Based on your first post, and also your subsequent ones, I would suggest:
Mission/Cliff Bungalow
Beltline
Lower Mount Royal
Sunalta
Bankview
Erlton
More or less in that order. The suggestions north of the river are pretty good (Hillhurst/Sunnyside, Crescent Heights, Bridgeland would be another one), but I took your commute into consideration. Inglewood/Ramsay didn't make the cut for that reason plus there being less apartment options than the areas I mentioned and the lack of local grocery options. Marda Loop is a decent consideration as well I guess, but I'm more familiar with the above suggestions, plus they are just more central.
I like Kensington (Sunnyside, Hillhurst, West Hillhurst). There actually is no neighbourhood called Kensington. You can walk to bars, restaurants, cafes. Riley Park is nice in the summer. The Bow River pathways are close by. Prince's Island. There is a Safeway and LRT station. You can walk downtown. SAIT and the Jubilee are just up the hill.
Chicken on the Way, FTW.
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I live in Glenbrook, which is a little bit out of the hustle and bustle, but still close enough to 17th and Downtown. If your friends go there for drinks, 10 bucks is what a cab costs so have two before you leave and you're even if that is a concern.
I like it because it is a little quieter, but not dead quiet like the suburbs.
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Really. Ever heard of the largest mall this side of west ed? I can get there in 10 minutes. I can also get to downtown in 20, the Airport in 7 minutes, I could probably make it halfway to Banff before you could make it to Olympic park(which I can get to in 12 minutes)
That's a good point. In the north you're closer to a mall in a different town.
BTW, when was the last time you went to COP? Who cares if you are close to that.
Woah woah woah there.. NE only sucks when you are East of Deerfoot. In between Centre Street and Deerfoot isn't so bad.
I just bought a "rental" property in Renfrew that I'm going to tear down and build a duplex infill on. So far I'm totally in love with that neighbourhood. Currently live in Inglewood. Inglewood is nice, but the business district of 9th Ave just doesn't seem as lively as it should be. Too many places that are just too limited. Hose and Hound is awesome though.
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I've lived in the NE for 31 years, and I can tell you that the NE is a great place to live.
Close to shopping and other amenities, relatively quick to get downtown, and to many different parts of the city, diverse population, close to Airport, etc. I can't think of any other area of town that I would rather have lived.
By FAR, the most underrated part of town.
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If you can afford Kits, you can probably afford any neighborhood in Calgary.
I live in Marda Loop/Bankview now, and love it, but for convenience nothing in Calgary beats Kensington/Hillhurst/Sunnyside imo... There is a real village feel to it, and I much prefer the condos and houses of Kensington to the buildings of Mission and the Beltline.
I've lived in many areas of Calgary, but nowhere else in town has the type of access to everything you need that Kensington does. Bars and pubs are great, coffeeshops are great, restaurants are plentiful, and it's the easiest area of Calgary to make friends with your neighbours.
I like where I live now too - but it's largely due to economics if I'm honest about it.
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I live in Glenbrook, which is a little bit out of the hustle and bustle, but still close enough to 17th and Downtown. If your friends go there for drinks, 10 bucks is what a cab costs so have two before you leave and you're even if that is a concern.
I like it because it is a little quieter, but not dead quiet like the suburbs.
It's a nice area for sure. The area north of Glenmore, south of Richmond Road, and West of 37th is a quite tucked away community. Close you everything you need, walking distance to most things too.
I live in Lower Mount Royal. Very liveable, very walkable. If you're looking for something similar to the lifestyle of Kits, this is a good choice. I managed to buy a 3 bedroom condo (a new conversion) for $275,000.
Some key stats: http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/...oyal_lower.pdf Pop: 3222 (2009) Area: unknown (not very big - 3 x 8 city blocks) Housing Mix: 94% apartment dwellings; 3.4% row houses; 1.2% semidetached; 1.2% single detached - mix of rental and owner-occupied Walkscore 93% (my address)
The main street is 17th Avenue SW
Some pics:
Satellite:
Birdseye:
Typical streets - lowrise apartments primarily (from all decades), mix of 1910s houses
varying topography toward "mount royal"
17th avenue - the community's main street
Last edited by Bunk; 03-15-2011 at 09:39 AM.
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Not sure anywhere in Calgary really has the same vibe as Kitsilano - that place is unique even in Vancouver.
I live in the Beltline, just off 13th ave and 1st ST. Great location - but you need to put up with a lot of vomit on the streets in the morning. Gets rather quiet on the weekends though - still very "downtowny".
I'd recommend aiming for a place closer to 17th ave if you want something resembling a "vibe". Anywhere along 15th ave between 4th and 14th ST is pretty nice.
13th Ave will eventually become one of the better areas downtown to live, but that's a few years away since they haven't broken ground yet on the 13th Ave Greenway project: http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server....y+Projects.htm
Kensington is an option - but I personally don't like it. Too crowded - always seems choked with traffic.
You can judge a community by the people at the local Safeway.
For example,
Hillhurst/Sunnyside Safeway - the "singles safeway". Customers routinely check the ring fingers of other shoppers. Perhaps the most diverse collection of people at a Calgary safeway. Hippie bohemian kids, mods and punks lurk outside the main entrance. Yuppie women with young children, students, and seniors. Women in lulu lemon gear on their way to yoga or bootcamp. Artists. Hobos. All ethnicities. The store is staffed by many employees with special needs.
Aspen Safeway - "the trophy wife safeway". This is an affluent community, and it shows. Gorgeous women in their 40s, with stylish fashion and flashy jewelry. Most drive BMW SUVs.
Describe your Safeway . . .
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I used to live in Varsity and thought the same thing, the NE is not the place I pictured myself living.
Now I live up in Coventry Hills around that giant pond and I cant say enough good things about it. Sure there is nothing but Cardel Place and that movie theater within walking distance but get real, I aint walking there anyways.
Not all parts of the NE are bad, thats like saying Deer Run sucks because Forest Lawn is in the SE even tho there nowhere near each other.