Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

My other half and I should be moving to Calgary next summer and we are just starting to narrow down options for where to live. We will both be working downtown and would ideally rather commute by either CTrain or bike (or both).

The two areas that seem most interesting are the NW (Arbour Lake/Silver Springs etc.) and the south (Southward/Lake Bonavista etc.) as they are at the end of the CTrain and houses are a little bigger (ideally a garage or at least a shed for outdoor gear). Are these reasonable places to live/am I missing something? What is the commute like on the CTrain?

Alternatively Cochrane does interest me. It would mean both of us driving in each day but it is closer to the mountains. What is the traffic and commuting times like?

There are so many options but not actually knowing the area it's a little difficult to narrow it down any further! Any other recommendations/tips would be awesome too. :)

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Don't discount the West LRT CTrain line either! Its a pretty fast commute and not as choc a block as the NW/South line (yet).

Any of the areas you mentioned are absolutely fine. It will really be a case of driving round the areas to see what kind of styles and ages of houses you like (and can afford), balanced with the commute time. Also, whether you want to be car based or be able to walk to facilities like shops, etc, and if you desire any community facilities eg lake. Calgary can be pretty homogenous e.g. a 1960's neighbourhood will look pretty similar whether it is in the NW, SW, SE or NE!

IMHO biking to downtown is a little more for the 'hardcore' cyclists, unless you can get close to an off-road cycle path.

Cochrane is certainly doable - 20 ish mins to the end of the CTrain line then about 30-40 mins on the CTrain depending on which end of downtown you are at. It could take you about the same commute time if you lived in the very far new north neighbourhoods and got a connector bus into a CTrain station. The Cochranites will be along in a bit I'm sure.

I'm based in the 1970's NW, and get the CTrain downtown every day. For me its park and ride at the station then CTrain downtown - about 40-45 mins door to door (1 hour if I get a feeder bus). Any specific questions feel free to ask!

Good luck!

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Thanks for the reply, lots of info there!

I didn't actually realise that extension existed! I knew Tuscany had just been completed but the western line doesn't show up on many maps (on Google). I shall have a look at that area as well.

I've been looking at realtor and the walk score website, along with the area profiles on the "top neighbourhoods" pages, are there my other locations I should be looking to get better profiles of the areas?

When you say hardcore what do you mean? If we go north west we were thinking of commuting down the bow river and then on from there. Not a huge fan of cycling on major roads, but then I do live in London and everyone there appears to be trying to kill you... On the off road/cycle route point, what sort of speed to people go on them? Are they more leisurely cycle routes or is it acceptable to go at "speed" (15-20mph)?

what is the parking like at the LRT stations in the NW? I've heard it can be a major pain to get parking, especially at the end of the line of coming from Cochran. Is that the case or do you find it easy to get a spot?

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

It is possible to cycle to downtown from virtually any community in Calgary without having to use roads until you get into the downtown core, as there are cycle paths everywhere.

The community that you mention in the southeast is nowhere near a c-train station and would require you to catch a bus or drive a car from it to a station. There is talk of an extension to the C-train in the southeast, but that will not happen for some time. In the meantime, there is also talk of a new bus service to the south east that will take the same route as the proposed south east C-train prior to the C-train line being completed. I don't know if that runs anywhere near Bonavista.

I would be amazed if you were unable to find the size of house/garage that you would like in most of Calgary's communities as there are usually all sizes of properties from 1000 sq ft to 2500 sq ft in most communities. What you will prefer community wise will very much depend upon what you like.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Don't the Canyon Meadows and Anderson stations service both those and surrounding areas? We would be looking within 1-2km of the stations, which I'm guessing involves a premium in house prices.

The biggest questions we have at the moment is how packed are the LRT, whether it's fairly easy to cycle to do town in the morning during warmer periods and how much of a pain it is to drive during rush hour. I've been to Calgary before but only used the LRT outside of rush hour and not driven through it.

I'm sure there are houses available in every area that that suit our needs, however they also need to suit the budget! From what I understand the East is the cheapest area and obviously downtown and surrounding areas the most expensive area, from Realtor however most of the other areas (for example NW, South and West) appear to be much of a muchness, where you'll pay more for living closer to the station/lake and Cochrane slightly cheaper?:)

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Both of those stations are west of Macleod Trail. While they "serve" the southeast communities, getting to and from them without using a car will take some planning. Waiting for a bus that is late in the winter is not fun.

I used to live in Somerset and I now travel to the Somerset LRT from 15 minutes south of Calgary. The Somerset LRT parking lot is full by 6:10 a.m. As Somerset is the end of the line, it is always possible to obtain a seat travelling downtown as one simply waits for the next train if no seats are available.

If buses turn up shortly before a train leaves, there may be no seating room at the time the train leaves Somerset. I get on the train at 6:00 a.m. ish. I can only assume that space is even less closer to rush hour.

Travelling home, from 3:30 p.m. to about 5:30 p.m. the trains are full going south. After 5:30 p.m. the ridership drops off considerable. The earlier trains are packed with students.

I know lots that cycle downtown year round. They do not use the roads at all.

There are cheap and expensive houses in most communities and it doesn't seem to matter where in the city those communities are. You will always pay a premium for having a house on a lake community.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Is the footbridge no good then? I ask because they seem very well placed and easy to get to on foot from both sides.:confused:

Thanks for the breakdown, as long as you can actually get on the LRT I'm not too bothered about seats. From a london perspective if you can actually get on the train without a contortion degree then it's a good train...

I see, so it's less like the UK again when there are good and "bad/cheap and expensive suburbs?

Thanks for the help so far?

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

The West LRT has been on Google Maps since before it opened... Search for Westbrook LRT Station. It'll show you the station and line, and it's located about midway between downtown and the end station.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

The footbridge at Anderson station gets you across McLeod to Southcentre mall. You would have to find a way of getting to the bridge first. Canyon Meadows is pretty much the same, it's just to ease passage across McLeod. The SE may be slightly cheaper as it has no direct access to the C-Train. The newer areas of McKenzie Towne, Copperfield and New Brighton are more expensive as they have the BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) in place if the C-Train there. BRT is an express bendy bus that goes downtown. I have never taken it, but it certainly seemed popular and full when I passed it.

If you think you will drive to catch a C-Train, then most lots offer paid-for reserved parking. Only people who pay monthly can use these spots during the peak times (can't remember the exact times), but after 10am they are open to anyone.

At peak times, it can be a struggle to get on the train anything after the first 2 stops on the line. I have had to let 3 trains pass before being able to even cram myself in. This can be worse in the winter if one breaks down causing delays and don't forget the joy of trying to take a c-train during stampede.......

I'm not trying to put you off using the c-train, just giving some of my experience of using both from on the SW line and the NE line. I haven't used the West expansion, no need as I'm in Airdrie now so the NE is closer.

The main thing I will say about community is chose one that "feels" right to you. They may all look the same, but the feeling/atmosphere can be very different.

Best of luck with the move.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I know lots of people who cycle almost exclusively on paths from NW to downtown. Look for the cycle map and communities that tie into the path along the bow valley. Also some people drive to Edworthy park and bike from there

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

You can also check out Calgary Communities And Community Associations as it has links to community pages so you can check out their newsletters and see if they are quite active community associations and what kind of things are happening.

If you want to park free at the NW LRT stations you need to get there quite early - I pay for a space (because I need the certainty of being able to pick the kids up on time after work) and the lot at Dalhousie is full when I get there around 7, maybe a bit before that. You can put your name down on the wait list for the stations on the Calgary Transit website if you want to pay to secure a spot and by the time you get here it might be your turn ;) If your job allows you to stagger your hours outside the main rush hour then you should be fine, even from Cochrane.

My definition of "hardcore" is those cyclists I see weaving through the traffic in a blizzard and minus 25! If you can get pretty much downtown on a regional cycle path then thats awesome! Drivers have absolutely no awareness when it comes to cycles here!

Personally, I think the western communities get a little bit overlooked, and if I was looking to live somewhere now then I would give the communities along that line serious consideration.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

TanieBird, that's some excellent info there, just what I was looking for.:) it gives me an idea of what it's actually like commuting in the LRT. I didn't know about the BRT so will look into that too.

Flossie and Jim, thanks for the link. I will look into that. I'll also put some more serious consideration into the western communities. We should be going out in May to do the house hunting so only a few months left!

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

The good news is you are coming just at the right time to find a place ,rental period run on a 6 months from January onwards so people change places quiet a lot.
Personally I live downtown :beltline area- swimming pool,20 mins walk to work,irish pub to watch the football match that were my requirements - price wise I get murdered with 1300 $/month rent => minimum living cost for me is 2000 $/month (rent,food,phone,internet,electricity,socialising) .
You are in sunny Calgary so make sure you get an apt or house facing south so you get and your house plant maximum sun exposure.Another piece of information which might also help you in your choice :public transport downtown is free (i.e. reduce your transport charge bearing in my a monthly path cost around 100 $)

Welcome !

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

So... The people I know from the SE bitch about not being able to find parking to get onto the C-Train. The NW is not as bad but in almost all cases if you want to get free parking you have to be there early like 6.30 or something so if you are an early riser by nature it's all good. Otherwise you're stuck with one of two options: either get the bus (which means you could end up stuck outside while it's baltic) or else you have to pay the parking. I'm assuming you don't fancy the third option of driving and paying $20 a day for parking or else $200 some for parking per month. This is downtown of course. If your work happens to not be downtown you often will get free parking.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Good of an answer as any.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Hi Amp34,
We’re in a similar situation in that we’re moving to Calgary in the spring/summer and are looking at Arbour Lake. I’m actually from Calgary originally but have lived in Europe for 15 years (the last 4 ½ in the UK).

I grew up in the NW, mostly in Silver Springs so can recommend it. Its main advantage is the ravine (it may now have a proper name but that’s how it was referred to when I was young). This takes you down to the Bow River with spots for swimming (if you can handle the rapids and the cold). If you are of the adventurous sort you can even trek up the river’s edge to the train bridge a few hundred metres away, climb it and jump off into the river below (this is strictly speaking illegal but was all part of the fun when you’re 16). The ravine has a small woods and springs that form various small waterfalls (hence the name Silver Springs). The park in which you find the ravine is quite massive and has cycle paths that will take you downtown. I’m trying to recall how long it took me to ride, but I imagine less than an hour.

The other advantage of Silver Springs is its proximity to Crowchild Trail, which can take you to downtown in 20 minutes outside of Rush Hour. On the flipside, depending where you live, it’s not necessarily that close to either the Crowfoot or Dalhousie LRT and would probably require a drive or bus to get there. There used to be a dedicated express bus from there to downtown, but I don’t know if it still runs. It’s now quite a sought after area; my sister lives there with no intention of moving. In the areas closest to the park, I’ve noticed there aren’t many places for sale and those with mountain views (which you get from the park) are asking for astronomical sums for what is essentially a very comfortable, safe neighbourhood, but hardly hyper affluent.

Our reason for Arbour Lake (apart from the fact all my family lives in the NW) is the lake itself. For me this is its only quality (I suppose also the LRT nearby). As you probably know it’s a private lake available only to the locals and guests. In summer (as brief as it sometimes is), it is something of a gem. We have a very young child, so the river is out as a swimming spot and the lake is in. Alberta isn’t a lake-heavy region, so any one is worthwhile sticking to. Otherwise, the houses are newer than Silver Springs and even more charmless if that’s possible. But they are of a good size and mostly have built-in garages, which you’ll find is exceedingly helpful in deep winter. Silver Springs homes in the older parts tend to have detached garages and thus far less protection from the cold.

I really don’t recommend Cochrane if you’re commuting daily to downtown. The drive will wear you down day after day in winter, even if you get off at Tuscany LRT. There’s a very steep ascent coming out of the town towards Calgary that can be treacherous in bad conditions. If you’re coming from London I think the culture shock might be too much. I’m perhaps prejudiced against it, but I see no merit to living there at all (except that it’s cheaper). If you live in the NW you’re already closer to the mountains than elsewhere in the city. Living in Cochrane will only shave off 20 min or so from that trip.

Best not bike in the winter. Those ‘hardcore’ really are mad.

I’m happy to help if you have any other questions.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

No, the people who buy a dog that has to be walked every day are the ones who are mad. Cyclists are just mildly bonkers.

I don't live in the NW but what I would say is that traffic on Crowchild is pretty bad and probably worse than you remember.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Traffic on Crowchild is a daily nightmare, mostly because of the junctions at McMahon, 5th Ave, Kensington, but especially the bridges that cross the Bow.

Luckily my 8 minute commute only has about 1km of Crowchild, going the other way from the poor gridlocked chumps :thumbsup:

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I drive the NW stretch of Crowchild daily coming in from Cochrane, but only as far as 16th. It's easy. It does slow down between the University and McMahon - but going any further south would likely drive me bananas. That's always super slow morning and evening.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I'm sure it's got worse, but it was always bad. There used to be intersections at Dalhousie, Shaganappi and Brentwood before the overpasses were built, which slowed things down long before McMahon. But if you live in Silver Springs and want to go for dinner downtown, your drive should be 20min. Like I said outside of rush our it's fine, but I wouldn't do it otherwise.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

If I drive downtown I go north on Sarcee, east on John Laurie, south on 14th, west on 9th - some mornings its 20 mins and some its 40 but its not all that bad at the morning commute peak.

Its worse getting out of downtown - usually takes me 40 mins to get from east downtown out to Kensington!

bus and train is a bit of a faff if you have kids to pick up, so I park and ride at dalhousie and it takes about 45 mins door to door.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I had been curious about the state of John Laurie in rush hour; it’s good to hear it’s not too bad.
It’s funny that 14th street isn’t worse than it is going into downtown, even more so 10th St. I went back to Calgary for a few years in 2003 and lived near Confederation park, taking the bus into the centre via 10th st and was always amazed how little traffic there was at rush hour. I’m assuming it’s still the same.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I commute on John Laurie and generally its OK, unless Crowchild has something going wrong on it and then its a disaster. John laurie got better when they built stoney

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Good to know. thanks.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

Don't know what shock they are going to have it's full of Brits.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I didn't realise Arbour Lake was a residents only lake, it makes sense though and is definitely something to think about...

I've looked at flood maps in the past and Silver Springs appears to be on them, although it makes little sense as it's a long way above the river. I assume there is no risk of flooding in most of Silver Springs?

Lots of useful info about commuting and traffic as well, it's confirmed why we want to take the C Train or cycle. :)

When I was in Calgary I got the impression there were a LOT of Brits there, either way the other half is Canadian so she shouldn't have a culture shock! I think the driving culture will be the biggest issue for me. I really don't drive much at all, conversely I drive more outside the UK than in, partly because the roads are so awful in the UK.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

We moved to tuscany in the NW in November, which has recently opened an LRT station. I'm not a fan of driving in winter conditions so we moved here so I could take the train downtown. Not sure if you have kids, but the other reason we picked tuscany is for the school. That and shorter journey to mountains.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I don't know how there could be a flood risk in Silver Springs, you're at least 30m above the river. Across the river it's of course different, but that's Bowness.

I'm glad to hear there are lots of Brits in Calgary. It means less of a culture shock for me!

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

No kids and no plans for any for a while yet...

Essentially what we are looking for in a community is quiet roads, safe location, a garage and the ability to commute downtown by public transport, with shops within walking distance of possible. Significant bonus points for being closer to the mountains!

I think the most useful to "community" map was the joke one on the last page. Stereotypes, yes, but I assume it gives a pretty good idea of the type of areas they are.:lol:

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I have one eye on an apartment near mount pleasant university, apartments seem to come available regularly to buy for about 350k, anyone know the area and the commute to downtown? Flood risk, anything else? Very grateful.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

The City of Calgary - Flooding - Know your flood risk

My assumption is it's a very coarse map and some of the Silver Springs area (the sliver next to the river) is in a risk zone, rather than most of it at the top of the hill...

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

All of Calgary is safe. Even the "dodgy" parts. I'm from Glasgow. I don't rate the "dodgy" parts as being dodgy at all. That said, the people in the dodgy parts are annoying even if they are not that scary. Here's my quick sketch:
NW - snobby white people, snobby chinese people. "Good schools"
SE - "average middle class people" some working class areas
SW - slightly less snobby than the NW but more or less the same type of
people as the NW. Some seriously rich parts here.
NE - The "dodgy" parts. Marborough and Forest Lawn are "the hood". Some other parts of NE are really just low rent parts of the NW and are OK. Particularly on the west side of deerfoot towards the airport. The kind of "hardcore" part of the NE is really just immigrant town and not dodgy at all. Lots of Indians (from Indian subcontinent) lots of latinos and lots of africans.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

There are some fairly new balancing ponds at the bottom of the hill which get flooded now and again, but the houses are not in the flood zone. A lot of the Bowness area opposite had water lapping half way up their gardens in the big flood of 2013, but it was a lot worse round the corner as you head downtown.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

A number of homes were decimated in Bowness in the floods along Bow Crescent. I know because two of my friends houses were severely damaged there, and I also helped muck out and gut several other houses.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

As Flossy and Jim mentions, there are no houses along the river's edge on the Silver Sprin gs' side of the river (north side). It's all park with steep cliffs (and the ravine I mentioned). Think of an extremely, extremely humble version of the the cliffs of Dover with the houses on top.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I would agree with most of this. All of the areas cover wide geographic spaces with room for affluent and rougher parts. The NE has always had a bad reputation; Forest Lawn was traditionally considered the worst neighbourhood in Calgary. I once drove through it and what struck me most was the fact that people were on their front lawns, sitting, drinking, seeming to interact with neighbours - most unCalgary-like behaviour! But they did have a rough demeanour to them. If you were to drive through most parts of the NE you’d shrug your shoulders and wonder what the fuss was all about as it mostly looks like anywhere else. I think the main issue is if you’re raising a family. The High Schools have long had reputations for gang violence. You may ask why there are teenage gangs at all in a city like Calgary and even when I was myself a teenager and heard rumours of them I couldn’t comprehend it. I’ve always suspected too much television. Some of course were forms of Asian gangs. Some seemed to be sprung purely from the delusions of our own variant of NEDS.
Growing up in the NW I never thought of it as affluent, just middle class (a mix of the British and Canadian sense of that term). Only Bowness had something of a rough reputation, but that just seemed to add to its flavour. Bowness was many, many years ago was its own town and still retains something of its own feel.
Both SE & SW, both have quite nice bits. It always seemed to me the SE had just a wee bit nicer weather than the NW, due probably to the latter’s proximity to the mountains.
Snobbery in Calgary, if it exists, is certainly worthy of ridicule. I’d be very ashamed to hear any BEs have encountered it. There is no real class difference there; there are those who have large salaries and those who don’t. Those with large salaries tend to have no more culture than those who don’t and no more interest in accruing it.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

MT. Pleasant is an excellent choice. I once lived next to there in an area called Rosemont. You're next to Confederation Park, which is a large, very agreeable spot (and often strangely unknown by many Calgarians). You have good transport links to downtown by bus (15 min or so). No flood risks at all as you're not near the river. I recommend it.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

I just had a look at that flood map. The only reason I can think of is that there are walk/cycle paths that run along the river's edge so people need to know of the possibility of flooding and is why it includes Scenic Acres & Silver Springs as a risk area. Varsity for example is nowhere near the river at all yet it's coloured in. On the whole that map makes no sense to me.

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

That "affected community" map is pretty useless. If one tiny corner of a community might get a little wet, the whole community - even the areas atop large hills - is deemed "affected".

You need to look at the Floodplain/Floodway/Flood Fringe maps to really get a picture of what will be affected by the next 100 year flood.

An interactive version is linked from here, with details of how to turn on the flood data for the map.

Below is an excerpt for Bowness and Silver Springs. As you'll see, the floodway/floodfringe barely touches the edge of the community boundary of Silver Springs. Calling it "affected", which although strictly is technically correct, is a pretty far stretch of the imagination. Not a single home would be affected directly.

http://i.imgur.com/MR5T2O3.png

Re: Where to live in Calgary and Commuting
 

TBH when I think "safe" I mean you're not likely to have your house broken into. I was already under the impression there wasn't really anywhere unsafe. I'm put of by the SE as it's next to the airport more than anything else. Thanks for the lowdown. :)

Photoplex - Awesome, didn't know that existed. I'll have a look at that. I'm not too worried about flooding but after the last big floods a bit of due diligence is always a good idea... That said it's pretty obvious where the flooding is likely to be just looking at google earth, floodplains flood, areas 30m+ above the river, not so likely...:lol:

I think I'm going to start putting some 1-2km circles round the C-Train stations and then when we buy we'll concentrate on those areas for housing.