abcd

The Big plan is first to move to Calgary, find roof over my and my wife's head then get one house built and move in that.

I assume there must be lots of new construction around Calgary, coming up as reasonably priced, away from hot expensive city localities, in its sub-urbs.

If so what areas or small towns, they would be..can some one please name them....so very soon when I am on my overseas work, my wife can visit those localities.

On another note, some one suggested Lethbridge as an alternative, but does not meet other obligations.

Generally speaking how long does it take to construct a new house?

Are these newly developing sub-urbs are such that folks could drive to the local bus/trains station/terminus and furtehr commute to the down town or city station?

Thanks for your time

safecell

Okotoks, High River, Strathmore, Langdon, Chestermere, Airdrie, Cochrane are all towns within 1 hour drive to Calgary city centre. You can park at C-Train stations for some of them and ride into town too.

New sub-divisions include Cranston, Copperfield, Auburn, and more in the south end of the city. As for the north and west side, I haven't been there in a while and I am sure it has changed, so those there can name a few areas for you. Good luck in your search.

As for new builds, in Okotoks, there is up to a year wait, a little less in High River, so one option is to watch for houses being built and maybe offer the would be new tenants a price to buy it from them before they occupy. A little expensive but there's your new home!!

Judy in Calgary

You'll be lucky if you can even find a builder who is willing to take on a new build. Any half decent builder already has more work than he can handle.

New neighbourhoods look barren. In this climate coniferous trees grow six inches a year. Established neighbourhoods are nicer from the point of view that they have mature trees.

My husband and I have become empty nesters. When he goes away on business it falls to me to mow the lawn in summer and shovel the driveway in winter. Considering our present circumstances, there seems to me to be no point to either exercise.

My husband enjoys living in the suburban house that we chose when our kids still were living at home. I do not.

If I didn't have my husband's opinion to take into consideration, I would move to a condo within walking distance of downtown.

Here is a map on which you can find Calgary's neighbourhoods and surrounding towns:

www.mls.ca

Generally speaking, the further out from the centre a neighbourhood is, the newer it is. The conventional wisdom is that the northwest, southwest and far southeast quadrants are the best places in which to live. The northeast and close-in southeast neighbourhoods are the less desirable ones.

Safecell has given you the names of the surrounding towns. If you do a word search here at British Expats, you'll find comments on those towns. They are very popular with some members of the forum.

Posidrive

Can only agree with Judy's comments on new builds in the Calgary area. We signed our construction contract back in December and don't even have a hole for the foundations yet despite initially being given a move in date of 1st September. It's quite soul destroying watching houses springing up like mushrooms when yours is not one of them

I don't think our builder understands that I'm not joking when I tell him that we are going to dump all our wordly goods in the basement of his show home (which is opposite our lot) if he is not finished by end of December

Butch Cassidy

Just an observation.
This muppet pops up every so often, asking very similar question everytime. I'm not accusing anyone of a troll. Just making an observation.

abcd

Thanks Judy, Safe, Posi and Buth...Thanks for the info.
This information will be greatly helpful....like all the time in the past.

Butch could be right, my questions could be very similar in sound to him. My apologies if questions sounds boring to few, however they seem so imporatnt to me. Plus I am nervous too, as at middle age as a empty nester when I am making such a big move from USA, where after living for 13 years as a legal there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

I will be back with more troll folks, please either bear with me or ignore my queries.

frankieforehead

You're starting to piss people off

Butch Cassidy

Gee Frankie I'd never have noticed if you hadn't told me.

frankieforehead

It's healthy to be controversial sometimes and I know you're not a dick...so don't be one

Go and have a group hug