Richard Ivory

Hello,

Were moving to canada august / september time and still not sure where to live?
We have friends in strathmore, which is ok but was looking at other areas.
I will be working from t2c area and my wife will work near to home as we have 2 kids 9 and 13, so require some where for all of us to enjoy.
Hope you can help in your experiences and knowledge.
Thanks.

Almost Canadian

Do you want to live in an old or new community? One by a lake, close to the C-Train, close to downtown, close to easier access to Strathmore?

Give us a clue and we may be able to help

Richard Ivory

Dont mind about the community old or new but not a rough area!!! if you get what i mean. Dont want to be in just an english community want to join the canadians.
Dont mind a lake but that puts the cost right up?
No c-trains and not sure about how close to down town? as we come from a town in the uk but are living out in the sticks a little with a big village.
The nearest town centre to us is 30 mins and upwards.
We like mckenzie town and little brighton but dont know enough about it.

Almost Canadian

There are very few rough areas in Calgary.

Based on what you have said there, the vast majority of the south east will suit you. I find McKenzie Town pretentious but the locals appear to love it as it is so "European".

Each to their own and all that.

Steve_

The SE covers a lot of area, there's nothing wrong with McKenzie Towne and the surrounding new areas, except that the infrastructure is underdeveloped. However you do have access to the Deerfoot, plus the SE ring road will be complete by November 2013.

A lot of people will tell you the NE is the worst area, but it's a large area, some of the stuff just NE of downtown is a bit crappy but on the other hand the Kensington area is really nice. I wouldn't write the whole quadrant off. Have a look on Google streetview.

The posher areas are in the NW (although Mount Royal is upmarket too), but once again, big area, some parts are better than others. People pay a premium for a "mountain view" (check first to make sure this actually exists). But on the other hand, closer to the mountains you are the more likely you are to get hit with a hailstorm.

SW has the worst traffic, because the T'suu Tina have been awkward about building the ring road through their land it's likely to get worse before it gets better, Sarcee Trail is rammed at rush hour. But it depends where in the SW you are as to whether that is an actual problem or not.

Calgary is a pretty monolithic city, it doesn't have that much in the way of suburbs like most cities, nearly everything is in the city limits. There are small towns surrounding it, e.g. Okotoks, Chestermere, Cochrane, Airdrie, etc. and you may want to look at them but it's not like other cities that are large conurbations as those towns are pretty small. Edmonton is more traditional in that regard (e.g. with St. Albert and Sherwood Park).

Richard Ivory

Thanks for your replies so far .
Were kepp looking for info on them.

headingwest

we bought a house in Cranston

The upside is a couple 100m from fishcreek park with is wonderful for connecting cycling trails walking, and the occasional bear & dear. Easy access to southend alberta lakes for wind sports. new school just went up. has a community hall. Near new hospital for jobs etc. Has a mountain view if I stick my head out the bathroom window upstairs and turn head head really hard

downside: If you work downtown its a bit too far from the C-train for easy commuting. when kids get older living at home and commuting to U of C will be a hassle if the go to Uni there but that is a long way off. Can't really walk to shops but that typical of most areas.

For us it ticks the right boxes at this stage of our lives. I would have liked lake bonavista area better but housing was much higher and more importantly mother-in-law lives there.

My heaven could be your hell, so it depends what you want. There are very few areas in calgary that are "a bit pikey"

Richard Ivory

Thanks Headingwest,

Fully understand what your saying have a few years yet for kids to go to uni as there 9/13.
For us we want a nice reasonable community not too busy and not too quiet, so the kids can go out and play on bikes ete. Good schools and local activities, lake would be nice but puts the cost up.
We will be renting for the first year plus.

Almost Canadian

The communities in most of Calgary are very much of a muchness. Some have better views of the mountains, some have easier access to downtown, some are old, some are new. Virtually all of them with satisfy the criteria you have stated.

LucyLovelock

I don't have much experience of the deep SE, but wanted to wish you luck with your search and to say that renting for a while is an excellent idea! Some people seem in such a rush to buy, that unless they are fully confident in the area they want to buy, renting gives you a real feel for where you want to be, before parting with money for property!
Good luck!

Kokanee

SE Calgary

Here is the issue with commenting on a Quadrant as a whole. Its like saying would you live in London - would you live in Tower Hamlets, NO, would you live in Kensington, Yes!

SE Calgary - I personally wouldnt touch Dover or Forest Lawn but I live in Lake Chaparral that we love. All in SE Calgary.

You cant describe a whole quadrant as good or bad. Generally the deep south is newer but Ingelwood in the SE (near downtown) in unique and I wouldnt say no to houses on the hill over looking the stampede grounds.At the same time i agree with a previous posters views on Mackenzie Towne which is deep south. Diamond Cove, parkland, and queensland are nice areas that are neither downtown or deep south.It is impossible to generalize.

You need to visit various different areas that fit your budget and make your own decisions.
By UK standards there are no rough areas in Calgary just some with more crime than the other areas - I make this comment as someone who spent the first 30 years of there life in Saarrrff London

With Kids, being in a Lake Community has made a massive positive difference to our lives. The lake is a place to meet lots of new people. We swim,skate,kayak and play hockey all in our neighbourhood 5 mins from our house. The SE does have a number of communities with Lakes - Mackenzie Lake, Sundance, Auburn Bay, Chaparral, Midnapore, Bonavista, Mahogany (I think thats all!)

ohnicky

I lived in Dover, between 30 and 36 St SE, a few years ago, and I didn't find it bad at all. The neighbourhood felt pretty quiet, there were two playing fields nearby where we used to play football and stuff, an outdoor rink (not very well maintained, but quiet and nice in winter), walking distance to Co-op and Safeway, loads of bus routes, even the C-Train at Marlborough was walkable (if you like walking! I didn't have a car, and got on just fine).

My boyfriend grew up in Forest Lawn, and made it out alive! Seriously, there aren't any "rough" areas in Calgary, in my opinion. The worst part of Calgary is the relentless concrete, and that's everywhere.

gibbos1

Hi there,

we live in Okotoks and all (Wife Tracey, two kids Emily 13 James 11 and I) love it here. Okotoks has everything you need without being in the city, 25 mins to outer limit of Calgary.

Check it out, see what you think.
happy viewing, cheers
Carl

dbd33

Oi! My daughter recently emigrated from Canada to Tower Hamlets. I'm somewhat envious but couldn't afford to live there, not on the kind of money one can make in Canada anyway.

Kokanee

each to their own. let me know what you think once you visited