Hi all

I am new to this forum so I guess a polite introduction is called for.

My wife and I and our 3 kids are looking to emigrate to Calgary hopefully this time next year. We applied in June last year and, like lots of others, are waiting to hear from CHC for medicals.

We have heard that many Calgarians rent out their basements to newly arrived families. Has anyone tried this and, if so, would you recommend it over simply renting an entire house ?

Thanks in advance for any replies

It'd have to be some basement for five people, even short term.

I appreciate that - In all honestly we didn't think it would be sufficient for us - but thought we would take advice before ruling it out.

On the size issue - I forgot to mention the 2 rottweilers we will be taking with us !!

Ha! You need an 'ouse. You need a big 'ouse.

Here, not Calgary but probably similar, it's common to rent the basement to one person or a couple, not usually more. My daughter's landlady has reversed the norm, she lives in the basement and rents the rest of the house. Why anyone would choose to live under students is a mystery to me.

There are also not VERY many places take dogs, especially big ones!! :scared:

We are wondering if we can persuade ppl that our border collie is a "small" dog, tho she is kinda medium-sized really!

It also depends whether you are wanting unfurnished or furnished, whcih are even rarer. This seems to be the situation in Calgary right now as far as we can see.......... unless anyone out there knows different??? !!

Do be quite honest you dogs are going to be a real problem if you want to find furnished accomodation. We were very very very lucky to find somewhere (and it is really nice) willing to us with our German Shepherds. It had almost reached the point where the whole move was off because we would not have come here without them.

In general the owners of private accomodation that is rented out are worried about the damage that even the best behaved of pooches will do. More and more homes appear to have hardwood floors and this really does not mix with dogs. You don't want to even think about how much it would cost for you to replace it.

On a more positive note, the local papers have had a number of adverts in them recently for unfurnished apartments that allow pets. "Pets Allowed" in bold type in these ads, so there is some hope. Whn it gets closer to your move I'm sure that we could dig out some contact phone numbers for you.

I'll take your border collie in my place...but you probably don't want to live there for long, 1bed+den in Eau Claire. You'd also have to, get this, carry her through common areas according to the corporation bylaws :scared:

When we were looking here many places said "Dogs Welcome" but in the small print they had a height stipulation. I forget what it was, but when we measured our retriever it was about half his height. So cat-sized really!

We have hardwood floors and, until now, I've thought them ideal for the dog. (picture of dog and floor attached). You can't really tile all the floors in this climate so what would be better ?

That's an adorable mobile hearthrug you have there, dbd.

Biiink,

Thanks, the dog might fit but I doubt if the rest of us could!!


dbd,

I also reckoned wood floors and dogs were a good idea, except my doggie sometimes has trouble getting to the door in time to bite the postie as her paws slip!!
It makes it really easy to clean up after mucky paws, and you can just sweep up the loose doghairs.....We only have laminate, but surely the hardwood is at least scratch-resistant???

Thanks. He's a little hot and hasn't moved since June.

Sometimes there's scrambling involved in the dog getting started, especially if he's under the bed, it's loud but he hasn't scratched the floor yet. The floor is old, certainly from the fifties or earlier but not too banged up and I'm sure it's suffered worse than dogs. Hardwood is very practical and, if you want warmth, you can throw rugs over it.

He looks really cute. Can I borrow him? I'm suffering from dog withdrawal symptoms until the family arrive.

I think that the problems with hardwood vary from dog to dog. We have a good friend who is carpenter who laid the best quality hardwood that he could get. After five years of two very lively huskies running around, it is very marked. He has an older property, so in some ways I think that it gives the floor a bit of matching character, but I could see this not going down that well with modern decors.

I wouldn't bet on the tiling? The place where I'm living has approx. 4000 ft2 of floor space and I reckon that at least 2000 ft2 has been tiled. Nice and cool for Summer.

Nice and cool in winter too, no doubt. I like tile in the south-west (the US SW, not Dorset !) but it's a bit of a problem in that everything that gets dropped shatters ; we'd need a lot of glasses and mugs. That said, we don't really have "decor", we just have comfortable space, a few more scratches and dents really don't notice.

Attached pictures should help you get over missing the dogs, this is what you're not dealing with; mud and vet bills.

That second picture gave me a bit of a shock! That is his leg, isn't it?

I like the first one. I recognise that "wot? now what have I done wrong?" look from my own canine dork.