Accommodation in Calgary
An alarming statistic – and one which expats should take heed of – is that more than half of the 17,000 people who spent a night in one of Calgary's homeless shelters in 2010 actually have full-time jobs. The bottom line is that in order to ensure there's a roof over your head in Calgary, you'll need to be engaged in well-paid, non-menial employment.
The most favourable (and most expensive) areas in which to live in Calgary are the north-west and south-west suburbs. These are closest to the Rocky Mountains, and boast fine views and low crime-rates. Popular suburbs include, in the north-west, Tuscany, Country Hills, Dalhousie, Edgemont and Rosedale; and in the south-west, Springbank Hill, West Hillhurst and Westgate. The north-east, where the airport is located, is considered an unfavourable location because it demands a long commute into the CBD; while the south-east features a mix of good and bad locations – unattractive industrial areas, as well as pleasant suburbs, such as Midnapore and McKenzie Lake.
The overwhelming majority (more than 60 percent) of Calgarians live in stand-alone houses, with apartments, row houses, duplexes and semi-detached houses making up the balance.
Finding accommodation in Calgary
Both furnished and unfurnished accommodation options are available in Calgary – with furnished options generally being much more expensive than unfurnished ones. It's highly recommended that you do a little pre-trip research about areas and suburbs in Calgary, so that you know where to begin looking – and indeed, about renting property in Canada in general, so that you can familiarise yourself with the basic processes you'll need to follow when finding a place to stay.
When searching for accommodation in Calgary, it's always a good idea to start with online listings, as these are updated most regularly.
You should also check out the daily editions of the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun – the city's leading newspapers, both of which carry rental listings.
If you find no joy in looking for a place to stay on your own, you are encouraged to retain the services of a real estate agent. These professionals can be very helpful, as they're familiar with the local market and the logistics surrounding leasing and negotiations – and since roughly two-thirds of Canadians own their own houses, and since many landlords don't want to bother with the hassle of finding their own tenants – often, estate agents will have mandate over the best rental properties in the city. However, as helpful as agents can be in helping you find a place to stay, they will exact a fee for this service – which can range from anywhere between 10 and 100 percent of the monthly rent.
Property prices in Calgary
Although housing prices differ according to the area of the city in which you intend to live – and are subject to ongoing fluctuations – the following are reasonable monthly estimates of how much you should expect to pay for rentals in Calgary:
- For shared housing: CAD 646
- For a bachelor flat: CAD 778
- For a two-bedroom apartment: CAD 1,151
- For a three-bedroom apartment: CAD 1,439
- For a stand-alone house: CAD 1,696
- For an upmarket condominium: CAD 1,760
Note that your monthly utility bills in Calgary (telephone, power, water, sewerage, land drainage and garbage collection) will come to at least CAD 185.
Those looking to purchase property in Calgary will find enormous variations in house prices – though in 2011, the average cost of a house in the city is between CAD 401,000 and 416,000 (depending on which reports you read). To put this in perspective, the average cost of a house in Toronto in 2011 is CAD 454,000, and in Vancouver, CAD 792,000.
