Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

In the middle of the night maybe.

Another vested interest realtor trying to sell properties in "their" areas.


I work downtown with a bloke who has just moved from Somerset to live in the inner city. He told me his drive in was 45 mins on a good day, and up to 90 mins if the weather was bad. He now walks or cycles in.

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

and from your house in Auburn Bay you could probably look out and see the new sour gas wells if/when they go in!

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

I did not recommend Somerset. If you live in Somerset you have to take 22X or MacLeod which would be 45 minutes to downtown. The communities I suggested are on the Deerfoot and it takes 20 minutes to Memorial Drive, day or night. If it snows it will take longer because Calgarians do not know how to drive in snow. It is true that Compton are hoping to drill sour gas wells south of the city but the local population have raised a stink (pardon the pun) and it won't be an easy sell with the regulators. They will have to enlarge their evacuation plan.

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

Sounds like you have not driven in Chicago during a small snow storm... It took me 3 hours 26 minutes to get home yesterday. It is less than 50 km distance.

We are one of the few foolish, who decided where to live without visiting. About 10 months ago we had 3 destinations. Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
Than the research started. Considering geographic, job market and cost of living Calgary turn out to be the winner. We are moving before March.

One more thing to consider.

I think renting is a good idea, but there is a downside for renting too long. If you have your money in the bank, and not invested in your current property anywhere, chances are pretty good that you will be able to by less and less house each month you wait.
I am watching Calgary Real estate pries since Jun, and the prices are going up

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/...b-1ce67f8a3ecc

Lets say you have $300K. Annual appreciation on a $300K property can reach 10% which would be 30K!. So if you wait 6 months you may have to pay $315 for the same house you pay $300 now.

That is why I am heading up there ASAP to look at houses before the spring price jump.
Maybe I can get one before my wife and son arrives in March, if not we will have to rent.

Anyone lives north of Okotoks? How is the commute from Okotoks. Can you suggest some reasonable subdivisions? (Reasonable = 300K for a 3br single family less than 40 years old.)

Thanks!

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

Dewinton is a very nice village between Calgary and Okotoks. Can be quite pricey though, as it has a very exclusive Private School located there.

The trouble with living south of Calgary is the morning traffic into the city. There is only one major artery into Calgary, resulting in a long commute. The south has developed very rapidly, but the road development hasn't kept pace.

Good luck :)

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

There are two major routes into Calgary if you are travelling from far enough south - Macleod Trail and Deerfoot.

My personal view is that Okotoks and DeWinton are too far south if you need to get to downtown daily.

Property prices are increasing rapidly. The news had a story the other day that the price of an "average" house has risen from $240k to $295k in the last year alone. It is still not a reason to buy unseen.

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

[QUOTE=mortgageman]Calgarians do not know how to drive in snow/QUOTE]

No need to add "in the snow"

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

[QUOTE=Posidrive]:D LOL too true! :rolleyes:

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

I'm curious. What makes you expert enough to rate "ALL" Calgary drivers in this sweeping statement?:mad:

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

A vast majority of Brits end up in the deep south, why I'm not to sure, it's like little bloody Britain down there :rolleyes: . I lived in Somerset for 2 years and now live in Sunnyside just north of downtown. I find the deepsouth has a lack of character, cookie cutter houses, no mature trees etc. The traffic is terrible due to the awful infrastructure, I generally stay away from the whole area now.

I would recommend looking closer to downtown in neighbourhoods such as Glamorgan, Richmond Hill and Rutland Park to name just a few. The land there is a little more expensive but there are nice properties available for the 350K range.

Like others have said you really need to visit as many areas as possible before making a final decision. Check out www.mls.ca to get an idea of the different area’s / prices.

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

Dear oh dear - here we go! I'm not rating ALL drivers that way, but 'generally' speaking (should throw in the "in my opinion" here) they are....well...... not very good! :D

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

Based on what? :rolleyes:

It would seem that most of our worst drivers are recent immigrants/refugees. Some of which their most recent driving experiences have been non existant or a horse and cart.

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

Pretty obvious I think - my own experience on the roads here. That and seeing my sons go through their drivers ed (here in Calgary), taking their tests, and talking to their instructor (one of the better ones from a school that teaches defensive skills, not just how to get through the test).

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

That was sneaky - editing your post AFTER I had responded!


I rest my case! :rolleyes:

Re: Someone live in Calgary, please help
 

I must have been editing my post as you were responding. I was unaware of your response until now. :)