Living in Okotoks

[Northendzone]

this may not be any concern to you; however, i was speaking with a former neighbor on the weekend who,lives in Okotoks and they enjoy living there. Thier only complaint is that it can be hard to get your kids enrolled in programs as there is a cap on the # of kids.

Be tough to see you kid not get into programs on some years.......

Personally, I think I'd like working there if I worked in the south part of calgary. Seems that it would get tiring to get downtown every day.

[rd_aaron]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

10-20k is $50-$100 per month on a 25 year mortgage at 3.5%.

If you're going to be commuting to Calgary, and you figure it'll take you 15 extra minutes each way, the math works something like this.

(4 weeks/month)*(5 days/week)*(15 minutes/day)*(2 people)/(60 minutes/hour) = 10 hours per month of extra commuting time.

So if your gas and vehicle maintenance was free, you'd be paying yourself $5-$10 hour to commute.

Those are all just estimates, but you probably get the extra money back when you sell your place at some point, so the extra principal in the monthly payment comes back to you eventually.

To put it a different way, Okotoks is about 20km from the south end of Calgary, which would be an additional 40km in commute per day.

(4 weeks/month)*(5 days/week)*(40km/day)*(12 months/year) = an ADDITIONAL 9600km/year than if you lived in Auburn Bay (for example).

Let's say you have a car with decent mileage of 7L/100km (40MPG). That would be (7L/100km)*(9600km/year) = an ADDITIONAL 672L/year. At $1.10/L, that's $739.20/year or $61.60/month.

Now that's not including the extra time in your car, the fact that you'll have to maintain your car more regularly, or replace the car sooner.

I would imagine it has to be social suicide. You're not going to want to drive half an hour each way to visit a friend in the north for a couple hours. As mentioned in the Airdrie thread, you would probably lose touch with some people. If you're a guy that likes to go downtown and have drinks with friends, cabbing home is no longer an option unless you want to drop $100.

I can't imagine living in a suburb and commuting into town, let alone living in a town outside the city. Then again, I have it pretty good being a 5 minute drive to work (20 minute bike ride), 5 minute walk to the train, 5-10 minute walk downtown. It's not too difficult to get anywhere in the city. I'll take location over a few extra sq ft any day.

[troutman]

Don't live near the Sheep River. In the last 10 years, there have been 4-5 bad floods.

[Table 5]

When you have to work in Calgary anyway, I'm a little confused how some small town just outside of Calgary is less stressful than being in a quiet city neighborhood. You're going to have to commute through that "madness" every day any way, except for a longer period of time, so for me that just means increasing the time of stress.

Go live somewhere close to Fish Creek or Glenmore Reservoir and I think you have it pretty good and quiet, without the extra long commute.

If you want to live on a ranch, or work in a small town and don't come into Calgary, I can see the benefit. But spend an extra hour driving each day just so you can get home at 7 and be in the exact same type of suburban house/neighborhood you'd be in Calgary anyway? Where's the benefit to that?

[kevman]

Originally Posted by WCan_Kid

All depends on what you want. I couldn't possibly care any less about access to the stuff you mentioned, but I sure like having easy access to the mountains compared my friends in the city. I'm 1/2 hour to 45 minutes closer, depending on where they are in the city, to Castle or Fernie for skiing, Bragg Creek/K-Country for mtn biking and about the same time to Banff .

While you are certainly closer to Castle or Fernie there is no way you are a 1/2 hour closer to Bragg Creek and "about the same time" to Banff than the majority of Calgary residents. Unless of course all of your friend in the city live in the deep NE...

While I have no experience living there myself the people I know that live in Okotoks are quite found of it. Compared to Calgary they seem to have much better access to recreation for their kids (ie, ice times, soccer, etc). That really all I can think of...

I've also noticed that the one personality trait you must have in order to enjoy your life in a "parasite" community is the ability to seriously underestimate how long it takes you to get places...

[Hans Landa]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Which is a good reason to not want to drive another 60km a day to and from work.

Living walking distance from the river, trails on a hill with a great view of the river and downtown and living within 1km of about 15 restaurants all sound like things you could enjoy after spending all day in your car. For you to do anything at night it's back into the car for you, which doesn't appeal to me.

It's not my car I spend my time in, it's a company vehicle.

Either way, unless you have a crap job in retail, you're spending your day sitting in a chair of some sort. What's the difference if it's in a car or an office?

Also, did you skim my post or actually read it? It's ok if you skimmed it, I don't fully read half the stuff I respond to either, so it's ok.

I said that, at night, after work... I don't care to go back out. I want to be at home, cooking, relaxing and being boring. I only work 4 days a week anyways, so I have 3 days off to go play as far away from the city as possible.

Also... from where I work, I would have to live in the NE, SE (closer to the NE) or right downtown in a 400 sq ft closet to make any significant difference to my commute time.
I am on the Deerfoot in less than 4 minutes of leaving my driveway... like I said, it's 22 minutes to get to work and if I finish work before 3:30, it's 22 minutes to get home. Find me a commute to Deerfoot & Paigan, that... door-to-door is truely 22 minutes and is in a desirable elitist area (because I'm an anti-social snob) where I can own a brand new home, spec'd the way I want it. It's hard... MacKenzietown, maybe... but there isn't much there if you're looking to walk around an area that makes you feel like you have a life and you're 'out there' being metro.

I bet if I lived over near Signal Hill or Aspen or Montgomery... I'd be looking at a much longer commute time wise with all the traffic lights (distance would be shorter I understand that).

Why can't city folk bend their mind around the advantages of living in a 'parasite' community? I thought city folk were all wide-open-minded liberals?
I despite cosmopolitan anything and I only subscribe to the multicultural mindset in very specific doses... but I'm open minded enough to recognize the advantages of living in a city for the people that embrace those things and see them as attractive qualities.

Need a nice view? I look out my back balcony and see rolling canola fields with a Rocky Mountain Backdrop. I'm sure it's every bit as nice, to some people, as the Calgary skyline (which I also think is attractive).

The OP is looking for more sqft'age for the $. The OP is married, so I doubt he's going to be out chasing tail and trying to bring it back home before it sobers up and gets moody.

There's a good dose of multiculture here, in terms of people... you just need to crane your neck around the fat arses at Walmart to see it as it is often blocked by cellulite and stretched out gunts.

[WCan_Kid]

Originally Posted by kevman

While you are certainly closer to Castle or Fernie there is no way you are a 1/2 hour closer to Bragg Creek and "about the same time" to Banff than the majority of Calgary residents. Unless of course all of your friend in the city live in the deep NE...

While I have no experience living there myself the people I know that live in Okotoks are quite found of it. Compared to Calgary they seem to have much better access to recreation for their kids (ie, ice times, soccer, etc). That really all I can think of...

I've also noticed that the one personality trait you must have in order to enjoy your life in a "parasite" community is the ability to seriously underestimate how long it takes you to get places...

You're welcome to come out anytime and ride out there with me. You do know there are sec hwys connecting Okotoks to Millarville and on to Bragg Creek and #1, right? The only way you're closer in Calgary is from the extreme NW communities or Cougar Ridge area.

We have timed it a time or two, if my buddy leaves his Mission condo at the same time as I leave my driveway he's consistently about that much behind me on arrival.

Seems that a trait of the city dwellers is to time their drives assuming zero traffic or red lights...

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I don't think you understood my point. I was saying if you want to live within 30 minutes from Calgary, just live in Calgary. Adding a monster commute to come here on a regular basis is not a good idea.

I live on four acres 10 minutes west of Okotoks.

Okotoks is a 15-20 minute drive from my office in south Calgary overlooking Fish Creek Park. Since I have to speed from there to Okotoks to get my hair cut, I'm pretty familar with the time!!! Not sure where the half hour estimate comes from.

Its changed substantially through the years. I was always wondering why a craphole on the prairie like Airdrie seemed to be taking off and leaving Okotoks behind but that changed in a big way in the last decade.

First class swimming pool, Arena facilities, community centre and all the other shopping amenities either in town or 15-20 minutes away in south Calgary.

Getting to Banff is a bit of pain in the butt if that's important to you but Kananaskis is quite a bit closer west of Turner Valley or west of Longview.

West of Okotoks where I live is beautiful driving, cycling or running. Okotoks has a nice pathway system along the Sheep River.

If you're working in Calgary, I guess you'd have to figure out what your commute time will be and go from there. If you're working in Okotoks, your stress level will diminish to near zero.

They've got a surprisingly long and great parade in June and lots of little festivals through the summer. You're only 15 minutes from the Millarville Farmers' Market.

About 70% of working stiffs living in Okotoks actually work in Calgary. Definitely a bedroom community.

If its important to you to be in downtown Calgary on a regular basis then that would probably get to be a pain after a while. Depends on your tolerance for commuting. It's less than 25 minutes to my office, mostly on highway driving.

Love the area though. I wouldn't move and certainly wouldn't move to Calgary again.

The view off my deck:



Cowperson

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by rd_aaron

To put it a different way, Okotoks is about 20km from the south end of Calgary, which would be an additional 40km in commute per day.

(4 weeks/month)*(5 days/week)*(40km/day)*(12 months/year) = an ADDITIONAL 9600km/year than if you lived in Auburn Bay (for example).

Let's say you have a car with decent mileage of 7L/100km (40MPG). That would be (7L/100km)*(9600km/year) = an ADDITIONAL 672L/year. At $1.10/L, that's $739.20/year or $61.60/month.

Now that's not including the extra time in your car, the fact that you'll have to maintain your car more regularly, or replace the car sooner.

I would imagine it has to be social suicide. You're not going to want to drive half an hour each way to visit a friend in the north for a couple hours. As mentioned in the Airdrie thread, you would probably lose touch with some people. If you're a guy that likes to go downtown and have drinks with friends, cabbing home is no longer an option unless you want to drop $100.

I can't imagine living in a suburb and commuting into town, let alone living in a town outside the city. Then again, I have it pretty good being a 5 minute drive to work (20 minute bike ride), 5 minute walk to the train, 5-10 minute walk downtown. It's not too difficult to get anywhere in the city. I'll take location over a few extra sq ft any day.

We moved from near downtown Calgary (Wildwood) to the country outside Okotoks 14 years ago. You're right, those friendships in the city die out and are replaced by others in your new community.

Saying its "social suicide" is a misnomer. You do build new friendships, shared activities and acquaintances.

Cowperson

[Hans Landa]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

I was always wondering why a craphole on the prairie like Airdrie seemed to be taking off and leaving Okotoks behind

I'm sure proximity to the Airport helps. There are a lot of services here, as I mentioned before, but as far as terrain... Okotoks is nicer. Airdrie is pretty flat right where the development is, but as soon as you head 4 kms west of the Deerfoot and clear the subdivisions you're in the rolling prairie and not far from the foothills around Cochrane.

I had to work in Okotoks for 2 weeks when I first arrived in Alberta. The terrain there definitely makes for a more interesting visual. Airdrie is just a flat grid that's cut up it's gut by Hwy 2.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I don't think you understood my point. I was saying if you want to live within 30 minutes from Calgary, just live in Calgary. Adding a monster commute to come here on a regular basis is not a good idea.

I understand your point just fine, I just don't think it's a very good argument. 30 minutes is hardly a monster commute. Many people move to outlying cities all for pretty much the same reason, getting away from this place. I'm willing to bet most of them are more than happy with a longer commute to live outside Calgary.

If you work in the downtown core, that would be a bit tough, I'll give you that but many people work outside of the core along the edges of the city. I live in Braeside and work near Chinook, moving to Okotoks would add maybe a half hour to my coummute but that really wouldn't bother me in the least. I'd be happy to in fact.

To each their own.

[JiriHrdina]

Great posts - thanks everyone.

Socially, most of our friends are in the very deep south anyways. We would actually be closer to them (and my wife's family) in Okotoks than we are in the far north part of the city.

I'm not particularly worried about the commute either. My drive in to work right now is 20 minutes, but the drive home is consistently 30-40 minutes. It may take me 10 minutes longer if we are in Okotoks.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Hans Landa

I'm sure proximity to the Airport helps. There are a lot of services here, as I mentioned before, but as far as terrain... Okotoks is nicer. Airdrie is pretty flat right where the development is, but as soon as you head 4 kms west of the Deerfoot and clear the subdivisions you're in the rolling prairie and not far from the foothills around Cochrane.

I had to work in Okotoks for 2 weeks when I first arrived in Alberta. The terrain there definitely makes for a more interesting visual. Airdrie is just a flat grid that's cut up it's gut by Hwy 2.

The opening of the Deerfoot extension in the last decade is likely the primary reason Okotoks has boomed. Before that, it was a pretty tough slog to get to downtown Calgary.

Cowperson

[troutman]

^^^
Likewise, the Weaselhead extension of the Ring Road, should make Turner Valley and Black Diamond a little bit closer to Calgary.

http://calgaryringroad.wordpress.com/tag/weaselhead/

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Great posts - thanks everyone.

Socially, most of our friends are in the very deep south anyways. We would actually be closer to them (and my wife's family) in Okotoks than we are in the far north part of the city.

I'm not particularly worried about the commute either. My drive in to work right now is 20 minutes, but the drive home is consistently 30-40 minutes. It may take me 10 minutes longer if we are in Okotoks.

There's an early morning commuter bus from Okotoks to, I think, downtown Calgary.

Or take the train.

I think there are studies that show anything over 30 minutes for a commute gets increasingly tougher to handle, minute by additional minute.

Its probably the one factor that would prevent you from making the move. But, as I said, thousands do that drive out of Okotoks every day.

Cowperson

[Rathji]

I had this same talk with my wife, and I decided that I would be willing to do it, if I had a job that allowed me to park anywhere close to work without being robbed by downtown parking rates.

No way I would do it and still need transit every day.

Ironically enough, when I worked in High River it was 30 mins to my front door, because I was travelling opposite the traffic on Deerfoot. There is no way I can get downtown to my current job in that time.

[rd_aaron]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

We moved from near downtown Calgary (Wildwood) to the country outside Okotoks 14 years ago. You're right, those friendships in the city die out and are replaced by others in your new community.

Saying its "social suicide" is a misnomer. You do build new friendships, shared activities and acquaintances.

Cowperson

Yes, that's fair.

Obviously everyone's situation is different. Where you live works for you as you clearly enjoy living out in the country, and your commute of 20 minutes is a lot better compared to people in the suburbs fighting traffic every day.

However, if someone's primary reason for moving to Okotoks is to get "more home for our buck" while continuing to commute into the city/downtown, I think the extra commute time will contribute to a lower quality of life (less time at home with family) and by the time you spend all the extra money on gas/maintenance of your car, you might as well have bought a slightly more expensive house in the city, and saved the expenses/time associated with commuting.

[Hans Landa]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I had this same talk with my wife, and I decided that I would be willing to do it, if I had a job that allowed me to park anywhere close to work without being robbed by downtown parking rates.

No way I would do it and still need transit every day.

Ironically enough, when I worked in High River it was 30 mins to my front door, because I was travelling opposite the traffic on Deerfoot. There is no way I can get downtown to my current job in that time.

That's another reason we like Airdrie... my wife works at 4th Ave and 2nd St SW. She catches the Airdrie Intercity Express at it's last stop before it hops on the Deerfoot and drops her off at 4th Ave and 1st St SW... she walks right into the +15 and she's at her desk in seconds... but if her place of work wasn't within walking distance of 4th & 1st... then it would suck for sure, if she had to use Calgary Transit and pay for that monthly pass as well.

Yea her commute time is a bit long (about 40 minute in the morning and 55 minutes in the evening), but she reads... and again, everything is relative. This commute is still a full 20 minute shorter each way, than her GO Train commute was in the GTA and a monthly pass is $150/month cheaper than it was in the GTA... and I'm always home much earlier than her, that I have dinner on the table when she walks in the door.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

I understand your point just fine, I just don't think it's a very good argument. 30 minutes is hardly a monster commute. Many people move to outlying cities all for pretty much the same reason, getting away from this place. I'm willing to bet most of them are more than happy with a longer commute to live outside Calgary.

If you work in the downtown core, that would be a bit tough, I'll give you that but many people work outside of the core along the edges of the city. I live in Braeside and work near Chinook, moving to Okotoks would add maybe a half hour to my coummute but that really wouldn't bother me in the least. I'd be happy to in fact.

To each their own.

I'd be willing to bet most of them are less happy with their longer commute. The number one reason I hear about people wanting to live in a parasite community is more bang for buck in their house. But, I also don't believe - after a certain point like moving up from a sod hut - that a bigger house has ever made anybody a happier person.

People in parasite communities also always cite the great things there are to do in their towns, which is always a ridiculous argument because Calgary has all of those things times one hundred.

If you moved to Okotoks from Calgary, adding a half hour to your commute (on nice days, nevermind snowstorms, construction, accidents, etc.) would be brutal, dude. That's an hour a day, or five hours per week. Why flush that much of your life down the toilet with absolutely no upside?

As an aside, I lived in Braeside in the early 2000s and there was always multiple gaggles of scantily clad 15ish year-old girls running around I dubbed the Braeside Hussies. Are they still around? I imagine they'd be unwed mothers at this point as I predicted a baby boom in that community.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

The view off my deck:

See, that to me makes sense. If you live in that type of setting, I can buy living in the country.

What I don't get is living in a bedroom community and having this view instead:

That's Okotoks. What's the benefit of that? (Besides the cool solar panels).