One of the guys I work with built out in Dalroy which is not far from Lyalta. Think it takes him about 25 minutes to get to work (we don't work downtown). On really bad traffic days he just works from home or takes a sick day or whatever but 99% of the time it's fine.

It's workable out east if you don't mind flat, windy, and saltyish dirt .. but on the flipside, a mere mortal stands a chance of buying property out that way compared to anything west or south. I actually looked at building too out that way, would love to be able to build a greenhouse or park my assortment of summer toys somewhere .... only problem is I'm not moving out of the house I'm in now unless it's a chance to flee Calgary and Alberta altogether. Man I hate the thought of moving!!!!!

One thing to consider out that way though is check into the proximity of sour gas wells out that way. I'm not sure if it's as big an issue as it was in the past (I imagine a lot of them are just shut in right now anyhow) or in what areas specifically where they are ... just a passing thought though of something you might want to check into further before deciding on anything.

Good luck man. I can't imagine trying to buy a house nowadays. I got into mine in the nick of time - there's no way I could afford my own house if it were on the market today. Not without a 99 year amortization !!

We house sat for a week in the area we originally considered purchasing in, and the commute sealed the deal for us. The cost of both of us having a vehicle, combined with higher insurance, maintenance, and earlier burn out, just wasn't worth it. Also if you drive into town, but take transit into the core, you can also add that cost into your monthly fees. At the time we were looking, 2008 we had a car that was extremely reasonable on gas; we were filling up every 5 days.

My sister in law lives in the little community we were considering. She never comes out to social activities unless is a very special occasion. They always want guests to come out there, but nobody wants to make the commute. She frequently complains about how she forgot to buy X, Y, or Z while she was last in town and then has to pay the inflated cost at the local corner/grocery store. Also they've now written off two cars in 4 years due to road conditions; spin outs, animal encounters, etc. Essentially her home cut her off from everyone.

In the summer my commute from home (inner city) to work (downtown) is 15 minutes, tonight it was 45 minutes, and on both Monday and Tuesday of last week it was well over an hour. I have multiple routes I can take, and they were all bad.

I am not a fan of cookie cutter houses, and so we took a bit of a different approach to buying a home. We purposefully sought out the ugliest/worst house in the best neighbourhood we could afford. We purchased our house at around 50% of the cost our two neighbours paid (they moved in 3-6 months after we did). Yes, there was a lot of work, but the bulk of it was/is cosmetic. We did have to wait, we viewed numerous properties, but in the end we ended up with a charming little 1950s home that required landscaping, paint, new appliances, and updated light fixtures.

It usually only took me 22 minutes to get to work ( downtown) but on snowing day, I just stay home because i know it will take me over an hour to get to work so I can't imagine how long would it take for those who live outside of the city.

I live in Airdrie and drive in every day down to the Foothills industrial area.. takes me 25-30mins (I'd rather not get into snow/blizzard days.. haha) Drive is fine for me, as I work 10-630pm, so most of the rush hour traffic is gone by those times on my route (Deerfoot or Stoney Trail, depending on the day).