Hi!

We have now arrived in Calgary last week from Amsterdam and on a TWP for 3 years.
We are looking at renting a place and we have visited houses in point McKay, Edgemont, Hillhurst. We have visited one yesterday in Parkdale and we really liked it. I work downtown and my fiance near the university so location wise, it is a good compromise I think.
Would anyone know if Parkdale is safe, a good area to live in?
Thanks very much!
Estelle

I like Parkdale. It's being gentrified and, as you say, it's close to downtown and the university. I also like the fact that it's close to the Bow River, with its jogging / bicycling trail, and Edworthy Park.

The one possible downside is that Parkdale does have higher crime statistics than the other areas you mentioned. See the Calgary Police Service's Community Crime Statistics.

If I had kids, I would be inclined to live in Edgemont, because it's more of a family-orient(at)ed community.

If I did not have kids, I'd be more inclined to live in Hillhurst or Parkdale. Even with the supposedly higher crime rate, I'd still rather live in Parkdale than Edgemont -- if I didn't have kids. I like Parkdale's vibe, and I would say, "Damn the torpedoes. Full steam ahead."

One thing you might do is go there and walk around the neighbourhood this evening. There is nothing like doing your own sniff test. It's a good idea to look around a neighbourhood at different times of the day. If your previous visit to the house was during the daytime, go to the neighbourhood in the evening next time.
x

Thanks Judy. Indeed we do not have kids and that is why we stopped looking at Edgemont despite the beautiful houses there and the commuting for me was a bit more than I wanted.

we visited the house around 5pm and it was ok, i am just thinking that I dont want to be scared when i get home in the winter at 5pm when it is dark from the bus stop...but that I cannot test at the moment!
you say that crime stats are a bit higher and yes i had had a look but i dont think it is the worst community in Calgary, do you agree?

anyone living in the area of Parkdale?

Possibly a radical idea, but why not check house prices on MLS?
People arent going to pay through the nose (relatively) to live in a dicy area that at the end of the day is not even DT.

Parkdale crime stats may be higher but I would think that it is a very desirable area. Proximity to the river, ease of access to down town and the biggie close to the Foothills Hospital.

Link to MLS search for House, type "no preference" in Parkdale, lowest price $539,900.

This is no cheap "dicy" neighbourhood.

If you are going to look at Parkdale then you should also consider West Hillhurst a similar neighbourhood close to the river, even closer to down town, also as Judy puts it being gentrified.

I have heard so much of Edgemont being "family Friendly'" what exactly does this entail?

it means couples without kids are penalised

It has both an elementary and a junior high school in the community. The designated high school is close by.

Some nice green spaces with walkways within the community.

A good community association.

Perhaps this might help. http://www.edgemont.ab.ca/

Also has a fire hall, not all communities can claim one of them.

To elaborate on this .......

My idea of a family-friendly neighbourhood is one in which a large percentage of the available accommodation consists of detached houses with yards (gardens). There are a good number of playgrounds. There is a community centre with facilities for children (an ice rink on which children can play hockey and that kind of thing). If there are shopping centres in the neighbourhood, they are confined to a designated part of the neighbourhood, and not sprawled over the entire neighbourhood. A family-friendly neighbourhood (at least according to my definition) does not have a major road intersecting it. Although Elbow Park is a lovely area in some respects, it has Elbow Drive running through it. Since Elbow Drive is a road that brings traffic all the way from Canyon Meadows to the downtown core, that is not my idea of a family-friendly element to have in a community.

A neighbourhood that is not so family-friendly would be dominated by a more dense housing mix. There would be more shops, restaurants, sidewalk cafes, etc. This sort of neighbourhood tends to appeal more to young single people, and couples without children. The couples might be a mix of young couples and middle aged and older couples whose children have grown up and left home (so called empty nesters). People in these groups tend to place a higher priority on proximity to cultural amenities (like theatres) and ease of commuting to the downtown core. They don't have to worry about the number of children's playgrounds in their neighbourhood.

But, as you can see from Steve_P's and my responses, there is no single definition of a family-friendly neighbourhood. Just imagine if you'd asked us what the definition of a friendly person was. Each of us has a mental picture of what a friendly person looks like. Our pictures overlap. But, if you were to ask us to describe a friendly person, each of us would come up with a slightly different description.
x

Thanks I get the picture now.

Or to put it another way its Suburbia gone wild

Thanks all for the replies. I think we are going to go for the house. Perfect compromise location wise, very nice house and ticks all the boxes that we had set!
Estelle