5 Reasons to NOT Move to Airdrie, Alberta

1. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR THE BIG CITY LIFE

Although Airdrie is a growing city, it’s still a lot smaller than Calgary and absolutely feels that way as well. Because of its size and nature, there isn’t very much hustle and bustle or night life here in Airdrie, which can be a drawback to some people.

If you like that big city feeling with all the skyscrapers and loud noises, you won’t get that here. If that sounds like you, You may find it’s actually too quiet here or there aren't enough entertainment options. But, if you’re okay with a small drive, Calgary is very close, and has all the nightlife you could hope for! Many people love living in a smaller center like Airdrie and choose to commute to work in Calgary, to be able to have a better quality of life and more affordable home options here.

As for all the essentials, you’ll be able to find everything you’re looking for and more right in Airdrie, with a ton of big box stores, smaller local shops, and great restaurants. Not to mention a major mall & Costco just outside the city. Also, everything in Airdrie is going to be less than a 15 minute drive away, which sure beats driving through a big city.

2. IF YOU HATE KIDS

If you don’t like seeing young families and kids playing around the city, Airdrie just not gonna be the spot for you. Young families make up a large portion of Airdrie and many of the new additions to the city are catered towards the needs of them. Whether that be parks, programs, businesses, or city events, you can be sure that they will always keep children in mind.

This is also the reason our residential speed limit is 30km/h. This keeps our cars moving nice and slow because you never know when there might be a group of kids out playing on the street. The nice thing about this is you never have to worry about if you need to slow down for school zones, because you’re already going 30!

If you are in a different phase of your life though, it’s possible that you could see Airdrie as being too family friendly, with not enough focus on adult oriented living or activities. I haven’t found that to be the case, as there are still a ton of fantastic adult sports teams, groups, and classes offered throughout the year, and we do have a handful of adult only homes and condo complexes as well.

3. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR HOME

There aren’t any super luxury homes within the city that get into the multiple million dollar range like you’ll find in Vancouver, Toronto, or even Calgary. The tippy top end of our market is just above the million dolllar mark. The most expensive sale we’ve ever had here inside Airdrie in fact was in 2014. It was a 4,400 square foot home in the middle of Coopers Crossing that sold for $1.46m.

The majority of the homes in Airdrie are great starter homes, family homes, and estate homes. Don’t get me wrong, there ARE gorgeous and massive custom homes, with high end finishes, but you won’t get anything that’s too over the top like in Calgary or other large cities.

4. IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A SMALL TOWN FEEL

I mentioned at the start of the video that Airdrie is a growing city. Although its not a large city, it is still a city, and it is growing fairly rapidly. This means it is starting to get a bit busier as time goes on, and we see this in all the people moving here from across Canada and the infrastructure that’s being built and planned for the future.

We are nowhere near the size of Calgary, but we’re also not your small town Alberta. So, if you’re looking for a slow pace of life, where you know everyone in town, then Airdrie might not be for you.

I like to look at airdrie as a real happy middle ground. We’re small enough that it only takes 10-15 minutes to get across town, but big enough that you can go to the grocery store and not run into someone you know every time. Plus, with the population growth, we’re seeing wonderful updates and additions to our city, which in turn just gives you more and more amenities to enjoy.

5. IF YOU RELY ON A PUBLIC TRANSIT

Here in Airdrie, our public transit system is faily basic, which is just a reflection of the cities size. We have a bus system that goes to calgary, but it is pretty limited in where it stops. Which is a few main hubs in Airdrie and just 1 stop in downtown Calgary. It goes there in the morning, and comes back in the afternoon. The lack of city to city public transit has been brought up as an issue that bothers some residents, esspecially those that have moved from the greater Toronto or Vancouver areas, but I can only see it getting better from here.

As for travel within Airdrie, we do have a couple bus routes that do a loop around the city, but if you are used to a more sofisticated transit system, you may find you’re waiting for the bus a lot longer than you’re used to.

That being said, the nice thing about Airdrie is that it’s very walkable, with paved pathways connecting almost every neighborhood and shopping area together. There is also uber if you don’t want to make the trek across town, and during the spring & summer we have e-scooters to help you get around town quickly without a car!

Check out my YouTube video below where I go over everything in this blog post and subscribe to my channel if you want to see more Airdrie related content!

- Brad Walker