cheeky_monkey

I have accepted a new position in Calgary and will be moving from Edmonton to Calgary in the next 2 weeks.

i want to live in the city limits and would like sone recommendations on living in the NW or SW as i understand they are the better areas?....any thoughts would be much appreciated

Jingsamichty

I suggest looking at Strathcona or Christie Park... easy access to (i) downtown and (ii) the mountains.

IMHO the "far" NW and SW suburbs mean you're in for a life of tedious commuting - others will disagree. The advantage of the areas I mentioned is that although they are classed as SW, in reality they are pretty much just W.

Of course, much depends on your budget.

I suspect you will like Calgary a lot better than Edmonton.

Almost Canadian

From previous posts I believe you work in construction. Is this is site based position, or are you based in the office? Where in the city will your main place of work be?

If you wish to avoid the commuting that Jingsamichty refers to, you would be best advised to be close to where you will be working.

Chookie

Really it depends very much on where you are working - if it is downtown, being close to one of the main commuter routes would prob work out best. But if it is somewhere else, consider how long the commute is, and which routes are the best way to get there.

Despite everyone saying that the NW and SW are the "Best" areas of Calgary, there are still good and bad areas even in these quadrants. And similarly, there are good areas even in the NE.

From my experience, there are parts of the SW that are a PITA to get to, which would make commuting to/from them a real pain. Similarly, there are parts of the far NW that are great, especially if you work downtown (live near the Ctrain line or close to one of the BRT commuter bus routes and it is a breeze).

cheeky_monkey

im office based and is just off the deerfoot about 15 mins south of the airport if that helps...although i will be in charge of different projects across the city.

Almost Canadian

Unfortunately "15 mins south of the airport" covers a large area. Deerfort is the main route through Calgary north and south. You would be well advised to avoid having to use it. You may be able to reach it using the C train, you may not.

cheeky_monkey

i dont use trains..i drive everywhere lol

Almost Canadian

OK

If you are in charge of projects all over the city one assumes you will be driving the standard truck and you won't care too much how long it takes you to get from office to site (as you can't do much about that anyway).

My route into work, if I don't take the C-Train, is Deerfoot to Memorial Drive onto 4th Ave to office. From the deep south of the city it should take 30 mins from door to door at approximately 6:30 a.m. My record is 2 hours

cheeky_monkey

pretty much but i dont drive trucks..im senior management lol...anyway yeah im always in my office by 7am anyway so tht should help?..wont be in my office everyday either.

snowcandy

Don't most people start work around 7am here?

cheeky_monkey

its not really about what time people start or finish or commuting really....im more interested in good family neighbourhoods with good facilities in the NW or SW.

Almost Canadian

They will all be much of a muchness. Don't discount the NE or the SE. IMHO, there are very few bad communities in Calgary. Most that slate the NE have, likely, never been there. The SE is where most of the lake communities are.

As with most things, you need to come and have a look for yourself.

Chookie

If you are going to be based near the airport, I wouldn't bother with the SW - it can be a real bear to get into and out of at main commuter times. And as others have said, don't discount the NE - there ARE nice areas in that quadrant. I agree with Almost CAnadian, most who slate the NE have never been there.

Maybe consider the ones in the central north? We live in Country Hills, which is a nice family area, but Panorama Hills is also good. As is Coventry Hills and Harvest Hills which are both technically NE (all that means is that they are on the other side of Harvest Hills Boulevard from Panorama and Country Hills which are technically NW)

But you DO really need to visit and have a look and see if these areas match up to what you are looking for.

Steve_

Sounds like you're working on 52nd St SE or Barlow Trail or near to it, the NW and SW do not make sense if you're working there, because of the commute. Depends on how far down 52nd St SE your office is.

What you don't want to be doing is crossing town, especially from the NW because Sarcee Trail and Crowchild are rammed and the Bow River makes it tricky from the SW. (Hence the endless moaning about the ring road being built).

The NE gets a bad rap as the "shitty" part of town, but there are some perfectly okay neighbourhoods there, like Martinsdale.

From the sounds of it though you're probably going to want to look at places like Auburn Bay, MacKenzie Towne, New Brighton, Cranston, etc., all the new stuff in the SE.

One word of caution - this stuff is so new you might have a bit of a trek to the shops, if it doesn't make your commute too far I'd move to Shawnessy as the shops are better there, it's more established.

Almost Canadian

The communities mentioned above are fine. But they are in the deep south with the result that you will, likely, be taking Deerfoot north to get to work. This is, possibly, the busiest section of the road during rush hour. I wouldn't want to do in every day no matter how fancy a vehicle I was driving