[jammies]

My parents live in High River and love it - they keep trying to get me to move out there, but I agree that it's too far unless you have a job in the deep south part of town. I don't think Okotoks is all that much better, really, especially in the winter. Both are nice enough if you like living in a small town, as is Bragg Creek.

Strathmore is rather a hole and is almost as long a drive as Canmore, so I really don't understand why anyone lives there and commutes. My old boss did, though, so some people disagree. Canmore is nice but getting really expensive, and the drive in the winter is a definite minus (I used to drive a lot the other way, from Calgary to Canmore every day and believe me it can get very dicey).

Airdrie is so much like living in the city that I really don't see the advantage. Cochrane is ok, but again it's just like any other subdivision inside the city, except inconveniently located. Chestermere is the same way. I really don't see any difference between any of these three and just living in some far-flung suburb like Rocky Ridge or Creekside.

Personally if I moved out of town I'd want an acreage or the like - what's the point of moving out of town and then living in the same kind of house on the same kind of lot in the same kind of neighborhood with the same kind of people you would in Calgary? At least on an acreage there's a qualitative difference you can point at, not just half-mythical feelings of "quiet" and "safety".