Family Moving to Calgary. Please advise (condos, crime rate, townhome)

[Oreo66]

My husband has a couple of jobs interviews in Calgary and we are seriously considering to move. We rather not live in Calgary, but on a small town close enough for commuting (30-45 min). We are a family of 4 with a 11 year old daughter that will be attending grade 7.

We are looking for the following:

- small town with good shopping, doctors and school
- newer homes build after 2000
- average home prices $400
- the least cold town (if possible )
- we like trail to hike and bike

I checked Okotoks so far, but I am completely clueless when it comes to Calgary. My husband knows the city but I never been there. The only thing I hear about is the unpredictable weather. We have been living in Kelowna for the past 15 years. Before that we lived in North Vancourver, Port Coquitlam than moved to Kelowna in 2000.

I am planning to visit Calgary next week and it would be really nice if I have a couple of towns close by to take a look.

Thank you all for helping.

[mikeyyc]

Small towns with good shopping are sort of hard to find. Why the aversion to living in the city if you've never been there? If you've lived in Kelowna for the past 15 years, you've been living in a city.

As far as your needs, Okotoks, Cochrane, Airdrie are your best bets, but the budget is probably tight.

Oh, and they're all cold.

[Street Medic]

My wife and I moved here from Quebec last year, and absolutely love it. We recently just bought a townhome in Airdire. You can find nice condos in Airdire for 250-300,000. And it's a 15 easy commute to Calgary.

[Oreo66]

Thank you everybody for the replies. I will read the information about Calgary for sure and start from there.

I know it is cold, colder than here . But I would imagine that north of Calgary would be worse than going south but I could be wrong. Vernon has a much nicer weather than Kelowna and it is 45 min away.

Looking outside Calgary just because I prefer to live in a smaller city. I understand Calgary is much bigger than Kelowna and I find here too busy already.

[mikeyyc]

Originally Posted by Oreo66

I would imagine that north of Calgary would be worse than going south but I could be wrong. Vernon has a much nicer weather than Kelowna and it is 45 min away.

Except Vernon is north of Kelowna...

They all have microclimates that are a bit different, but overall they're close enough to be the same.

[Lieneke]

Originally Posted by Oreo66

Thank you everybody for the replies. I will read the information about Calgary for sure and start from there.

I know it is cold, colder than here . But I would imagine that north of Calgary would be worse than going south but I could be wrong. Vernon has a much nicer weather than Kelowna and it is 45 min away.

Looking outside Calgary just because I prefer to live in a smaller city. I understand Calgary is much bigger than Kelowna and I find here too busy already.

Cochrane is 20 minutes from Calgary city limits on the West. It's closer to the mountains and started as a small ranching community. The wind almost always blows from the West, so the air is cleaner West of the city. The crime rate is lower in Cochrane than in Airdrie. Cochrane's community is older, and better established.

Cochrane, AB - Official Website | Official Website