Moving to Calgary - where to live?
 

Hi,

At some point next year, myself, my wife and our 11-month-old son are expecting to move to Calgary as I've been offered a job there. I imagine we'll rent an apartment initially, but where exactly is the $64,000 question. We're still (relatively) young and would like easy access to some bustle - e.g. coffee shops, nice restaurants - but we'd prefer not to be in the city centre. I will be working downtown however. More importantly, we'd like to live in a family-friendly suburb, with parks, good schools and amenities for children. I've obviously described a hyper-idealised fantasy land but any pointers would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Re: Moving to Calgary - where to live?
 

Hi, and welcome to the Canada side of the forum!

What kind of distance do you want to commute? Also, do you have a type of property in mind and a budget for it?

That info should help the Calgary peeps narrow it down a bit for you.

Good luck

Re: Moving to Calgary - where to live?
 

Thanks for the reply and the kick up the backside, christmasoompa. A half-hour commute would be ideal, but I'd consider longer if the property location was perfect. My budget is likely to be somewhere between $1,400 and $1,700 per month. A two-bed townhouse is what I had in mind, but I'm open to all possibilities.

Re: Moving to Calgary - where to live?
 

In all honesty, everywhere is the same, it's all personal preference...newer neighbourhood vs older neighbourhood - the "bad areas" are nothing like bad areas in the UK...

You'll find a 2 bed townhouse for that budget quite easily...i was paying 1450 for my 1200sqft townhouse in Coventry Hills (NE) with attached garage.

Re: Moving to Calgary - where to live?
 

How are you planning to commute? Calgary downtown parking is amongst the most expensive in North America, at around $500 a month. Transit is generally slower, so that may narrow your search area a bit. It's also worth remembering that winter can be rough here, so you will want to make sure that you need to consider winter travel delays, how far you are willing to walk to a bus stop or ctrain station when it's -30 and the frequency of service to reduce time spent standing waiting in a blizzard! The ctrain is generally less prone to weather related delays than the buses, has heated shelters on most platforms and runs pretty frequently during rush hour. However, stations are further apart and when something does go wrong the whole train system can grind to a halt, whereas a bus would simply divert, so a plan b is preferable. I ride the ctrain, but have the choice of three direct bus routes from downtown if necessary, but many areas served by the ctrain don't have the same options.

Also, when you say easy access to bustle, what do you consider easy access? Pretty much everywhere has easy access to bustle by car, but if you want to be able to walk to a coffee shop and restaurant your search area will be restricted.