unless you more or less want a big house for a cheaper price, just pass. You have everything up there, except most work; I wouldn't recommend Okotoks/Airdrie/Cochrane/Strathmore personally (I hold a real estate license as well, so it might be a bit of some pro advice) unless you're looking to do some smaller town living (some folks want that) and don't mind driving (also worth considering winter; it's not fun going from downtown Calgary to Cochrane in the middle of a snowstorm... also worth noting drives home from parties/get togethers etc... it's a pain. You have to really want to live out there, and there people who do, no slight). If you're looking for that 'I'm in the burbs!' feel, there's a ton of areas around Calgary's outskirts that offer reasonable pricing.
