ExKiwilass

Well, in my city (Burnaby, greater vancouver) building permits are on the rise again....

Dunstable Diva

Love it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very funny.

vettemaster

Same here with our 28 year old uk estate we live in. I can clearly hear my neighbours conversations and our neighbours have garages so small they don't even bother putting there cars in them. Let alone no privacy in our Gardens.

Dunstable Diva

I think the move will be a good one for you. Consider Van. I get the feeling you will love it.......

Alan2005

Yes, I've see a lot of houses like that. 3000 sqft places with hardly any front garden and a tiny 1m alley between each one. The developers like to eke as much value out of their land as possible it seems.

vettemaster

Yes, we thought about winnipeg before but after alot of research decided on Edmonton for the moment although Calgary did cross our minds

dboy

Picking up apparently, there were more permits issued here than anywhere in Canada, while the rest of teh nation fell, vancouver was up 22 percent:

http://www.century21.ca/CA/BC/Vancou...arket_Optimism

Not sure what that means for the long-term, but there is definately a fair bit of building going on.

vettemaster

ctraveler

Older properties are built on much bigger plots of land and usually have nice sized front and rear gardens (mind you as I am in London any Garden size you get in Canada is better then here, unless you are a millionaire). Corner plots are the real winners.

I lived in Edmonton and Vancouver but have been in London now for quite some time and we are in the process of sorting out a move back and we are choosing Edmonton over Vancouver. There are several reasons for doing this:

- House prices being a very big one
- Work for my husband being another huge factor
- The lifestyle in the summer with all the festivals
- The fact that we have some family and friends there (we do in Vancouver as well but more available babysitters in Edmonton!)
- Would never live in the East of the country
- Cost of living is better than on the coast

You need to decide what things are important to you and will make your move a happy and productive one. Vancouver is a wonderful city but we would not be able to have the property we want or have enough extra cash to do all the things we like to do (travel, sports, children's activities etc).

Edmonton is not that bad if you embrace all the good things that it has to offer and adapt. Good luck in your decision.

Dunstable Diva

Like I said concrete jungle. You have to make up your own mind. that said I think most people on this thread have indicated Edmonton is a craphole. Your call.

vettemaster

Thankyou

Dunstable Diva

Interesting. Thanks

Alan2005

More supply is a good thing. If you are a developer who needs leverage to get a project going (i.e. most of them), now will seem like a good time given the talk of rising rates (which will turn out to be exactly that... just talk).

snowshoveller

I think its a universal problem - money grabbing property developers!!

oh by the way dont forget property tax (council tax equivalent) it can be very high sometimes, and very variable. In 'the peg, a typical 4 bed @ 2000sq ft could attract $4000 in a nice street, and then half a mile away on the same street (better end) a similar place of about the same size could be as much as $10000 per year.

vettemaster

Thats right my call everywhere I have lived in the UK so far, I have not liked whether Countryside or City but others may like where we have lived! Its all down to personal preference. Edmonton City may not be nice but there are plenty of areas outside of the city to consider. Plus we can always move else where. I will know more when I have my recce this year although street level on Google earth is very helpfull and will also assist us.