My family and I are moving to Edmonton Canada and would like advice on the areas around edmonton to live?

Areas around edmonton to live good and bad plus anything that we shouldn't do or shouldn't go.My family and I are moving to Edmonton Canada and would like advice on the areas around edmonton to live?
The first thing you'll become aware of is the shortage of apartments for rent. Those you do find will top the $1000 mark for a 2 bedroom in a decent neighbourhood. While there are lots of houses on the market right now for sale you can still expect to pay in the range of $350,000 for one. Even though the market has kind of levelled off don't expect to get an really awesome deals.





As to where you want want to look and places you may want to stay away from.





You may want to stay from the Chinatown, Boyle, MaCauley areas - what's called the Inner city area even though gradually the area is being cleaned and newer and retrofit condos are moving in. I also wouldn't recommend any of the areas bordered by 137Ave to 111 Ave and 110 St to 34 St (East side) it consists of gangs, prostitutes and you certainly wouldn't bring your family into this area. There are of course many NE communities that are safer than others but generalizing the entire area - many people would prefer to stay away from there.





Families would do well to make the Southeast a home - an older area with homes geared to the middle class - lots of schools and community recreational centers and shopping centers especially around the Bonnie Doon. to Capilano areas. The southwest area though generally called a ';great'; area is getting to be beyond the middle class worker's reach with the home prices skyrocketing. Millwoods though having something of a reputation does have areas that are generally not bad. Millwoods is very multicultural both in community groups and shopping. The west side of the city is very busy but is saturated with apts, strip malls and of course West Edmonton mall. Again you'll need to search to find something whether it's an apartment or a house in an affordable range.





You might even want to consider some of what are called ';bedroom communities'; smaller towns almost attached to Edmonton (within 10 - 15 minutes) but are their own municipalities. Ones to consider might be Sherwood Park to the east, St. Albert to the northwest or Beaumont to the southeast - little higher tax base and real estate values but still have that smaller town feel and a safer feeling. They also don't have as many rental units therefore finding one might take a bit of more energy and extra cash for them. Houses in these areas also tend to be a little more expensive than many areas of the city itself.





St. Albert and Sherwood Park both have all the amenties that the city has to offer - shopping, transit, libraires,etc. Beaumont is the smallest of the three and though growing doesn't yet have all the same amenties but is so close to Millwoods and South Commons it's not much of an inconvience.





You can go a little further to Spruce Grove, Stony Plain (both to the west of the city) or even Fort Saskachewan (northeast of the city) which are in the 20 - 30 minute drive range depending on which part of the city you need to get to. Houses prices are just a little more reasonable though not by much. Again all three have all the amenties that you would find in the city pretty much. Nice communities if you don't want the actual city life. You will need a vehicle to get to the city from these.





If you're planning on purchasing a home do your research - grill the Realtor about the area's safety or better yet call the police station and ask them about the crime rate in that area - that's what I did. Ask at the convenience stores and gas stations about the safety issue as they are the ones who usually get ';hit';.





You've probably done some research on Edmonton already to know that it has tons and tons of green spaces and trails around the city.





Here are some websites that might be of interst to you.





A good way to get to know the city is by reading the local newspapers so here are a few.


Edmonton %26gt; www.edmontonjournal.com http://www.edmontonexaminer.com/marketpl鈥?/a>


Spruce Grove %26gt; http://www.sprucegroveexaminer.com/





Stony Plain %26gt; http://www.stonyplainreporter.com/





Sherwood Park %26gt; http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/





Fort Saskachewan %26gt; http://www.fortsaskatchewanrecord.com/





St. Albertt %26gt; http://saintcitynews.advancedpublishing.鈥?/a>





Some websites you may find intersting for Edmonton - offical city webiste has everything you'll need to know from garbage collection to permits, to transit to parks, etc


http://www.edmonton.ca/portal/server.pt?鈥?/a>





Looking for information regarding how the different communites and their crime rate.


http://www.police.edmonton.ab.ca/Pages/C鈥?/a>





Edmonton School District:


http://districtsite.epsb.ca/root/alpha-s鈥?/a>





By doing enough research before you should be able to make an informed decision as to where you want to live.





Hopefully these will be of help to you.





Good Luck.My family and I are moving to Edmonton Canada and would like advice on the areas around edmonton to live?
GOOD LUCK - housing is scarce!
You might want to consider St. Albert. This is a smaller community of 50,000+ people right next to Edmonton but it is very family friendly and has great recreation. There is also opportunity for bilingual schooling. Our family absolutely loves it here .
Before purchasing, ask some locals about the neighbourhood. Edmonton has a lot of crime, but it is mostly gang or drug related. If you stay out of the problem areas of the city, you should be ok. Maybe look in surrounding communitites like St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park or Leduc.
Housing prices in Edmonton are quite high, although the market has softened a bit. Expect to pay around $350 thousand for a three bedroom home in good condition.





Prices are cheaper on the north side of the city.





Sherwood Park, St. Albert and Beaumont are nice bedroom communities within 10 minutes of the city proper, and if you're willing to drive further, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Morinville and Ft. Saskatchewan are all within 30-40 minutes of Edmonton.
Well first of all housing is really scarce and prices are high so good luck. Both the north and couth side are really nice. I would stay away from downtown house wise.. Its not a nice ares!