Hi
I'm new here and looking for a bit of advice (aren't we all lol) anyway, my partner has got a job in Edmonton, so naturally we want to move somewhere around here, but I'm not to keen to live in the 'city' of Edmonton more like on the out skirts or a town not to far away.

Things that are important to us,
Good schools (our son is 3 but its important to us to settle somewhere as soon as possible
And until then day care, playground, that sort of thing.
As I won't be working, I'll be a stay at home mum. So I'd like to make friends. Which has never been easy for me!

We really want a community feel to living a place that really embraces the holidays especially Halloween and Christmas. (I'm looking forward to thanksgiving!)

We want somewhere that is into sports, my partner loves sports basketball, football/soccer! We'd like our little one to join little legue (eventually)

We don't want to live in a apartment, we'd like a house or townhouse. We'll be renting for a little while. We don't have unlimited funds but we wang somewhere nice front lawn/back garden.

Our pet dog is very much apart of our family so a community that loves animals.

Any other advice anyone can give me would be fab!

Thanks Sam

As someone who is about to move to Edmonton in the middle of August I will be watching this thread with interest

The outskirts are all new developments and very little in the way of schools.

There will be a new one near us in about 3 years.

You could do an advanced search on BE for Edmonton - untick the box that says "search child forums" and then select "Canada"

http://britishexpats.com/forum/searc...archid=6401668

Looks like the outskirts is the best bet then, any areas to avoid?

So just how big is Edmonton?

Problem is I dont know exactly where I will be working and I suspect that it`ll change from time to time (different sites) so how long would it take to travel across Edmonton worst case scenario (ie say if I was living at the bottom left and had to travel to the top right or similar)

http://wikitravel.org/en/Edmonton (also has descriptions of each area)

http://maps.edmonton.ca/

http://www.edmonton.ca/transportatio...stem-maps.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmonton

Try Sherwood Park or St. Albert, they both seem to be quite popular amongst expats with families. St. Albert in particular has some (by Albertan standards) character and both places are near enough when you need the city.

The smaller towns dotted around the outskirts of Edmonton are on the whole fairly bleak and probably not where you want to be for 8 months of winter as a stay at home mum who finds it difficult to make friends.

It will be hard,but not impossible to find a landlord willing to take dogs!
Most advertised pet friendly rentals only accept cats for some reason,I personally find cats more destructive.
It took me 2 weeks to find a rental that would allow my dog.

Living in the city is not so bad,I live in the Bonnie Doon area(southside),which is nice and quiet,and I am by no means a city person,I left a small town back home when I came to Edmonton,there's no way I could live in a city back in the UK!

Depends on where you're going to be working in Edmonton, but we lived in Sherwood Park for 3 years. Doesnt have much character, but lots of modern facilities/conveniences, choice of restaurants, etc.
It takes 20 minutes (ish) to get in to downtown Edmonton, but wouldnt be much fun if you're working on the west end.

I lived in Edmonton for more than 40 years and moved to BC just last year so I know the city very well.
St. Albert is very close to Edmonton but the property taxes (hence rents) are high there and the road into Edmonton (St. Albert Trail) is a madhouse in the rush hour.
Sherwood Park doesn't have much character and is hard to find your way around in as all the streeets are named rather than numbered in any logical fashion.
Small towns such as Morinville, Gibbons, Redwater, and Fort Saskatchewan aren't worth considering - blue collar boring. To the south, Beaumont and Leduc are a bit bigger but the roads to them are also very busy with oilfield equipment trucks, and they're primarily commuter towns with just a few shops and services. In general, small towns in Canada aren't like small towns and villages in the UK - you won't find the kind of rootedness and community cohesion you get in many places in Britain.
Edmonton is very spread out so it's a good idea to try for somewhere near where your husband will be working. Two things to keep in mind are the prevalence of crime and the almost annual flooding in parts of the city. Have a look at the site crimemappingedmontonpolice.ca - this will give you detailed and up to date information on crimes in all the different real estate areas of the city. Flooding is becoming more and more common not just in the river valley but in many other parts of the city where the sewer system is old and the drainage systems or weeping tile in the houses are worn out or collapsed. Many houses have basements here and these are prone to spring and summer flooding even with sump pumps installed.
Stay away from the city centre and north east - crummy, and highest crime rates. Mill Woods should also be avoided - drugs and gang shootings.
The better areas are to the south and west. Grandview, Aspen Gardens, Lendrum, Greenfields, and Petrolia are good and near enough to bus and LRT services as well as shopping centres such as Southgate. Most areas have community centres with lots of sports activities but you'll have to make an effort to get out and meet other young mothers. Canadians tend to appear to be friendly but it's a bit superficial.
If you're renting, avoid a company called The Boardwalk which does have a lot of apartments. They are stingy with maintenance and don't even repair essentials such as elevators in a timely manner. Noise is also a problem in many apartments - feet thumping above and stereos or TVs blaring all around. Heat in summer is also something to consider - can be frying in apartments, especially those facing south or west. Check for air conditioning.
Renting will be a bit difficult with a dog and you may have to pay an extra deposit to cover any damage the dog may do. Most houses have pretty big backyards - just be sure whatever you rent has a good high fence in decent repair.
One last thing to watch out for is the possibility of black mold (Stachybotrys) in the basement and possibly the bathrooms. With the increase in flooding and the refusal of most insurance companies to insure properties for this, quite a few homeowners are getting anxious to unload their properties which is becoming more difficult so they'll try to rent them out in the meantime. Black mold is serious health hazard especially for small children. Look for evidence round baseboards and inside window ledges. Do not, of course, believe anyone who says the property has never been flooded - caveat emptor!
Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, just ask and I'll do my best to help.
Best of luck.

Hi Leith
That is a fab, load of information! I really appreciate the help! Thanks!!

I moved to Edmonton in 2010. I originally thought of living on the "outskirts" but am very glad that I did not. Edmonton is a unique city. Each neighbourhood has something called a "community league" which makes every neighbourhood feel small and connected (if it has a good league). We were lucky enough to find a place in North Glenora which has one of the best community leagues in the city. I literally feel like I live in a small town because I know a lot of the residents here (there are weekly bbq's in the park, pub nights, sporting events, etc). The only time that I feel like I'm in the middle of a city is when I have to drive to Calgary or the airport and I have to endure traffic. The thought of living on the outskirts of the city and facing traffic daily would be really annoying for me.

I would consider the following neighbourhoods as they have a "small town" feel to them: North Glenora, Woodcroft, Dovercourt, McQueen and if you are rich... Glenora.

In addition to the convenience of getting around town easily, you have access to schools. This is a big problem in the new neighbourhoods. For example, my two oldest kids attended Coronation School this past year (kindergarten and grade 1). My daughter had 20 kids in the class and my son had 16. Not only did they get a lot of one-to-one attention but the school is one of two public elementary schools that is accredited as a IB World School. This is great for expats who want an internationally-recognized education program.
Here are some links for you:
North Glenora Community League (which also runs a playschool)

Coronation School