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Thread: Living Outside Calgary

  1. #1
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    Default Living Outside Calgary

    Would it be cheaper and better buying a house in Airdrie or Chestermere or Okotoks or Cochrane but work in Calgary?

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    First I would do this:

    Figure out my fuel mileage
    Figure out the mileage to work
    Figure out the difference in housing costs/pricing
    Fart a little bit
    And do the fucking math.

    Originally posted by teamPRO


    howbout suck my black kettle...

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    K, but seriously. If you bought a 350k house in Calgary, and a $350K house in....Airdrie, if you're only saving $100 on property taxes while tagging an extra 120 km to your day, it would be balls.

    I remember when houses on the douglasdale golf course sold for $240K. 350? for a fucking bungalow? Preposterous!

    Originally posted by teamPRO


    howbout suck my black kettle...

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    Not to mention that GOD AWFUL commute.

    Can you really put a price on *not* sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour a day?
    TRUTH: it's the new hate speech.
    In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act. - Orwell

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    Originally posted by broken_legs
    Not to mention that GOD AWFUL commute.

    Can you really put a price on *not* sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for an hour a day?

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    I am still debating the same thing - for me it comes down to lifestyle. I like the small town feel, which I would be happy coming home to everyday (guarantee most of the people on Beyond feel the opposite). Commute isn't a big deal since I would be driving downtown, no train for me.

    Seems like you can get more house for your money in these towns as well.
    Quote Originally Posted by DonJuan View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Yo bro, are you from that goat Calgary car forum that get salty over lawn care, land rovers and circumcisions? That's straight fire.

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    Im not from Calgary/Alberta but has been hoping to move there 1 day. I have no idea about the distance and commute time, that is why i posted that question. I thought the commute would be simple. But thanks for the replies.

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    Originally posted by desmond
    Im not from Calgary/Alberta but has been hoping to move there 1 day. I have no idea about the distance and commute time, that is why i posted that question. I thought the commute would be simple. But thanks for the replies.
    6 Years ago I used to commute from Downtown on 5th ave to Airdrie. Driving at roughly 120km/hr on the deerfoot got me there in about 20-25 minutes. Just the look on peoples faces as they were in a parking lot and I flew by at 120 in the opposing lane was enough to tell me I would NEVER live there.

    Now, that was only possible because I was doing the opposite commute of everyone else. The traffic was bumper to bumper starting at Country Hills all the way into Calgary, and of course it was the same on the way out of the city in the evening.

    Theres usually a line up of cars on the #2 waiting to get on the off ramp just to exit the highway to get into Airdrie in the evenings.

    That was 5-6 years ago *before* airdrie blew up, before the walmart, homedepot, condos, endless urban sprawl of a "little community". I can only imagine what the traffic is like now...
    TRUTH: it's the new hate speech.
    In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act. - Orwell

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    I live in Airdrie and commute to Downtown everymorning. Takes 30mins.. But I start at 7am and leave at 4pm.

    Living in Airdrie is awesome! Better commute times then those who live in the Deep South.

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    Chestermere and Langdon don't have horrible commutes depending on where you are working. You will also get a lot more house and land for the exact same money you would in Calgary.

    The lifestyle in small towns is way better at least in my opinion. People are friendlier, the crime rates are usually lower and it really feels like a different place. If you were to come out to Boulder Creek and see the lot sizes you'd be sold on that alone.

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    Originally posted by Gorilla
    I live in Airdrie and commute to Downtown everymorning. Takes 30mins.. But I start at 7am and leave at 4pm.

    Living in Airdrie is awesome! Better commute times then those who live in the Deep South.
    Downtown to the deep SE is only 40-45 minutes right at 5:00.

    If I leave at 4:30 or 5:30 it's barely 30 minutes.

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    Originally posted by Euro_Trash
    I am still debating the same thing - for me it comes down to lifestyle. I like the small town feel, which I would be happy coming home to everyday (guarantee most of the people on Beyond feel the opposite). Commute isn't a big deal since I would be driving downtown, no train for me.

    Seems like you can get more house for your money in these towns as well.
    Completely agree with you. Recently, we've been looking at Bragg Creek especially. Granted, the houses are more expensive there, but the lots are incredible and I would gladly sit in traffic a few extra minutes every day to be able to come home to peace... But I do most of my work from home... so no commute...

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    I live out past Langdon, and I LOVE my commute. 40 mins of driving, which equals 2 coffees and 4 cigarettes. Perfectly orchestrated. The only downside is hanging out with friends, i have to drive another 60kms after work to visit someone.
    Beyond's Most Wanted

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    Really depends on where you're commuting in Calgary - I do Bridlewood (deep SW) to Highwood (central NW) via Deerfoot, 4pm and 715am and both commutes are usually just around 30 minutes or a bit less for 32km one way. Then again, I'm going against the rush hour flow for the most part.

    Have to say though that the PM commute north to Airdrie is a slow slog on the Deerfoot after 4pm as the Deerfoot alwys bogs down at around 16th or 32nd avenue just due to volume. Throw in an accident and instant parking lot.
    Will fuck off, again.

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    Default Re: Living Outside Calgary

    Originally posted by desmond
    Would it be cheaper and better buying a house in Airdrie or Chestermere or Okotoks or Cochrane but work in Calgary?
    I went throught this exact train of thought when we bought our house in Okotoks two years ago.

    At the time I worked off of Glenmore and 84th SE. So I was looking at a half hour commute - not bad, still less than most people living in Calgary.

    We were house shopping in Copperfield etc., looking for a starter home a few years old.

    We ended up buying a brand new Spec. home in Okotoks for $50K less than Copperfield. It was never lived in, had warranty, and was 150 sq. ft. bigger than the average starter home in Copperfield/McKenzie Towne etc.

    I also swicthed jobs and now work near the Deerfoot Casino, so my commute is 25min, and mostly open highway.

    When we were buying, I had my realtor compare house prices between Okotoks and Calgary and he sent back the numbers over the past ten years. asically, when the housing market is strong, Okotoks prices are comparable to Calgary, but they drop off faster when the market drops...which was about the time we were buying. So it resolved my concern about having a harder time selling our house if we wanted to move back into Calgary.

    So overall, we were happy with out decision. And having our Maxima recently written off in a 50 car pile-up (commuting home to Okotoks) I'm now driving a smaller 4cyl car to get better mileage.

    Fast forward to today, here's how I feel about Okotoks. Propoerty taxes are roughly the same, but you do not get as good services as Calgary, the snow removal I think is even worse than Calgary, especially on the side streets. The school system is phenomenal, and that is what most people enjoy about living here, but my kids are still a few years away from school. Traffic in Okotoks is getting bad. It takes me just as long to get from one end of town to the other as it takes me to get from Calgary to Okotoks on the highway. Overall its just okay. My wife and I are city kids and miss the amenities and all the stuff there is to do in the city...especially in winter. There's nothing to do in Okotoks in the winter outside of your home. We're happy with our house and do not regret buying it, but when we move up into a larger home, we'll probably head back into Calgary. Oh, and another thing, lots of places close really early in smaller towns, sometimes very inconvenient.

    That's my $0.02.
    freshprince
    -Jan 2006-

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    Originally posted by speedog
    Have to say though that the PM commute north to Airdrie is a slow slog on the Deerfoot after 4pm as the Deerfoot alwys bogs down at around 16th or 32nd avenue just due to volume. Throw in an accident and instant parking lot.
    That's why you just take the 16th off ramp, cross the intersections and boot it back down to Deerfoot... and if you're brave... do that same sequence again at 32 Ave (where you would be violating a posted sign) and you've pretty much bypassed the backlog in 5 minutes.

    I can get from work (Blackfoot/42 Ave SE) to my house in Sandstone (NW) in 20-25 minutes most days...

    Once you pass McKnight... Deerfoot cranks wide open all the way out of town. Accident will clamp down... but that's true for any route. I find SB Deerfoot has far more backups due to collisions than NB Deerfoot does... simply because the south portion is a longer road.

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    Chestermere is great imo. Commute is never bad, its really only 5 minutes outta town, we've got a lake, skate park, dirt jumps, tons of schools, nice little communities with lots of paths creeks ponds, a golf course, blah blah.. i just like it.

    Live in chesty work near deerfoot casino and some days my commute is 20 min. I like it out there. i used to live on the lake, and that was life! not anymore though haha

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    I would rather shoot myself in my own face.

    What happens when its snowy and icy and shitty?

    What if you want to get drunk at a Flames game or downtown somewhere, how much is the cab ride? How long is the round trip to grab your car in the morning?

    I'll take a smaller place for the same money thanks.

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    Living outside Calgary is great.

    - No stupid little kids bothering you on Halloween

    - No freaking watchtower people (mormons)

    - Don't have any noise by-laws (open header v-12's allowed )

    On the other hand

    - Mail delivery sucks

    - Internet access speeds sub-par

  20. #20
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    Originally posted by bspot
    I would rather shoot myself in my own face.

    What happens when its snowy and icy and shitty?

    What if you want to get drunk at a Flames game or downtown somewhere, how much is the cab ride? How long is the round trip to grab your car in the morning?

    I'll take a smaller place for the same money thanks.
    Cabs 40 bucks usually, drive to get the hoopty isnt bad, trust me i do this 2-3 times a week. i wont lie im looking at buying a place and i am CONSIDERING a condo because it would be nice to not have to do this as an avid partier. but if i get a house it'll prob be in chesty.

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