[Radley77]

I grew up on a two-storey farm house in a rural setting in Saskatchewan. Since then, I have lived in several countries and housing styles including a townhouse in an English village, university residence at the U of S, SFH in Grande Prairie and Red Deer, gated community apartment block with pool in Tulsa, OK, SFH in Citadel, Calgary, and MFH in Crescent Heights.

I work as an engineer in the downtown core, although occasionally travel for work. I often work late, so being highly connected to the downtown core was important so I could leverage my time both at home with family and at the office better. I live in a 1300+ square foot two storey condo in Bridgeland and have amenities like the Princess Island park, Glenbow Museum, Riverwalk, Saddledome and Calgary zoo are within a short walking distance. There are unique restaurants in the area like Il Sogno, Noon and Diner Deluxe that are unique and have great food. I also am looking forward to the U of C downtown campus completion, and may pursue an MBA if offered at that time in the evenings. It's also been handy living downtown I find that have friends over constantly as it is easier to go out and dance at nightclubs and they often end up crashing at our place. I walk to work on a daily basis, but own a SUV I find that I rarely use (except for groceries and trips camping in the Rockies). I am president of the condo association, so I make the majority of decisions regarding operations and maintenance. When I do maintenance on the building from time to time, I get paid money instead of simply sweat equity (compensated for opportunity cost). In my spare time, I prefer listening to a street busker on Stephen Avenue over watching TV and would rather play badminton at the YMCA than have a basement gym.

I believe if it wasn't for the importance of the core for my work, and the opportunities that provides, that I would be living in a SFH in the suburbs. The cost of parking downtown which is $500/month in my tower, plus the time (opportunity cost) I spend in commute, plus milage without getting paid for it was the primary motivating factor for living downtown. The other amenities in the area are a bonus, but not really needed.

I would also consider living in ArriVa (views are gorgeous) or a SFH inner-city bungalow. Just a bit pricier than my tastes for similar square footages!