I live pretty far into the burbs and I definitely hate the commute into downtown. That's pretty much the only thing I hate about my place now.
Not sure what your budget is, but if I were in your shoes:
1) Continue renting in Edmonton.
2) Find a location in Calgary that I like and shop there now; yes it will be expensive
3) Buy a house in Calgary that will be a fixer upper; if you do this right I believe there are places that are net cash-flow or even slightly positive.
4) Rent out said house until ready to move back to Calgary
5) Renovate Calgary house BEFORE moving into it.
Reasons behind this:
1) You won't be pressed to choose a Calgary house within x months when you finally choose to move back; you've got a few years to find a location you like. Two things you cannot change on a house are location and lot size. Everything else
2) Positive equity in Calgary house from rental income may help offset future renovations.
3) Renovating this house will make it "new" to you, and get the stench of any tenants out of there
4) I personally believe Calgary RE has bottomed out and nearing an upswing again
Obviously there are variables:
1) What if you never move back to Calgary or it's further down the timeline than you anticipate?
2) What if your work work will be super far from the location you choose?
3) Trash tenants trash the place entirely
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