Looking at moving back into the city - community advice sought

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by 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.

That seems rather extreme, but I suppose your perception of a long commute is different than mine as we have been living with a 30km+ (one way) for work for a long long time. A 15-25 minute drive (weather/traffic dependent) for my son to drive school seems like a pretty reasonable trip to me and wouldn't require us to rent a NW apt for him, lol.

[Calgary14]

Is it true some communities in the NW have significantly higher home insurance costs because of the increased risk of hail storms?

[Mazrim]

I live in Canyon Meadows. I hope to buy a house in Canyon Meadows (put some offers in but didn't win the bidding war). Amenities wise it's great and I have easy access to other amenities too. Being North of Fish Creek means you don't have to deal with Macleod backing up in rush hours. I'll never get tired of the easy access to Fish Creek trails.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

I live in Canyon Meadows. I hope to buy a house in Canyon Meadows (put some offers in but didn't win the bidding war). Amenities wise it's great and I have easy access to other amenities too. Being North of Fish Creek means you don't have to deal with Macleod backing up in rush hours. I'll never get tired of the easy access to Fish Creek trails.

I grew up in Canyon Meadows, but it's been a long time since I spent any meaningful time that far south.

Macleod is free-flowing south of Lake Fraser Gate, so do you really have to worry about it backing up in rush hour?

Out of the areas mentioned by the OP, I'd vote Lakeview. Quick trip up Crowchild to Kensington for his wife and UofC; MRU is right there and it's easy to shoot east on Glenmore to get to Highfield. The community mall has all of the essentials and Marda Loop, Chinook and Westhills are all <5 minutes away for any other amenity you could think of.

Longer term, I think Lakeview has the potential to really take of price-wise as it's a close-in, mature, relatively homogenous SF neighbourhood.

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by you&me

I grew up in Canyon Meadows, but it's been a long time since I spent any meaningful time that far south.

Macleod is free-flowing south of Lake Fraser Gate, so do you really have to worry about it backing up in rush hour?

If I lived South of Fish Creek, there's a good chance I'm getting stuck in traffic heading northbound on Macleod across the bridge at Fish Creek in the morning rush. Southbound is less of an issue but I've seen cars lined up along Canyon Meadows up to a kilometer long trying to turn to southbound Macleod enough times to know that it can be a nightmare both ways. At least in Canyon Meadows I have a few ways to get out if there's traffic issues.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

If I lived South of Fish Creek, there's a good chance I'm getting stuck in traffic heading northbound on Macleod across the bridge at Fish Creek in the morning rush. Southbound is less of an issue but I've seen cars lined up along Canyon Meadows up to a kilometer long trying to turn to southbound Macleod enough times to know that it can be a nightmare both ways. At least in Canyon Meadows I have a few ways to get out if there's traffic issues.

This is probably the biggest thing Stoney has done. This area was an issue 10 years ago but now if I'm coming, say, southbound on Deerfoot and trying to get home in Evergreen, I could take Deerfoot all the way to Stoney, or even take Anderson all the way to Stoney on the west side


I also commute in non-peak hours though so maybe those routes get ugly too, I wouldn't know

[Monahammer]

Silver springs is amazing so I'm going to pump it again. Not sure what level of house you are looking for but there's some excellent stuff on the south east side of silver springs that's very quickly accessible off of Crowchild and has phenomenal view/ walking path areas. Silverview Drive/silvercrest drive.

[CliffFletcher]

I’ve lived in 8 different communities in this Calgary, and none more than 2 km from Glenmore Reservoir. It’s my favourite thing about living here. Being able to hop on a bike and be riding around a forested lake within 10 minutes makes any neighbourhood better. Bonus points for living in the part of the city where you can hop on a bike and be at either the reservoir or Fish Creek in 10 minutes.

[Sliver]

You guys, the NW is the physical #####s. What a dump. "It's clean." WTF are you talking about? It has to be the only quadrant in any city on the planet that has an entire 4000 acre field comprised entirely of dog crap, thistle and tumbleweed that reliably ignites in a smelly, ugly grassfire every single year because people in the NW can't stop themselves from throwing cigarette butts out their car windows. I don't even blame them. It looks like an ashtray to me, too.

I saw a photo of Calgary from like a hundred years ago or something and Nose Hill wasn't even that big. It's gotten bigger because it's literally a mountain of dog dung.

I'm really sick of people prattling on about the NW being so great when they have only ever lived there. I have, too. I bought into the NW is the Best hype before I knew anything as well. Guess what, though? It's objectively terrible. Worse access to the entire city. Every single community is hopeless for having anything worth staying within the community over.

Take Dalhousie, for example. I grew up there. It's super awesome if you like going to CO-OP. Good school situation as well, but if you want to have fun I sure hope you like going straight down a path that cuts through the middle of the neighbourhood and then walking up hill all the way up that path again. Maybe you could hang out under the bus trap to Ranchlands? And that's it. That's considered fun in the NW and people think it's the best because they don't know any better.

Frankly, it's ridiculous with all the access to the Internet everyone has these days that they still think the NW is better. Spoiler alert: it's not. It's cringey and embarrassing to hear people talk about it. It's like when somebody is showing you something they're super proud of and you're standing there with the thing they're going on about, but your version is 780 times better. You just have to be like, 'uh-huh, uh-huh' but you're turning beat red because you know everything they're saying is wrong and ridiculous, but you don't really feel like crushing them with facts.

And look at Edgemont with all those huge aging houses on the hill that overlook the NW. It's so ostentatious. People in the south have a modicum of class and don't look for the tallest, ugliest hill on which to perch their super gaudy, ugly homes in some monkey-like display of new money. It's so sad. You're just like, 'aww, you're so insecure you needed to show all your old high school bullies you've made it because you live on top of an ugly hill with no amenities and a constantly blowing wind'.

I'm not going to bother with posting pics of the insane lake communities in the south. I'd have better luck trying to convince Trump voters their guy isn't a moron.

OP: go for Varsity, if you want. I had buddies that lived their growing up. I mean, it's nice, but it's nothing special. It's your basic bitch of neighbourhoods, which is truly every neighbourhood in the north. I guess it's your basic bitch quadrant of Calgary.

Not even going to proofread this. Not worth the effort.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by greyshep

That seems rather extreme, but I suppose your perception of a long commute is different than mine as we have been living with a 30km+ (one way) for work for a long long time. A 15-25 minute drive (weather/traffic dependent) for my son to drive school seems like a pretty reasonable trip to me and wouldn't require us to rent a NW apt for him, lol.

I wanted to buy in Varsity before I bought my current place.

I'd argue Varsity has been surrounded by some of the most substantial upgrades to the area in comparison to many other Calgary communities due to the University upgrades, University city and upgrades to surrounding neighborhoods like Montgomery. If it isn't upgraded yet in Varsity, I assume it'll get upgrades sooner rather than later.

It's not directly by Fish Creek, but the parks along the river systems like Edworthy, via Bowmont are really amazing as well. There's weird "secret look out points" all over that community that are awesome and range in variety from down town, river view, COP to mountain views. You can also go north towards Nose Hill if that's your type of biking. There's little forests, weird little ponds, views and elevation. Heck I've seen people para ski/para snowboard on Nose Hill in the winter and I knew a few people in the area who love biking those spaces in all 4 seasons. Varsity is actually a super underrated area to bike around from IMO. At worst, a 10 minute drive to jump start your riding trip could give you the opportunity to explore even more.

You have Crowchild South as your major commute artery and you also have 16th Avenue as a bypass if required. You're relatively close to the transit stations for the one going to MRU.

Basic shopping and groceries are relatively close by with University City turning into a quiet version of Kensington/Bridgeland/downtown/17th Ave space for eating out/casual day.

You're close to the hospital. Rocky view is only 15-20 minutes further if the wait times at Foothills are a bit long.

Your exit to the mountains is relatively close via 16th Ave. Edworthy and U of C campus has really nice Malus apple blossoms in the spring that many love taking pictures of (reminiscent of cherry blossoms).

It's a great place to be and it's typically around 25 mins or less to most major places in the city. Personally, most of my friends and family are in the NW/SW/Central/Cochrane/Airdrie, so that's where I approximately stayed. I personally wouldn't enjoy the SE or deep SW unless I was always 10 minutes or less to at least half a dozen friends that I met with regularly.

[Erick Estrada]

Ha ha ha. Awesome post Silver. I enjoyed very much.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Sliver

You guys, the NW is the physical #####s. What a dump. "It's clean." WTF are you talking about? It has to be the only quadrant in any city on the planet that has an entire 4000 acre field comprised entirely of dog crap, thistle and tumbleweed that reliably ignites in a smelly, ugly grassfire every single year because people in the NW can't stop themselves from throwing cigarette butts out their car windows. I don't even blame them. It looks like an ashtray to me, too.

I saw a photo of Calgary from like a hundred years ago or something and Nose Hill wasn't even that big. It's gotten bigger because it's literally a mountain of dog dung.

I'm really sick of people prattling on about the NW being so great when they have only ever lived there. I have, too. I bought into the NW is the Best hype before I knew anything as well. Guess what, though? It's objectively terrible. Worse access to the entire city. Every single community is hopeless for having anything worth staying within the community over.

Take Dalhousie, for example. I grew up there. It's super awesome if you like going to CO-OP. Good school situation as well, but if you want to have fun I sure hope you like going straight down a path that cuts through the middle of the neighbourhood and then walking up hill all the way up that path again. Maybe you could hang out under the bus trap to Ranchlands? And that's it. That's considered fun in the NW and people think it's the best because they don't know any better.

Frankly, it's ridiculous with all the access to the Internet everyone has these days that they still think the NW is better. Spoiler alert: it's not. It's cringey and embarrassing to hear people talk about it. It's like when somebody is showing you something they're super proud of and you're standing there with the thing they're going on about, but your version is 780 times better. You just have to be like, 'uh-huh, uh-huh' but you're turning beat red because you know everything they're saying is wrong and ridiculous, but you don't really feel like crushing them with facts.

And look at Edgemont with all those huge aging houses on the hill that overlook the NW. It's so ostentatious. People in the south have a modicum of class and don't look for the tallest, ugliest hill on which to perch their super gaudy, ugly homes in some monkey-like display of new money. It's so sad. You're just like, 'aww, you're so insecure you needed to show all your old high school bullies you've made it because you live on top of an ugly hill with no amenities and a constantly blowing wind'.

I'm not going to bother with posting pics of the insane lake communities in the south. I'd have better luck trying to convince Trump voters their guy isn't a moron.

OP: go for Varsity, if you want. I had buddies that lived their growing up. I mean, it's nice, but it's nothing special. It's your basic bitch of neighbourhoods, which is truly every neighbourhood in the north. I guess it's your basic bitch quadrant of Calgary.

Not even going to proofread this. Not worth the effort.

Bro, you need some black licorice cigar. Calm down.

I agree that the NW is the best crowd are a bit silly. I've lived in other quadrants and everywhere has a bit of a pros and cons. I don't disagree with your post though.

One thing I noticed a little bit lately, is that I'd say I've observed that the NW does seem like there's more home bodies than other quadrants. All the parties are typically in the other quadrants of the city. NW Calgary is more quiet. I've done a lot of walks in other communities with friends and the vibe in the NW communities are totally different than other quadrants.

Hell, the same can be argued the further you go out. Airdrie and Cochrane seem far more quiet and less engaging of Calgary proper than Okotoks and High River.

[btimbit]

North or South aside, we can all agree West is Best, right?

[Weitz]

Nothing south of glenmore, east of Deerfoot, or north of 25th Ave IMO.

[you&me]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Nothing south of glenmore, east of Deerfoot, or north of 25th Ave IMO.

That would set you up for a pretty nice life in Calgary, really.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Nothing south of glenmore, east of Deerfoot, or north of 25th Ave IMO.

There are small gentrified pockets in the Albert Park/Radisson Heights area IMO that are hidden gems. I think it's only a matter of time until some of that area starts to really shoot up in price once the developers start taking a gander in that area along with Mayland Heights. I wouldn't be surprised if they start working in that area once they finish off the development on the 16th Ave former trailer park.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by Sliver

And look at Edgemont with all those huge aging houses on the hill that overlook the NW. It's so ostentatious. People in the south have a modicum of class and don't look for the tallest, ugliest hill on which to perch their super gaudy, ugly homes in some monkey-like display of new money. It's so sad. You're just like, 'aww, you're so insecure you needed to show all your old high school bullies you've made it because you live on top of an ugly hill with no amenities and a constantly blowing wind'.

Maybe not technically a hill but the folks down south sure love putting up gaudy, ugly, new money homes on every parcel of land overlooking the Bow River valley.

Originally Posted by btimbit

North or South aside, we can all agree West is Best, right?

west is easily the best. Everything east of MacLeod in the south and east of Deerfoot in the north is garbage.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Sliver

You guys, the NW is the physical #####s. What a dump. "It's clean." WTF are you talking about? It has to be the only quadrant in any city on the planet that has an entire 4000 acre field comprised entirely of dog crap, thistle and tumbleweed that reliably ignites in a smelly, ugly grassfire every single year because people in the NW can't stop themselves from throwing cigarette butts out their car windows. I don't even blame them. It looks like an ashtray to me, too.

I saw a photo of Calgary from like a hundred years ago or something and Nose Hill wasn't even that big. It's gotten bigger because it's literally a mountain of dog dung.

I'm really sick of people prattling on about the NW being so great when they have only ever lived there. I have, too. I bought into the NW is the Best hype before I knew anything as well. Guess what, though? It's objectively terrible. Worse access to the entire city. Every single community is hopeless for having anything worth staying within the community over.

Take Dalhousie, for example. I grew up there. It's super awesome if you like going to CO-OP. Good school situation as well, but if you want to have fun I sure hope you like going straight down a path that cuts through the middle of the neighbourhood and then walking up hill all the way up that path again. Maybe you could hang out under the bus trap to Ranchlands? And that's it. That's considered fun in the NW and people think it's the best because they don't know any better.

Frankly, it's ridiculous with all the access to the Internet everyone has these days that they still think the NW is better. Spoiler alert: it's not. It's cringey and embarrassing to hear people talk about it. It's like when somebody is showing you something they're super proud of and you're standing there with the thing they're going on about, but your version is 780 times better. You just have to be like, 'uh-huh, uh-huh' but you're turning beat red because you know everything they're saying is wrong and ridiculous, but you don't really feel like crushing them with facts.

And look at Edgemont with all those huge aging houses on the hill that overlook the NW. It's so ostentatious. People in the south have a modicum of class and don't look for the tallest, ugliest hill on which to perch their super gaudy, ugly homes in some monkey-like display of new money. It's so sad. You're just like, 'aww, you're so insecure you needed to show all your old high school bullies you've made it because you live on top of an ugly hill with no amenities and a constantly blowing wind'.

I'm not going to bother with posting pics of the insane lake communities in the south. I'd have better luck trying to convince Trump voters their guy isn't a moron.

OP: go for Varsity, if you want. I had buddies that lived their growing up. I mean, it's nice, but it's nothing special. It's your basic bitch of neighbourhoods, which is truly every neighbourhood in the north. I guess it's your basic bitch quadrant of Calgary.

Not even going to proofread this. Not worth the effort.

Great post, and this was the funniest line!

[SebC]

I don't know your kid, but university is a time of long nights studying, and long nights partying - neither of which mix well with driving. Don't make your kid car-dependent. Pick a place that's either close to the University (it would help if you know which one) or has great transit to it.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Sliver

You guys, the NW is the physical #####s. What a dump. "It's clean." WTF are you talking about? It has to be the only quadrant in any city on the planet that has an entire 4000 acre field comprised entirely of dog crap, thistle and tumbleweed that reliably ignites in a smelly, ugly grassfire every single year because people in the NW can't stop themselves from throwing cigarette butts out their car windows. I don't even blame them. It looks like an ashtray to me, too.

I saw a photo of Calgary from like a hundred years ago or something and Nose Hill wasn't even that big. It's gotten bigger because it's literally a mountain of dog dung.

I'm really sick of people prattling on about the NW being so great when they have only ever lived there. I have, too. I bought into the NW is the Best hype before I knew anything as well. Guess what, though? It's objectively terrible. Worse access to the entire city. Every single community is hopeless for having anything worth staying within the community over.

Take Dalhousie, for example. I grew up there. It's super awesome if you like going to CO-OP. Good school situation as well, but if you want to have fun I sure hope you like going straight down a path that cuts through the middle of the neighbourhood and then walking up hill all the way up that path again. Maybe you could hang out under the bus trap to Ranchlands? And that's it. That's considered fun in the NW and people think it's the best because they don't know any better.

Frankly, it's ridiculous with all the access to the Internet everyone has these days that they still think the NW is better. Spoiler alert: it's not. It's cringey and embarrassing to hear people talk about it. It's like when somebody is showing you something they're super proud of and you're standing there with the thing they're going on about, but your version is 780 times better. You just have to be like, 'uh-huh, uh-huh' but you're turning beat red because you know everything they're saying is wrong and ridiculous, but you don't really feel like crushing them with facts.

And look at Edgemont with all those huge aging houses on the hill that overlook the NW. It's so ostentatious. People in the south have a modicum of class and don't look for the tallest, ugliest hill on which to perch their super gaudy, ugly homes in some monkey-like display of new money. It's so sad. You're just like, 'aww, you're so insecure you needed to show all your old high school bullies you've made it because you live on top of an ugly hill with no amenities and a constantly blowing wind'.

I'm not going to bother with posting pics of the insane lake communities in the south. I'd have better luck trying to convince Trump voters their guy isn't a moron.

OP: go for Varsity, if you want. I had buddies that lived their growing up. I mean, it's nice, but it's nothing special. It's your basic bitch of neighbourhoods, which is truly every neighbourhood in the north. I guess it's your basic bitch quadrant of Calgary.

Not even going to proofread this. Not worth the effort.