cagirlintexas Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 We are most likely moving to Calgary in 3 months. Can anyone give me some advice about neighborhoods. We would like something close to DH's work, ability to walk to some places, and good homeschool group. Also prefer something where houses are newer. We are open to houses, town homes, condos, ect. Open on budget till we see what's out there. DH will be working in the community of Sundance in southeast Calgary. Also how is it homeschooling in Calgary? How is the community. How is the snow? Are we in for 9 months of winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer-72 Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 I am in Calgary and happy to answer any questions. There are lots of housing developments down that way. You may prefer Lake Chaparral to Sundance. Sundance is quite a bit older. One of the boundaries for Sundance is McLeod Trail, which is the dividing road for SE/SW. There are great neighborhoods on the SW that would still be super close for your husband. Somerset is nice. We use to live up that way in Evergreen Estates, gorgeous area! In Shawnessy there is a big rec centre that offers lots of homeschool physical ed and art programs. There are a couple of brand new developments called Seton and Walden, IIRC. Housing is very expensive you are looking at most starter homes in a new area at just around the 400,000. Most mid size family homes will run you at least 500,000. I have to head out right now but will pop back later with some more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagirlintexas Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 We will be renting as it's only a temporary assignment. I like the idea of being near a rec center and I saw a library was near there too which was an added bonus. Is there an advantage of some of the newer developments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer-72 Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Renting is tough in Calgary right now. Very little available and what is available is going fast. Good news is the areas close to your husband's work are all far from downtown core, so it will probably be a touch easier. You certainly won't have much time to make a decision or look around though. Many are being rented before people can even call about them. This has really made renting considerable expensive right now. I think most townhomes are renting for around 1800-2500 plus utilities. Yes the rec center and library and all of the bigger box stores are all located in that same area so most everything you need is right there and all the areas I listed are very close. They are also all full of young families so there will be lots of kids around. In Alberta you need to register with a school board to homeschool. We have used Phoenix Foundation. They offer classes. I don't use their classes mainly because they are very far from me - and would be even further away from your area. They are laidback and they organize great field trips that I am sure your boys would enjoy. No matter which school board you register with you will need to meet at least twice usually three times a year. The first meeting is usually just going over your learning plan and providing a list of materials. The other two meetings are just to show work samples and discuss progress. Probably sounds onerous to what you have to do there, but it really isn't bad. Phoenix has lovely learning coaches who really want to see you succeed and are there to support you and offer any help they can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagirlintexas Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 That sucks about the rental market. Didn't realize that. We will probably move into short term housing till we find something. Do people use real estate agents there to help find stuff. We will be looking around beginning of November. That doesn't sound to bad about the monitoring for homeschooling. It will be weird having someone care in Qatar we could do what ever we wanted. Are ther a lot of families that homeschool? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 How is the snow? Are we in for 9 months of winter. I REALLY hope not! I was born in Calgary, and loved the proximity to the Rocky Mountains. In addition to the gorgeous scenery and amazing downhill skiing, there is a Chinook weather effect that brings up the winter temperatures very quickly in the span of a few hours. This warms things up, melts the snow, the sun is shining and winter seems a lot more easy to endure. It's not Qatar, but WAY better than the prairies. Still, you have to be prepared for a longish, cold winter. Take advantage of the environment and ski. If you've never learned, the Rockies are amazing mountains for learning as you'll have long, beautiful "green (easy) runs" to practice your turns, and chalets to celebrate in when you make it to the bottom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagirlintexas Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 What part of town are you guys in? Is it easy to meet other homeschoolers. We have an amazing homeschool group in Qatar it's smaller and closely knit. Really going to miss that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer-72 Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 That sucks about the rental market. Didn't realize that. We will probably move into short term housing till we find something. Do people use real estate agents there to help find stuff. We will be looking around beginning of November. That doesn't sound to bad about the monitoring for homeschooling. It will be weird having someone care in Qatar we could do what ever we wanted. Are ther a lot of families that homeschool? As far as I am aware, people don't really use real estate agents for rentals. There is a good number of homeschoolers. Phoenix has about 250 kids I think. The other nice thing about Phoenix, even if you sign up somewhere else you can still register for classes. Also most of their classes are a one time class not something that goes on for a whole semester. So signing up for a few you think would appeal would be a great way to meet some families. I think there is a southwest homeschool yahoo group as well. I am in the southwest as well but much more on the west side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cagirlintexas Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 That sounds really nice. We will have to try their classes. Anyway we can help the boys make some new friends will be awesome. I love the idea of one off classes to not so much of a commitment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefree3 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 I am also in Calgary. I wanted to add a few pieces of information for you. I realize you mentioned November for your arrival. Here in Alberta we get funding for homeschooling if the child is register at a homeschool board on Sept 30th. The amount varies between boards and if you select aligned, blended or traditional. When I moved here it took a while to understand the whole aligned/blended/ or traditional thing. I am also with the Phoenix and agree with everything the other poster mentioned. The Phoenix folks can explain the homeschool rules better than I can. If a child is registered after sept 30th they are referred to as "Rescued students". I thought that was interesting. I don't think all boards take rescued students because they will not receive any funding. The Phoenix does accept rescued students. Look at rentfaster.ca for rental properties. I live in Cochrane in a rental. Finding a rental is tough. Hope this is helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homefree3 Posted July 30, 2014 Share Posted July 30, 2014 One more item on Phoenix homeschool board. I like that they do not come for home visit. You conduct your meetings at their office. I feel really funny about a person coming into my house for a review. I am not sure what other board policies are but lots of them have home visits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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