Might be moving. Okotoks or High River?

[jonnycat]

I may apply for a job located in High River, but based purely on proximity to Calgary, I'm thinking Okotoks would be a better location. Work would be 20 mins south and family would be ~20 minutes north.

Any Okotokians / Calgarians have opinions on the subject or the town itself?? Not sure which areas are best / worst. I've never really ventured into Okotoks but have heard that is a nice place and may check it out soon if I do apply.

Price range would be ~$400-500K. I'm impartial to older renovated homes vs. newer ones as they both have +/-.

Thaks

[sputnik]

I would rather live in Auburn Bay or another community in the deep south of Calgary.

[colinxx235]

Well my father builds in Okotoks, and yah it's definitely nicer than High River in terms of available services etc etc and middle for commuting. I think Cimarron and Crystal Shores are pretty nice communities, especially some of the lake/golf course lots available.

[Jonrox]

Definitely Okotoks. However, be careful when choosing where you want to live. I'd say Crystal Shores is the nicest area in Okotoks, plus you get lake access (as long as your street has "Crystal" in the name). But driving through Okotoks is painful due to the number of lights the town now has. Oktotoks is small but you'd be surprised at how bad it can get.

So if you're working in High River, you may want to look at Westmount or Cimarron so you don't have to battle traffic everyday. If you worked in Calgary, I'd recommend Crystal Shores hands down.

[jonnycat]

Originally posted by sputnik
I would rather live in Auburn Bay or another community in the deep south of Calgary.

Some of the Family lives there. I really want to be kind of close, but not over at my house every day close, lol.

Same with the other side, (Seton?) my sister is building there, same scenario as above, too close.


Originally posted by Jonrox
Definitely Okotoks. However, be careful when choosing where you want to live. I'd say Crystal Shores is the nicest area in Okotoks, plus you get lake access (as long as your street has "Crystal" in the name). But driving through Okotoks is painful due to the number of lights the town now has. Oktotoks is small but you'd be surprised at how bad it can get.

So if you're working in High River, you may want to look at Westmount or Cimarron so you don't have to battle traffic everyday. If you worked in Calgary, I'd recommend Crystal Shores hands down.

Can you swim in the lake? Or is it one of those pretty to look at only ones?

[colinxx235]

Crystal Shores is a swim in lake, with full community center + playground etc etc. Its a nice community... I haven't been down to cimmarron to look at my fathers show homes in a while to comment on what the community is like/offers... But I used to work for him in Crystal cleaning up this sites and it was really similar to Mckenzie Lake where I live.

[Cos]

High River will have a tim hortons soon. If you want a city feel live in Okotoks but it is busier, High River is still a very farming community feel.

[f150mikey060]

Originally posted by Jonrox
Definitely Okotoks. However, be careful when choosing where you want to live. I'd say Crystal Shores is the nicest area in Okotoks, plus you get lake access (as long as your street has "Crystal" in the name). But driving through Okotoks is painful due to the number of lights the town now has. Oktotoks is small but you'd be surprised at how bad it can get.

So if you're working in High River, you may want to look at Westmount or Cimarron so you don't have to battle traffic everyday. If you worked in Calgary, I'd recommend Crystal Shores hands down.

By the time he moves in the bridge across the river to connect 32nd st E will probably be complete. It should alleviate the traffic problem and should make commuting to high river from crystal shores quite quick.

[Euro_Trash]

The back way from the north end of town (Crystal Shores) out to the highway is a pretty quick drive, would be an easy commute to High River

[Jonrox]

Originally posted by f150mikey060


By the time he moves in the bridge across the river to connect 32nd st E will probably be complete. It should alleviate the traffic problem and should make commuting to high river from crystal shores quite quick.

Good point. I haven't lived there for awhile, so completely forgot about the bridge. I'd definitely recommend the Crystal side of Okotoks then.

You can get cheaper houses in Westmount, Drake Landing, Cimarron, etc... (bigger houses for the same money), but I don't think you'll find better neighbourhoods than in Crystal (and you don't get lake access). I think Crystal has more value given the lake and feel of the community.

The beach is actually pretty decent and they have nice bbq areas. In the winter, they Zamboni the ice with an area for hockey, an area for skating, and a path around the lake as well. You can also rent out the beach house if you have an event to host.

If schools are important, it's tough to find brand new areas that have established elementary and high schools within walking distance. There are 2 very good schools in the Crystal area.

Westmount feels like it was plunked down in the middle of a commercial zone. Cimarron and the other areas in the south always felt "far" away to me, especially when coming back from Calgary.

[derran.m]

^^^ Been mentioned earlier, if you're looking for the city feeling (and lots of traffic lights) go with Okotoks. If you're looking for more of a country feel come to High River.

Personally I would recommend High River over Okotks, but I hate the big city feeling of Okotoks. People are snobby, traffic is ridiculous, and the drivers are less than bright ... and thanks to Wal-Mart & Can Tire - rice city!!!

High River is still a small farming town, walking down the street people will actually acknowledge you. We only have what ... 6 traffic lights in the entire town. 7 if you include the pedestrian crossing at the north end of town.

Newer homes being built on the east side of town near Hwy 2, as well as the golf course area in the NW of town. Central part of town is nothing but old homes so don't even bother unless you're planning on investing a bunch into it to fix it up.



Personally, I would say High River. The drive to Calgary is not that bad - not any worse than the drive to Okotoks. After all the bullshit to get into and around Okotoks, it takes just as long to get to the south end of Calgary as it does to get to downtown Okotoks.

Just saw it and had to put in my $.02 ... being a resident in the area for the last 15 years minus my 3 years in Strathmore.

[jonnycat]

^ Info is appreciated.