Should you still consider moving to Calgary?

now it might feel like you've missed the boat and things might be a little bit over when it comes to making that change in moving to Calgary well in reality there are still a lot of options there are still a lot of places there are still opportunities for you so don't have that fomo because I want you to meet a couple who did move here 3 years ago and they're going to tell their story what they love about calary what they don't love about Calgary they're going to talk about why they came here initially and is their Journey actually setting out along the path that they wanted it to look like well all of those things are going to be great conversations today and if you're in that similar boat where you have questions you want to figure things out you don't know how to do it and you're trying to make that change to Calgary and you're looking for a home well let us know cuz we are able to do this and help you because we've helped hundreds of people move here to Calgary and so I want to introduce you to Venit and kushbu you're going to love them so let's go jump into that so since the last time you guys were here a lot has happened has it not yeah yeah yeah our lives have changed your lives have changed for the better 100% the better that's good so why don't we jump in and kind of hear a little bit um if you want to get people caught up they may not not have watched the first video you guys were on a couple years ago um but how long have you been living in Calgary now it's been almost 3 years we moved in May 2021 okay so yeah it's it's it'll be three years next month okay and what was that initial change like do you remember the nervousness the feelings like what were some of those things that you guys were feeling and thinking when we made that initial rout the biggest thing for us was leading behind our entire lives uh all of the friends that we view in Toronto and coming to a completely new city um and basically starting a new like finding a new place uh making new friends uh and being disabl to visualize what that would look like um because we were certain we wanted to start a family and wanted a larger home that we could afford for that yeah yeah and and did you find that yes yeah yeah we we thanks to no no no l thanks to you and back up but yeah we were able to find the phone we wanted literally on the first day that we arrived yeah and so that was that was helpful yeah and uh I wasn't as nervous like for her it was a much bigger deal cuz she had way more friends she still does uh than I do I I guess it's something about her being or her friends husband kind of yeah actually a lot of the times that's the case and uh so I wasn't really worried about leaving all of those people behind um I still miss them but uh yeah it's it's been a step in the right direction for us I think that's good so what were some of the the family and friends back home what were some of of their initial reactions to you guys making this change a lot of them were nervous on our behalf because everyone knows of Toronto again me and V both of our families here from India and we still have a lot of family and friends in India um and for them Calgary is not a very well-known City and at the same time most of our friends who are in Toronto um would usually consider calary as like a a vacation spot you go there they go to B Center desper but not as a place that someone would think of to live in so there was a lot of nervousness from from their end um but it made sense for us because professionally we both work in remote jobs we both work in the software industry um and so we were never really tied to a place um so yeah a lot of it had to do with just a perception of Calgary um especially for folks who had never been here before yeah yeah I think the biggest one of the biggest things that our friends used to ask us well how are you going to survive the cold right yeah yeah you're you're going to some place that's always going to be freezing and yeah they they I think a lot of them don't realize that Winters here are are colder yes but they're different they're they're not what you would imagine them to be yeah totally yeah and a lot of it's been interesting because now this wave of people moving here has been going on for a couple of years so that initial push back that I've always heard from those that watch and reach out what is the weather like what's the weather like and now I think you guys as well as others who moved here are reporting back and being like hey this actually isn't that bad right like I found it colder in Toronto in the winter when you're right by the water yeah like especially when you're in Toronto Toronto uh than ever in Calgary so I think that's quite hilarious in some ways like we see snow but we don't feel the cold feel cold but you don't always see snow there right M yeah I was actually pleasantly surprised our for winter here CU inono I used to live in downtown by the water um and moving here I knew that it was going to be colder but it's drier and there's a lot more Sunshine so you're less depressed yeah uh and it's actually not too bad to go outside or do outdoor activities even in the winter compared to torona where you'd have like wet snow it' be SL she and yeah not the most Pleasant so have any of the relationships changed um from family and friends that were back there um because you're physically further apart yeah I think they have yeah of course like because we we used to go to visit our friends um pretty much every weekend we'd either be hanging out at their place or we'd have friends come over to ours yeah and obviously that's no longer the case and one of the other things is last time when we spoke uh I think one of our biggest reasons for moving to Calgary was to to start a family yeah and so we did yeah right and so now because you were speaking of relations relationships with family now we have new relationships that we never even had before with our kids right so and and I think knowing cuz our girls are 10 years or I guess 14 years head of yours than your kids but uh I remember remember being in your stage of Life your friends are now turning out to be the ones from preschool or daycares or and you're starting to try to build these new friendships so naturally that probably would have changed a lot of the friendships that you had in Toronto anyways exactly yeah I think I think had we started a family in Toronto You're right our friendships would have changed regardless so I want to hear more about the family because that's exciting because you're got good news but I want to go back what were some of the things in the last two years that you have found or three years cuz been you're longer uh were really different uh so activities things that you guys did maybe it changed your routine maybe you're going up to Nature more just what like things that have changed now that you've been here for 3 years uh that you probably wouldn't have engaged in when you were in Toronto I think the biggest contrast for me has been how many outdoor activities we do now on on a weekly basis or even on a daily basis um like going out on walks the fact that galary has so many parks within the city and where we live F and Kenmore are not that far they're just a 30 45 minute drive which is fantastic because you can go on Hikes um and those would be the kind of activities that we would not usually engage in in Toronto because it would require us driving out at least 2 3 hours in traffic yeah yeah uh and so that has been grade we've and you only made it 10 km in the yeah and so we're uh we went out biking hiking we've been like doing a lot more of we did whitewater rafting for the first time oh wow after moving here where did you do that at Le near golden golden yeah uh kicking horse yeah that's right kicking horse well yeah that's such a beautiful drive like to head out to Golden and around so like it's worthless yeah a say if we didn't have any plans on weekends we just drive up to doors Ben and pick any spot on the highway and just we'd usually bring along our coffee or some snacks and we just hang in the car or even outside there's so many lookout spots right right area and they're all awesome yeah so we we've often just parked our car and had a little picnic when when we didn't have the kids have you gone out towards like Canon Asus that way yeah yeah like we actually went uh just a few days ago yeah okay we went to uh Mount loret ponds or Loretta forget the name but I gu lorett look think yeah I think it's lorett we we'll rock paper scissors yeah but anyway it was it was great cool her parents are here right yeah theyi from they just came in uh a week ago so is this her first time no they been here a few times yeah in Cal yeah so what did what actually this a good question what what what is their perception because if they were nervous we know what Toronto is and now they're looking at it like how do they view Calgary differently they love it here my dad was not happy to leave the last time oh really yeah uh cuz again like my parents are from Mumbai okay and Mumbai is super congested okay very loud there's a lot of people um and so for them being here in in and having that peace and quiet and there so much Greenery outside that you get to enjoy um they really like that like they like that we're able to live in a somewhat slower phase of life and actually enjoy it rather than having to deal with traffic and commute and the constant loud noises yeah so they love it here that's cool from what I hear like Mumbai is like trotto on steroids yes oh really yeah like in terms of traffic and in terms of just the population density yeah it's it's way up there W did you ever live there oh yeah okay that's where you're from yes okay so how old were you when you came I was 22 oh so like yeah and lived there yes all the way into my adulthood and then I moved to Canada okay yeah so what is was that big reason to go to Toronto was because of the size or just knowing the name um it was also because I had one of my cousins there so I had one person who I knew who I could you know uh and I knew that Toronto was similar to Mumbai so it wouldn't be too much of a change um and I also was coming here as a brand new immigrant who was looking for jobs and so I knew that Toronto was one of the hubs for finding a job um back then I used to work in the financial industry and then eventually moved out and into the tech industry but I was told that at Le for finance jobs Dro was the best place to be yeah yeah yeah that's cool so with your positive relocation experience coming to Calgary um have you encouraged others to also do the same or have you seen them move I haven't seen anyone move not from our close friends at least and initially I would tell people if you want to move uh you know again calary is not for everyone no um you know some people have a certain lifestyle that they want uh we obviously wanted to start a family and and we wanted that uh bigger space yeah and and all that kind of stuff we wanted a backyard yeah and things like that for kids to grow up in but not everyone wants the same thing yeah and so even now I it's I I wouldn't really encourage others to do the same I I tell them to keep an open you know mind about Calgary yeah it's that is indeed what they want yeah but if it's not then there's no point coming here totally right so what do you think is is uh who is Calvary not for now being here longer right yeah yeah well again I've not lived in downtown Calgary so I don't know how that kind of Lifestyle Compares I think it might be actually pretty similar to to downtown Toronto in some ways um but since we've moved here we've always lived out in the suburbs um and it almost immediately after moving here within a year or so we started our family and so it's been very different so um so you never tried living your Toronto life in C exactly yeah like you it was a very intentional life is changing so let's change yeah yeah and and maybe if we would have been able to afford uh in in the GTA region somewhere out in the suburb like a bigger property we might have stayed um even that doubtful though I I really like G you guys paid it was like three times eventally but but apart from the price um there's a lot other benefits that we found just like kushell was um you know talking about when it comes to being more closer to Nature and yeah having things like the mountains more accessible with all the outdoor activities so I think that would still be you know kind of not unachievable but definitely would be a bigger hurdle if we were living in the GTA yeah and also other things like the crime rate the school ratings all of that seemed to just be better in calg in general there are obviously going to be neighborhoods that don't make the cut uh but in general what we found even when we were looking because initially when we were interested in looking for a home we did search a lot in Toronto as well as the surrounding areas and it would just never compare with what was available in Calgary yeah yeah I want to hear about your family I want to hear because you came here intentionally to make that change so what's happened in the last two or two and a years we welcomed her daughter uh 18 months ago she's now 18 months old she's a taller and she runs around and she is very very talkative uh and the best thing that we've were able to see that we were able to give her is just the amount of space and she loves running around in the backyard she enjoys the porch in the front of the home uh our neighborhood is pretty quiet yeah so she's usually free to roll around and make friends she the loudest yeah yeah she the loudest we get noise and blings three houses down I'm just kidding but there's so many other kids of similar age or even like um you know within that same age group that taking her to a bark means that she always has some of the other friends to like hang out with and play with uh so we've actually been able to see it in front of eyes that the decisions that we took um are actually working in her favor that's amazing yeah that's probably a great feeling as a parent too right yeah yeah and we have our second one out the way now amazing literally within days within days within days so do you know if it's a boy or girl that's the thing everyone asks right it's a girl oh yeah dat of two girls that is the best right let me tell you I think so too yeah because no matter what happens you'll be taken care of in your life yeah that's what I think right I I heard a saying recently I don't know how true it is yeah but I heard it it goes something like a son's your son until he finds a wife your daughter is your daughter for life oh I believe that I don't know how true it is maybe it's not but I agree I think like if you think about your own life right I know for myself we are like we' actually moved to be closer to Rebecca's mom versus my parents and so uh but I I I can see that happening easily right uh where my sister would live closer or has not right now but has lived closer to my parents than I have or my brother my brother's in like Manitoba or whatever now right so it's it's I think it's it is true yeah which is kind of an interesting thing so yeah but two girls that's the best yeah we're very excited so how is your daily routines and now having that family how has that changed um or how would you think it would be different if it was in versus being in Calgary because if there's more open space there's more things to do what would that look like differently knowing what you knew life was like before compared to what life is like now I think in a lot of ways Our Lives wouldn't be very different it wouldn't be a drastic difference because well we would still have a family we might have been living in a smaller space because that's what we can afford but we would still be having our kids yeah um and so in terms of our day-to-day routine we would still be working remote jobs for instance right and so we would still be raising our daughter um at this stage so I I would say like 80% of the things or 70% of the things would remain the same but it's the other 30% that makes a huge difference right um things like well I know what I here what I'm not doing is being stuck in traffic for instance uh right when I go to buy stuff or or let me go out for whatever outdoor activities is like K was saying whether we go biking we we take our bikes in our car out to the mountains or whatever um there's that much less traffic that many more activities to do I think um living in the GTA was actually not too bad but uh I I still have some family there and um it's changed over the past couple of years is at least that's what I hear in terms of yeah in terms of the number of people has gone way up yeah so traffic has worsened um in a lot of the major highways um and just crime rates have gone up and so yeah yeah I mean it's I I don't think any city is immune to these things but I think it hits particularly hard in a place like Toronto because well that's where everyone just wants to be in rate and everyone's on top of each other like yeah uh even in Calgary I felt it like the last year even six months um just that energy like people are just they short-tempered yeah I couldn't imagine living in a place where there people are more on top of each other versus out yeah with that happening too um and I've just I've just sensed that like when you're driving when you're in malls or whatever like people are just more short-tempered for some reason yeah and um that's probably a good thing to have a little bit more land space between everybody there's a funny story like a few like recently we were reading I was reading on the news about all the carjackings in in the GTA area and the suburbs there uh especially like Bramton and missa and places like that and I was telling kushu that not too long ago I was getting groceries out of our car here at on our driveway and I had both my hands full and so I left the doors open thinking I'll come back and close them but I forgot the doors of our car opened uh all night and our garage was open all night I only remembered in the morning when I went out and yeah I I I don't think that would have been possible everything was fine everything was fine yeah yeah I know so I've left our garage door open and you got bikes and cars even the door into our house was unlocked like things like that pretty much like it's yeah so I was just telling her what a difference it is like and and you know it might not always be this way no but uh at least for now it was so we were grateful to be here but that also changed es your feeling of security yeah right because you do probably feel safer versus uh on edge yeah and so that can also bring you know just some what's call Longevity of Life yeah right less stress yeah exactly which could be a good thing to when we when we were actually looking for communities here in Calgary in which to buy one of the markers of for safety like a visual marker would be um kids playing unsupervised in the neighborhood I smart and if we see that then then that gives us an indication that you know it's just generally safer neighborhood where parents feel comfortable letting their kids out and even now like I know today was a snow day but we've had some pleasant days in the last week and so we see kids just all around our neighborhood unsupervised and and that to me shows that you know it's a it's a generally considered to be a safe neighborhood well either you're surrounded by safety or just really bad par or bad parenting yeah one or the other but yeah I mean you can you can think that maybe one or two bad parents might be around but but not everyone not everybody right so so if you were to move to Calgary again what would you do differently it's a good question would you do anything differently I think when we moved um we hadn't put too much thought into what buying a home in Calgary looks like cuz we just assume how it is in Toronto is how it's going to be in Calgary um the fact of understanding like how the offers would be there what homes would be available what should we look at um I think we might have done a little more research just to feel that we were prepared um our experience with Rebecca was fantastic cuz we I could just blindly trust her and be like okay I have done no research but I trust what you're saying is 100% accurate um but it still incl to do a lot of like second thoughts of like is this okay is this too fast is this too slow um so I think we would have done that differently but outside of that I think most of our decisions would have been the same in terms of like how quickly we moved here how quickly we purchased the house and the neighborhoods that uh we looked at and then the final home that we purchased in the neighborhood yeah I think the one thing I would do differently was move here sooner yeah yeah yeah other than that were you aware of the option of moving to calry you like before Co happened not really because it was only in 2020 yeah in the summer of 20 well the fall of 2020 that one of my closest friends moved here okay yeah um and so I came to visit him that fall of 2020 so it was right in the middle of Co I came to visit him for a couple of weeks uh and I came twice actually Within like a 3-month period for 2 weeks each time yeah and so that's when I was like okay well this is a actually a decent place in which we live and so I went back home to Toronto what was then home and I reported back to her saying that you know where else we can go is is galgary so let's check that out yeah I think I think that was a very pivotal moment for a lot of people yeah in realizing um what the unaffordable option they have in the larger cities as well as what can be done about it right either you and as that was the big conversation two years ago either you move three four hours away or you move four four hours of a flight away like it's it's the same what do you do yeah yeah I mean you have to go through security but I'm man that's the only difference right and so it's uh and it's it is interesting because we still are seeing people making that move we're trying to figure out that affordability um for some they they've been waiting and saving and now they can do it and there's still that real big fomo fear of missing out of like opportunities because of prices that are going up um and things that are happening right in the in the city but would you still recommend for people to move if they're considering it even though prices have gone up you know from when you purchased um would you if for some reason had to delay it a year or to would you still make that move I think we would yeah if we had to delay it if we had to buy in the current market we would I mean obviously it's a lot more competitive now with you know low inventory and things like that but we would still do it yeah I think because a lot of the a lot of our reasons for moving here remain unchanged right even if we wait two more years we still wanted to have a bigger space for our family um you know we still wanted a better place to live and so those things wouldn't have changed I mean our budget might have changed based on the current market and we might have you know bought at higher interest rates and and maybe have bought a smaller property or something like that but the the end result would still have been us moving out here and you're getting into the market yeah exactly yeah yeah yeah yeah so now that you've been here and now that you kind of like not only have explored your community but I'm sure you've explored others m and like parks and neighborhoods and places what are some of the places neighborhoods top of mind that you look at you're going I would have totally been okay to live there as well you don't have to tell everyone where you live oh yeah cuz that's a little bit too close to home but like what are other neighborhoods that you kind of just think that you're like oh I totally would have moved here yeah well what's the one with L there are so many with the Lakes um oh and and like up north no down south so we really liked Legacy mahogany uh Auburn Bay kind kind of that area Sean um and I I tell Kush because sometimes I'll go down there still to pick up like a piece of furniture or whatever from marketplace right and so and so I I tell her that you know what every time I visit the southeast I would totally be okay living here yeah I know it's it's further out from you know some of the benefits that we get living in the Northwest is just closer proximity to the mountains and stuff like that but other than that act um I think the southeast is a really good place and now that the Ring Road is actually open exactly it's not that much different yeah it's not that different you can get out quick yeah um and so yeah that that kind of quadrant is definitely where I would be totally okay with any other communities um place in yeah there are some communities south of where we are so the Southwest but those are kind of on the price yeah side so kind of like your Aspen like up on the hill yeah they like it's a nice area it is it's probably the one of the pricier parts of the city yeah right it so what's interesting is southeast used to be um the most affordable um part of the city actually that's not true Northeast was and then Southeast so outside of the northeast southeast Southwest northwest southeast was the most affordable um but over the last number of years it's actually kind of caught up to other price points because there's more people who still don't need to go downtown and they're working from home doing different things and so they don't need that proximity and that's why the Northwest was higher priced because I can jump on crch and get to downtown within 15 minutes of yeah but then you have the West part of the city which was even pricier because again proximity to downtown and so it's interesting as all of this happens because when everyone moved here here when you guys moved here first you artificially you you're us now but all of you uh when you moved here you artificially inflated the suburbian prices where inner city didn't jump and now it's like it's balancing itself out and what has historically happened in Calgary is prices increase inner city first and then it brings the suburbs with it and then if prop are decreasing suburbs prop first and then inner city goes down and so it feels like we're getting back to that Rhythm because for a couple years it was so inflated on the outskirts of the city um but I think it's also propped it up a little bit more too which is not a bad thing but it's just a an interesting thing that happened during that whole time yeah uh because of your exact reason like all of those areas they're great areas and they're beautiful and again there's no Lake communities other than Arbor Lake up north yeah exactly but because we're so hilly up here in the north we're in the Northwest now but that's why is it's so much Hillier but you have so many more Lake options down south yeah I want to leave you with this question leave all of you with this question what advice would you give to other families or couples like you were when you were making this change saying I'm going to grow I want have a family we're going to figure this out we want more space um what advice would you have given yourself or others uh that are in that same situation one thing I would say is if especially if you've not already started a family if you're thinking about it be willing to take more risks uh there are definitely risks involved with moving right you have your job Securities not not everyone works remotely and so you might have to quit your job where you're required to go in and you might have to look for something else um but I think es like again especially if you don't have kids already um I would this is something I would tell myself um my my previous self is that be a bit more courageous and take some risks because the rewards might be pretty huge right A lot of people like to stay in their comfort zone and not take those risks and and maybe not quit the job and go and look for another job and sometimes it's not even possible uh depending on what kind of industry they're in so obviously this isn't like a one siiz fits-all kind of advice but if if it does apply to you um if you if you can maybe switch jobs if there are jobs available um you know for example we were in the tech industry and so even if you have a job that requires you to go into work um you might still be able to find a remote job that has equally or better pay yeah right and so yeah just be a bit more courageous and take take that risk and also just knowing your priorities um because again like V said like people tend to get very comfortable but then when you have a family or thinking of starting a family things like um what is the culture of the city how are the people how family friendly are things the kind of activities that you get the kind of schools and the schooling options that you get like if those remain your priorities then it becomes much easier to make that decision so I'm going to ask you the question that you just said yeah so what what risks are you guys wanting to take in the next couple of years cuz if taking a risk is that important what's something you're willing to to jump into or well okay so I've been considering investing in uh a a kind of any kind of business I've been looking into it um so yeah I'm still you know open in terms of what I want to get my feed into but uh that might be something that I want to do do you feel like moving and changing your physical space has allowed you to kind of think differently I think so because in Calgary what I found is um and we both notice this there's a lot of small businesses yes right uh and again maybe I'm sure there are in the GTA as well maybe it's just where we were at the time you know in our city or or like Midtown Toronto or downtown Toronto for her corporate yeah very corporate we weren't we we were mostly surrounded by people who work uh at a company who work at a job uh not many people yeah exactly yeah whereas now we're in the suburbs maybe that's the reason why that we're surrounded by a lot more small businesses like landscaping companies and and all these um you know Contracting businesses and so I think that definitely has given me a bit of a mind shift in that direction um yeah so in terms of risk taking I I want to like we both want to start generating passive income now that we have a family I want to prioritize time with the kids over um having to you know like sacrifice my time for for an income and that's part of taking the risk too like when someone is willing to take that risk Calgary is so much more open to those who were wanting to be more on a burial versus forcing yourself into the corporate world right yeah and I think that's it's refreshing yeah in some ways cuz I feel sometimes that corporate equals stuffiness where entrepreneurial feels real and that could be just because we're doing it ourselves but it's like real people yeah versus you know playing a show or putting on a show right yeah so that's interesting yeah well I appreciate your time um this has been wonderful I hope you have found this to be very very helpful and uh if you have any questions put them in the comments I know these guys are totally open to responding because some of you have also reached out before asked questions and they were very willing to tell you how to move their car from Toronto to Calgary last night so uh so if you have any questions go ahead and if this has been helpful you can head up to this video here because we got a lot more for you over there

Channel: Chamberlain Real Estate Group

Views: 4,694

Keywords: moving to calgary, living in calgary, calgary real estate, calgary realtor, moving to alberta, chamberlain real estate group, chamberlain group, jared chamberlain, calgary, toronto, gta

Id: jip32IvHnZM

Length: 34min 53sec (2093 seconds)

Published: Sun May 26 2024