[Wooster]

A thread to discuss housing choices, where you live and why. Where you plan on living in various stages in your life and some of the advantages and disadvantages of urban and suburban life.

[lubicon]

Great idea for a topic. I guess I'll go first:

I live in Tuscany, in a single family home. Moved from Beaumont (Edmonton suburb) in 1997. Grew up in a series of small Alberta towns.

Why we bought in Tuscany:
1. wanted a single family home, with yard etc for the future family. Growing up in a small town, I guess that is what I was used to and we really didn't think of 'condo' when it came to family plans.
2. didn't want to live that far out, but similar homes closer to DT (Varsity, Dalhousie etc) were running at 3x the price at the time. We just could not financially swing it. Anything closer to DT than that and you are looking at smaller homes and / or major reno's.
3. didn't want to live in the NE or SE. The deep SW was too far and transportation was already an issue. That left the west side of town, or the NW. We just really liked the NW.
4. my house has a view of the mountains. For a prairie boy that was a major drawing card.
5. transportation routes to the places we generally go (west or north of Calgary) is actually great from Tuscany.
6. other than schools (which weren't there when we bought, but are there now), most services that we want and utilize are relatively close by.

The Pros:
1. it's a quiet lifestyle, which I personally prefer. I'm not much of a people person so being around crowds doesn't do it for me.
2. cost of living is pretty good. Modern home means energy efficient. Taxes are reasonable.
3. transportation is generally pretty good
4. most neighbors are of a similar type (ie have kids) so my kids aren't isolated.
5. can sent the kids our to play in the backyard without having to watch them too closely. You can't do that in a tower.

The cons:
1. the commute. While it isn't that bad really, it's 80 minutes out of my life every day that I'll never get back.
2. sporting facilities are far away, and lacking in general. By that I mean hockey rinks for myself and the kids. Too many players chasing too little ice time.
3. 13 continuous years of road construction on my commuting routes is really starting to annoy me.

Ideally we would have chosen to live in a community like Varsity or Dalhousie but as I mentioned earlier the cost of houses was jsut too much to justify. I have nothing against 'urban' dwellers and as a matter of fact I love coming down to the beltline periodically to see what's happening. If it weren't for the kids I could see myself living in one of the new towers for sure.

People with families will almost always choose the suburbs simply for the open spaces and privacy they provide. The City should be commended to trying to encourage grwoth in the innner city but it will be next to impossible to eliminate growth of the suburbs. There are just too many people who either want to live there, or can't afford to buy a house anywhere else. If you cut down on too much choice, people wil simply go elsewhere (Cochrane, Airdrie etc) which will jsut compound the problems.

[freeweed]

Royal Oak, single family home. We both come from living in houses, one of us in the burbs and small towns and the other closer to inner city, probably close to something like Lions Park station or similar in age and proximity to downtown. We've both also spent years in apartments.

Within a few months of moving to Calgary we both fell in love with the NW and it's not like we didn't look - when you don't know a soul in a city it's easy to spend every weekend just driving around, learning the city and checking out every last neighbourhood. While we tossed around the thought of buying, it wasn't serious until the boom took hold of this city. Watching house prices increase each month got a bit scary, so for fun we started looking into it more seriously.

Pretty quickly, just like lubicon, we learned how expensive it would be to live anywhere close to downtown. Even Dalhousie or Brentwood was damned expensive for what you got. So, it was either a small condo or the burbs, or a REAL fixer-upper, and neither of us are any good or motivated at that. However, what really made up our minds was this - in 2005 it was cheaper in most cases to buy a brand-new home than just about anything else, unless you wanted a very run down place or maybe something in the sketchier parts of the NE/SE. Well, that decided it - having your own place, never lived i, where you get to pick every last detail of your colours and materials and whatnot - it's awesome. It's even better than a brand new car. Spent a couple of months browsing showhomes and narrowing down the parts of the city we liked, and at the time it came down to 2 areas really - Royal Oak or Tuscany. I INSISTED on living with C-Train access, now or near future, so Panorama hills etc were out. Also wanted to be very close to Banff considering I now drive out there 20+ times a year. Royal Oak was just a bit more convenient to get in and out of, and I liked the houses available, so sold!

Pros: Affordable. Quiet. Plenty of walking areas and park space (eventually, that's still being worked on). No kids so none of those reasons apply, but still, we wanted at least a small yard for maybe a hot tub in the future. We're both very private and quiet people so to be honest the isolation of the burbs is welcome. Meeting new people is pretty easy as EVERYONE is new and no one knows anyone. Easy to get in and out of the city, especially for those 6:30am ski departures. And train access, so the commute isn't half bad. We've long since outgrown (I don't mean maturity wise, we've just gotten boring in our "old age" while the rest of you keep it real) crowds, festivals, the bar scene - all the fun and exciting stuff an urban presence brings. We hit some every year but it's certainly not the focus of everyday life. We actually have groceries and some other stores within a 5-10 minute walking distance which is always a bonus on a nice day. Plus a tiny mountain view from upstairs. More noticeable is the GREAT views we get every time we leave the house and drive south on Stoney, and coming back to the house as well. I see the mountains on every clear day.

Cons: really, the commute. That's about it. I don't mind though as I've always taken public transit both to work and to school (such a waste to drive if you don't have to) and I've been reading obsessively for decades as a result. I hardly notice the time even though yeah, it's 45-60 minutes EACH WAY 200+ days a year. I'd spend that time reading otherwise anyway, so it's not really taking much away from my life. The lack of flexibility and waking up that much earlier are the real con for me.

The very rare occasions I want to drink socially, it's a pain. NO ONE lives by us that we know beyond a few neighbours. And all the fun stuff (Flames, Stampede, good clubs) are downtown. So it's pricey cab-wise. I totally understand folks who do this on a regular basis living downtown - if I was 10 years younger I think I'd be living in the east Beltline without question. Otherwise it's just not a problem.

It's funny, because most of what people say is "young families like the suburbs". Well, while I don't have a head full of grey, we're not young and we don't (nor will we ever) have kids. We're the ultimate yuppies and DINKs. But it still is exactly what we wanted and need.

Oh yeah, and we did look at Okotoks/Airdrie/Strathmore/etc - coulda saved a bunch of money that way. However I couldn't live with myself driving into the city every day, let alone driving or even owning *2* cars. Such a stupid waste of money, gas, the environment. There's a certain appeal to the smaller centres but I must say I do enjoy the feel of a big city, and all the amenities it provides, even if I don't want to live right in the middle of them. Also I detest real urban American-style urban sprawl - at least Calgary contains itself within contiguous areas for the most part. So I guess you could say I'm fully cognizant of sprawl/environmental issues, and try very hard to mitigate them - but I still live on just about the extreme edge of the city. I'm not sure if that makes me a hypocrite or a semi-responsible suburbanite or just plain stupid. :haha: We do our best to keep our entire footprint down but yeah, I do have a yard, and I do love the new massive road systems being put in primarily to support the suburbs.

[DavidKuitunen]

I live in Marda Loop in a house with 3 other roommates, but I'm moving to a 550ft² apartment in Mission with my girlfriend in August. In my mind less is more/smaller is better. I don't own much, and I'd like to keep it that way so I choose to live in a small place. I really don't spend much time at home. I don't own a TV. I'm pretty much only home to eat, sleep, and shower. I prefer getting out and living as much as possible. In the inner-city you can do that easy without a car. I can ride my bike to the public library, talisman center, public parks, ect.

You can still do that in the suburbs, but I find I'm prone to driving way more than necessary when I'm living in the suburbs.

[DavidKuitunen]

How about yourself Wooster?

[bob1954]

Good questionaire in the Herald today. Basically asking if it was more affordable, would live Downtown? Was surpised at the response, 33% yes -67% no! I thought a higher percentage would have said yes...

[You Need A Thneed]

Live in Martindale, grew up in Whitehorn. Having grown up here, I know that the NE is a wonderful place to live, pretty much close to everything, well served by LRT, roads are generally pretty good. I love living in a multicultural area too, and most of the friends live in the NE. The construction company for which I work is owned by my parents, and I work in their house - in the house I grew up in. So, I can easily bike to work, tried biking through the winter, except this winter was tough with the snow not melting for a while.

I like the suburb life, I don't need to be in the centre of the action, though I do wish that I could walk to a few more places.

[Danma]

We live in Coventry Hills.

When we started shopping for houses, we looked in our price range mainly in the North because:

- We both knew the north half of the city better than the south
- I worked downtown and my wife worked at the Deerfoot business park
- We're both from Edmonton and go there regularly
- We were somewhat resigned that our price range meant we'd live in the far suburbs, and from my experience in the city, far North in Calgary is a hell of a lot closer to downtown than the far South.

We wanted to live in one of the communities along the Crowchild NW corridor but we were somewhat priced out with the exception of Royal Oak and the occasional place in Tuscany. The Northeast (Saddle ridge etc) was well within our price range but we felt that the drive downtown was longer than I liked. The Northern Hills area, on the other hand has better access to Deerfoot, closer shopping and services and was a little more established than the NE. We focused on Country/Coventry Hills and found a place within walking distance of the Superstore.

In general, we like where we live. The area's got lots of services, stores and restautants -- since the T&T Supermarket opened up it's much better. Access is good -- my commute is about 25 minutes in the morning and 35 minutes on the way back, and since the Ring Road opened we can get to the NW very easily now (12 minutes to Bowness Park!) All we need is a sushi place, some tennis courts and the north-central C-Train and it would be perfect :)

[Ferreth]

I purchased over ten years ago, at the start of first crazy upswing in house prices.

At the time, I was living in Bridgeland in a basement suite that I loved - great Italian landlords who would bring me real Italian food leftovers after every party they had. I had a view of downtown, to this day some of my best downtown pictures are right out the front door, owing to the fact that the suite was on a south facing hillside. The local was great - going for ice cream on 1st and 10th was a common evening pass time in the summer, and walking the streets was great, especially under some of the tree covered ones. My biggest complaint was the lack of a decent grocery store nearby.

So, when looking to purchase, I wanted to buy in Bridgeland. Unfortunately, the prices had climbed to that point that I couldn't afford anything other than a dump in that community. I briefly considered a new house - and discarded the idea as all communities I could afford were far north or far south - I HATE long commutes. I wanted my own yard, as I wanted to garden, so an apartment was out (flower boxes don't cut it). I won't touch any condo arrangement as I want control over my property maintenance - I have heard too many stupid condo board stories from many people.

I narrowed down my search to an area roughly bordering Mcknight on the North, Canyon Meadows on the south, nothing on the west side of town (owing to me working on the east side) and nothing in the east/NE starting with Forest Lawn and moving north (with a few exceptions). I looked at possible affordable houses in Queensland, Ogden, Renfrew, South Calgary, and Mayland Heights. I was mostly looking as small houses with small yards. Location is way more important to me than size of house - I'm the only one living in a house - I don't need anything over 1000 sqft. A bigger yard would be nice, but as long as I have something I can play in the dirt in, I'm happy. Oh, and a garage got big bonus points - if there wasn't room to build a garage, I wasn't going to buy it at the end of the day.

I ended up in Mayland Heights based on a combination of house condition and location. Better locations such as Renfrew and South Calgary had dumpy houses in my price range. Ogden offered a kick-ass property but less desirable location. Queensland and Mayland Heights were close - same type of small house with similar desirable amenities nearby. Queensland had a kickass commute to my job of the day, but not so good to downtown. Mayland Heights won out on better proximity to downtown and a better house w. a garage - and it's just across the Nose valley from Bridgeland! Oh, and I have a downtown view with mountains in the back, at least from 2nd story. Funny how that worked out.

I would be interested in hearing from you folks who chose the 'burbs (I consider myself to be near-beltline) - what it would take to buy an apartment condo if you were shopping now? Price? Missing Features? Etc?

For me, I would first say that if I had been buying in the last five years, price would've done it for me. No fancy Arriva for me - I'd have been stuck buying some crappy 4th tier 500 sqft place - no houses was affordable to me at the insane market owing to my wages not increasing the way housing prices did. I'd have been looking at around $200K max, not much available at that price last year. I just did a quick dig on realtor.ca and there is much more available now - like ~119 properties in the beltline. Around five years ago, there were a few condo renovation projects that I was aware of that were just within that price - I mighta gave up my property control for one of those.

I would've been tempted by downtown apartments by the following features: Green space to walk in on the property or nearby, (MUST) a grocery store within walking distance, (MUST) a relatively quiet street, a baloney with some sort of a view, a rooftop garden, greenhouse / sunroom for the winter, library/museum within walking distance, (MUST) a car parking spot - highly preferable indoors, some interesting pubs within walking distance, storage space for bicycles etc., (MUST) walking distance to LRT, perceived safe neighborhood, 2nd bedroom for computer lab, (MUST) soundproofing so I can't hear my neighbors.

Putting my current house at it's current market value in that mix, I'd probably end up picking that, considering I can afford it again at today's wages and today's house prices. I'll leave you to figure out how that worked out ;) Any apartments being built or built have LESS of the above desirable things that my house has - the gap is getting narrower though.

[freeweed]

You can still do that in the suburbs, but I find I'm prone to driving way more than necessary when I'm living in the suburbs.

I can certainly concur on this one. Plus the fact that it's just so damned convenient to drive in the burbs, because at least in Calgary within 5 minutes you can be on an expressway... I guess even the core is like this because of Deerfoot, but still.

I drive way more than necessary but that's ok, I LOVE driving. Just cruising around, checking out new places, and enjoying the feeling of the wheel.

But yeah - even when I have things within walking distance, sometimes we drive somewhere else "just because". It does tend to get wasteful.

[Wooster]

How about yourself Wooster?

Currently, I live in Toronto. 28 storey rental building at Yonge and St. Clair. 1 bdrm apartment with my girlfriend.

[Wooster]

Good questionaire in the Herald today. Basically asking if it was more affordable, would live Downtown? Was surpised at the response, 33% yes -67% no! I thought a higher percentage would have said yes...

That might stem from the fact that people have a very narrow definition of 'downtown' in Calgary. Most people probably think that to mean 'where the tall office towers are'. A more effective question might have asked whether they would live 'in or around downtown' if housing was more affordable.

[Bigtime]

Ok my turn.

Grew up in the suburbs of Calgary (Hawkwood in the NW). Became increasingly frustrated with having to drive everywhere or swallow the big bill for cab rides to and from the inner city when meeting up with friends.

Moved into a new condo in Bridgeland (phase 1 of The Bridges) in 2005, 1 bedroom that had a nice view of downtown. Around the end of 2005 I put down the deposit on my place at arriVa, craving an even more urban existance.

Met my wife in 2006 and the rest is history. We are now living in our 2 bedroom in arriVa with our new daughter and are loving it. We have plenty of space (we tend to be minimalists with "stuff", so a lot of the baby gifts we have been gettting are being returned) and no need to think about leaving for a few more years.

My wife LOVES to garden. We tried growing some simple veggies in pots on the balcony last year to some limited success. So this year we got a plot at the Inglewood community garden, and it has been a blast. A quick drive over from our place and we have met so many new people and made some new connections.

Loooking past living in arriVa we will probably end up in one of the two choices:

-single family
-townhouse

We have spent a lot of time looking at single family in Inglewood, Ramsay, Mission, Bankview, and a few other very inner-city neighbourhoods. The emphasis is on a nice house (3 bedroom) with not a lot of fixing up to be done, and a yard that is large enough to have a decent sized garden. We'd rather have a larger public greenspace closer by for the kid to play in.

Townhomes have a rather limited selection in the 3 bedroom range, mainly sending our focus towards the ones in Erlton. The location is still fantastic and with the potential of the Anthem properties being developed the neighbourhood has nowhere to go but up.

Long story short, we will continue to live in the inner-city for hopefully the rest of our lives, and raise our family there. We just love the ability to abandon the car and get almost everywhere on foot/stroller. While others sit in traffic or on transit for upwards of over an hour each way to work I've already been home for over 40 minutes being able to spend that quality time with my family. To be able to walk into the core on any given weekend in the summer and run into a festival or event going on. That's why we love it!

[AUM]

^^^ Bigtime you should be the poster child for the benefits of inner city living. Good on you and your family for realizing the potential.

[Ramsayfarian]

I ended up in Mayland Heights based on a combination of house condition and location.



Mayland Heights, Calgary's little secret. I could easily see myself living in Mayland Heights.

As you can attest from my handle, I live in Ramsay. Bought my first house in Ramsay around 11 years ago for $132,000, put about $30K into it and sold it 4 years ago for $258,000. I would have kept it if I could, but needed the money to upgrade to a better place in Ramsay. Bought the new place about a month before the property values started going nuts.

I bought in Ramsay, because I wanted to live inner city. I figured it was only going to be a matter of time before others saw the merits of living in Ramsay. That, and I can't stand the suburbs. Spent my teenage years in the burbs and hated it. Too far from anything.

I've mentioned it here before, living in Ramsay is like living in a small town with all the big city amenities very close at hand. It's like a 20 minute walk to downtown, 10 minute walk to the Saddledome. I can walk my dogs to the off leash area on Scottsman Hill and less than a 5 minute drive to the Deerfoot and about a minute to Blackfoot trail.

We have the only roofed outdoor rink in Western Canada, which will soon be renovated. They're putting in an ice plant to increase the skating season.

As it's inner city, Ramsay still has it's issues, but they're getting fewer and farther between.

[Bigtime]

Ramsay does indeed rule, what a great little community!

Anyone that hasn't been down there should really take an afternoon and walk it, check out whole streets of homes that have amazing gardening on their little front lawns. The people out and chatting with neighbours, just the feel in the community. It is fantastic!

[Ramsayfarian]

Ramsay does indeed rule, what a great little community!

Anyone that hasn't been down there should really take an afternoon and walk it, check out whole streets of homes that have amazing gardening on their little front lawns. The people out and chatting with neighbours, just the feel in the community. It is fantastic!

It's not all crack whores in Ramsay. :)
The Bigtimes would make awesome Ramsarians.

[YYCguys]

Currently living in an 800 sq ft condo by myself in Airdrie (a PofV project...:maddown: ). Bought it on spec in 2005 as it was all I could afford on my own after living in rentals in various downtown Calgary locations. The fact that I commute to and from the Calgary airport for work helped in the choice ultimately. I had a roommate for a brief period, but it didn't work out and I ended up having to kick him out. Left a bad taste in my mouth so now I live hand to mouth, but oh well. Being on the road up to 18 days a month I appreciate condo living for the security and knowledge that my place is fairly safe. However, I feel that the Condo Board and the Management Company aren't managing the premises very well. They can't seem to keep the costs in check therefore the condo fees go up and we recently got a special assessment. Also, the general condition of the grounds leave something to be desired.

I am currently dating someone who owns a great house along a greenstrip in Royal Oak and the plan was for me to sell or rent out my condo so I could move to Royal Oak this fall. But due to there being a glut of condos on the market here in Airdrie, I doubt mine would sell for any significant profit in my pocket and I would lose money renting it out, so I've had to put the move on hold for another year or so until the market picks up again.

When I was renting, I was living in places like the CBD, Bridgeland, and 17th Ave SW area, all of which I loved. Royal Oak would not exactly be my first choice. Sure there is a yard for the dog and there's lots of space in the house, but I loved being close to where all the amenities and fun are. I wish I could convince my significant other to consider a house in Parkdale, Inglewood, Bridgeland, or somewhere inner city, but that would be a futile attempt. He has always lived in the 'burbs and his job is close Royal Oak, so getting him to see the benefits of living close in would be a real chore.

[Ramsayfarian]

That might stem from the fact that people have a very narrow definition of 'downtown' in Calgary. Most people probably think that to mean 'where the tall office towers are'. A more effective question might have asked whether they would live 'in or around downtown' if housing was more affordable.

There's that and it probably reflects the Heralds demographics.

[freeweed]

Walk to the Saddledome... drool. BT and ramsay, you guys have it made on that count. That may be the single biggest thing that would bring me downtown.

YYC - that's a tough break. I had concerns over the same sort of issue with my SO, because to be honest I just couldn't see things working out long term if one of us had to be "convinced" to live somewhere else. Thankfully it became a non-issue once she realized she doesn't actually like to go to most things hosted in the core (other than Flames games and Stampede). It was more of a "this is how I grew up, so surely any other option must suck" attitude for a while.

I will say that Royal Oak is pretty damned nice as far as burbs go (great transit access, good retail close by, lots of parkspace), and with the ring road, it's a very quick commute to the airport. But it is isolated as all hell if you like to be close to the action. No amount of "big yard" or whatever can make up for that.

[glam]

Currently live in a SFH in Signature Parke, used to live in Glamorgan. With 2 kids, and possibly 1 or 2 more down the road (depending on who you talk to, me or my wife), we needed the space and bedrooms. We tend to have family, etc stay with us on a regular basis so there are usually lots of rugrats running around.

Some other reasons we bought here:
-walking distance to future LRT line
-close enough in that I can commute on my bike - we're trying to make do with just one car
-decent, relatively secure back yard for the kids to play within sight of the kitchen, etc.
-reasonably close to Edworthy and the Resevoir. We also enjoy just walking around through the neighbourhoods nearby
-easy to get out to the mountains, where we spend a lot of time
-lots of schools nearby
-my wife loves to garden. She grew up on an acreage.

When I was single, I had always wanted to live in one of those 3-storey townhouses in the Beltline. Before we had kids, we had planned to get in a highrise condo, but i guess that wasn't meant to be...for now.

[MonctonGoldenFlames]

currently live in and love mayland heights.

i was a student graduating from sait in 2005 and was renting a 1 bedroom basement suite in mount pleasant. i wanted to get into the my own home, but my options were limited due to my single income. so i had to find an r-2 zoned house that had a suite. in march of 2006, i found the house in mayland and it was extremely affordable, complete with basement suite. i lived down and rented up while i spruced up the basement, then moved upstairs a year later and rented the lower to friends.

mayland heights really is a hidden gem, due to it's proximity to downtown and major roads. if i don't live in mayland heights, it's cause i don't live in calgary.

[Rusty van Reddick]

My partner and I own a 1400sf craftsman bungalow in Bankview on a large (60x85) lot by inner city standards. We're in "lower Bankview" within smelling distance of Moti Mahal, on 19th Avenue. We chose Bankview in 2001 after having lived in an apartment tower (Westview Heights) for our first year in Calgary. Downtown was GREAT and I'd absolutely do it again, especially given positive changes there now and I'd kill to be a three-minute walk to the Globe and the Uptown, but we wanted a neighbourhood that was more like our old one whence we moved in Toronto- it's called Seaton Village and is directly west of the Annex. Near but not IN downtown, with an interesting "destination" strip nearby. We wanted something gay-friendly as well, not that the burbs or whatever are not (we know lots of gay folks who live in the outer reaches of the city and even on acreages), but we didn't want to feel isolated in that respect. So our search entailed the usual suspects- hillhurst, sunalta, inglewood, crescent heights, and we found a gorgeous condo at a great price (1220sf on two levels with amazing views for $137,000!) in UPPER Bankview, 22nd Ave and 17A St, bought it and lived there for about 3.5 years. We liked the unit itself but the dysfunctions with the building (too many crazy neighbours, and I mean restraining-order crazy, and the financials were not looking good) pushed us out.

We closed on our house in Dec 2004 in what has superb timing; we kept the condo as a rental and sold in in April 2006 in what was also superb timing.

I love our neighbourhood; it has character, views, is full of smart progressive interesting and creative people, and I am sometimes just amazed at what I can walk to here. We're both big foodies and within a 10-minute walk we can encounter three sushi places, three shawarma places, two Indian, three Vietnamese, an Afghan place, a superb German bakery and deli, one of the city's best tapas places, an excellent "Bier"-focussed pub with great food, and more mundane things like McD-KFC-Wendy's and the new Moxie's. I can't believe how blessed we are in the food area and on this mark I'd say we're better off than our old digs in Toronto.

I do NOT like owning a detached house per se. I don't get a lot of pleasure from lawn care or snow shovelling. I have no interest at all in gardening and we inherited a huge garden that has gone to shit (and I don't care; I'd like to cover the entire yard with evergreens and bricks and be done with it but it's a huge job). We both travel a lot and it's always a pain to arrange mail and such, not to mention snow shovelling over Xmas. We also live under power lines on 19th Ave, which is ugly, and the biggest problem with our house is that it abuts a horrible gravel laneway to the side. This alleyway is eroded and disgusting and is a the preferred path for all sorts of human garbage.

I will always be inner city. Always. But I really would rather be in a condo or townhouse and not have to contend with the idiosyncrasies of an old house and its grounds.

[freeweed]

Currently live in a SFH in Signature Parke

Please for the love of all that is holy, someone tell me that was a typo. :haha:

[Radley77]

I grew up on a two-storey farm house in a rural setting in Saskatchewan. Since then, I have lived in several countries and housing styles including a townhouse in an English village, university residence at the U of S, SFH in Grande Prairie and Red Deer, gated community apartment block with pool in Tulsa, OK, SFH in Citadel, Calgary, and MFH in Crescent Heights.

I work as an engineer in the downtown core, although occasionally travel for work. I often work late, so being highly connected to the downtown core was important so I could leverage my time both at home with family and at the office better. I live in a 1300+ square foot two storey condo in Bridgeland and have amenities like the Princess Island park, Glenbow Museum, Riverwalk, Saddledome and Calgary zoo are within a short walking distance. There are unique restaurants in the area like Il Sogno, Noon and Diner Deluxe that are unique and have great food. I also am looking forward to the U of C downtown campus completion, and may pursue an MBA if offered at that time in the evenings. It's also been handy living downtown I find that have friends over constantly as it is easier to go out and dance at nightclubs and they often end up crashing at our place. I walk to work on a daily basis, but own a SUV I find that I rarely use (except for groceries and trips camping in the Rockies). I am president of the condo association, so I make the majority of decisions regarding operations and maintenance. When I do maintenance on the building from time to time, I get paid money instead of simply sweat equity (compensated for opportunity cost). In my spare time, I prefer listening to a street busker on Stephen Avenue over watching TV and would rather play badminton at the YMCA than have a basement gym.

I believe if it wasn't for the importance of the core for my work, and the opportunities that provides, that I would be living in a SFH in the suburbs. The cost of parking downtown which is $500/month in my tower, plus the time (opportunity cost) I spend in commute, plus milage without getting paid for it was the primary motivating factor for living downtown. The other amenities in the area are a bonus, but not really needed.

I would also consider living in ArriVa (views are gorgeous) or a SFH inner-city bungalow. Just a bit pricier than my tastes for similar square footages!

[glam]

Please for the love of all that is holy, someone tell me that was a typo. :haha:

Ha ha, unfortunately no. Tacky, contrived names sure didn't originate with POV, etc.

[octothorp]

My wife and I have a small house in Sunnyside. She bought it in 2000 before we met and before the property market there started going nuts. Now we're at the point where we're starting to outgrow the house and we'll need to make some hard decisions about moving or expanding. I love Sunnyside though; I don't know that I could give it up (possibly for Ramsey, but that would be it). Really quiet neighbourhood for something so central (although we aren't on one of the quieter streets), so close do downtown, the pathways, and an off-leash area, and central enough that it's easy to get to any major artery. And we'll have a view of the Bow from our backyard once it gets a bit taller.
Access in and out of the community can be a little hairy at various times during the day, and Kensington isn't quite what it used to be (we really miss the magazine store and all the used book stores), but the good vastly outweighs the bad.
I lived in various apartments for about 12 years (including some very cool ones including the Barnhart, the Congress, and the Burns Block in Inglewood, but I don't think I could go back to an apartment after living in our house. So if feels a little hypocritical of me to criticize anyone who chooses a house in the suburbs over inner-city apartment or condo living.

[sauril]

Great topic!

I grew up in the suburbs of Montreal (Beaconsfield for those of you who know it) and thought it was great until I turned about 11 or 12.

When I moved to Calgary, I lived in Mission and the Beltline for a while, and loved the neighbourhoods. My (now) wife and I were sharing a 2 bedroom on 13th Ave and 11th Street when we saw Stella going up, so we decided to check them out one day. After realizing where prices were going, we started looking for a house so we could buy before it was too late. We were lucky. We also couldn't believe how cheap houses were close to Downtown compared to Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.

We both wanted to live inner city, and had a limit of 16th ave N, Deerfoot, 14th st, and 26th ave S. After looking at houses in Ramsay, Inglewood, Crescent Heights and Bridgeland, we chose a great little house in Renfrew. A smaller lot, but that's ok, I hate cutting grass. It was built in 1914 and has everything that our friends who bought in the burbs don't want: small bedrooms, not much backyard, inconsistent finishing, and a low basement ceiling. We love it. It has tons of character, we have a view of the top of downtown (we can see PetroCan and a few other tall buildings over our neighbours' roofs), and we can live with one car.

I love being a 5 minute walk to the grocery store, the butcher, the liquor store, and many other things. I love being able to bike to the Folk Fest in 10 minutes, baby in tow, and I love the fact that we can live with one car. If I go out after work it's a $10 cab ride home. If I drive to work (I work in Ramsay, hi!) I can go home for lunch if I want to.

I wish we had a bit more room, that every time we wanted to update something it turns into a major project (I don't think there's a right angle in the whole house) and the trek to get out of town is getting longer and longer, but we've made great friends with our neighbours, have a canopy of trees over our avenue, and unless we leave Calgary, we have no plans to move any time soon.

[devonb]

:previous:

I've said the same things about buying an inner city home in Calgary. We couldn't believe the prices, especially when so many new cookie cutter, vinyl sided homes in the suburbs were the same prices.

We got lucky and bought a 1911 two and a half story home in Crescent Heights, a block from Rotary Park. It was priced to sell at about $100k below market and we snatched it quick:banana: We love the house and location. We can walk to almost anything we need and are close to major routes for driving. Even newer homes can't match the fir floors, wood panelling, and quality craftsmanship our home offers.

I also lived in the Beltline and Hillhurst, and I loved both areas. My favourite area of Calgary is still down in Mission. I love the density, shops, restaurants, trees, and river. I'm hoping Edmonton Trail and Centre Street will see development like this in the future.

[kap384]

My turn. Saskatchewan farm kid that first came here to live in the summer of '99. Rented an apartment in Bridgeland that summer and walked downtown to work. The next summer I came back and rented a place with a friend in Crescent Heights. Walk to downtown got shorter, but didn't really think about WHERE I was living. It was just a means to an end at the time.

It's March 2001 now and I've got a full time job in downtown. I realized I really enjoyed the walk to work and the flexibility it offered in my two summer experiences, so I rented again in Crescent Heights. Great exercise climbing uphill both going to work and coming home! Owned a car, but just used it to get groceries and head out of the city. Took full advantage of enjoying the nightlife downtown and not worrying about driving home. It was always just a stumble home from Ceili's, or the Saddledome, or wherever. Not like winter's here are anything like SK anyway, so walking to work all year is no big deal.

2003 comes around and I'm really hankering for more garage space. I've got a truck and a motorcycle, but I get increasingly more looks as I wrench on my vehicles in the underground parking. I need a 2+ car garage, don't want to have noise limitations because of shared walls, and want a pool table and a good house to entertain in. Around this time, my apartment got new ownership and their decision was to renovate the units and sell as condos. I had really grown to love Crescent Heights/Bridgeland, and thought it would have been a great economic decision to get into one of the emerging condo properties (ie. Bridges), or a tiny house. However, my desire for a garage won out.

That garage and room for a pool table, combined with my available funds, pushed me out of the downtown and surrounding area. If I was stuck in the 'burbs, there was no way I was touching Deerfoot. For me, the only road infrastructure that wasn't already choked to death was the swath from Coventry Hills all the way over to ~Cougar Ridge.

I had friends that lived in Hidden Valley, and I deemed access as pretty damn good. I had grown up in a bungalow and was sure I wanted a 2 story house. I wasn't against having to do some reno's to get what I wanted, so I was looking past all the nasty late '80's and early '90's brass, oak and pink. Problem was, I was finding all of the floorplans idiotic.

I'd stumbled across a realtor that seemed to get a really good sense of what I was looking for. She kept humouring me by finding houses to look at in Hidden Valley, Kincora, Evanston. I found even the new construction in my price range just had nasty, awkward floorplans. It was the realtor that dragged me to a house in Royal Oak.

Uh oh, it was a bungalow, it was waayy further out, and it was on the wrong side of Stoney Trail. I remembered thinking one time, heading out to the mountains, "Who the hell would live West of Stoney Trail?" A little too suburbia for my taste. But the house won me over.

Custom built 1500 square foot bungalow with a very open floorplan, 13' common ceiling over the dining, kitchen, entry and living room. 2 bed and 2 bath. 2 car garage and a basement I could properly fit a pool table into. (And SMART, good looking finishing materials thorughout! Not necessarily expensive, just contemporary)

I stressed over moving that far out, so I figured out I was only 2 blocks from an Express bus route. Timed the drive downtown, 23 minutes with no traffic. Showed the house to the most downtown lifestyled girl I knew, and she agreed that the house was worth it for me. Paid my very outer limit at the time ($230K) and haven't looked back. (I've come to REALLY appreciate bungalows ever since. Easy access for day to day movements, not to mention moving in. No uber hot second story. Huge basement!)

Moved in October 2003. Sobey's had opened since I'd inked the deal, so groceries were covered. I've got great access that keeps getting better the 2 directions I escape to (West & North). It's been a challenge getting a decent pub nearby (still debating whether the Blind Monk works, I want it to) though. The cab ride wasn't as prohibitive to my after work activities as I'd thought it would be. I've driven and express bussed over the years, but I'm sick of putting the miles on a vehicle and with Crowfoot open, the train/feeder buses are a much more convenient option. I'm now a c-train commuter.

In a perfect world, my next home ends up in a 191x house somewhere surrounding downtown with a lot that already has or that I can incorporate my necessary garage size into.

[Danma]

This is a fantastic thread that we've got here... one thing I'm finding interesting is not just where people moved but when they did it. I went shopping in spring 2006, and my house cost nearly $300k. The same house, 18 months earlier, sold for $190k. Had I been in a position to buy even 2 years earlier I believe I would either have a larger house or live much closer to downtown. I work in Ramsay and back in 2001 a house in the area for $130k was common; Nowadays there are old shacks literally falling apart selling for three times that price (or more).

Ultimately when I was shopping to find a home it really felt like if I didn't buy right away I was losing an opportunity to buy a home at all (or at least somewhere that isn't too much in the middle of nowhere...) even now, despite the house prices backing down a bit, our own home still would sell for 60k more than I bought it, which would have been out of our price range. As a result, I read some people's experiences above and envy them for getting in "under the wire" before things went totally insane. Reading about Furry's 1200 sf condo for $137k in upper Bankview makes my head spin! :haha:

P.S. What would get me into an apartment condo? Three bedrooms!

[Jay in Cowtown]

I finally convinced my wife last fall to sell our house in Rocky Ridge and move to Cochrane... I grew up in the area and have alot of friends and family here. We bought a rediculously large (3500 sq ft) 2 storey walkout for just the two of us because it helps compensate for my small dick. ;)

Cochrane is a very pretty town but sucks shit for amenities that not only Calgary has but even other towns of similar size like Airdre & Okotoks have. Not to mention the roads & highways in Cochrane were designed for 7000 people, not 17 000!

Even though Cochrane's pretty much a bedroom community... it still has a small town feel to it, people are more friendly here I find and our neighbors are becoming fairly good friends of ours, something that never happened in the 6 years that we lived in Calgary.

I can safely say you couldn't drag me by my nuts back to Calgary!

[freeweed]

As a result, I read some people's experiences above and envy them for getting in "under the wire" before things went totally insane.

Tell me about it. Considering the banks give rougly 3x your gross household income for a 25 year mortgage, and houses here average $400,000+, that's nearly $150,000 in average annual salary necessary to buy an average house here with a 25 year mortgage. Now just imagine working where the vast majority of your co-workers paid about $150,000 for their house - but they're earing that $150,000 in household income. There are a LOT of people in Calgary living mortgage-free very, very young compared to most places. I'm talking people in their early 30s in some cases, but certainly by early 40s most I know don't have a mortgage. Unheard of where I come from.

I finally convinced my wife last fall to sell our house in Rocky Ridge and move to Cochrane...

For those that don't realize, what he's saying is that he moved 400m down the road. :jester:

Seriously, Rocky Ridge/Royal Oak is actually closer to Cochrane than it is to downtown Calgary. Both in sheer distance and in time to get there.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Cochrane is a very pretty town but sucks shit for amenities that not only Calgary has but even other towns of similar size like Airdre & Okotoks have.

Which ones? To my perception Cochrane is a great town that's pretty self-contained- you even have your own theatre- cute downtown- I love Cochrane and would take it any day over Airdrie, never been to Okotoks tho.

[mersar]

I also live in Cochrane, and personally I don't find we're lacking too much in terms of amenities. Sure you may need to make a couple stops to get the same things you can pick up in one stop at Walmart, but everything is here if you need it. Recreation and entertainment wise we have pretty much everything that you can find in Airdrie or Okotoks (well to be fair Okotoks does have a proper baseball stadium), and a lot of the stuff we do have is also being expanded (the theatre is currently expanding from 2 to 5 screens, new ice surfaces at the arena, new pool coming in the next few years). I'd be curious as to what you think is missing as well.


In terms of the topic of this thread, I'm still not sure where my next move will be to, I could see myself staying out in Cochrane, or moving into the city (likely a condo or apartment, I can't picture myself in a full house at this point in my life), not sure which yet. Commuting into the city for me is not a big factor, and if we get the regional bus service anytime in the coming years will be even less of one to me.

[Ferreth]

This is a fantastic thread that we've got here... one thing I'm finding interesting is not just where people moved but when they did it. I went shopping in spring 2006, and my house cost nearly $300k. The same house, 18 months earlier, sold for $190k. Had I been in a position to buy even 2 years earlier I believe I would either have a larger house or live much closer to downtown. I work in Ramsay and back in 2001 a house in the area for $130k was common; Nowadays there are old shacks literally falling apart selling for three times that price (or more).
[...]
P.S. What would get me into an apartment condo? Three bedrooms!

I purchased in '97 for $120K. In ten years, the value tripled, with a slight pull back from that currently. I only wish my wages had tripled!

I cringe at how far most young people are willing to extend themselves to get into a house. But CHEAPER alternatives if you want three bedrooms and are planning on having a family - limited in Calgary. I'd note that as a group we are evenly split between inner and outer city choices, with a majority preferring the inner city if price was no object. I'd also note that most of us strongly prefer a house.

Frankly, if apartments are going to really take off in Calgary, houses need to get even more expensive and/or the commutes needs to get worse. Since we are building ring roads and LRT out to the 'burbs, we are left with more expensive houses. Apartments need to get better too - not in height, fancy amenities, or superior finish. Those things are for DINKs AND SINKs who have extra money to afford on those things. Apartments need focus on basic value, like 3 bedrooms, children's private play area, in - apartment laundry, schools within walking distance, enough square feet for two kids and two parents without feeling like you're in a rat cage, and a bunch of other things I'm probably not thinking of being a SINK myself. :cool: The PRICE is everything. If you can get a 3 bedroom apartment for <$300K, versus a starter home for >$500K, people will have to buy the apartment, no matter how much they want a back yard.

Apartments need to offer such features in the inner city, not out in Royal Oak. I don't know how you get buildings like that built in the inner city - right now it caters mostly to the upscale singles - I'm sure mostly due to land value and lack of child-amenities nearby. I'd say the best Calgary can do is to go forward with Planit, and encourage TOD near LRT, and restrict the R1/R2 zonage, including the towns surrounding Calgary. We can't be too restrictive - we are still competing with other cities, but it certainly would be nice to be taking the lead in building a compact city for a change.

[Jay in Cowtown]

I also live in Cochrane, and personally I don't find we're lacking too much in terms of amenities. Sure you may need to make a couple stops to get the same things you can pick up in one stop at Walmart, but everything is here if you need it. Recreation and entertainment wise we have pretty much everything that you can find in Airdrie or Okotoks (well to be fair Okotoks does have a proper baseball stadium), and a lot of the stuff we do have is also being expanded (the theatre is currently expanding from 2 to 5 screens, new ice surfaces at the arena, new pool coming in the next few years). I'd be curious as to what you think is missing as well.



Amenities was a bad choice in words... how's shopping?

IMHO, and that of alot of other people I talk to here, we could use a Wal Mart Supercenter, Home Depot, Wendy's & Taco Time... but that's just me being petty!

Don't get me wrong, like I said I love it here... but compared to Airdre & Okotoks, Cochrane is lacking in the big box discount shopping & franchise restaurant department. But as for scenery and the entire looks of a town, Cochrane has the other two beat all to hell, especially it's downtown area.

[DizzyEdge]

Good questionaire in the Herald today. Basically asking if it was more affordable, would live Downtown? Was surpised at the response, 33% yes -67% no! I thought a higher percentage would have said yes...

Still though, 33% is a much higher percentage than actually are living downtown!

[Fiveway]

Cochring has a great skatepark, which makes up for everything else it may be lacking.

I bought a little (800s/ft) 1910 bungalow on a 25x135 lot in Inglewood in early 2006. I paid way too much for it. Things were nuts then.

The choice was between teensy inner-city, and smallish 60's burbs. It came down to this place in Inglewood or an early 60's bungalow in Fairview for exactly the same price. The 5 minute rush hour commute to my job in the beltline was the determining factor.

The house is alright, old and still needs love, but it's been adequate. We love our little yard. It's great for the dogs. And I appreciate the access to transportation, downtown and the beltline, and the river.

I like Inglewood, but it's not without it's flaws. It's proximity to industry and major transportation infrastructure being the biggest drawbacks. The community feels like a community though and I like that. The community association is progressive and active. Joe Ceci lives across the alley so I feel like he gets the community's concerns. And Inglewood is vibrant and will only get better.

Unfortunately my house is a little too small. It's just my wife and I and we don't plan on having kids, but even then 800sq/ft isn't quite enough. We plan to sell in the spring.

After a lifetime of living in Calgary I've grown to loathe it. So my Montreal born wife and I are planning our escape soon. Hopefully somewhere much bigger, more walkable, with a subway, a world class art gallery and a music venue that's better than Mac Hall. Where we hope to live in a smallish inner city townhome with a small yard.

[Danma]

Frankly, if apartments are going to really take off in Calgary, houses need to get even more expensive and/or the commutes needs to get worse. Since we are building ring roads and LRT out to the 'burbs, we are left with more expensive houses. Apartments need to get better too - not in height, fancy amenities, or superior finish. Those things are for DINKs AND SINKs who have extra money to afford on those things. Apartments need focus on basic value, like 3 bedrooms, children's private play area, in - apartment laundry, schools within walking distance, enough square feet for two kids and two parents without feeling like you're in a rat cage, and a bunch of other things I'm probably not thinking of being a SINK myself. :cool: The PRICE is everything. If you can get a 3 bedroom apartment for <$300K, versus a starter home for >$500K, people will have to buy the apartment, no matter how much they want a back yard.

Apartments need to offer such features in the inner city, not out in Royal Oak. I don't know how you get buildings like that built in the inner city - right now it caters mostly to the upscale singles - I'm sure mostly due to land value and lack of child-amenities nearby. I'd say the best Calgary can do is to go forward with Planit, and encourage TOD near LRT, and restrict the R1/R2 zonage, including the towns surrounding Calgary. We can't be too restrictive - we are still competing with other cities, but it certainly would be nice to be taking the lead in building a compact city for a change.

I agree that most apartment complexes don't want or don't think that people with kids and families want to live there... certainly a chicken-or-egg scenario. I agree also that they exist but only in the same place I already live! :D That's sort of the worst of both worlds...

[KrisYYC]

I live in an apartment condo in Haysboro just off Elbow Dr. in the SW. in the Hays Farm complex. It's nothing special but pretty nice for me considering I grew up in low income rentals from Calgary Housing. It's concrete construction and is renovated. Also has a private pool and tennis courts.

I love this part of the SW. Easy access to Glenmore, MacLeod, Chinook or Southcentre, two Superstores :D. Glenmore park etc. Established community with large trees and green spaces. Not many children either.

[fusili]

My turn: I will make it quick.

I live in Emerald Stone. Renting a two bedroom with my roommate off my roommates parents. It's a sweet deal, and it gives either of us the option to buy later (he would take precedence, but if he doesn't want it, I would consider it). I grew up in Edgemont, and have spent a little time living overseas- Arequipa, Peru and Barcelona.

Reasons for choosing to live here:

Location. Everything is close. I don't think I have to list off the number of restaurants etc that are within walking distance. I am 3 blocks from Safeway, so I walk for my groceries. This also gives us the option of renting out our parking stall if I don't need my car anymore. I bike or walk to work and really the only use I have for my car is to go to my parents house for Sunday dinners.

Character: Basically, I am a super-urbanist. I love noise, I love having lots of people around. I like the fact that sometimes I see an old granny smoking her lungs out when I go to Safeway. It adds character.

I could not stand to live in the suburbs, but I totally understand why people do. Especially if they have kids. That being said, kids are raised in towers all throughout the world, and the idea that kids can only grow up in single family homes (which I don't believe anyone here thinks) is ridiculous.

EDIT- And the fact that around 10 of my close friends live within 4 blocks of me helps.

[YYCguys]

Amenities was a bad choice in words... how's shopping?

IMHO, and that of alot of other people I talk to here, we could use a Wal Mart Supercenter, Home Depot, Wendy's & Taco Time... but that's just me being petty!

Don't get me wrong, like I said I love it here... but compared to Airdre & Okotoks, Cochrane is lacking in the big box discount shopping & franchise restaurant department. But as for scenery and the entire looks of a town, Cochrane has the other two beat all to hell, especially it's downtown area.

I think Cochrane Town Council and fellow Cochranites fought to keep Walmart out of Cochrane. Walmart wants to be there, trust me, but it's the town impeding this. I think the idea is to keep most big box type of shopping out of Cochrane.

My partner and I had considered selling our respective homes and finding somewhere new to live in Cochrane, as we really love it out there and go out there for a drive and to walk the dog often, but decided to wait out the recession and the ensuing aftereffects before we consider this idea again.

[mersar]

Yep, we don't want Walmart (town council, and a good number of the residents who have lived here for quite a while such as myself). The fear is that it would destroy whats left of the retail sector in the town, just Safeway and Canadian Tire opening years ago marked a significant downturn and while things aren't horrible a lot of businesses are struggling and theres huge amounts of empty space that has been empty for years. It may end up not being the town's decision though if Walmart comes, theres been rumors that they may look at trying to setup in the the county, the most commonly suspected location is on the west side along highway 1A in Rockyview.

[ByeByeBaby]

Well, maybe I should lurk less and post more. Here goes.

I rent a high rise apartment in the Beltline. And for me it's all about accessibility and the financial impact.

I grew up in Temple, and while it was a fine place to grow up, I didn't really experience neighbourhood life as much as many do.

When I was looking to move out of home in 2001, I came up with an accessibility model, measuring weighted walking distances to key amenities; my work, of course (which was downtown), as well as grocery stores, transit, libraries and so on. I think the best possible location for me to live was a block from the building I actually moved into. (I wonder if I still have the spreadsheet?)

Of course, the reason I used walking distances was that a key part of my plan was to go carfree. I never really enjoyed driving, and I only owned my own car for about 18 months (the last year of University, when I was really busy, and also because I knew that many jobs for newly graduated Civil Engineers involved going to remote job sites.)

I love the Beltline; there's loads of interesting things to see, lots of great places to stroll around. Always something interesting, with a real urban feel.

And, of course, almost everything I need is within walking distance. For the things that aren't, I have an entire mobility portfolio:

Biking to inner city areas, at least six months of the year
Transit is centred on downtown, and almost every part of the city has a good connection, especially going there after work
Taxis are generally pretty easy to get, which is mostly for airport trips or the occasional time I'm just in a real bind
I have a CATCO carshare membership, which is mostly "mobility insurance"; 3 or 4 trips a year where transit is unacceptable (working a charity night at the Deerfoot Casino, for instance) or where I need to buy a lot of stuff


My 1 bedroom apartment is adequate. I'm not a real do-it-yourselfer or decorator; I can hang up a few pictures, and plant tomatoes on my balcony, and that's good enough for me. The walls are concrete, so I only hear loud noises from the hallway or (much more frequently) from the CPR. And I grew up under the 10/28 flightpath, so I learned to tune that out.

Okay, so there's the occasional drunk dimwit yell-a-thon at 2 AM, and the occasional hobo hanging around. But if that's what it takes to keep rent down, I can deal with that. My building has changed (especially in the last two or three years) to become ever more multi-ethnic, particularly with a lot of Koreans and a burgeoning African population. There's usually some awesome cooking smell in the hallway at 6 PM.

[Jimby]

This is my condo and why I choose NOT to live there! It started with the ceiling and wall being damaged last July in a hailstorm when the roof was being replaced and has turned into major demolition. The roofing company's insurance is paying for a new ceiling and paint and I'm of course paying for the renos.
I used to live in a condo near Chinook and I liked living there. The only drawback is the lack of supermarkets close by.
The present condo is in Rideau Towers, or Fawlty Towers we like to call it!
A great location, like living in a resort within walking distance of downtown.
On Bowen, I'm renting a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom bungalow with an attached double garage and a bbq on the deck for $1,500 a month, no damage deposit. I have never met my landlady, but we have talked on the phone. Almost like suburbia except there are no sidewalks or street lights. Oh, and I have a beautiful ocean view.


http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj184/lumin8_bucket/DSCN0413.jpg

[YYCguys]

...On Bowen, I'm renting a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom bungalow with an attached double garage and a bbq on the deck for $1,500 a month, no damage deposit. I have never met my landlady, but we have talked on the phone. Almost like suburbia except there are no sidewalks or street lights. Oh, and I have a beautiful ocean view.

Could you post a pic or two of your abode and your view on Bowen? I've never been to the Gulf Islands and have always wondered what the houses/views look like there.

[Jimby]

The Deep Bay neighbourhood on Bowen. My house is under the big round tree in the middle wth the flag pole. This shot is from the ferry.
The house is about a 3 minute walk to the beach and about a 12 minute walk to Snug Cove, the partially quaint village where the ferry docks. The population of the island is about 3,500 and may soar to 10,000 on summer weekends.
There is a water taxi service to Granville Island so lots of people commute to work in Vancouver. Bowen is part of the GVA.
There was a recent (dreadful) TV show called Harper's Island that was filmed here.
Bowen has a long history as a resort for Vancouverites. It is called the Happy Isle!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2467/3742296126_a7cce6d524_b.jpg

A 94 year old man died here last summer and the family is maybe deciding what to do with the house as they have a nicer summer place somewhere else. The interior is dated but I don't care. I have a dishwasher, washer/dryer, high speed internet, an ice maker, basic Shaw cable TV, and NO PHONE.
The garage is on the right side of the house behind the big tree. The lot is apparently worth $1 million so out of my price range for sure if they were to sell it.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3499/3716535649_253a9bcae1_b.jpg


My next door neighbour had a party with a band playing. She works in Vancouver and bought her house 2 years ago in a bidding war for $600,000.
The locals are friendly! It was way outside of my comfort zone knowing only one person at the party, but a good time was had by all.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3418/3733780433_b4b766f244_b.jpg


it has been very hot and dry, I don't water the grass as there are watering restrictions.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2583/3746343667_c3f7edb430_b.jpg

my deck looking across the water at the lights of West Vancouver. The glow in the sky is from the city.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3719806024_b0cffbbf4c_b.jpg

I have never been to the Gulf Islands, but I would like to see them. Bowen is usually lumped in with the Sunshine Coast, not the Gulf Islands. It is a 20 minute ferry from Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver. Horseshoe Bay is 1,000 kms from Calgary, at the end of the continental TCH.

[agent_imperial]

Good thread… I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s living situations and the reasoning behind them.

I grew up in McKenzie Lake. I admit that I loved it as a kid being so close to Fish Creek Park and the lake. But once I hit high school I became less and less happy living out there as the years went on. I hated the long transit rides to meet friends. Even once I had my license and bought a car it was still a long way to everything. I refused to take the #96 bus from McKenzie to Anderson Station as part of my commute to U of C because it had to be the longest route in the city since it wove through Douglasdale and Douglasglen on the way out and back. It often took 45 mins to an hour just for the bus ride. Even without taking the bus the commute to U of C was still pretty grueling; traffic would be brutal driving to Anderson Station especially because the entire time I was at U of C there was construction on one interchange or another on Deerfoot. Once the C-train made its way out to Somerset in my last year of school things were far better… I even took the bus to the station instead of driving due to its new short convenient route.

After finishing my undergrad at U of C I went to Edmonton for my masters and lived near the west end of Jasper Ave and loved it. I swore I would never live in the far suburbs ever again. Having everything you need within steps of your apartment and only driving when you wanted to was liberating. Not to mention the beautiful perk of never having to take a $50 dollar cab ride home from the bar.

After 2 years in Edmonton I moved back to Calgary and have been living in downtown / inner city Calgary for the 3 years since.

I started off renting in Rocky Mountain Court right downtown on 6th Ave. It was a great location and close to most things. The lack of a nearby grocery store was one of the worst aspects. I would often walk to and from the Safeway in the beltline but if you needed anything more than a few things it was too big of a pain in the ass to walk the 14 or so blocks with armfuls of bags and I would have to take my car which kind of defeated the purpose of living downtown. What the downtown core really needs is more amenities for residents. It still sorely lacks some critical things to allow people live a more sustainable lifestyle. That said, even in the few years I was living there I saw a marked improvement in the street life of downtown. I saw more street life develop on the weekends and after hours and more stores keeping longer weekday hours and opening on the weekends which was huge.

Recently I just bought a 2 bedroom concrete midrise condo in the Beltline, I moved from Downtown to the Beltline to be closer to grocery stores, parks, cafes, pubs, etc. The area is much more livable in my opinion. There are far more things close to my new place and they also keep far better hours for residents. I thought about moving further out into a townhouse or single family spot but I really enjoy the simplicity of condo living. I like keeping my belongings as minimalist as possible. One of the things I do have a lot of and cannot downsize is the amount of sports equipment I have. I spend many of my weekends in the mountains doing some sport or another so I needed space to keep my bikes, skis, climbing gear, camping equipment, etc. For really active people this is hard to overcome in a condo. You can minimize furniture and belongings, but if you use your sports equipment every weekend it will end up lying all over your apartment if you don’t have a proper storage spot. I managed to find a condo with a large storage room in the parkade but that was not and easy task and I probably got lucky. I like to be able to walk everywhere which is why I chose the Beltline over other inner city neighbourhoods. Even living as close to downtown as Mardia Loop or Bankview limits your option of walking to work or to grocery stores (it is of course do-able, but would take quite a commitment... especially in the winter) I live within 2 blocks of almost any store I need including the Co-Op grocery store. That is close enough to lug home even the largest of grocery runs. Another thing I love about the Beltline is the limitless restaurant choices. I love food and love to be able to walk to all the restaurants and cafes in the Beltline; although in all fairness I also had this luxury in my old place downtown. I dined my way up and down Stephan Ave and all around Chinatown.

I could see one day moving into a townhouse or single family once my future kids are 5-6. But it would certainly be inner city. After seeing the benefits of inner city living I will pay a premium for a high quality smaller place in the inner city than a massive McMansion out in the burbs any day.

Anyways… there’s my long winded situation. :cheers:

[Calgarian]

I live on 2nd st and 15Ave SW. There are some sketchy people around here (crack whores/heads and dealers), and the noise from 17th can make it difficult to watch the TV if the door is open, but it is really close to lots of amenities and is a 10 minute walk to work.

I still rent, but am looking to buy soon. I imagine I will try to find something in the same area as I like downtown, I can't imagine living in a stale community like Douglasdale again, you are too disconnected from everything there.

[freeweed]

One common thing I've noticed is that here in Calgary, kids growing up seem to go to much more of the city than I experienced back in Winnipeg. Not sure if this is self-selection by forumers or an overall trend in Calgary, but it's interesting.

Through high school and well into university, living in the 'burbs never was an issue for me because 90% of the people I knew lived within 5km of my house anyway - we went to the same school and odds are lived close to it. Maybe in Calgary kids tend to go a lot further away for schooling? Also, Winnipeg is full of suburban bars. Not the local strip mall pubs like we have in Calgary, I'm talking full on multi-level dance clubs right in residential areas. I used to walk home from the bar all the time (in summer anyway!) - or worst case, it was a $10 cab, tops. We also used to have DDs because again, living close to each other, it's practical.

As everyone got older and started to meet with people from different parts of the city (and go to more downtown bars) sure, it got more difficult. But most people I know virtually never left their neighbourhood for socializing until they were well into their mid 20s. We certainly weren't traipsing all over the city in high school - well I was, but I've always been a wanderer. :D

Just kinda neat, because almost all of you say the same thing - by high school, the 'burbs became a huge annoyance. It's not something I ever would have thought about. By the time I really was hanging out with folks from all over the place, I had pretty much outgrown the constant boozing and so driving wasn't a big issue. I think I've averaged maybe 6 cab rides a year over my adult life, not exactly a major expense.

[hulkrogan]

I bought my first place in 2004 in Rocky Ridge. It was a 740 sq ft one bedroom condo with a great view of the mountains. I had looked closer to downtown, but decided I really couldn't afford it. (I looked at one of the Lewis lofts for $180,000 and decided that would be pushing my budget too much... hah!). Got my place for $140,000. Enjoyed my time there, but got frustrated with the idea of driving to take transit every day. I also hated how playing hockey would often send me on 30-40 minute drives to arenas around the city. I said no to a volleyball team I would have had a lot of fun on because it was at RallyPoint. I often wouldn't drink when I'd go out downtown because cab rides were expensive and getting my car the next day was a hassle. Or sometimes I wouldn't go out at all if it was pretty late anyway and it didn't feel worth the drive. Dating girls that lived in the deep south sucked. My condo got toxic mold and I was sick for a year until it was discovered, and the repair process disenchanted me with the condo lifestyle for good. It was a great starter place though, and it appreciated $70,000, so 150% of what I bought it for 4 years prior, which helped me get into a place I hopefully love.

I just bought a 1100 sq ft house in Bridgeland in April. It was built in 1911 and has been fully gutted and redone in the last 3 years. It's on an RC-2 lot which opens options for the future. The house could easily be added on to with the width of the lot. It was scary being a contractor and buying in the middle of the recession, but it already got appraised by the bank $20,000 more than I paid. Hopefully I look back and think how lucky I got with timing. I get possession this Friday. Very excited! It's still ghetto enough there that I could afford something (I would love Crescent Heights or Sunnyside). Very close to downtown for what you pay. Lots of shops (except for groceries sadly). I don't have to drive to work anymore. I have Flames season tickets and play volleyball at Talisman, so those trips just got a lot shorter. I realize I'll have to fight off the odd hobo and the air pollution is definitely worse, but I think I'm going to love it.

[CanadianTurbo]

I will add a bit of my tale here:

Was born and raised in Calgary, spent my entire up bringing in the deep south of the city in areas such as Parkland, Deer Run, Millrise and Douglasdale. Purchased my first place (townhouse condo) in 2000 in McKenzie Towne, with my significant other at the time, was happy with the area as was close to work and family. That relationship went downhill and I kept the place but started spending more and more time in the center of the city so I began to get interested in moving closer to the core, and in 2004 I put a deposit on a unit in Chocolate. My wife grew up in Erlton, so she was very unhappy in McKenzie Towne when we first moved in together so we went ahead with moving to Chocolate in 2006. We have been here 3 years now and really have no major complaints, the location is good, and now that 1st Street is coming along, lots of things in walking distance.

Personally I do not have a big desire for a house, I am not into yard work or gardening and I spent enough time shoveling and mowing lawns growing up that I really have no care to do it, so a condo works great. We do have a deposit in Arriva 42 to have a larger unit, one that would be more comfortable for raising a family but obviously that is all up in the air now.

[Bigtime]

Personally I do not have a big desire for a house, I am not into yard work or gardening and I spent enough time shoveling and mowing lawns growing up that I really have no care to do it, so a condo works great. We do have a deposit in Arriva 42 to have a larger unit, one that would be more comfortable for raising a family but obviously that is all up in the air now.

Have you looked at any of the larger units for sale in arriVa 34?

[Riise]

Rundle [1985-2003]
Single Family House
Family Owned
0-23 y/o


Description
I think the best description of this house/area is: surprisingly close to being livable, culturally rich, and the only suburb in which I could survive suburbia. It is surprisingly close to being livable because while it is your typical Canadian suburb, the proximity and way in which the typical suburban amenities are provide is serendipitously convenient. The source of this convenience is Rundle Station and Sunridge Mall. Although my father bought a house within direct walking distance to a CTrain station on purpose (he was a typical Englishman), Sunridge Mall was a bonus as it ended up being a quasi-Town Centre for me during my adolescence.

For a good portion of my life Sunridge Mall had all the things a good Town Centre would have (food, entertainment, shops, and social spaces) and it was located within walking distance of my house and my friend's homes. When this quasi-Town Centre didn't have what we needed we could hop on the train and try to head somewhere that did, though unfortunately, this did not always work. Rundle Station took on more importance as I grew up and allowed me to turn Rundle into a true bedroom community.

The Beltline, Downtown Calgary, and the U have provided me with most of what I need to live for the past 6 years. Most of my daily life occurred in these areas and at the end of the day I could conveniently take the train back to my shower and bed. Everything else was either within a normal walking distance, extended walking distance, or short motorized trip. Reading my thoughts here, you might think that Rundle has provided me with a decent place to live and it has. However, it has only given me a quasi-urban neighbourhood.

After visiting and staying in truly amazing urban urban neighbourhoods across Europe I have a thirst for them that simply cannot be quenched by Rundle. The multicultural nature of the area is a great help at watering my mouth but does not help with the maddening thirst. Multicultural areas like the N.E. are freakin' amazing, it is such a pleasureable expereince to walk to the train station and smell all these sumptuous dishes being cooked and languages being spoken.The diversity couldn't help with my work though.

After I got a job that was outside of the core and my neighbourhood, a wrench was thrown into my quasi urban lifestyle. It became a hassle to get from my work, home, and back out again. It pushed my dependency on the automobile and disappointment with the entire transit network beyond tolerable levels.


Pros

Diverse Population
Elementary and Junior High Within Walking Distance
Great Access To City Centre
Number Of Services Within Walking and Extended Walking Distance
Quasi-Town Centre
Quasi-Town Centre Within Direct Walking Distance
Train Station Within Direct Walking Distance


Cons

Auto-Oriented
Does Not Provide Many Alternatives To SFH
Lacks Functional Green Space
Lacks Quality Public Spaces
Only Quasi-Urban
Requires A Strong Attempt To Live An Urban Lifestyle
Stigmatized By Silly Stereotypes
Walkability Decreases By Hostile Walking Environments and Seasonal Weather




Stockwell, London [2009 Onwards]
Terraced Row House
Family Owned
23 y/o Onward


Description
I won't starting residing here until September but I have visited the placed many times. It's within walking distance of two tube stations and there is a pub 150m from the front door, which is absolutely brilliant!


Pros

A Pub 150m Away
Two Tube Stations Within Walking Distance
Others TBD


Cons

TBD

[Ferreth]

I just bought a 1100 sq ft house in Bridgeland in April. [...] Very close to downtown for what you pay. Lots of shops (<b>except for groceries sadly</b>). I don't have to drive to work anymore. I have Flames season tickets and play volleyball at Talisman, so those trips just got a lot shorter. I realize I'll have to fight off the odd hobo and the air pollution is definitely worse, but I think I'm going to love it.

Top tip for 'ya: Check out "Family Foods" by driving/walking over the 8th Ave bridge over Deerfoot up to 19th St. Depending on where you are in Bridgeland, it may be your closest grocery. Family Foods is like a Safeway, but with extra goodies they bring in themselves (like way better meat than a typical Safeway). I only wish I had clued into that one while I was living in Bridgeland, 'cuz I was really close to it - I even knew it was there, I just never groked that it was a 20min walk / 5 minute drive away.

[Ferreth]

Pros

A Pub 150m Away
Two Tube Stations Within Walking Distance
Others TBD


Cons

TBD


Oye - If that was me I'd have to list the pub as both a pro and a con. My beer budget would have to double :cheers:

[hulkrogan]

Top tip for 'ya: Check out "Family Foods" by driving/walking over the 8th Ave bridge over Deerfoot up to 19th St. Depending on where you are in Bridgeland, it may be your closest grocery. Family Foods is like a Safeway, but with extra goodies they bring in themselves (like way better meat than a typical Safeway). I only wish I had clued into that one while I was living in Bridgeland, 'cuz I was really close to it - I even knew it was there, I just never groked that it was a 20min walk / 5 minute drive away.

Thanks for the tip!! Never would have known to look there.

What about for walking routes into downtown? I know I can walk past the drop in centre, or stay North along the river and pop over Centre Street or Prince's Island. Is there a way in further to the East?

Any tricks for walking to the Saddledome?

[Surrealplaces]

I live in Cambrian Heights, a neighborhood not known for its density, but a nice area for sure. I bought here in 1998 when the prices were still reasonable. Some of the reasons I chose the area were:

1 - Good central location, with decent amenities. Close to downtown, SAIT, UofC, North Hill Mall, Kensington. There's decent retail within walking distance...four strip malls within walking distance.

2 - Schools (Elementary, JH, and HS) all within walking distance.

3 - Confederation Park. Two golf courses within 5 minutes.

We'll probably live in this house for another dozen or so years and then get an inner city condo.

As far as winters go, well I'm intending to go down south for 3 or 4 months of each winter. We've got a place down by Myrtle Beach that should suffice :) We'll spend the rest of the year up here, hopefully looking out the windows of a high rise condo with floor to ceiling glass.

[kap384]

Any tricks for walking to the Saddledome?


When I lived in Crescent Heights I used to stumble home drunk from the 'Dome through the train yards. There's a hole in the fence somewhere by Cowboys(Coyotes/Dusty's at the time) I could find drunk, but sure don't know where it is sober. Wouldn't recommend it though. Not the smartest idea.

[Ferreth]

Thanks for the tip!! Never would have known to look there.

What about for walking routes into downtown? I know I can walk past the drop in centre, or stay North along the river and pop over Centre Street or Prince's Island. Is there a way in further to the East?

Any tricks for walking to the Saddledome?

If you are on the far east side of Bridgeland, the Zoo bridge through Inglewood, crossing the Elbow river on 9th and south to the 'dome might be a bit quicker, otherwise it's Edmonton trail to 2nd St.

For the zoo crossing: Depending on where you are you either come at it from 12St NE and walk west or from the LRT bridge, walk east. Then tippy-toe WEST through the island (where a lot of bums sleep at night) and cross the suspension bridge landing you just east of 6th St. If you want to go to Inglewood, follow the path EAST along the zoo and cross what is my favorite steel girder car bridge in Calgary. You will be in Inglewood at this time. Stop by at Swan's on 9th & 13th St. for a beer.

Here's a map

Bridgeland to 'Dome (http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=12+St+NE&daddr=555+Saddledome+Rise+Se,+Calgary,+AB+T2G+2W1+(Pengrowth+Saddledome)&hl=en&geocode=FdvxCgMdMQQ0-Q%3BFSTICgMd7rEz-SEgSvGxisPvmA&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=15&dirflg=w&sll=51.045792,-114.027958&sspn=0.01886,0.030813&ie=UTF8&ll=51.039896,-114.030898&spn=0.009431,0.015407&t=h&z=16)

Swan (http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=swan%27s+calgary&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=39.794637,63.105469&ie=UTF8&ll=51.042932,-114.034138&spn=0.00943,0.015407&t=h&z=16&iwloc=A)'s

[hulkrogan]

^Perfect! Thanks! Good to know. I'll check out Swan's for sure. I'm on the West side (7a Street) but that's only a couple blocks west of the LRT memorial crossing, so those work good!

[Danma]

Be careful if you go to lunch at Swan's... I've ended up waiting 40 minutes + for my food orders there! Beer is good though.

[Ramsayfarian]

Be careful if you go to lunch at Swan's... I've ended up waiting 40 minutes + for my food orders there! Beer is good though.

I've eaten at Swan's more than a few times and have never had service that slow. The do a pretty tasty hamburger.

[Ferreth]

I've eaten at Swan's more than a few times and have never had service that slow. The do a pretty tasty hamburger.

As a semi-regular patron, I'll pass along that they've had some cook problems during the boom times - I've had slow service as well. It seems to be fixed now, but I haven't been there much lately (never for lunch), so I'm not sure about that. I strongly recommend the Pizza with spicy italian sausage :slob: It's from Spolumbo's, just down the street (another place to visit).

Oh, and speaking of beer, Swan's is one of the few places in town that will do a proper pour on a Guinness or Kilkenny. You haven't had draft until you've had a proper pour - worth the longer wait.

[Fiveway]

Total thread derail, but is it Swan's or Swann's? Either way, I went there once when I first moved to Iwood and food was so lame I never went back. I do my beer drinking at The Hose, but perhaps I should give Swan's another chance.

[Ramsayfarian]

Total thread derail, but is it Swan's or Swann's? Either way, I went there once when I first moved to Iwood and food was so lame I never went back. I do my beer drinking at The Hose, but perhaps I should give Swan's another chance.

I think it's Swans. No extra n and no apostrophe. I've been known to frequent both establishments from time to time and I prefer the menu at Swans over the The Hose. The Calgary Dining forum might be a better place for this topic.

[RicoLance21]

Now that I live in Windsor Park for over a month, I find the place very convenient because of Bus Route 3. However, there were a few occasions when the bus don't show up for more than 30 minutes, and that was during afternoon rush hour in snowy December. I am just wondering what you guys think of Windsor Park in terms of walkability. Also note that my neighbourhood is walking distance to Sunterra and Chinook Centre.

[kw5150]

The new SAIT tower is directly in line with my from porch basically. I love my location because the SAIT C-train station is 4 blocks away.

If I want to go for a walk with the boyfriend, we just walk or bike down the 10th st hill into Kensington. From Kensington we ca nget anywhere. We have become urban explorers on the weekends.

There are 3 food stores, tonnes of pubs, gyms and other amenities only a close train ride away.

This is the best living I have ever experienced in Calgary. I would like to move further and further in. Maybe Bridgland?

The man who loves inner city life....even in Calgary!!

[Bassic Lab]

Now that I live in Windsor Park for over a month, I find the place very convenient because of Bus Route 3. However, there were a few occasions when the bus don't show up for more than 30 minutes, and that was during afternoon rush hour in snowy December. I am just wondering what you guys think of Windsor Park in terms of walkability. Also note that my neighbourhood is walking distance to Sunterra and Chinook Centre.

It would be better if the Britainia retail strip was a fair bit larger and more varied. If retail carried east along 50th Ave it would help a great deal. If Avi's project on the north side of the road ever goes forward in some form then street front retail should be mandated. Windsor Park does show how easy it is to redevelop formerly suburban areas and achieve a very high density, as long as it is on a grid system.

[hulkrogan]

House sitting for some family in Rocky Ridge right now and I want to kill myself.

I never used to find the 20-30 minute drive to get downtown that bad, but I'm now spoiled. I hate paying for parking, filling up with gas twice a week, and getting into a cold car after work. I will be very happy to be back to my daily choice of walking, biking, taking the bus or the train.

[freeweed]

:previous: You can take the train to Rocky Ridge quite easily - even easier in a few years.

[sim]

Well I grew up on a farm in central Alberta. I've since lived in a trailer in Golden, Staff accom complex in Whistler, 3 different SFH in Calgary as well as a walkup, townhome, and a 3 story apt, and a walkup in Edmonton. I also had the opportunity to live in a campus apartment in Germany, a two bed dorm in a 21 story building in HK and a strange 4 bed dorm in a complex in Turkey.

I currently live in a 6 story apt building in the beltline. I like it there the most compared to the other communities I've lived in here, though I've only been there 1 month. I can't say that I've spent extensive amounts of time in any of the above places so my assessments might not be too fair. I was initially leery of living in HK as it's, well, really, really urban and I'm from a farm... or something. Either way, I really ended up enjoying it. Also due to all that moving around I can't say that I have overly many friends in Calgary. However, I still couldn't picture myself anywhere else in Calgary other than the very inner city.

The pros of course being that I'm close to everything. I don't actually use my car other than to get to work as I unfortunately don't work downtown. However, this is still a pro as I generally go against main traffic flow, thus my drive isn't too bad.

Cons: I do like screwing around and building things so that can be trickier with less space. I also don't have a tree for my hammock...

I find though, that with a bit more resourcefulness the cons can be diminished.

[lubicon]

:previous: You can take the train to Rocky Ridge quite easily - even easier in a few years.

You beat me to it Freeweed! And the time is about equal to driving to boot.

And hulkster, what the hell do you drive that requires filling up 2x week? I drive the same trip (almost) every day with my big bad truck and it's a fill up about every 1 1/2 to 2 weeks for me.

[sync]

after stints in edmonton and vancouver, my wife and i are trying to decide what to do after she finishes grad school in july.

we would love to stay in calgary but aftering browsing the portland real estate listings this morning i am officially depressed about the price of housing in calgary and what is available.

we will certainly be looking at portland if we decided to leave canada.

we both work in the health care industry.

[Wentworth]

^ If I were in your shoes, I'd probably be considering Portland too.... if you can readily find employment, which is the challenge for Portland. Unfortunately, I think Oregon's unemployment rate sits at 11% now. The housing market is probably a reflection of this.

http://seattlebubble.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Case-ShillerHPI_WestCoast2009.08.png

[freeweed]

Yeah, I also get very depressed when I browse US real estate these days. You can get bloody mansions for what a small 3 bedroom house costs in Calgary.

Then I spend 20 minutes talking to people about the unemployment rate and average wage (plus vacation time), and remain very happy that I'm here.

[sync]

^ If I were in your shoes, I'd probably be considering Portland too.... if you can readily find employment, which is the challenge for Portland. Unfortunately, I think Oregon's unemployment rate sits at 11% now. The housing market is probably a reflection of this.

http://seattlebubble.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Case-ShillerHPI_WestCoast2009.08.png

unfortunately the health care industry in alberta doesn't have much to offer right now either.

i'm glad she has 7 months to go!

[RicoLance21]

It would be better if the Britainia retail strip was a fair bit larger and more varied. If retail carried east along 50th Ave it would help a great deal. If Avi's project on the north side of the road ever goes forward in some form then street front retail should be mandated. Windsor Park does show how easy it is to redevelop formerly suburban areas and achieve a very high density, as long as it is on a grid system.

There are a couple of empty lots along Elbow Drive. One on the SE corner of 52 Ave and another on the SW corner of 50 Ave. The latter used to be a gas station there, but I heard that lot is contaminated. Imagine streetfront retail on these lots with 6 floors of condos above it. That would be sweet, and IMO, they would not overpower the surrounding areas. Eventually, I would like to see rows of these along Elbow Drive from 50 Ave all the way south to Glenmore.

[Bassic Lab]

There are a couple of empty lots along Elbow Drive. One on the SE corner of 52 Ave and another on the SW corner of 50 Ave. The latter used to be a gas station there, but I heard that lot is contaminated. Imagine streetfront retail on these lots with 6 floors of condos above it. That would be sweet, and IMO, they would not overpower the surrounding areas. Eventually, I would like to see rows of these along Elbow Drive from 50 Ave all the way south to Glenmore.

I actually think the section of Elbow Drive south of Glenmore would work better in that role. The mansions that back onto the Calgary Golf and Country Club really hinder any chance of changing the west side of Elbow Drive between 50th and Bel-Aire Drive. Really most of Elbow north of Glenmore just feels more like Memorial Drive; it is pleasant, in large part due to the parks and mansions, but it just doesn't feel like a community main street.

On the other hand, south of Glenmore Elbow Drive has fewer interruptions, the building stock seems less permanent, and the road simply feels more central to the communities along its length as opposed to peripheral. I think the site that Vespucci developed at Heritage could have been something really special if the building had met the street, with parking below ground and around the back, and included two or three stories of apartments or offices built on top. Replicate that kind of development up and down Elbow and it would be a very nice main street.

[poopysheep]

interesting thread...

I live right smack dab in the Beltline on 13Ave and 10st. in a lovely old 1906 house that was completely reno'd in 2000 and now we're redoing our kitchen... I have 2 kids in elementary school and I love it down here... we have no plans of ever moving outside of the core ( or this house really )... I've been in Calgary since 1997 and have only ever lived in the Beltine (rented in Hull Estates and in that small apartment complex on the corner of 8th street and 19avenue)... and honestly can't imagine living outside of this area... I know all my neighbors and there is tons of kids and parks... it's a great place/area to raise a family and I completely agree that whomever is designing and building condo aparments needs to forget about the high end finishings and come up with floor plans that work for families...

I grew up on a farm in Northern Alberta and for me if I'm going to live in the city - it's gotta be IN the city... if I'm going to live in the country then I'll live IN the country... the in between suburbs just wouldn't work for me... to quiet...

that being said we were very lucky when we bought this house that it was way before the housing market went crazy and it's since tripled in value ( which is fine but since I don't plan on selling I hate that my taxes are so high)...

[sync]

interesting thread...

I completely agree that whomever is designing and building condo aparments needs to forget about the high end finishings and come up with floor plans that work for families...



i really hope this happens as well.

although i do love this place:

click (http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=calgary&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=43.698891,92.900391&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Calgary,+Division+No.+6,+Alberta&ll=51.041143,-114.086203&spn=0.0013,0.002835&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=51.04115,-114.086498&panoid=R9jcSyc63WDLrt355M_amA&cbp=12,49.07,,0,5)

[Wooster]

interesting thread...

I live right smack dab in the Beltline on 13Ave and 10st. in a lovely old 1906 house that was completely reno'd in 2000 and now we're redoing our kitchen... I have 2 kids in elementary school and I love it down here... we have no plans of ever moving outside of the core ( or this house really )... I've been in Calgary since 1997 and have only ever lived in the Beltine (rented in Hull Estates and in that small apartment complex on the corner of 8th street and 19avenue)... and honestly can't imagine living outside of this area... I know all my neighbors and there is tons of kids and parks... it's a great place/area to raise a family and I completely agree that whomever is designing and building condo aparments needs to forget about the high end finishings and come up with floor plans that work for families...

I grew up on a farm in Northern Alberta and for me if I'm going to live in the city - it's gotta be IN the city... if I'm going to live in the country then I'll live IN the country... the in between suburbs just wouldn't work for me... to quiet...

that being said we were very lucky when we bought this house that it was way before the housing market went crazy and it's since tripled in value ( which is fine but since I don't plan on selling I hate that my taxes are so high)...

Sounds awesome. :tup:

[hulkrogan]

You beat me to it Freeweed! And the time is about equal to driving to boot.

And hulkster, what the hell do you drive that requires filling up 2x week? I drive the same trip (almost) every day with my big bad truck and it's a fill up about every 1 1/2 to 2 weeks for me.

When I used to live up there I took the train all the time. While taking care of their place I'd often have to stop home in Bridgeland and the way up to take care of stuff/grab stuff at my own house, so it was just a convenience thing.

I drive an Audi S4... a very thirsty 4.2L V8. In the winter given the traffic and gas additives, I'm usually around 330km/tank.

I know it's horrible and I'm killing the planet, but it really doesn't leave my garage much as I walk/bike/take transit as my main methods of transportation, so I make up for my reduced commute C02 by having something that is fun to whip around in when I do drive ;)

[Ramsayfarian]

When I used to live up there I took the train all the time. While taking care of their place I'd often have to stop home in Bridgeland and the way up to take care of stuff/grab stuff at my own house, so it was just a convenience thing.

I drive an Audi S4... a very thirsty 4.2L V8. In the winter given the traffic and gas additives, I'm usually around 330km/tank.

I know it's horrible and I'm killing the planet, but it really doesn't leave my garage much as I walk/bike/take transit as my main methods of transportation, so I make up for my reduced commute C02 by having something that is fun to whip around in when I do drive ;)

You're not killing the planet, you might be making it uninhabitable for humans, but the planet will be here long after we're gone. Besides if you don't have kids and you're not planning on having kids, you've already done your part in saving the environment.

[MichaelS]

I drive an Audi S4... a very thirsty 4.2L V8. In the winter given the traffic and gas additives, I'm usually around 330km/tank.

I know it's horrible and I'm killing the planet, but it really doesn't leave my garage much as I walk/bike/take transit as my main methods of transportation, so I make up for my reduced commute C02 by having something that is fun to whip around in when I do drive ;)

Don't ever apologize for driving such an awesome car!

[poopysheep]

for anyone who says the core isn't for families... i forgot to mention my neighbor across the street has 7 kids and has lived here for almost 25 years... so for all the naysayers about raising kids downtown... <raspberry> LOL

[lubicon]

for anyone who says the core isn't for families... i forgot to mention my neighbor across the street has 7 kids and has lived here for almost 25 years... so for all the naysayers about raising kids downtown... <raspberry> LOL

Right now the biggest drawback to raising a family DT is lack of housing choices, and high prices.

[mr.steevo]

Hi,

What are the generally accepted boundaries of the "core"?

s.

[fusili]

Hi,

What are the generally accepted boundaries of the "core"?

s.

Centre City is usually what people refer to as the core. The boundaries would be 17th Avenue on the South (as well as Stampede Grounds), 14th Street on the West, the Bow River to the North and the Elbow River on the East. Sorry, don't have time to find or make a map.

[poopysheep]

i've gotten alot of lectures over the years about raising my kids downtown... i guess people assumed we would move or something - to where "the kids can ride their bikes and there aren't a bunch of drunks everywhere"... that's my grandparents and extended family talking....

i'd just like to say there aren't "drunks everywhere" down here... i know most of my homeless people by name ( at least the 8 or so that are regulars in my alley)...

[Vascilli]

Kids don't bike these days anyways.

[sync]

http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf

[fusili]

In response:

http://www.cnt.org/repository/AffordabilityIndexBrief.pdf

and

http://www.nhc.org/pdf/pub_heavy_load_10_06.pdf

Those transportation costs are a bitch.

[sim]

http://www.demographia.com/dhi.pdf


Well, Civil Engineering just lost a little bit of credibility after this one. Oh yeah, isn't the U.S number one in per capita energy and resource use, and one of the top per capita emitters...?

[fusili]

Well, Civil Engineering just lost a little bit of credibility after this one. Oh yeah, isn't the U.S number one in per capita energy and resource use, and one of the top per capita emitters...?

And Manhattan is the lowest in per capita energy and resource use in the US. Correlation? I think so.

[Policy Wonk]

And the least affordable place on earth to exist, living costs extra still.

How is that sustainable?

[fusili]

And the least affordable place on earth to exist, living costs extra still.

How is that sustainable?

In what way? The cost of housing by itself? Or average wages compared to the combined costs of housing and transportation? Or percentage of household income spent on necessities such as housing, transportation, health care and education? Or should we look at the human development index compared to GDP? You need to be clear about what you mean the cost of living. It is much more than how much your house costs.

And if it is the least affordable place on earth to exist, why do millions of people live there? If it is not sustainable, how has it managed to be one of the top, if not the top, places for business in the world for the last 100 years or so? They must be doing something wrong, generating so much economic activity, while keeping energy consumption so low. Tokyo and Hong Kong too, what terribly unsuccessful cities. I'm not sure if you know this, but a high cost of living is a market indication that people want to live there.

Should I also mention that Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx are also low on energy consumption? Those places are much more affordable.

[Ramsayfarian]

Avenue Magazine has a best neighbourhood survey going on. I'm picking Dover.
http://www.avenuecalgary.com/survey

[suburb]

Looks like many of the termite mounds didn't fare very well during the cold snap.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2012/01/21/calgary-cold-flood-heat-apartments.html