Anybody familiar with Cougar Ridge?

[Rjcsjc62]

We are looking for a new house and we have toured many SW homes.

Today my wife and I found a house that we like in Cougar Ridge, but we have some reservations about whether or not there is day care available and how kids can attend public school in Wildwood? (is this right?) our kids will be in grade 1 and pre school next year and we both work full time, so this is a big stumbling block for us, maybe even enough to not buy the house that we otherwise really like.

Does anybody here with young kids live in Cougar Ridge? or know anybody who does that may have an opinion.

All thoughts and or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Bunk]

Considered an established neighbourhood with schools, daycares, LRT and other amenities already in place?

[Rjcsjc62]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Considered an established neighbourhood with schools, daycares, LRT and other amenities already in place?

I guess I thought that Cougar ridge had schools and daycares and that there would be a large family population there but now I am unsure. There are a couple of schools there but they are not public.

We have viewed many homes in many neighbourhoods over the last month and we are struggling with a balanace between choosing a home that has some space and a yard, access to public schools and day cares, and a reasonable commute to central calgary, and all for a price that I can afford.

[Regulator75]

[Sliver]

Lake Bonavista is where it's at dude. Perfect family neighbourhood.

[Yeah_Baby]

surprised it took till post 5

[Nage Waza]

I am in the Aspen area, near Cougar Ridge. I have no clue about the schools but there seems to be a bunch of them, including a high school under construction. The CTrain will be done in the next 1.5 years.
I don't see too many Canuck or Oiler jerseys around here, which is good.

[Rjcsjc62]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

I am in the Aspen area, near Cougar Ridge. I have no clue about the schools but there seems to be a bunch of them, including a high school under construction. The CTrain will be done in the next 1.5 years.
I don't see too many Canuck or Oiler jerseys around here, which is good.

Yeah West Calgary High School will be open in a year or two, but I wont need it for awhile. I guess what I need is a full time day care, and an elementary school. It appears that the designated school is Wildwood, which surprises me that they would have to go so far away. Infact they would have to drive past Olympic Heights and cross Sarcee to there.

My preconceived opinion of Cougar Ridge was that it was a community with alot of families and kids our ages.

One of the houses I saw today had Oilers crap everywhere, the car flag, poster, BBQ cover, etc. I asked my realtor if the seller would be willing to pay for the scrubbing and fumagation that I would require before I let my kids in.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Rjcsjc62

Yeah West Calgary High School will be open in a year or two, but I wont need it for awhile. I guess what I need is a full time day care, and an elementary school. It appears that the designated school is Wildwood, which surprises me that they would have to go so far away. Infact they would have to drive past Olympic Heights and cross Sarcee to there.

My preconceived opinion of Cougar Ridge was that it was a community with alot of families and kids our ages.

"Donut Effect"

New communities on the edges of the city are built, marketed and sold as "family friendly," families move there, but before key infrastructure, perhaps most prominiently, schools, are in place. Usually the community has a "future school site" that is used heavily in marketing and it is implied that the actual school is "just around the corner" in terms of actually being built. Very often, when elementary schools are finally built, many of the kids that first moved to the community have passed or nearly-passed elementary age.

Meanwhile, elementary schools in older communities experience declining numbers (save for the kids being bussed in from the newer communities on the outskirts in some cases), and are at risk of being closed due to low population. while the outskirts scream for brand new schools. Eventually perfectly good (for the most part) schools are closed while brand new ones are built in Cougar Ridge (and the like). 20 years after that, the cycle continues when Cougar Ridge Elementary sees most of its kids bussed from elsewhere and then 35 years down the line, is closed due to low student population.

http://www.cwf.ca/V2/cnt/oped_mar_18_2002.php

[Jordan!]

Expen$$$$ive

[ma-skis.com]

there is a new elementary in west springs that will open in September, it will start as a k-4 next year and I believe then growing to k-5 and k-6 each subsequent year. That school should be drawing kids in cougar ridge. West Springs elementary, you should try to contact someone about it to find out more, i don't think the cbe sites are accurate for next year.

kids who live outside the walk zone for wildwood get bussed in by charter busses. Schools also offer before and after school care (sometimes) so you'll need to look around.

There are childcare options out there or in between cougar ridge and downtown, but you'll need to find them yourself. Kids and Co is the obvious one on bow trail, near 37th. and there's discovery childcare on 8th ave and a few others. There are also nanny shares / dayhomes / and we found one enterprising group who hires nannys from out of country, put them up in a home in aspen woods then use that home as a day home for a bunch of kids. You'll need to figure out what works for you. Maybe a nanny share near a school that can pick up your kids before / after preschool

there are a few preschool options again, but the trick is finding a combination of preschool and before and after school childcare if you are working. French International school has a preschool, motesorri runs one in the area, wildwood does as well, but the before/after school care is the trick. You'll have to research to see what works for your schedules and needs.

[Ducay]

It a nice area, too cookie cutter for me though. (like any new mid/low priced subdivision built in the last 20 years). I live 2 neighbourhoods closer to downtown (in Strathcona), and the West side is growing and getting better every year.

My bus commute now is about 30 minutes, door-to-door downtown, which isn't too shabby. I expect this to be about the same once the C-Train line is up and running.


The new malls (Westsprings and Aspen) are a godsend. Westhills is too painful (always has been a gong show traffic design).
All we need is Hardware store and i'll never have to go past Sarcee.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Ducay

I live 2 neighbourhoods closer to downtown (in Strathcona)...

My bus commute now is about 30 minutes, door-to-door downtown...


...i'll never have to go past Sarcee.

How can you live in Strathcona, commute by bus to downtown and not have to cross Sarcee Trail (twice) every day?

[Ducay]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

How can you live in Strathcona, commute by bus to downtown and not have to cross Sarcee Trail (twice) every day?

It was a utopian dream.....I know


I still don't get why there are no home improvement stores on this entire side of town.

The closest we have are a 1/2 sized Rona in Westhills, and a 1/2 sized Totem all the way in Bowness...the next closest is the 1/2 sized Home Depot on 16th Ave.

I have to go all the way to Chinook/Stoney Trail/Crowfoot to get a full sized store.....its ridiculous

[dcbc]

We own a place in CR that we currently rent out to a family, but I lived there from 06 to 08 and we are moving back to the house in August from Vancouver (sorry, Nage, Canuck fan population just went up 1).

We love the community. Its very quiet and kid friendly. Im not too versed with the school situation, but I will have to be pretty quickly as we have a new baby. Ammenities are close enough to be convienent but far enough away to not be intrusive.

Its a bit of an awkward location as far as commuting is concerned, my company just moved from downtown to out near the airport so that is going to be a pain in the ass.

[ma-skis.com]

Originally Posted by dcbc

Its a bit of an awkward location as far as commuting is concerned, my company just moved from downtown to out near the airport so that is going to be a pain in the ass.

I imagine the ringroad at that point of day for traffic out to the airport will move quickly once that crowchild section get's sorted out. But i guess in terms of sheer distance that is a hell of a drive to go to work everyday.

[dcbc]

Originally Posted by ma-skis.com

I imagine the ringroad at that point of day for traffic out to the airport will move quickly once that crowchild section get's sorted out. But i guess in terms of sheer distance that is a hell of a drive to go to work everyday.

Yup, its going to suck, especially when my Vancouver commute is 10-15 mins. The Ring Road is probably the best bet, but I'm going to try a few different routes before settling on one.

[FireInTheHole]

Originally Posted by dcbc

Yup, its going to suck, especially when my Vancouver commute is 10-15 mins. The Ring Road is probably the best bet, but I'm going to try a few different routes before settling on one.

I live in Cougar Ridge and my office is currently in the North East near the airport. I have tried many different ways to get there, and the best route I have found is down Bow Trail through downtown, down Memorial to Deerfoot. About 35 minutes on an average day.

We built our house here in 2003 and still love it here. Pretty good value for this end of town if you ask me.

[mykalberta]

Cant say anything about CW, but my friend just moved to Aspen woods so his 2 kids could go to Weber Academy. You get a discount on your second+ kid at that school

[socktape]

We've been in Cougar Ridge since 04 and really like the neighbourhood. We have a young family and there are so many kids around here that it is a really family friendly area.

Things have been getting even better in the last couple years with the opening of the Co-op on 85th and Apsen. The ring road will make things a lot easier traveling north but even then you can get to Crowfoot in less than 20 minutes. Downtown is on average the same with normal traffic. The bus ride in is about 40 minutes or so at present and will be somewhat the same when the train starts up.

Schools are a bit of an issue as we've kind of got the shaft in that regard. Unless things change for this year....

Public kids are bussed out of the area. The new school has last I heard been designated for West springs/Wentworth kids only. The kids get bussed east into wildwood or westgate from what I understand.

Catholic kids get bussed into Strathcona or Westgate as of this past Sept unless they have an older sibling that gets grandfathered into the new Joan of Arc school in West Springs/Springside.

Private... there are 2 private schools in the community as well as lots around. So if that is your thing then you are in luck.

Childcare... again can be another issue as there isn't anything directly in terms of daycares etc but there are some dayhomes.(this is what we use) There are as mentioned some daycares and preschools on the way downtown and close en route.

Feel free to PM me if you want to ask any more specific questions. I will give them my best shot.