Say you find yourself in a position where you have some extra money. Are you, Fuzz, suggesting there be limits or restrictions on where you can spend that money? Should it be illegal for me to have a second home in Canmore? If all the second property people put their homes up for sale, do you not think there would be an absolute collapse of the Canmore economy? You can't possibly think the town is self sustaining, right? You think all those 24-year-olds working retail and serving jobs are going to scoop up the thousands of condos and homes and be able to afford the taxes, fees and maintenance costs?
So then where's the line? Shouldn't the market decide that? Are there examples anywhere on planet earth you can point to that would provide a roadmap for the Canmore you think is viable/workable?
I just can't wrap my head around the fact that I'm a "problem" because I've chosen to spend my money on something I want that really doesn't hurt anybody. And my purchase has dumped a ton of money into a small town. Nobody is doing what I did in fkn Olds, as an example.
Would you support making a neighourhood of tiny homes, or modular/stackable apartments or something for people in Canmore? I would. I think people should be able to live there, but I don't see a need to kick other people out to make that happen. And it's certainly not the fault of people like me - a Canadian - who wants to buy a house to enjoy in Canada. It's an hour and 10 minutes from my house. I go there all the time. What's the point in working hard and making money if I can't spend it on reasonable things I want? And why do whiny Canmore people get to judge or decide how I spend my money? Fk them.
I've always loved the mountains. Moved to Lake Louise and lived there for a season the day after I turned 18. Lived in an RV on tunnel mountain for a summer in university. Wanted to live in the mountains permanently, but it didn't seem affordable or feasible for the life I wanted, so I've been grinding it out in Calgary where the wages and opportunities are better. Now I'm laying the groundwork to spend more time in the mountains 25 years after I had to leave my homes there. Boohoo people have to move out of Canmore to more affordable places with higher salaries. I did the same fkn thing so why should I care they have to as well?
Ever been to lake country (Emma Lake, Christopher Lake, etc.) in Saskatchewan? Thousands of second homes and nobody ####s on those people. Second homes are okay. Doesn't make you a dick. You pay for them, you pay your taxes, you should be allowed to enjoy them without #######s trying to knock you down.
I remember being in Austria. They built houses up the sides of half those mountains. There is a ton of room in Canmore. The only reason there isn't more affordable housing is because Canmore residents - not second-home owners - are preventing it. You guys are that meme of shoving a stick in your bicycle tire and blaming second-home owners. Or that one with the curly-haired dude shooting affordable housing and then asking why second-home owners would do this.
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