Avenue Magazine Best Calgary Hoods 2012

[SeoulFire]

The sound of tears dripping into the lattes is music to my suburban ears.

[nik-]

I cried so hard into my latte that when I finally took a sip of it, it was just saltwater

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

New Brighton was listed in the top 5 "Best New Neighborhoods"

Yeah, suck it to anyone who lives in the 6th and lower ranked new communities.......

What a joke, I believe the first phase of new Brighton is almost 10 yrs old

[SebC]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

It looks to me like cost was a factor, a number of the less expensive neighbourhoods had "low taxes" as one of the pros.

All things being equal, most people pick Hillhurst, but they're not all equal, they're about 3x as much money...

Exactly. Putting low taxes in (i.e. low demand) as a criteria is what always ruins these kind of lists (like the Moneysense city ranking). Best value? Sure, call the list that. But best? No way.

Originally Posted by Sliver

Tanning/girl watching - yes this can be done in your backyard and if you're luckier than me your backyard has numerous 19 year-old girls running around in bikinis. If not, to the lake you must go.

Actually, it kind of does.

[jammies]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

When was the last time you spent any time down in the hood?

I've driven by Bowness plenty. The highway goes thru/by it, and it's farking ugly as a Burrows all the way along. Unless you like muffler shops, gas stations and fast food restaurants, in which case I guess it does look pretty nice. And for every old and well-maintained house, there's a dilapidated old bungalow with a yard full of weeds. "Character" is what real estate agents call "old-fashioned and crappy".

I did say I would have no problem living there, but the idea that it's #3 in the best neighborhoods in Calgary is ridiculous. If it was, people would be trying to move in there in droves, and property values would be going way up. That musicians can afford to live there tells me property values must be somewhere south of hell.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Sliver

The Lake. You are totally underestimating what it means to have a lake a short walk away from your house. Skating, swimming, tanning, girl watching, fishing, boating, etc. The amount of no-cost, convenient leisure a lake community has makes any other community in their vicinity lame by comparison.

Fair enough. This part of your post confused me.

Originally Posted by Sliver

It is way better in terms of amenities than any other community you listed (particularly Hawkwood and Royal Oak) and has a LAKE!

I read that like you thought Arbour Lake was way better in terms of amenities than those other communities, AND it also has a lake. Other than the lake the amenities are basically the same.

Edited to add: Is it no cost? It was a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure houses in Arbour Lake come with some sort of mandatory fee for using the lake.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by SebC

Exactly. Putting low taxes in (i.e. low demand) as a criteria is what always ruins these kind of lists (like the Moneysense city ranking). Best value? Sure, call the list that. But best? No way.

+1 - living in a tent in North Glenmore Park would be the best place to live if the logic of this poll meant anything. Taxes in Hillhurst are 3X as much, because it is 3X better!

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by jammies

I've driven by Bowness plenty. The highway goes thru/by it, and it's farking ugly as a Burrows all the way along. Unless you like muffler shops, gas stations and fast food restaurants, in which case I guess it does look pretty nice. And for every old and well-maintained house, there's a dilapidated old bungalow with a yard full of weeds. "Character" is what real estate agents call "old-fashioned and crappy".

I did say I would have no problem living there, but the idea that it's #3 in the best neighborhoods in Calgary is ridiculous. If it was, people would be trying to move in there in droves, and property values would be going way up. That musicians can afford to live there tells me property values must be somewhere south of hell.

Basing your opinion of Bowness from what you can see from Highway 1 is ridiculous.

[CaramonLS]

Bowness is West side's equivilent of Forest Lawn.

Garbage list.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by troutman

+1 - living in a tent in North Glenmore Park would be the best place to live if the logic of this poll meant anything. Taxes in Hillhurst are 3X as much, because it is 3X better!

Don't forget that taxes in Hillhurst are 3x as much because you have to support all those free-loading parasites living in the suburbs.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Fair enough. This part of your post confused me.

I read that like you thought Arbour Lake was way better in terms of amenities than those other communities, AND it also has a lake. Other than the lake the amenities are basically the same.

Edited to add: Is it no cost? It was a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure houses in Arbour Lake come with some sort of mandatory fee for using the lake.

Our community fee in Lake Bonavista is ~$140 or something per year, which is peanuts. I assume Arbour Lake would be similarly low/immaterial, but to be honest I don't know what it is there.

I look at Crowfoot (movie theater, Rona, shopping, two grocery stores, restaurants, etc.), YMCA, and car dealerships as being in Arbour Lake. To me, that gives it more amenities than the other neighbourhoods you listed. It's also closer to the LRT, which again, is more than the other neighbourhoods have. I don't quite know how I became the Arbour Lake advocate of the board considering I live on the opposite side of the city from it, but compared against the list you provided, it certainly seems better to me.

That being said, I like the houses in Hawkwood. I had a friend that lived there in high school and we spent some time at his place...it's a nice neighbourhood, too.

[TurnedTheCorner]

It's kind of nice driving into other neighborhoods near Crowfoot and Arbour Lake without having to drive through all the commercial traffic like you do to get to Arbour Lake though. Citadel for example has way friendlier access than Arbour Lake. It's a small quibble though.

Just like the list is. I hope no one here is too genuinely concerned about where the community they live is ranked. High or low.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

It's kind of nice driving into other neighborhoods near Crowfoot and Arbour Lake without having to drive through all the commercial traffic like you do to get to Arbour Lake though. Citadel for example has way friendlier access than Arbour Lake. It's a small quibble though.

Just like the list is. I hope no one here is too genuinely concerned about where the community they live is ranked. High or low.

It would definitely be more interesting/useful if they ranked them by categories instead of an overall list. Things like "most walkable," "most family friendly," "best shopping" and what-not.

The actual position on the list doesn't matter to me, I'm more interested in the comparisons between different neighbourhoods on a qualitative basis.

[Locke]

If you are 'girl watching' at Lake Bonavista you've got to be into the grannies...

[Misterpants]

Originally Posted by Locke

If you are 'girl watching' at Lake Bonavista you've got to be into the grannies...

He's probably using the average age. A 37 year old mom with her 1 year old daughter. Average age of the 2=19.

[username]

Can anyone explain how Wildwood went from #2 to totally off the list? There's no question it should be on there.....

[Locke]

Originally Posted by username

Can anyone explain how Wildwood went from #2 to totally off the list? There's no question it should be on there.....

Hepatitis may have been partially responsible for that....

[jammies]

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

Basing your opinion of Bowness from what you can see from Highway 1 is ridiculous.

Saying that Highway 1, which goes thru Bowness, is an eyesore is not the same as saying I judge it from what I see from there. I've been around the back streets, walked along the river, gone to the park - I've seen a decent cross-section of the place. It's ok in parts, not so ok in others.

I live in Sunalta so I know all about sketchy alongside nice. Bowness is definitely in that same tweener category. I wouldn't get all het up about someone laughing at the idea of Sunalta being a top community despite the nice parts of it, either.

[Sopure]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I read that like you thought Arbour Lake was way better in terms of amenities than those other communities, AND it also has a lake. Other than the lake the amenities are basically the same.

Plus Arbour Lake has Arbour Lake Dental, with sedation dentistry. Does anyone remember those annoying radio commercials?

[ben voyonsdonc]

We like our own neighbourhoods...we live there for a reason! I've lived in probably 10 neighbourhoods in Calgary and currently live in Tuxedo/Mount Pleasant and couldn't imagine moving to anywhere else. No stupid list can tell me that it is not one of the 25 best neighbourhoods!