Affordability, community and amenities have drawn many to Calgary's northern neighbour

While most people take great care to choose the place they want to call home, one could say Airdrie chose Wendie and John Pilkington. More precisely, their son and his growing family chose Airdrie for them, when he relocated from England to a new job in the city of nearly 65,000.

Since 2014, the elder Pilkingtons have resided in Cooper's Crossing, which has been voted Airdrie's best community for five years in a row.

"Airdrie is where the kids are and that's where we are," said Wendie Pilkington, admitting that even when they first moved, they weren't sure they would remain. After nearly 30 years of living in England's comparatively grey climes, Airdrie's year-round sunshine was particularly attractive.

Alberta's agricultural heritage defines thriving Strathmore

The Town of Strathmore has a rich and varied history – a history that was built on agriculture and community spirit.

"Quality is a way of life here in Strathmore," said Strathmore Mayor Michael Ell. "It just has that small-town feel to it and it is a friendly, caring community."

Selection, convenience and one-of-a-kind design continue to draw crowds to CrossIron Mills 

Bigger isn't always better. However, CrossIron Mills is a classic example of the perfect combination of quantity and quality. The ambitious retail development has enjoyed smooth sailing, even through periods of economic downturn, and become the go-to shopping centre for area residents and visitors alike.

Located in Rocky View County, just north of Calgary on Highway 2, CrossIron Mills occupies 1.4 million square feet across 674 acres of land. It offers 200 specialty stores and premium-brand outlets, as well as 17 large-format anchor stores.

While mall patrons sing its praises, some feared the timing of its launch in 2009 might start things off on the wrong foot.

Kipp McGonigal and his family built their forever home at Cooper's Crossing

With a background in cabinetmaking and a flair for design, it's no wonder that Kipp McGonigal is passionate about architecture. So, when it came time to build his family's dream home, he turned to McKee Homes, an Airdrie-based design/build firm he had worked with previously to great success.

With four kids ages eight through 11 and a pet bunny, the McGonigals wanted to create a family-friendly space in a family-friendly neighbourhood. It also needed to be a home that could take McGonigal and his wife through their retirement years. They found the perfect lot, located on a park in the Airdrie community of Cooper's Crossing, and set their long-awaited plan into motion.

Trevor Gibbs and Melissa Wellingtan doubled their living space with a new Airdrie townhome

Trevor Gibbs and Melissa Wellingtan both love to whip up culinary gems in the kitchen – he loves to cook and she enjoys baking. But with a nine-year-old son, a 17-year-old cat, and the fact that Trevor works from home, space in their 800-square-foot, two-bedroom Airdrie condominium was at a premium. The small space made it hard to move around the home, let alone cook or entertain.

So, in December of last year, the couple started looking for a bigger space with room for the family to grow. They found everything they were looking for, including a state-of-the-art kitchen, at the Gates at Hillcrest in Airdrie, a townhome development by Mattamy Homes.

Calgary-area rural communities offer residents a quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of the city

As a former farm kid, four-time Canadian bareback champion, and former Calgary Stampede rodeo and chuckwagon manager, Robin Burwash has spent almost every day of his life enjoying the rural-lifestyle dream he now sells as a REALTOR®.

When he talks of finding space and relaxation amidst the trees and hills of acreage properties around Calgary, it comes from personal experiences.

Burwash spent 16 years as a professional bareback rider, and grew up on a farm that eventually became part of the city, not far off of Country Hills Boulevard.

During the years he spent working in Calgary with the Stampede, the best moment of his 45-minute commute to his Black Diamond acreage, he says, was crossing the city limits and entering the wide-open space of the country.

Looking back at 25 years of Heritage Pointe

"Lots of people thought we were crazy to build way out here in the boonies," said Carolina Oxtoby about her company's decision to develop a golf-course community on farmland south of Calgary.

It was 27 years ago when the land on Dunbow Road was purchased, and only two years later, the Heritage Pointe Golf Club was born, with big plans in the works for an upscale, country-residential community to complement it.

Western heritage is a part of everyday life for residents of Calgary-area ranching communities

While the Calgary Stampede offers Calgarians a mere 10 days each year to indulge in Alberta's ranching and cowboy heritage, that heritage is celebrated every day by residents of communities surrounding the city, including Cochrane, Longview and Turner Valley.

"Cochrane is here because of ranching," said Cochrane town councillor Tara McFadden. Cochrane is named after the man who, in 1881, started the Cochrane Ranche – Alberta's first large-scale livestock operation and a site that remains one of Cochrane's prime attractions.

"Cochrane's ranching history is very important to the Town of Cochrane today. We actively take great pride in keeping it as part of Cochrane's attraction," said McFadden, noting, for example, that the town requires any new building erected within its boundaries to reflect a Western heritage design.

A novel place to plant your savings

Given the fickle Canadian climate, farming for a living is often viewed as a risky proposition. Buying farmland, however, is attracting some interest from Calgary investors seeking a hedge against inflation that will also produce goods and generate income.

The two most common ways to make money from farmland are capital appreciation – when the land increases in value - and income. That income can be from cash rent, calculated by dollars per cultivated acre, or a crop share, where the investor receives a share of the total crop sales each year, usually about 20-30 per cent.

"Farmland has been a tremendous investment over the last 10 years," said J.P. Gervais, chief agricultural economist for Farm Credit Canada. "Not only have land values been rising, but returns from farming have been very strong, with farm cash receipts increasing on a national level by an average of $2 billion a year for the past decade."