I really like Cochrane and I have no doubt that it is a great place to live but ...

The proximity to the mountains is not really much of an advantage over any of the areas you have suggested with the possible exception of Red Deer (I have no knowledge as I have never been to Red Deer and don't know how easy it is to travel to the mountains.

Depending upon where you settle, the difference in time to travel to the mountains is a complete non-issue for locals (30 mins extra is nothing if you are travelling 2 hours anyway) as, as I am sure you are aware, Canadians have a completely different outlook on what is a reasonable travel time to those in the UK.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

A few routes, using Banff as a stop. 2.45 hrs down the 2 or 2a and across on the 1.

3 hours if you go down the 2 or 2a, across to Sundre, down to Cochrane and then the 1.

4.44 hrs if you do the David Thompson Highway and then down through Lake Louise to Banff - I like to come home this way.

Times are off Mapquest it can be done quicker, it can take longer, we prefer to take the smaller roads - more scenic, if we have time, if we are going down at the end of the work day then we go the boring route

If the Mountains are going to feature in one of the main reasons to move to Alberta, then Red Deer is probably too far out.

We live in Airdrie (over 3yrs now) and love it too. There's lots of new houses going up and plenty to do, good schools, cinema, supermarkets, and a couple of good bars/restaurants. We have a friend who works in Red Deer, he also lives in Airdrie and drives each day. I think it takes him anywhere between 1 - 2hrs, depending on road conditions and traffic.

Hi there,

My wife and I just moved to Cochrane 2 months back. We're 29 and 28. We love the place compared to the newer communities of homes around the Calgary area. It's got more character here. It's very easy to get into the mountains from here and we do it very regularly. It really depends on what sort of things your lad likes whether he'll enjoy it here; hard to say really. We've not struggled with missing family and friends due to Skype and we're not big on going out drinking so we don't miss that side of things living in a quiet place like Cochrane. We're renting a 3 bed home at the moment and looking to buy a place here in the spring next year. If you want any information from a recent arrival, let me know and I'll help if I'm able.

Cheers and good luck!

OK, not read all the replies, but we live in Country hills, the community immediately south of Panorama Hills.

As far as I am concerned it is a nice place to live - fairly quiet, lots of families (great for kids playing out - in our area there are LOADS of kids... I just let my kids "go" after finding out roughly where they will be playing and I get the "I will be at Amy's, Anna's, Jane's or the field" kind of response.

Transport downtown is good from Panorama (there is the 301 rapid transport bus that goes from that area), and a few other bus services as well. Plus proximity to Deerfoot and Stoney trail means you can get everywhere in the city (with the exception of some of the SW) within about 30 minutes.


Schools - I can't comment on the new Panorama Hills school, but the older elementary age kids in Panorama go to the same school my kids go to (Alex Munro in Beddington - a short bus ride away) and that is a really good school, and the Junior high kids as far as I know will go to the same junior high as country hills - again it has a good reputation. As your youngest is 7, I am guessing that she would be of an age to go to the Panorama Hills school - that almost certainly WOULD be walking distance.

Shopping - well there is a Superstore near Panorama (I shop there and often walk from where I live), a Michaels, a pet store, future shop, and several other shops. There is also Cardel Place (library, gym, swimming pool etc) near by. And a short drive away on the south side of Country hills there are a couple more strip malls with pretty much everything you could want plus some on Country Hills boulevard. They are also building another strip mall on the north side of Panorama up near Stoney Trail (not been up that way in a while)

Sage Hill I would personally avoid - it is miles out, right on the outskirts of the city, has virtually no amenities/shops yet as it is so new, and last time I was there it had no public transport (Again too new) - so you would be reduced to driving the kids everywhere. In addition, they are still building it, so you would be living on a building site for the next few years - I would not want to let my kids out to play knowing that they could be straying on to a building site!

I can't comment on the other areas you have mentioned as I really haven't had much to do with them (aside from buying my dog from a breeder in Airdrie).

HTH though.

We rented an apartment in Panorama Hills for the first nine months that we were here. It was very convenient to get to a lot of places from here: downtown on the rapid bus service, commuting to NE Calgary/Airport by car, and now Stoney Trail gets you round the North West and North East pretty effortlessly. Highway 2 is a few minutes away and you also have CrossIron Mills shopping centre to the north up Highway 2.

A couple of supermarkets, DIY store, cinema, restaurants and big box retail could be in walking distance depending on where you live in the community. Cardel Place is a good facility to have on your doorstep too with the leisure centre and library. Its a very convenient location for starting out in Calgary!

Also, a few smaller communities also worth taking a quick look at if you are passing up the QE2 on the way to Red Deer are Didsbury, Crossfield, Carstairs and Olds.

Good luck!

Thanks again everyone. I forgot to mention Country Hills thanks for that.