Help! Moving from Fort Mac, and thinking about Langdon.. - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Angelina · 12-22-2014, 07:08 PM

We are moving down from Fort Mac in March as soon as our home in Edmonton sells.

We are very interested in living outside the city as we can get a better "bang for our buck" so to speak. We have 3 little girls 1 who is in school and the other 2 will be starting in the coming years. We are wanting to stay on that side of town as I have lots of family on the north side and south east. Chestermere is another idea but again they have smaller lots then Langdon... Anyone live in these areas that can offer some advice?

I will be running a company and be running all around town on my own appointments. I will have a nanny to be with the children so child care will be taken care of.

Thanks in advance everyone! Really appreciate your support!

Travis Munroe · 12-22-2014, 07:24 PM

My personal advice: If you are going to be running around town for your own business, perhaps a little less bang for your buck in terms of the house will actually turn into more bang for your buck being inside the city.
You could find something in Cranston which is one of the best communities in terms of "bang for your buck" down south as you avoid the lake premium (along with a few other areas in that quadrant). The ring road also allows to move throughout the entire city quite easily.

ExiledFlamesFan · 12-22-2014, 07:29 PM

When you buy a house, you are buying a house and the land it sits on. The reason these houses far away from the city are cheaper is because the land value is almost worthless.

Think long and hard about buying. Think about how much you enjoy driving and spending hours a day in your car. If you really are interested in buying in Langdon I'd recommend renting first and see how you put up with the daily commute and hassle. Also none of your friends or family will visit you out in Langdon, you'll be the one constantly driving into the city to see family/friends or even worse isolating yourself in your little town.

IMO, of course, but years of your life are worth the $50 000 you'll save by buying a house in Langdon. Then again I'm biased and I gleefully ride my bike to work.

Resolute 14 · 12-22-2014, 07:35 PM

FWIW, it is about a 20 minute drive from Langdon to Calgary, but your two accesses are crappy two lane roads, and it will be a long time before either is twinned. The Glenmore access can be brutal during the rush, especially at the horribly designed interchange with Stoney. Highway 22X is much better.

It is also a rapidly growing bedroom community. The small town feel you might be looking for now may not be there 10 years from now. If I was faced with the choice and had a similar cost opportunity to buy in Chestermere, I'd probably move there instead. Closer to Calgary and quite a bit nicer overall. However, one of my best friends moved to Langdon this year, she also has a young family, and she loves it there, even accounting for the fact she and her husband work downtown.

Jacks · 12-22-2014, 07:46 PM

Why does this thread have a Leafs icon?

socktape · 12-23-2014, 09:41 AM

I have a friend that lives out there and loves it. Yes you may have a little further to travel but the small town atmosphere is what they really wanted and enjoy. There are more and more amenities out there so for basics you are pretty much okay within town. If you work on the east side of Calgary the commute is pretty reasonable.

calgarygeologist · 12-23-2014, 09:55 AM

If I was to move outside of Calgary to the east I would probably pick a home on the Speargrass Golf Course outside of Carseland.

Minnie · 12-23-2014, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

If I was to move outside of Calgary to the east I would probably pick a home on the Speargrass Golf Course outside of Carseland.

Nice area, nice houses - not much else though. You have to go to Strathmore for anything substantial in the way of groceries, etc.

Langdon's nice enough but if I were going to be doing a lot of running around, I'd probably look at Chestermere, Airdrie, etc. Slightly closer, more amenities, and so forth.

Cochrane maybe, but that hill out of town in winter, when the roads are vile, ugh.

Da_Chief · 12-23-2014, 11:32 AM

+1 for Chestermere. You can buy my house.

northcrunk · 12-23-2014, 11:44 AM

Another +1 for Chestermere. Definatly with kids. Our daughter just started school out there this year and it has been great so far. Were two blocks from two schools so the kids can walk to school. Also in the summer there are a lot of kids who are outside playing and the community is really good for families.

It is a lot closer than Langdon too and the lots are a good size compared to Calgary. It is only 3-5 min to calgary (with access to stoney trail it takes 15 minutes to go to the deep south, far north or downtown). Plus there is a Walmart supercenter 5 minutes away that is not busy and they just opened a no frills out there too.

Langdon is nice if your closer to retirement but if your going into the city and have kids Chestermere is much better. More tax friendly too as Chestermere becomes a city in 2015 so our property taxes are going down.

Northendzone · 12-23-2014, 12:16 PM

think about airdrie - it is only 8 minutes from anywhere in town to downtonw calgary - 17 minutes in rush hour........

undercoverbrother · 12-23-2014, 12:17 PM

I heard that Langdon had a large swinger population.

To show you were swinging you left a catus on your front step.

That is all I know about Langdon.

Locke · 12-23-2014, 12:20 PM

Well if you're moving from the Fort then Langdon ought to feel just like home!

Drummer · 12-23-2014, 01:56 PM

Rent for a year and then buy when the market is lower

Angelina · 12-23-2014, 02:05 PM

Thank you for all your helpful advice everyone. I truly appreciate it!

para transit fellow · 12-23-2014, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Minnie

Nice area, nice houses - not much else though. You have to go to Strathmore for anything substantial in the way of groceries, etc.

Langdon's nice enough but if I were going to be doing a lot of running around, I'd probably look at Chestermere, Airdrie, etc. Slightly closer, more amenities, and so forth.

Cochrane maybe, but that hill out of town in winter, when the roads are vile, ugh.

Update:
Langdon now has a Buy-Low Foods grocery store

and a Tim's..

greyshep · 12-25-2014, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

FWIW, it is about a 20 minute drive from Langdon to Calgary, but your two accesses are crappy two lane roads, and it will be a long time before either is twinned. The Glenmore access can be brutal during the rush, especially at the horribly designed interchange with Stoney. Highway 22X is much better.

It is also a rapidly growing bedroom community. The small town feel you might be looking for now may not be there 10 years from now. If I was faced with the choice and had a similar cost opportunity to buy in Chestermere, I'd probably move there instead. Closer to Calgary and quite a bit nicer overall. However, one of my best friends moved to Langdon this year, she also has a young family, and she loves it there, even accounting for the fact she and her husband work downtown.

I take it you forgot about access into the city via hwy 1? Divided 4 lane highway.

One of the great things about Langdon is the choice of 3 seperate access points into the city (if you need to go in still).... 22x takes you in south, glenmore trail for central and hwy 1 for north.

Services here continue to expand, lots are awesome sized, chestermere is OK too but feels cramped like the city to me. If your friends don't want to drive 15mins out of the city to visit, I would question if they really are friends, lol.