Looking at moving back into the city - community advice sought

[Monahammer]

The NW is the only right answer. I grew up in Silver Springs but spent a huge amount of time in Varsity for school and with friends. Good road access to anywhere, clean, great properties. Also great proximity for your son, which you will appreciate when you're trying to get him to go to class lol.

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Is your kid going to be driving or taking transit to school?

I wouldn't overthink that part too much since school is just a few years and it sounds like you'll be living in this spot for quite a bit, but still another angle to think of

He has his own car so he will have both options available. Parking at the University is never cheap so wouldnt be surprised if he uses both means depending on weather and how flush he is feeling.

And yeah, the move is primarily going to be for us long term. Just a side benefit to have a shorter commute to school. It would be 45mins from where we live currently so 15-20 mins is still a huge improvement for him. (if driving, I understand transit is usually slower)

[Sr. Mints]

Expanding outside Varsity a bit, you've got Brentwood, Collingwood, Charleswood, St Andrews Heights, University heights - all have the same sorta access to the UofC, and to anywhere, really.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by greyshep

He has his own car so he will have both options available. Parking at the University is never cheap so wouldnt be surprised if he uses both means depending on weather and how flush he is feeling.

And yeah, the move is primarily going to be for us long term. Just a side benefit to have a shorter commute to school. It would be 45mins from where we live currently so 15-20 mins is still a huge improvement for him. (if driving, I understand transit is usually slower)

Tell him to ride a bike there, and save the gas money for beer at the Den. Bonus the biking offsets the carbs.

[Erick Estrada]

My personal opinion is that the main difference between Calgary and Edmonton is Calgary NW. It's just something Edmonton or any prairie city doesn't have. No industrial areas and the elevation means that you are always a few minutes away from a view of the city's beautiful landscapes, mountains, downtown, the Olympic park valley, etc. I just find Calgary south feels like living in any other prairie city. The extra snow does suck but IMO it's worth it especially in the summer.

[PepsiFree]

I agree that the difference between Calgary and most other mid-level prairie type cities is the NW. The views (whether of the mountains, seeing the fog settle over the river, or even just the rest of the city), easy access to the mountains and so many great outdoor activities, and a lot of established neighbourhoods that are still affordable. Not to mention established neighbourhoods mean a lot of food/entertainment/shopping options that people actually frequent.

Unless you’re into a more yuppie experience like Bridgeland, Inglewood, Hillhurst, Renfrew, etc, which are superb neighbourhoods but excessively expensive, then that corridor of the NW spanning Memorial to Country Hills really can’t be beat, even with gimmicky lake communities.

[btimbit]

Other side of some of those hills, and one of the biggest reasons I left the NW, the frickin nonstop soul-sucking wind

[undercoverbrother]

Hey OP, if you are moving back to facilitate you kid going to U of C or Mount Royal, ditch the south destinations other than Lakeview.

We live in Auburn Bay, which I ####ing love. But when we bought our daughter was in grade 9. Post Secondary didn't factor into the equation.

She is not going to U of C, BSc in Kin, and the commute can be a drag.

If I was in your position I would pick somewhere North of the Reservoir.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

If you and your wife are swingers, Bonavista is definitely the place for you.

Yeah I'm gonna need Sliver to unpack this comment a bit for me

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Scroopy Noopers

This is the way.

South of Glenmore (other than Lakeview) might as well be Lethbridge.

[The Yen Man]

I'm from the NW, so I'm biased towards it. I'm a huge fan of around the university area. I just like the vibe there. And I find north traffic better than south traffic. Maybe I don't venture down south enough, but every time I'm there, I hate the traffic there. Feels like there's more bottlenecks and traffic jams in the south vs. the north.

[tvp2003]

I'm curious -- anything specific about Varsity versus other communities in the NW (other than proximity to UofC and I guess C-train)?

[btimbit]

Side note but this all reminds me, one of my all-time favourite posts on CP is still Sliver in the Nose Hill Park thread when he talks about people from the NW moving south to the "good part of town" and equating it to people convinced that North Korea is great until they finally escape

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I'm from the NW, so I'm biased towards it. I'm a huge fan of around the university area. I just like the vibe there. And I find north traffic better than south traffic. Maybe I don't venture down south enough, but every time I'm there, I hate the traffic there. Feels like there's more bottlenecks and traffic jams in the south vs. the north.

That funny, I've only lived in the south and I think the same of the north.


I'm sure the truth is somewhere in-between

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Other side of some of those hills, and one of the biggest reasons I left the NW, the frickin nonstop soul-sucking wind

The wind is a little worse in the NW for sure but Calgary in general is considered the windiest major Canadian city.

[Lubicon]

Put me down as a NW supporter too. Taken with experience of two kids who attend UCalgary and plenty of friends who have kids that go there as well or to MRU.

Anything south of the reservoir will suck for commuting to school. Lakeview you are driving to UCalgary (transit sucks) and possibly to MRU as well. NW is easy transit to UCalgary and a relatively easy drive to MRU if the kids go that route.

If you are in the deep south you may as well send them to university in a different city (seriously) or rent them a place in the NW as travel will kill too much of their day.

[Monahammer]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Side note but this all reminds me, one of my all-time favourite posts on CP is still Sliver in the Nose Hill Park thread when he talks about people from the NW moving south to the "good part of town" and equating it to people convinced that North Korea is great until they finally escape

Silver:

- Doesn't like Dogs
- Thinks the OG written works of Tolkien are #### but likes the new amazon LOTR show
- Thinks NW Calgary is inferior to S Calgary

so obviously he's the Jim Cramer of life choices. Just inverse and look for success.

[btimbit]

Oh I'm sure we'll get a gold Sliver post here any minute

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

I'm curious -- anything specific about Varsity versus other communities in the NW (other than proximity to UofC and I guess C-train)?

Well I admittedly have a bit of a mental block when it comes to the NW in general I guess. Varsity seems like one that may be able to help me break it somewhat due to the convenient location and nice ravine park nearby.

story time...

When I was in University I was a foreman for College Pro painters as a summer job. My territory the first summer was communities in the SW (Brittania, Elbow Park, etc) it was a pretty good summer of earnings and the weather was pretty decent. The next year I switched with a friend and took the Edgemont/NW area, he took the SW location. My earnings got murdered that summer with the storms and gross weather that seemed to roll thru way too often. I would be up on the hill looking down South at the dry sunny conditions that they were still having. He had lots of fun teasing me about how much less weather interruption he had vs me up in the NW.

That plus the traffic impression I spoke of previously makes the NW a really tough one for me to get my head around, especially the higher density ones beyond Crowchild Trail.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

The wind is a little worse in the NW for sure but Calgary in general is considered the windiest major Canadian city.

Silver Springs/Varsity/Brentwood etc are not bad for wind and I don't think it is any worse than the south but the upper NW, Royal Oak/Citadel/Hamptons, is brutal for wind. My parents decided against building a house in the Hamptons because of the wind and instead went with Evergreen Estates.