Where in Calgary
 

Hi Folks,

Have been thinking of moving to Alberta with my partner when my time is up in the Royal Air Force (still a couple of years to prepare); Calgary seems the best choice for my partner as she would be able to transfer her job to a sister company based there. This is where we become stuck, looking at places to rent or buy we are bamboozled with whats nice and whats not so nice.
Any suggestions of places to settle would be of great help.
Also any information at all about how we actually start this big leap would also be much appreciated.
Regards
Mark & Kay

Re: Where in Calgary
 

That's a hard one to answer on the information you've provided.

Do you want to live in suburbs or more rural ?

Are you concerned about travelling to and from downtown ?

Would you like to live in a "lake community" ?

Lots of variables - a bit like asking where it is nice to live in the South East of England :D

Re: Where in Calgary
 

I agree with Daz
The best thing is take the OH and any small people you have on a research trip and check the three quadrants (most people advise against the NE) yourselves then narrow it down from there (assuming you want to live in the city limits of course).
HTH
Butch

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Suppose so Duh :o
We are living in Norfolk at the moment and are sure we want to live at least on the outskirts of town of maybe even more rural. Would like a good sized garden or land 1/2 acre + I don't mind travelling but am not sure what travelling in winter is like in the Calgary area. Ive only seen Edmonton and Labrador, and they can be pretty tricky.
So in truth we want the best of both worlds, not too far away but somewhere out of the way, if that makes any sense.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

You'd be looking outside town then. Places like Cochrane, Langdon, okotoks MAY have gardens upto 1/2 acre+, but you can certainly get acreages on the outskirts of town anyway.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

If you have plenty of money and would like to live with a bit of land, then Springbank/Bearspaw might be the place for you.

It's to just to the west of Calgary and we drive past it on our way to the mountains. The houses look gorgeous, and Springbank high is a good school.

Prices are 750k upwards though. :)

eg http://www.cyndicollins.com/

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Yeah but come on its money well spent isnt it!!!!!
;)

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Oh I didn't say it wasn't .... I'd be seriously thinking of there if I had the cash .... although some of the properties look a but exposed. The breeze from the west can be a little fresh :p

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Yeah If I had the cash I'd be on the otherside of 12 mile coulee for definite!!!
;)
Hows the work on the basement coming????

Re: Where in Calgary
 

There are some much cheaper acreages to the north and east of Airdrie ..... Beiseker, Acme etc (my kids think it'd be cool to live in Acme, just cos of the name!)

Again its a bit exposed there, and rather flat. Possibly a bit too far away from anything. .... but you get your own well and cess-pit. ;)

If you're within shouting distance of the Deerfoot trail you can probably get in and out of Calgary OK if you need to, as the road is cleared quite quickly.

We havn't had much snow at all this year, so haven't really seen how bad it can get I suppose. The locals keep telling us this is not a typical winter!!! :D

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Ahem .... it hasn't actually started yet. We hope to hear from Mark today when he can start. Meanwhile we are meeting the flooring company man (Alan) today, so looking forward to that ..... we also picked up SHEETS of colour charts from RONA's yesterday to choose colour-scheme/paint. We went to have a look at Andy&Kathy's basement that Mark did for them, and it all looks very good. Andy's only criticism of Mark was that he was a perfectionist (and paid by the hour!), and that he would take longer than he personally would have to get something just right! :p

All quite exciting though. :D

I start my job next Tuesday (I think!!), if I can get them into gear .... took another phone call this week to nudge them along! :rolleyes:

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Yeah I think its a Fallacy that Canada's first European settlers where French and British. I actually think they were Mediterranean in disguise everything is so laid back with a Manyana(sp) attitude.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

there is no better place to settle than Cochrane.....Isn't that right Judy :rolleyes: ?

Piccy taken during the Summer....The winter makes everything yucky and brown.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Very nice pic.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Isn't that GlenEagles, Cochrane's mobile home community?:D

Have they stabilized the slope yet, to stop the homes from sliding into the Bow valley?:rolleyes:

Re: Where in Calgary
 

We bought a new condo downtown to get us started as a good central base, then we can buy more 'rural' later if we fancy it. Condo seemed like a tidy investment too. We've never lived in a city before so should be an experience to say the least. My mother in law lived out on an acreage in the back of beyond and there was bugger all to do. She used to feel really isolated. Different strokes for different folks though. I think we'd settle in better being nearer to everything the dowtown and sorrounding areas have to offer, and we can still take a trip to k-country or canmore at the weekend.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Is it on this photo?

home, sweet home

We live on the left hand edge of the photo in between the two road bridges, and I work in one of the office blocks downtown, a 20 min walk.

The road cutting in on the left hand edge is Kensington Road, full of restaurants and bars :beer:

Re: Where in Calgary
 

[QUOTE=CalgaryBlade]Is it on this photo?

It's just out of shot - brilliant photo though. I've seen older pics similar to that, but none with that much of the new development on in eau claire(ish) area. We bought a condo in the new Chocolate building in vic park.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

is this true? Do they have problems with subsidence in Gleneagles. we are going over next week house hunting and that is one of the areas we are looking at!!! Any information would be appreciated.

By the way how cold is it getting I have a feeling we are going to 'hit the winter' that has stayed away up till now!! Oh well least we will know what it gets like!! :confused:

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Yes it is true. However it was very early in the development, in the early to mid-nineties I believe they had some shifting with some cracked drywall and cracked basement floors/walls. I'm sure that this has been resolved long ago. Fear not GlenEagles is still a very viable subdivision much sought after. :)

According to Environment Canada it going to quite cool tomorrow a daytime high of -26C with wind chills of -39C, I can just imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth when people see tonight's local weather forecast. :D It's also supposed to back to close to normal by Saturday so it's not a long term thing.

Cheers
Steve

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Hey! Cool photo! This is close to where I lived - if I'm looking at this right. Is the bottom bridge 14th St? I used to live in Parkdale - is it still full of elderly people and friendly bikers? Is there still an old indy cinema in Kensington?

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Thanks for that info, certainly something to keep in mind. Its really hard trying to sort out where to live without having actually lived in the community and have insider knowledge. Any info about either Okotoks/Cochrane would be appreciated

:confused:

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Yes.

Yes, up to a point. But the demographic is changing. They have been building infill houses, and yuppies have been moving in.

Yes, indeed. The Plaza. A favourite of mine. :)

It's in stark contrast to the multi-cinema complex that has been added at the south end of Chinook Centre. It's a garish, faux-Egyptian monstrosity. If at the end of my life Saint Peter wants to recreate a place in which I am miserable, he has to look no further than the foyer of that complex. I can think of few things worse than spending eternity being zapped by the fake laser beams emanating from the Sphinx's eye. There would be a single consolation. I could watch Cleopatra spinning in her grave. :rolleyes:

Once you run the gauntlet, however, the movie theatres themselves are comfortable.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

The Plaza! Thanks Judy... that was driving me crazy and you saved me a phone call to the fambly. It's great to hear it's still there!

That multiplex sounds charming. :eek:

Re: Where in Calgary
 

LOL...No those ones went into the valley and they built New ones :D . As far as I'm aware the affected homes have been treated (Don't know how). touch wood ours is okay..No cracks or signs of movement.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Yes (as Judy said).

The red GPO phone box is still outside too, with payphone inside it. There's also one on 10th but that has no phone in it (not unlike many in the UK).

As for Parkdale, they closed the school a few years ago becuase there were no kids in the area. They are now considering reopening it, as it appears the incoming yuppies have kids :)

Re: Where in Calgary
 

No way! :eek: Parkdale Elementary is closed?! That was the first school I got suspended from. :cool: Is the building still there? Actually I guess the closure's not surprising... the Jr High had about 6 students in each grade when I lived there. Most of my friends, peers and I bused it up to Branton instead.

I don't remember a phone box. It was right out front? <thinking.... thinking...> Maybe it was put there after I left? It can't be my bad memory! ;)

Re: Where in Calgary
 

To put your mind at ease.. A house last week sold for full asking price within a week of being put on the market. Gleneagles is still having houses built and is without doubt the best area of Cochrane...I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Moved to Okotoks in January, feel free to ask any questions you can PM me. We came from Cornwall, and we love it here. It is only about 25 mins to downtown Calgary. Far enough away to be quiet but close enough for the shops ect

Re: Where in Calgary
 

What price range would you say for 4 bed in Gleneagles?
Constantly looking on mls but not many for sale in Cochrane.

Rachel

Re: Where in Calgary
 

It might not be what you are wanting to hear, but in Calgary and its satellite towns, many houses are not even making it to MLS.

A house on our street went up for sale yesterday, and if the activity yesterday afternoon was anything to go by it won't make MLS.

The only house in this area that has stuck around for a while is this one (it's 1 of 2 in this area on MLS) ...

How much?

It was up for ages as "for sale by owner" at $750K, now it's with a realtor.

Its key selling feature? "Sub-dividable Lot".

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Oh well,back to the drawing board - we can't afford that, even with our UK salaries!!!!

Re: Where in Calgary
 

The point I was making was to not rely on MLS if looking for houses. In this sort of market, you would have to look into why a house was on MLS.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Just to add to the clarification that CalgaryBlade provided, he lives in a residential neighbourhood that is within walking distance of downtown Calgary. His area is more expensive than Cochrane and also more expensive than Calgary communities that are further out from the centre. You do not have to put down C$750K to get into a house in the Calgary area.

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Don't forget the "Drapery Rods!!!!!!!" Wow, how can anybody refuse a bargain like that!!! :D

Re: Where in Calgary
 

We drove by a property facing onto Arbour Lake, with a back yard right down to the water's edge .... I was taking bets with OH as to the price ..... I guessed around $850k .... it was more in the region of $2 million! Mnd you it did have seven bedrooms, and garage space for 9 cars!!! :D

Re: Where in Calgary
 

Geeez, I couldn't even afford the garage let alone the cars to put in it. :D

Re: Where in Calgary
 

It appears it has a triple garage, with two levels.....However, if I had 2 million dollars to spend on a house, I don't think I'd build it there! :p I'd want a bit of land and privacy to go with it!! :D