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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.