Sitting just south of Silverado between 194th Avenue and 210th Avenue S.W., the new Calgary community of Belmont is touted as a quiet refuge on the edge of the city and a place for new beginnings.

"It's a bright, modern community with a broad appeal for those looking for affordable quality in south Calgary," said Steve LePan, development manager with Anthem United. "As the first new community in the area, it's focused on affordable quality for first-time buyers or those new to Canada."

Justin Becker - REALTOR^®, founder and team leader with YYC Realty

Top attraction

"My favourite attraction in Calgary is Stephen Avenue. I love all the amazing eateries, shopping, bars, pubs and lounges in such a beautiful setting. Our downtown is gorgeous, with its stunning architecture balanced with lots of green space and the river running through."

Calgary TELUS Convention Centre president and CEO Clark Grue has fond memories of his first home in Calgary, which ended up being perfect for his growing family for many years.

But Grue also recalls the circumstance surrounding the purchase of the home, which came at a hectic time for him and his wife, Cheryl.

Developers are teeing up a new community on Calgary's southwestern edge designed to appeal to both golfers and non-players alike.

Tucked away in the Rocky Mountain foothills, Sirocco at Pine Creek is a master-planned community with a prime location, a variety of front-drive and paired homes, and a picturesque golf course that shares its name.

When it comes to the names of Calgary communities, some honour early pioneers, others are named after the surrounding landscape and some simply sound like a nice place to live.

Pleasant Heights, Scenic Acres and Sunalta (a mash up of sunny and Alberta) sound like they could have come out of a real estate subdivision name generator. But how do developers actually come up with the names for new communities?

Priddis provides picturesque, rural lifestyle in Calgary's shadow

Ed Osborne, the president of the Priddis Community Association and a former agricultural consultant, recalls when he relocated from the Calgary community of Woodbine to Priddis some 15 years ago.

"I grew up on and off my uncle's farm in Manitoba. I always wanted to live in the country," said Osborne, adding the allure of rural living is what drew him to the tiny hamlet about 10 kilometres west of Calgary's city limits.

South Health Campus anchors diverse southeast-Calgary communities

Right now, it takes Michael John Suva 30 to 45 minutes on public transit to commute from his home in Shawnessy to his job as a nursing attendant at Calgary's South Health Campus (SHC), the city's newest hospital, located in the deep southeast.

"It's not close enough," said Suva.