Chestermere
 

Hi all

Just seeking general opinions on Chestermere? Closer to Calgary than Cochrane, Okotoks and Airdrie? And the houses look nice and much cheaper there. Would be there with my wife and 2 kids (3 and 5 years old)

Thanks!!!!

:thumbsup:

Re: Chestermere
 

We thought of living there when we first reccied Calgary and surrounding areas, then we heard of the big problems it has with drugs and didn't look at it again.

As has been said before, you need to work out where you will be working to be able to make a decision based on location. Of the other areas you have mentioned, my preference would be for Cochrane, if I wanted to live outside of the city but then I prefer the city. Each to their own;)

Re: Chestermere
 

We discounted Chestermere after reading some online posts by high school kids out there. They seemed pretty miserable and bored, and I am wondering if the facilities are keeping up with the rate of expansion of the town.

There has been a lot of development in the past few years. I don't know for sure now, but the fact that the houses ARE cheaper there can be an indication of their desirability. :unsure:


You do need to look into it more, probably, but nobody but yourselves really know if it will suit you or not.

It may well be just what you are looking for, especially as your kids are younger, and maybe by the time they reach high school age the town will be better established as far as facilities.

Re: Chestermere
 

Much cheaper? Let me just read that again... no, that's what you've typed.

Chestermere is sort of an upper middle-class area, they have the lake and people want to live there to give their boats something to do. Not cheap by Alberta standards.

Bit of a bum commute I thought, because you're on 16th Ave which means tons of traffic and tons of traffic lights.

Has the reputation of being one of the best high schools in the area.

I wouldn't say it's posh, if you're posh by Alberta standards you live in Mount Royal or more likely buy a McMansion in the northwest in Rocky View county (as the name implies) to get your view of the hail storms, er, rockies.

But it's definitely upmarket.

Re: Chestermere
 

Huh? There was a shootout there between two passing cars as I recall. There's no drugs problem in Chestermere. Well, no more than anywhere else has and I would say less than most in fact.

Re: Chestermere
 

I know a number of police officers and I also know a number of Crown Prosecutors. They have indicated to me that it is a bad spot for drugs, particularly among teenagers, twentysomethings.

I haven't heard anything about shootouts but then, as I don't live there, I wouldn't expect to. I have no axe to grind. When researching in England, we thought we would like it, when we reccied it, we decided against it. I am sure others love it. Each to their own and all that.

Re: Chestermere
 

So do I (well cops anyway). When the economy was going like the clappers there was this trend towards drug dealers being in wealthy areas, there was an infamous shootout in Kensington for example, but no-one would say it's a drugs area. Saying Chestermere is an area with "big problems" with drugs makes it sound run-down or something, that is not the case at all.

StatsCan on Chestermere

Median family income, value of house, etc. are way higher than Alberta or Calgary. I'll be interested to see what the 2011 census comes out with.

Re: Chestermere
 

I was thinking more about teenagers consuming drugs rather than it being a drug dealer's paradise.

Re: Chestermere
 

Only because they're wealthier teenagers if in fact it's more common there.

Re: Chestermere
 

I must admit I too thought Chestermere was a cheaper option (guy at work bought there for that reason). I also thought it had slight gang /drug issues. I remember a doorstep shooting?

I honestly don't know why anyone wwwould move that far from the mountains. i also don't like the powerlines

Re: Chestermere
 

The houses around the lake are definitely upmarket. Maybe the newer communities are cheaper? I haven't looked recently.

When I was looking I was disappointed that I couldn't seem to find anything to indicate the school having a good name, in fact, rather the reverse.

This was some years ago now however and times change. But there is still the factor of the overall rate of growth and whether the infrastructure is adequate to accommodate it.

I thought the area around the lake looked like a wonderful place to bring kids up, but we couldn't afford a lake-side property, and so I consoled myself that they were probably consumed by mosquitos anyway! :p

Re: Chestermere
 

Bit of a nothing place really. Not a good commute. Not a great location. Can't imagine there's much to do out there. Great hockey arena though with a great little bar upstairs. Also, a few gang connections there in recent years and more than it's fair share of grow-ops etc. I've visited a friend there but wouldn't consider living on that side of Calgary. Just doesn't appeal for many reasons.

Re: Chestermere
 

A quick look on Realtor.ca or MLS.ca as some still call it reveals 161 properties for sale in Chestermere. :blink:

Realtor .ca Chestermere properties for sale.

For an area that size that is one hell of a lot of property for sale. Does that tell us something? I don't know.:confused: What I do know is I would be one of those that would have no desire whatsoever to live there.

Re: Chestermere
 

I think if you are going to come all this way to Canada, and to Calgary specifically, the least you can do is give yourself a mountain view, or as near as possible when driving around your neighbourhood. :p

Re: Chestermere
 

I remember watching something about schools in the area on CTV a couple of years back and everyone seemed to think Chestermere High School was one of the best in the area, if not the best.

There's a dentist I go to there occasionally, always seemed upmarket to me. Prices on realtor.ca seem higher than average.

Yes, I agree, it's not as upmarket as some of the stuff in the NW and out in Rocky View in the same area, and as soon as you get far enough away from the lake prices drop quickly. It's about living by a lake and being able to get into the centre of town easily.

As for infrastructure being under stress, welcome to Alberta, you could say that about anywhere in the province really.

Re: Chestermere
 

Yeah, a view of the mountains if you stand on top of your house. With the assistance of a step ladder. I thought it was a con when I moved here, "mountain view" my arse.

The thing you have to bear in mind is the closer you get to the foothills, the worse the weather gets as you're more likely to be caught by hail. I have to say during the summer someone's house in the NW always seems to get destroyed by lightning.

One thing I would say if you're looking for a house in Calgary is that the NE gets an excessively bad rap, there are some crappy neighbourhoods in the NE but a lot of people basically write off the whole NE of the city which is excessive, imo. Street view is your friend.

Re: Chestermere
 

Ahem...

(view from my living room window, NOT photoshopped, NOT zoomed in, and NOT on top of my house or with step ladder)

Sits back and waits for house to be struck by lightning

Oh, and just to get back on topic, Chestermere is basically another bedroom community for Calgary. A recent annexation means that it now shares a border with Calgary and some think that Calgary might swallow Chestermere up some time in the future. I think it was one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada in recent times (similar to Airdrie). We had a sniff round the place once and aside from the nice lake houses it is basically cookie cutter stuff that you could find anywhere in Calgary or the dormitory towns. Doesn't seem as established as Cochrane or Airdrie to me, but then it has only really taken off since the 60's/70's. Facilities and shops have been developing in recent years and it could be a quicker commute into Calgary than some of the City's outer suburbs but that would depend on where in the City you would be commuting to.

You would be advised to check it out for yourselves to see if it has enough in the way of facilities for the kids and your wife, especially if she is not going to be working. Regional transit from the dormitories to Calgary is pretty much limited to the peak commute times and that's it, so a car (possibly two) would be a necessity. Also, when your kids get to that age where you are Mum and Dad's taxi for activities, you might find yourself having to drive them into the City for a lot of that kind of stuff. Just a few things for you to check out!

Re: Chestermere
 

Yeah I can just about see them, they're somewhere out there. :p

If I want to see the mountains I get in my car and drive up there. Never understood the big deal myself. Not worth the tradeoff with the traffic up in the NW, imo.

Re: Chestermere
 

You have to trade off the sprawl of the suburbs and lack of architecture, with some natural beauty. :p

As I said before, if you are going to choose Calgary, then at least don't live the wrong side of a hill, or in a hollow dip in the landscape - at least when you start or return from the commute - give yourself a little bit of visual pleasure along the way. ;)

Re: Chestermere
 

I must admit a mountain view was an appeal to us and one of reason we really liked NW. In fact we have downtown views from the front and mountain views from the back :)

I don't find the commute bad compared to if you were going from downtown to SE or NE.

Re: Chestermere
 

You have better eyesight than i :blink:

Pah!!! Now THIS (attached) is a proper mountain view from the living room window (NOT photoshopped, NOT zoomed in, and NOT on top of the house or with step ladder) ;)

*struts away like a Bee Gee*

Re: Chestermere
 

This confirms that we are not "posh"...

My mother (who had Hyacinth Bucket tendencies would be rotating in her grave! Mother?? a snob?????).

We ended up living in the central NW... affordable, an OK house, good schools, and loads of kids for ours to play with... plus good transport downtown for Mr Chookie. OK so all the houses look the same, but do you know what? I do not care! The inside of ours doesn't look the same as everyone elses and that is all that matters to me.

Re: Chestermere
 

I bow to thee

Re: Chestermere
 

You may rise

Re: Chestermere
 

But you're not in Calgary city limits, right?

Re: Chestermere
 

Nope. We wanted proper mountain views in a property so Calgary city limits wasn't an option.

That said, in Vancouver we are in the city and have proper mountain views also. The view is very important for me since i stare so much out of the bloody window while working at home :blink:

Anyway, where's Chestermere?

Re: Chestermere
 

15 mins east of Calgary:p

Re: Chestermere
 

Thank you M'Lud :thumbup:

Re: Chestermere
 

That is truly horrific... two empty beers.

Re: Chestermere
 

I would definately go for Cochrane over Chestermere any day,but thats just me personally.
As for distance to Calgary, I drove to the University the other day from home here, and it took me just over 20 minutes. Admittedly that wasnt rush hour,but thats pretty close in my book.
Good luck with wherever you decide to move to. A research trip, if at all possible, is highly recommended!

Re: Chestermere
 

my two penneth, we drove through chestermere once and I remarked to my hubby (on looking at the lake houses) "oooh this looks a posh area" husb (a Canadian who used to live in Calgary) replied "yeah if you like the drug dealing"

oh :blink: says I, these posh 'uns have got no class!!!!!

Re: Chestermere
 

Try driving to Phoenix and back, I was so bloody glad to get to Great Falls and be back on the prairies. I like the fact there are mountains, but I'm not really fussed about looking at them all the time. Nice to go up to Banff and Canmore, Lake Louise etc. once in awhile and stretch my legs.

I drove over some major peak in Utah last year, OMG. :eek: I don't scare easily but that scared me and I've been up and down the mountains here and in Switzerland many times. I just remember driving up some narrow road, looking over the edge and seeing scattered cloud below me, major vertigo moment.

Re: Chestermere
 

Hmmm... that view puts you in Silver Springs, I think ??? :p
Very nice :thumbsup:

Re: Chestermere
 

Good point ...... I do love the mountains!