Calgary in October
 

This is what Calgary looks like from October to May:
http://britishexpats.com/photopost/s....php?photo=758

We get chinooks that blow up and melt the snow, but the deciduous trees usually stay bare until June ... if we have an extra warm chinook in March or April and the trees are dumb enough to break bud, all the leaves get blasted off by the next heavy spring snowfall.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Also Photos from October :D

http://britishexpats.com/photopost/s...cat=500&page=1

Re: Calgary in October
 

Are you back?

Whatcha think of the place?

Re: Calgary in October
 

Yep got back Sunday

Calgary is fantastic we all loved it cant believe it's over fro now.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Cool ... got a date for landing yet?

Decided where you're going yet?

Re: Calgary in October
 

No date on landing yet but we are looking into ways to beat it :D

We have decided on Somerset. had a good drive around the other day just what we are after.

Re: Calgary in October
 

That's where our realtor lives ... did I PM you with her details?

Can't remember if you have kids ... just bear in mind thier only public school is K-4 ... if you have kids they will be bussed out of community, they won't get to go to a school in Sundance or Shawnessy ... can't remember the name of the school, it's somewhere north of fish creek park.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Yes you did we know her very well went to her new on Thursday :D

Got two kids 1 at 16 months and 1 at 6 years.
we looked at Sundance thought it was lovely but not as easy to get to the C-train. I got the name of the school some were amongst all the bits of paper brought back.

Re: Calgary in October
 

More great pictures, nice ones guys. :)

Really looking forward to visiting now, I've sorted my flights and insurance, just got accomodation to nail down. Been lucky enough to get some offers of places to stay from friends, which will help there. :)

Hawkeye, do you mind if I asked which hotel you stayed at, as I have a few nights still to cover ?

Re: Calgary in October
 

We stayed in the Sandman great hotel C-train just out side. But if you have a car I would suggest supper 8 in Shawnees (sp).

Re: Calgary in October
 

Thanks I'll add that to my list of hotels to compare. :) I'm not intending to hire a car this trip. Didn't fancy the learning curve of driving in snow (quantities I'm not used to), new routes and driving on the other side was too much.

Si

Re: Calgary in October
 

Then the Sandman would be great like I said the C-train is just out side plus the hotel has good rates. try this link hope it helps.

http://www.sandmanhotels.com/hotels/alberta/calgary.asp

Re: Calgary in October
 

Firstly we live in Somerset right now and it's great for everything unless you have older kids. Luckily ours 8is almost 2 and loved the water park. We move to Chaparral in february which we prefer.
Secondly we stayed in the Sandman hotel for our research trip. A really good hotel, great access and service. Moxies grill on the ground floor does nice food and you can park your car in the basement so no problem about hiring a car. Enjoy.

Re: Calgary in October
 

We had a look around Chaparral very nice but lack of schools ( as I heard the school is not going to be ready until 2006) and access to c-train put us off.

Re: Calgary in October
 

We are looking to move early 2006 and are in the long PR queue in London. Someone reccommend Tuscany in NW Calgary. Website looks nice. Any one heard of it / been there?

Re: Calgary in October
 

One of the best person to ask is Glaswegian. But from what I heard the NW gets very very cold in the winter with very little effect from the Chinooks, just some thing to bare in mind.

Re: Calgary in October
 

The whole city gets very very cold in the winter. All of the city also gets the chinooks. Its just the north is that bit colder than the south (big city).

Mrs G

Re: Calgary in October
 

The thing with the weather as they say here is to wait a minute and it changes. Take today. We wewre at the Chinook mall in a blizzard and -2 degrees. We came out and went home to Somerset to find lovely si=unshine and 4 degrees but it feels warmer because of the sunshine. Who knows what next.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Nobody does ... that's the joy of life in Calgary :D

Re: Calgary in October
 

Oh dear! How long have you been in Calgary? I'm very much afraid that you did not experience a blizzard yesterday - that was a 'flurry' and 'light snow'.

Mrs G

Re: Calgary in October
 

It's very nice. Nothing that I would say really makes it stand out from any of Calgary's other new developments, which are also very nice. Good mountain views (depending on the plot). It is on the extreme edge of town so the commute could be a hassle depending on where you're working. For that reason the houses in Tuscany can be pretty good value. Downside: it is suburbia and there is nothing to do there, although if you want peace and quiet then perhaps that's an upside.

Don't read too much into the weather difference; interesting trivia perhaps but of no practical significance. If north Calgary is -29 and south Calgary is -28.3, you ain't going to notice the difference.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Thanks for the info. We are over in the Summer and will have a look then. :rolleyes:

Re: Calgary in October
 

Hmmm ... there speaks the one person I know from north Calgary who didn't complain that they always got the snow first ;)

All of Calgary is affected by the chinook winds ... it even gets as far as Red Deer ... Edmonton has always felt too cold to me to believe they get any chinook affect.

Re: Calgary in October
 

I am convinced this is an urban myth.

What you do have in the NW is lots of hills, which I think make it the most scenic part of Calgary. But it also means more chaos when it does snow. For those still in the UK: getting up hills, or stopping down hills, is significantly harder on snow/ice.

I have - in my very foolish younger days - thrown a car into reverse that was sliding forward down a hill. Did the job (it stopped, ultimately), but don't try this at home: it's very bad for the car. I also, again extraordinarly foolishly, liked to try handbraking around corners on the ice. This resulted in sliding into curbs or spinning in a circle more than once and I did have to replace the wheels on one side of the car after bumping the curb during one such exercise on Edgemont Blvd (at the bottom of the hill by the fire station).

Re: Calgary in October
 

I include exhibits from my photo album:

http://britishexpats.com/photopost/s...cat=500&page=1

http://britishexpats.com/photopost/s...cat=500&page=1

Re: Calgary in October
 

Edmonton most certainly does get chinooks. They don't get them as often as Calgary, and they don't last as long - but they do get them.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Indeed! We arrived on the 16th of October and it was actually quite nice to experience the snow this past week! we drove around all quadrants and found the northwest to definitely be the most scenic. depends what you're looking for of course. we found a flat in ranchlands that is ideal. close to public transport (fifteen minutes to downtown) and quiet.

Re: Calgary in October
 

I think the NW sounds best for us. Like the idea of the hills, views etc. with a slightly quieter way of life. We live in Northumberland now so are used to a bit of snow and cold (although not in Calgary quantities!). Which hospitals are closest (or can be reached in say 30 minutes?). My wife is a nurse and needs to begin to think about finding a job.

Re: Calgary in October
 

In the NW there is Foothills hospital and the new brand new Alberta Children's Hospital (not quite finished construction yet). Both of these are very good teaching hospitals attached to the university.

There are hills and mountains very close to everywhere in Calgary - it is at the foothills of the Rockies. So wherever you lived you could be somewhere spectacular within the hour.

I am pleased, however, to have made so many NW converts and stolen them from Glaswegian's dirty south.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Also consider Dalhousie (about 5 minutes from Ranchlands) if you're looking at flats in this general area. In Dalhousie there are condos/apartments next to the c-train station which may be handy for you.

It'll take more than 15 minutes to downtown from ranchlands on public transit 'cause you have to get a feeder bus down to the c-train station. If you live in Dalhousie then obviously you could cut out the feeder bus connection and get straight on the train.

Re: Calgary in October
 

LOL. I also would recomment the NW. It's closer to the Rocky mountain parks for one thing.

Re: Calgary in October
 

Dalhousie was our first choice, we just stumbled across a great flat in Ranchlands. And my aunt lives in Arbour Lake, so I was familiar with the Crowfoot Area when we visited in April

Of course the selling point of Ranchlands was that the bus was right opposite our flat! and went straight to Dalhousie!

still beats the hour commute i used to do from Herts into London any day!

Now i just need a good pair of sunglasses :cool: