Good/Bad Areas of Downtown Calgary?

[JD]

I lived in the Chateau apartments on 5th Ave and 6th Street and loved it there. Eerily quiet on evenings and weekends, as mentioned above.

Then I moved to Connaught, 12th Avenue and 11th Street. That area was better for living but the commute to commercial downtown was worse. Also a very awesome area to live.

I have lived in Inglewood for a number of years now, and I wouldn't even consider this a part of downtown. It's got it's unique charm and advantages, but personally I think the Beltline area is the best place to be.

Areas to avoid would be Jiri's mention of the couple of buildings near the C-Train, particularly the crack Mac's on 8th Ave. The eastern Riverfront area might be experiencing a bit of a renaissance in the future, but it's still a bit sketchy. Eau Claire should not be mistaken for that area... I think Eau Claire would be a great area to live in.

[surferguy]

i live in the beltline on 15th near 1st SW. The area had changed heaps in the last 8 years. I have to admit that yes it does still have some undesirables, but lets be honest it is in the core of a city with 1.2 million people. Incidents will happen but they are isolated. I am more annoyed by the asshats on their motorbikes trying to get to 75 kph in first gear between every light. That is the biggest issue in the beltline IMO.

[Bigtime]

I think Eau Claire would be an incredibly boring place for a young guy to live. Quiet, very low residential density, and very limited entertainment options compared to Beltline, Mission, and Hillhurst-Sunnyside.

[Regulator75]

fyp

Originally Posted by surferguy

I am more annoyed by the asshats on their motorbikes trying to get to 275 kph in first gear between every light. That is the biggest issue in the beltline IMO.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by surferguy

I am more annoyed by the asshats on their motorbikes trying to get to 75 kph in first gear between every light. That is the biggest issue in the beltline IMO.

Yes. For all that is good and holy, that needs to stop. I'll gladly put up with 10 hobos for every moron on a bike who thinks they are doing the Isle of Man TT at 2am. It's honestly my biggest beef with an otherwise pretty awesome part of town.

[Bill Bumface]

Bridgeland & Bums:

There are a ton of bums on the Edmonton Trail corridor between the Drop-In Centre an the Liquor store on Edmonton Trail and 1st ave. The further Northeast you go, the better it gets (one of the only parts of Calgary that can say that... ha!). I live just a few houses off of 1st Ave (the main street through Bridgeland) and I have seen one wanderer on my street all summer. Its pretty common to see guys in the alley before recycling day trying to get cans. The biggest problem I could see is you have to walk through the bum gauntlet known as Langevin Bridge for your shortest route to downtown. But if you don't live near the liquor store or Edmonton Trail, it's a pretty quiet place. Too quiet for a couple young guys moving downtown for the first time, you'll find it too far from the action.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

Mine was Place De Concorde - now Calgary Place Apartments (East Tower) one block North of crack Mac's,
it was actually great for our 1st apartment.
29th floor facing West, we rented there for almost 4 years.
r

Yeah I had friends in that apartment, and even though it was close to Crack Mac's it was still a lot nicer than my building. The combo of Crack Macs and the LRT line is terrible.

But at the time my apartment was under $700/month which was what I could afford.

[freakinsaprikin]

I agree with the beltline recommendations. I lived there for years up until last year, and loved it. Nice to be able to walk down the street to get a beer or groceries. Also loved the energy of it. There always seemed to be a buzz in the air.

[skudr248]

I would live anywhere around downtown Calgary, try living in Nice, France for 6 months in "old town", now that $hit was crazy

[MarchHare]

Mission is probably the nicest overall inner-city neighbourhood, but you can expect to pay a pretty hefty premium to live there.

Kensington/Sunnyside is a really cool area but has a distinct character that isn't for everyone. Walk around the neighbourhood for a bit and decide if the atmosphere is something you'd like. I had an apartment there from 2004-07 and would love to move back someday.

Beltline is easily the best bang-for-your-buck. You really can't go wrong living anywhere in the grid bordered by 14th St SW to the west, 1 St SW to the east, the train tracks to the north, and 17th Ave SW to the south. You'll also have easy walking-distance proximity to both the commercial downtown core and the nightlife in Mission.

Sunalta, Cliff Bungalow, and Lower Mount Royal are ok but are much more residential and lack the convenient access to amenities that the other areas have. If you want something a little more quiet than the Beltline, those areas would be a good bet.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Kensington/Sunnyside is a really cool area but has a distinct character that isn't for everyone.

What character is that?

[kevman]

The quiet family atmosphere?

[AR_Six]

Originally Posted by troutman

What character is that?

####ING. HIPSTERS.

... I live there and really like it but it's funny seeing some of the groups that spend their time hanging out in that little plaza thing between Roasterie and Jugo Juice.

[Rifleman]

You guys are doing it all wrong. If you move into a sketchy area, the trick is to become even sketchy-er! than the sketchy people. If you out-sketch the sketchy, you won't have to worry about them, and they will worry about you.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Sunalta, Cliff Bungalow, and Lower Mount Royal are ok but are much more residential and lack the convenient access to amenities that the other areas have. If you want something a little more quiet than the Beltline, those areas would be a good bet.

The entire north side of Lower Mount Royal is flanked by 17th Avenue - so I would assert that it is perhaps the most amenity-laden and walkable. You can't be more than 3 blocks away from 17th Ave in any part of LMR. The only amenity that's far-ish is a full grocery store - but both Safeway and Co-op are 5 short blocks away - if one could consider that far. Also a movie theatre - but there's only one in downtown at Eau Claire.

Also, Cliff Bungalow has the exact same access to 4th Street and better access to the better parts of 17th Avenue than Mission does.

I live in LMR, I would highly recommend it.

[Bunk]

As far as actually sketchy areas - there are only very small isolated pockets such as 14th and 15th Avenues between Centre and 4th Street and right beside the Drop In.

Other areas are simply under-developed like along 10th, 11th and 12th near 14th Street, East Village (but that's changing fast) and the West end along 8th Avenue. But, with time all these will fill-in as well.

But really you can't go wrong with most places surrounding the commercial core.

[OldDutch]

Mission near 4th Ave is good. I have a friend who lives in the complex accross from the Safeway on 4th and he loves it. Prices aren't that bad (relatively) either.

[Bertuzzied]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Yes. For all that is good and holy, that needs to stop. I'll gladly put up with 10 hobos for every moron on a bike who thinks they are doing the Isle of Man TT at 2am. It's honestly my biggest beef with an otherwise pretty awesome part of town.

Really? it's that bad of a problem? nothing some fishing line lamp pole to lamp pole couldn't solve

[Bunk]

Here's how I would characterize "downtown" living in Calgary. Not precise.

Green is the best areas - well built up, very liveable.

Yellow is slightly less desirable to live - either because it's underdeveloped as with the case with places like 10th/11th Ave or along 14th Street in Beltline or does not actually have a lot of living opportunities - like the commercial core. Other areas like East Village are currently underdeveloped but have a lot of potential in the near future and are actively being redeveloped.

Red are the areas the typical person my consider a bit "sketchy" due to some of the activity on the street such as drug dealing, concentrations of the homeless (although they're still generally very safe in any event).

[GreatWhiteEbola]

Originally Posted by Bunk

Here's how I would characterize "downtown" living in Calgary. Not precise.

Green is the best areas - well built up, very liveable.

Yellow is slightly less desirable to live - either because it's underdeveloped as with the case with places like 10th/11th Ave or along 14th Street in Beltline or does not actually have a lot of living opportunities - like the commercial core. Other areas like East Village are currently underdeveloped but have a lot of potential in the near future and are actively being redeveloped.

Red are the areas the typical person my consider a bit "sketchy" due to some of the activity on the street due such as drug dealing, concentrations of the homeless (although they're still generally very safe in any event).

I live in a red zone, I often get asked out on dates while walking my dog, very friendly neighborhood. (In the evening, 10pm and later...)