Quote:
Originally Posted by looooob
and financial reasons are the major reason for many people. sure I'd love to raise a family in an 'interesting' area like Elbow Park, but its not happening for me anyways
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Honest question:
What is the difference in annual mortgage payments between the average home in urban Calgary and the suburbs? Now subtract from that difference the annual total cost of ownership of having two vehicles (which are pretty much a necessity for a family living in the suburbs).
My wife and I own a downtown condo for which we pay about $25,000/year in mortgage payments and condo fees. If we had wanted to move to the suburbs, maybe we could have bought a house for about $18,000/year.
But then we'd have to buy two vehicles, and when you add up car payments, insurance, gas, parking, and repairs/maintenance, those cars would probably cost us $15-20K per year. So by my math, we're coming out ahead financially by choosing to live downtown within walking distance of our places of work and everything else we need.