Lake Communities in Calgary

Pros and Cons of Living in a Lake Community in Calgary

Do you dream of living in a lake community in Calgary?

Our team member Paul Moyer lives in the beautiful lake community of Auburn Bay. Paul joined Jared Chamberlain to talk about the top 3 pros and cons that you should consider to help you decide if living in a lake community is a good fit for you.

We have also curated a guide to living in a lake community in Calgary where you can find all the lake communities in the city and find current homes for sale in each area. You can download this guide for free, read it and let us know how we can help you move to your dream lake community.

Top 3 Cons in Living in a Lake Community

Before you get a little too excited to move to your dream home by the lake, here are some thoughts that you should consider:

1. A Lot of People Coming In

Once you have that lake pass, be prepared to answer several calls from people wanting to come over to your house and spend some time at the lake. Living by the lake means hosting all the gatherings and barbecues for your friends and family.

If you want to live in a lake community but you are an introvert, and you dread having people over all of the time, you must think about this thoroughly.

2. Higher Fees Yearly

Living in a lake community is wonderful, but it obviously comes with a price tag. Maintaining a great community and its facilities requires a lot of funds; that’s why the Home Owners Association annual fees are expensive in lake communities.

You will find that HOA fees in the city differ greatly depending on where you live and which part of the community you live in. For example, in Auburn Bay, there are three different levels of HOA fees.

The payment levels are based on your distance to the lake and the style of your home. If your house is closer to the lake, your dues will be a lot higher. There is also a middle-level HOA fee in Auburn Bay, where you can access the community pathway that leads to a semi-private dock.

3. Not Everyone Makes the Transition

Many people want to live by or close to a lake, but not everyone makes the transition. The most significant factor might be because most lake communities are in the Southeast part of the city. Only the community of Lake Bonavista has reasonable proximity to the inner-city, and it’s not even that close!

Proximity to the inner-city could be a real concern for those who spend most of their time working or doing business downtown. Commuting from the Southeast to the inner-city takes a significant amount of time.

Because most lake communities are tucked down in the Southeast, they are not easily accessible for those without vehicles. But one thing noteworthy about these communities is that they are slowly building their own amenities to ease the need to go downtown.

With places like Seton and Mahogany, you won’t feel the need to drive all the way downtown anymore. They have created an inner-city feel within the community with local coffee shops, a jazz club and more. A wide range of amenities, which used to be only available downtown, are now becoming more widely available in the suburbs and on the outskirts.

Finding the Right Balance

As we come into the fall season and the pandemic is still here, there have been some changes with how people work. In some cases, professionals work three days in the office and two days remotely. Moving to a lake community could be a good balance because you are not driving as much, and being a bit further from the core could be okay.

Top 3 Cons in Living in a Lake Community

Now, let’s talk about the good things about living in a lake community in Calgary.

1. Friendly People Living in the Community

Residents in lake communities are close-knit because they are generally friendly people. Almost everybody knows everyone in the neighbourhood. It’s very common for people to talk to anyone in passing or sitting beside them on the beach.

Also, people here are like-minded, most of them have the same values in life and same interests. That’s the reason they live in the lake community, it's not just the water!

2. There are Many Families Living

A big pro to living in a lake community is being surrounded by a lot of families. There are many families doing homeschool here too. Going to the lake and hanging out has been a part of the homeschooling days for most kids here, especially during shoulder months.

When you walk through the neighbourhood, you can easily see that almost every house has a family in some aspect. There are grown-up adults living with their parents, multi-generational living and new families with young kids.

3. Access to Water

The last pro in living in a lake community is obviously the access to water because you don't get it everywhere. Whether it's wet or frozen, access to water is the best thing you could have in the lake communities.

Walking to the lake and enjoying water activities with your friends and family is great. During the summer months, kids can easily play and swim, and during the winter season, people can do skating as a form of exercise. Living near the lake is truly remarkable all year round!

Every lake community features different amenities too. For example, in Midnapore, Sundance and Lake Bonavista, you can go tobogganing, skiing, and many other winter sports.

If you have any questions about lake communities in Calgary, reach out to us, and we’d love to help you. Send your email to info@chamberlaingroup.ca call 5873165400.

Living in Lake Communities in Calgary Download

We curated a custom guide that outlines all the features and benefits of the 9 Lake Communities in Calgary. Choosing which lake community to buy in can be hard as they all have different styles, ages and types of homes in them. Download the free guide here and let us know how we can help you!