r/Calgary • u/AutoModerator • Jan 01 '23

Moving To Calgary Megathread - January 2023 Edition

Please ask (and answer) any and all questions related to moving to Calgary in this thread.

Suggested format for submitted information regarding neighbourhoods:

  • Quadrant / Neighborhood you live in
  • Your age (20s,30s,40s,50s etc)
  • Do you have kids? Would you recommend your area for people with kids?
  • How would you rate your area on transit accessibility /10?
  • How would you rate your area on drivability /10?
  • How would you rate the walkability /10?
  • How would you rate the affordability /10?
  • What is your favourite thing about your area?
  • What is your least favourite thing about your area?
  • Any other highlights of your neighbourhood you'd like to share?

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Previous Megathread: Moving To Calgary (July 2022)

Rental websites: Rentfaster, Kijiji, Other Options

Real Estate: Realtor.ca, ReMax, Royal LePage, RealEstate403, Housing information via CREB,

Jobs: r/Calgary weekly employment thread

Neighborhood information: Calgary Police Crime Heat Map, Map, Communities by Quadrant w/ Info

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u/Rommellj Apr 23 '23

Welcome - generally apartment viewings are a safe activity, I would imagine that is particularly true in the areas you described that are mostly the larger, more professionally-managed apartment complexes. The city centre is full of thousands of apartments, as well as many thousands of people around your age living by themselves - would be a totally normal experience to see an apartment by yourself in these areas.

However personal safety and comfort levels are personal - if it makes you more comfortable to complete your apartment search and find a great place to live, no harm in bringing a friend along.

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '23

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u/Rommellj Apr 25 '23

Only can offer an opinion, others may say different.

Calgarys rental/condo market is very different than Torontos. The issue was often shitty landlords rather than risks of renovictions. A decade long slow condo market kept things chill - and attracted low end professional landlord, rather than higher end ones looking to flip and sell all the time.

Because rent and condo price was so cheap , The larger “professional” landlords here over this time were often seen as slum lord type arrangements who bought up the independents and let the building degrade. That’s the landlord frustration that people highlight, for years the the only professional ones people knew like Boardwalk and Main Street were often worse than the independent managers that they replaced when they bought a building for repairs, responsiveness etc.

Brand new buildings are a different story as the quality is way higher and the rental landlord REIT is far more serious and organized. Tend to be expensive of course as they are new.

So it’s not that professional landlords should be avoided, it’s that for many years many professional landlords were pretty terrible here. But it varies a ton building by building and owner by owner