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Pine trees in Altadore Park (photo courtesy of John Vetterli)

It’s been 10 years since I bought Altadore real estate in southwestern Calgary to take advantage of the best schools here for my two children. And I wasn’t wrong—my children’s education is going great! But a lot of other people have been moving to Calgary for many years for other reasons besides the impressive schools—like the especially strong economy! That has in fact made this part of Canada one of the best places in the country to own property.

Hill of gold

I’m particularly happy to have chosen to live here in Altadore because it’s on high ground—in fact its name means “hill of gold”—yet it’s within walking distance of one of the city’s busiest business and shopping centers, Marda Loop, and first-class schools, hospitals, parks and other recreation areas and amenities. No wonder it’s been voted one of Calgary’s best neighborhoods and is luring a great many families and trendy young professionals to settle here. If you’ve decided to move here or are still thinking about it, you’ll be glad to know you have lots of housing types to choose from.

Full range of homes

Luxury single-family homes and condominiums that sell for more than a million dollars abound, with stylish classic to modern designs, high-quality interior and exterior features, and city, downtown or mountain views, and in secure new or mature neighborhoods. There are also lots of more affordable single-family homes, townhouses and maintenance-free low-rise, mid-rise and high-rise condos for first-time buyers, young professionals and investors. House prices average $531 per square foot, and condos, $401 per square foot. If you want brand-new homes, you’ll also find them here! That’s what’s great with a still fast-growing community like Altadore.

Know something else that’s great here? Utility cost is low, and residents can choose between the many electricity and natural gas companies that are based in Calgary.

With all these choices offered by Altadore real estate, you’ll just have to decide on what location, amenities and home features you and your family need and want, and then check out my home listings at http://www.thehowardteam.net/community-profiles/calgary/altadore_river%20park or else come on over and take a look around. I’d be happy to show you around myself and help you narrow down your choices; call me at 403-589-0004 or contact me at TheHowardTeam.net, and let’s set a date!

About Bryon Howard

Bryon Howard and his team of Calgary real estate professionals sell an average of one home a week. He is a member of the MLS Million Point Club, which ranks him roughly in the top 8% of productive realtors in Calgary. His aim is not just to please clients but to help them buy/sell a home in Calgary at the best price, in the shortest time, and with the least hassle. He is a member of the RE/MAX House of Real Estate that leads in the Canadian market. Learn more about Bryon at TheHowardTeam.net.

A fence with character in Altadore (© Some rights reserved by JMacPherson)

In my earlier blog post on the history of Altadore real estate, I said Altadore literally means “hill of gold.” That got me wondering: where’s the gold? Now after living here for a decade, I’m not asking anymore. This neighborhood that’s nestled like a king on a hill and has a commanding view of the mountains but sits beside a river, is close to a number of popular parks and is just minutes from Calgary’s culture and shopping hub–this is the gold. No wonder it has attracted a great mix of people!

If you’re thinking of living here, pump up your energy because four out of five people here are below the age of 54. What’s more, they’re family people! We love walking around here (like walking our kids to school and other places because lots of places here are within walking distance), watching our kids play in the park with other kids, walking our dogs in the pet park or pampering them at our high-end dog boutique, hanging out at the great shops and restaurants in our first-class shopping center that’s just minutes away, watching a movie downtown, racing our bikes, hiking up our mountains, boating, swimming and skating outdoors, skiing and playing hockey. And there’s lots of room here to do all these, as we’re still a pretty low-density community, though the recent record flood in Calgary has been luring an unusual number of people to move here to higher ground.

But wait–not everything we do here is play! Three out of four people here aged 25 and above are gainfully employed, seven out of 10 people here have college degrees or diplomas and own their homes, and only 15% belong to low-income households. And if you want diversity, some 17% of our population are immigrants from the U.S. and Asia, though 98% of us can speak English and/or French. And you know why? Because of all the jobs from the more than 100 business establishments on our northern border, which is the well-known business district of Marda Loop!

I can keep ranting on about Altadore real estate here and our great community, of course, but what’s best is if you can come check out my neighborhood for yourself so you’ll see what I mean. Give me a call at 403-589-0004 or contact me at TheHowardTeam.net and I’ll be glad to show you around!

About Bryon Howard

Bryon Howard is a top-producing real estate agent with Re-Max House of Real Estate in Calgary, Alberta. He is in love with his high school sweetheart, an enthusiastic Dad and crazy about endurance sports. To learn more about Bryon and his real estate tips, head on over to his website.

Image resource: www.unprofound.com

I’m finding it a bit difficult to talk about Altadore real estate now with all this commotion going on around here about this year’s Marda Gras Street Festival that’s happening tomorrow, so heck, I’ll just join the fun! For those of you who are wondering what this festival is all about, it’s a free one-day public event every second week of August at Marda Loop, the premier shopping center in Altadore, that’s patterned after the famous Mardi Gras street festival in New Orleans. That means Marda Loop’s streets will be filled with the sights and sounds of New Orleans, from the purple, green and gold colors to the jazz and R&B music! Oh, good – I can wear my purple socks!

There’s actually a long list of activities that will start at 10 a.m. (check them out here: http://www.mardaloop.org/html.php?action=Anchor&anchor=MardaGras), but here’s my pick of those that I think I’ll take my family to:

Street shows

This is a street festival, right? So bring on the street shows! There’ll be a magician, and someone who’ll walk with a nine-foot-tall free-standing ladder and juggle knives up there! (You won’t want to get anywhere near him, of course, but don’t worry – he’s been doing this stunt for eight years!) And there’ll be a group that will put on their unique open-air aerial art, comedy and street theater show with which they’ve been amazing audiences all over the world. Watch out too for strolling music from the Dixie Knights and the Sweet Adelines! And for art lovers, don’t miss the inflatable Art Tent where you’ll see lots of masterpieces.

On the main stage

Expect great street dancing with band music, hot swing and gypsy jazz, blues and swing from the 1920s to the 1950s, plus belly dancing and some new moves! There’ll also be the yearly popular Pet Pageant, with prizes for the Most Unique, the dog with the Best Costume, and the Crowd Favorite!

Kids Quarter

Hey, this is for kids of all ages! There’ll be face painting, a bouncy castle, crafts, games, sports and entertainment. And the organizers say all the funds that will be raised here will be used to support the projects of the Marda Loop Communities Association, so you bet we’ll be there!

Kudos to Marda Loop for putting together such a great event each year. This is one of the areas we’re very proud of here in Altadore, as it offers first-class shopping, professional services and dining, and as you can see, fantastic events!

So again, I’ll be taking a break from selling Altadore real estate (and will hop onto my trusty bike, as there’ll be an Open Streets Area for us bikers and parking would be next to impossible). And for those of you who want to catch the fun, you have until 5 p.m. tomorrow….

Know someone who is looking to make a decision in real estate? If you know any friends, family or co-workers who are looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate within the next six months, would you forward this email to them or reply with their contact information? I’ll send them important information about the Calgary, AB surrounding area real estate market and politely ask for their business. I greatly appreciate your valued referrals; it’s the only way I build my business.

About Bryon Howard

Bryon Howard is a top-producing real estate agent with Re-Max House of Real Estate in Calgary, Alberta. He is in love with his high school sweetheart, an enthusiastic Dad and crazy about endurance sports. To learn more about Bryon and his real estate tips, head on over to his website.

Image resource: commons.wikimedia.org

Schools are set to open again in a month’s time, which puts the spotlight at this time of the year on our children’s education.

If you’re a parent like me, you’ve probably given a lot of thought to what school to send your kids to in order to give them the best education.

You know, though, sometimes I think we look too much at the school and too little at our children.

Maybe if we looked at our children more and at what they need so that they would learn best, they’d be happier in school and later in life.

I found that out firsthand from my own children.

I have two: a 19-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy.

They’re the reasons why I think the way I do about education.

You see, they’re out-of-the-box learners. That is, they learn differently from most.

I say that because when my daughter was already in Grade 2 in the small community in Prince Edward Island where we first lived, she still couldn’t read or do math despite my wife’s and my efforts. So in 2003, we moved to Calgary, where we thought some of the best schools in Canada were. We chose a private school for her called Calgary Academy that was just a 20-minute ride from our home in Altadore. That school took a good look at her and then taught her based on her strengths and weaknesses. It did wonders for her. Last year, she graduated from high school with high marks, and she’s now doing well in a university.

As for my son, he was in Grade 4 when we moved to Altadore. He had wanted to go to Calgary Academy too because it’s a beautiful school, but it was expensive, so we sent him to a public school instead: Altadore Elementary School. But when he was in Grade 7, he wanted to go to an inquiry-based school, a sort of public science school. Well, things didn’t work out for him there. I guess it was because the school still focused on a particular learning technique, no matter how different it was from the conventional instructional method – a technique that was good only for a specific type of learners: super-inquisitive and aggressive learners, which my son was not. So when my son was in Grade 8, we finally gave in and sent him to Calgary Academy. He did very well there and has learned so much that he has since moved back to a public school.

It surely wasn’t an easy journey for our whole family, but I believe that when you’re a parent, you shouldn’t ask yourself how far you’ll go to give your children a great education. We went cross-country, and we shelled out a lot more money than we had first planned, but we can’t be happier because our children are happy and they’re now well on their way to creating whatever future they want.

If you’re looking for information on Calgary and area schools for your children, check out http://www.calgaryarea.com/schools/private_

schools.htm,

http://www.cbe.ab.ca/ and http://www.cssd.ab.ca/.

Know someone who is looking to make a decision in real estate? If you know any friends, family or co-workers who are looking to buy, sell or invest in real estate within the next six months, would you forward this email to them or reply with their contact information? I’ll send them important information about the Calgary, AB surrounding area real estate market and politely ask for their business. I greatly appreciate your valued referrals; it’s the only way I build my business.

About the author:

Bryon Howard is a top-producing real estate agent with RE/MAX House of Real Estate in Calgary, Alberta. He is in love with his high school sweetheart, an enthusiastic Dad and crazy about endurance sports. To learn more about Bryon and his real estate tips, head on over to his website.