Quote:
Originally Posted by flameswin
All I know is we have a whole thread dedicated to Airdire and what it has to offer and the only positives we've seen from the locals so far is they have enough stores there to get things they need without having to drive to an entire other city.  |
Actually, I think this is really the heart of the difference between Okotoks, Cochrane and Airdrie. They're all technically "Parasite" towns/cities, but I think Airdrie's is the only one that is shamelessly just simply a place to go where Calgary is still your city, but you live there cause it's cheaper.
With Okotoks and Cochrane you have towns that have established themselves as neat little foothills/near the mountains towns with at least some character and charm.
Of course part of the reason people live there is likely that you can get a cheaper house, but after working in Okotoks for a while and visiting Cochrane many times, both have a feeling of "ahhh, I'm out of the big city. The mountains are close by, there's really nice river and park areas for all sorts of outdoor activities. Hey, maybe I'll check out the Dawgs baseball game that the town really gets behind". They're both just minutes from really nice foothill region parks, as well.
They both have qualities about them and really nice scenery. Like there's actually a reason to live in those places over Calgary besides just money saved on a house. But you go to Airdrie and it's kind of cramped little city, with a big highway running through it, no "we're not the big city" charm and it's on the NE corner of Calgary surrounded by flat farmer's fields.
It really just feels like any other bedroom community in Calgary. It truly is just an extension of Calgary where people can get a cheaper house.