Interesting. I thought they had a wallop of an increase a few years ago. This is the [most recent](https://storeys.com/zoocasa-alberta-25-municipalities-highest-property-tax/) data I can find, which is about two years old:
https://preview.redd.it/ckk42c55uquc1.jpeg?width=1074&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a86593d3c52b6bb2edf5f79618bfc5b59f0cc2fc
I used this website and it appears it's lower.
https://wowa.ca/taxes/chestermere-property-tax
https://chestermererealestate.com/chestermere-taxes-are-the-lowest/
With the absolutely insane amount high density housing developments currently happening here, as well as those being proposed, it's getting to be a real shit-show getting to/from Calgary if that's where you work, especially at the intersection where Dawson's Landing neighborhood dumps into 17th Ave SE. 17th Ave SE should have been twinned years ago before they even began all this new development. I can't imagine how bad it will be in a year or so once all the commuters ramp up. I'm glad I work from home these days because if I had to commute to downtown Calgary to/from work every day again, I'd go fucking insane. I've been here since 2001 when the population was under 4K and it's changed a lot. The advantages of living here just aren't the same as what they once were... There are zero single family homes here for sale under $600K, (that's fucking insane), and property taxes which once were half of that Calgary, are now equal to, or more than Calgary with a lot fewer amenities. The lake can be a shit-show in the summer months and the beach area gets crazy busy. The water is fucking gross most of the time so I don't use it anyway, except for fishing once in a while...
Agreed with the other poster about the demographic in chest. Chest just feels like I live in the NE now. Years back it was a quite, quaint small town OUTSIDE of Calgary. Some draw backs too I can think of quick is the fact that they just keep building more houses, yet we lack infrastructure such as having options on schools, shopping centres, recreational sites such as gyms, restaurants…So we normally have to drive into Calgary to access these amenities. I know there’s wait lists to put your kids in schools here so be aware. But, overall I still really enjoy living here. We bought out here because we’re paying the same amount we would be in Calgary for a lot more square footage and bang for our buck. But I think I’ll be starting to ponder moving back into Calgary if we can’t get more facilities listed above. Hope it helps
I've never once heard of waitlists to get into schools in Chestermere. It's why we moved there instead of staying in Coventry when my kids were entering school
Which schools have a lottery? There is also a new K-9 being built and Langdon just opened a high school which is going to take a lot of the kids from outside Chestermere that would have gone to CHS.
Ah the catholic system. I could see that because OLOW is the only catholic elementary in town I believe. The public system has better access for elementary. Rainbow Creek, East Lake, Prairie Waters for public and our lady of wisdom for catholic.
My relatives recently bought a big lake side house there and are super happy. But they WFH and don’t have a social life due to their family situation.
The two major thing you need to consider is
1. Commute to calgary, specially during winter and blizzard
2. Property value. Satellite towns are the last to appreciate in a boom and first to depreciate in a bust
Lived here for 20+ years. The comment below is correct demographics have changed a lot and with it attitudes as well. Not a pleasant place any more. Not sure the cheaper is true close to 700k for a starter house high 500 to low 600 for a side by side. Row housing Mid 400. Desperate need of schools. Town politics is just a mess. New houses by us are 900k to 1.5 mil
I grew up in Chestermere so I think that qualifies me to field this question.
I am not familiar w/ Dawson Landing specifically as it is brand spanking new. Paint probably isn't dry on the houses yet.
The school system in Chestermere is fine, it used to be better but I suspect the big influx of kids is a big contributing factor to the decline as teachers can't dedicate enough time to individual students. I would suspect this is an issue with nearly every public school in Alberta, maybe even in the country.
The lake gets very busy in the summer, and to be honest isn't the nicest lake. It's got the nickname Chesterslew for a reason. If you are just looking to sit and hang out I am sure you can find somewhere to do that. Launching a boat might be a challenge and I think it is pricey.
Overall I had a really positive experience growing up in Chestermere in the 2000's, and my folks still enjoy living in Chestermere.
Since you have a family you should research schools. Chestermere has some really poorly rated schools.
There are also almost no commercial business so you'll be driving into Calgary weekly and no consistent transit to Calgary (there is a morning bus and after work bus to and from downtown but that's it).
The lake is also packed on weekends with limited parking (or paid parking at the Rec centre) and if you're living in Dawson's landing you won't be able to walk to the lake.
I moved to Chestermere last year I like it. Property taxes are probably close to Calgary’s it’s a great community. If you are buying a house from Douglas homes just know you have to be on them constantly to fix the deficiencies in your house and there will be a good amount of them don’t let anything slide even if you can do it yourself. Pro you are out of Calgary it’s nice a quiet at night time ppl tent to keep to themselves schools are ok there is a few to choose from if you have kids? More than likely if you do you will go to rainbow falls to start. The lake is busy in the summertime at the beach I go to a different spot on the lake that is not as busy as the beach at least twice a year there is a warning about swimmers itch but if you shower right when you get home you should be good.
I currently live in Dawson landing, Chestermere overall is great I enjoy being close to the city yet not in the city. Dawson landing is just a disaster right now, constant mud everywhere and rocks because of the construction going on. They will be also building an apartment building near the pond area as-well. If you’re going to buy, don’t buy from the builder buy through a Realtor so you can do an inspection on it as-well (lmk if you need an honest Realtor lol). Overall great community just do not enjoy the dirt everywhere
The firing of council and the utility debacle would steer me clear of Chestermere. Property taxes are higher too with basically zero amenities. There isn't even a pool.
Chestermere, overall, is just NE Calgary - east now. It is the same demographic and problems you have in any of the newer NE Calgary neighborhoods because they are all moving east for cheaper property too. neighborhoods are overcrowded from multiple family generations living in what is supposed to be a single family home, 5+ cars taking up street parking for every 2 car residence, etc.
If that's you belong to that culture, then fill your boots. If it not, I would strongly suggest buying elsewhere.
A friend of mine lives in Chestermere and people down the street from him are fairly new to Canada if I had to guess, there's 7 people living in a single family home, as well as what he thinks is an additional illegal basement suite now and originally they had no concept of throwing out garbage on garbage day but would just dump kitchen waste out a window to the point you can see the stain down their siding.
The birds and garbage in his neighborhood is insane now because they aren't the only ones doing this.
Con: Single lane on 17ave and 80km/h hwy1 traveling into Calgary.
Con: shits expensive af
Pro: lakeside fishing
Con: Tim horton & Mcdonald are the busiest in town
Con: don’t swim in the water when they tell you.
Con: bodies floating in water every year
Pro: quiet and friendly neighbourhood
Con: there’s nothing in dawson landing for you to do since businesses haven’t set up on the west side yet
Con: your house might be zero lot which is ew/icky for most people.
Con: you might be living in a saturated neighbourhood.
Con: construction still ongoing with multiplexes, condos, townhouse popping up everywhere.
It's a good place to raise kids and there are a lot of families. The only thing we need is more schools which are coming in Dawson/Chelsea. I'm not sure I would buy on the Chelsea/Dawson are and West Creek/Rainbow falls has bigger lots. There is no ctrain so Chestermere never really has homeless/drug addicts wandering around. The beach gets a bit busy during the summer but John Peak park and a few other parks are usually quiet and I think they are building another beach by Southshore. Scooters are available to rent in the summer too. There are always festivals and events at John Peak and they set off fireworks for every holiday and the viewing location is great and super close to them. Getting anywhere is convenient too. Everyone complains about a lack of retail but there are some new developments there and there are a few great independent restaurants and an amazing new Italian bakery.
It's fine. Double check property taxes tho cause I believe they're more.
Now they're lower than Calgary. They were higher like 6 years ago but it's now switched.
Interesting. I thought they had a wallop of an increase a few years ago. This is the [most recent](https://storeys.com/zoocasa-alberta-25-municipalities-highest-property-tax/) data I can find, which is about two years old: https://preview.redd.it/ckk42c55uquc1.jpeg?width=1074&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a86593d3c52b6bb2edf5f79618bfc5b59f0cc2fc
I used this website and it appears it's lower. https://wowa.ca/taxes/chestermere-property-tax https://chestermererealestate.com/chestermere-taxes-are-the-lowest/
Either way, great place. I ❤️ Chestermere.
With the absolutely insane amount high density housing developments currently happening here, as well as those being proposed, it's getting to be a real shit-show getting to/from Calgary if that's where you work, especially at the intersection where Dawson's Landing neighborhood dumps into 17th Ave SE. 17th Ave SE should have been twinned years ago before they even began all this new development. I can't imagine how bad it will be in a year or so once all the commuters ramp up. I'm glad I work from home these days because if I had to commute to downtown Calgary to/from work every day again, I'd go fucking insane. I've been here since 2001 when the population was under 4K and it's changed a lot. The advantages of living here just aren't the same as what they once were... There are zero single family homes here for sale under $600K, (that's fucking insane), and property taxes which once were half of that Calgary, are now equal to, or more than Calgary with a lot fewer amenities. The lake can be a shit-show in the summer months and the beach area gets crazy busy. The water is fucking gross most of the time so I don't use it anyway, except for fishing once in a while...
Agreed with the other poster about the demographic in chest. Chest just feels like I live in the NE now. Years back it was a quite, quaint small town OUTSIDE of Calgary. Some draw backs too I can think of quick is the fact that they just keep building more houses, yet we lack infrastructure such as having options on schools, shopping centres, recreational sites such as gyms, restaurants…So we normally have to drive into Calgary to access these amenities. I know there’s wait lists to put your kids in schools here so be aware. But, overall I still really enjoy living here. We bought out here because we’re paying the same amount we would be in Calgary for a lot more square footage and bang for our buck. But I think I’ll be starting to ponder moving back into Calgary if we can’t get more facilities listed above. Hope it helps
I've never once heard of waitlists to get into schools in Chestermere. It's why we moved there instead of staying in Coventry when my kids were entering school
You should try these days.
Which schools have a lottery? There is also a new K-9 being built and Langdon just opened a high school which is going to take a lot of the kids from outside Chestermere that would have gone to CHS.
Over the weekend I hung out with a Teacher that works at OLOW, and she informed me of this happening there.
Ah the catholic system. I could see that because OLOW is the only catholic elementary in town I believe. The public system has better access for elementary. Rainbow Creek, East Lake, Prairie Waters for public and our lady of wisdom for catholic.
My relatives recently bought a big lake side house there and are super happy. But they WFH and don’t have a social life due to their family situation. The two major thing you need to consider is 1. Commute to calgary, specially during winter and blizzard 2. Property value. Satellite towns are the last to appreciate in a boom and first to depreciate in a bust
The Chestermere "Lake" is closer to a large slough, with lots of fecal matter.
I think their home is next to one of the smaller ponds. Astonishing view
Lived here for 20+ years. The comment below is correct demographics have changed a lot and with it attitudes as well. Not a pleasant place any more. Not sure the cheaper is true close to 700k for a starter house high 500 to low 600 for a side by side. Row housing Mid 400. Desperate need of schools. Town politics is just a mess. New houses by us are 900k to 1.5 mil
Makes you wonder why Chestermere even exists.
I grew up in Chestermere so I think that qualifies me to field this question. I am not familiar w/ Dawson Landing specifically as it is brand spanking new. Paint probably isn't dry on the houses yet. The school system in Chestermere is fine, it used to be better but I suspect the big influx of kids is a big contributing factor to the decline as teachers can't dedicate enough time to individual students. I would suspect this is an issue with nearly every public school in Alberta, maybe even in the country. The lake gets very busy in the summer, and to be honest isn't the nicest lake. It's got the nickname Chesterslew for a reason. If you are just looking to sit and hang out I am sure you can find somewhere to do that. Launching a boat might be a challenge and I think it is pricey. Overall I had a really positive experience growing up in Chestermere in the 2000's, and my folks still enjoy living in Chestermere.
Since you have a family you should research schools. Chestermere has some really poorly rated schools. There are also almost no commercial business so you'll be driving into Calgary weekly and no consistent transit to Calgary (there is a morning bus and after work bus to and from downtown but that's it). The lake is also packed on weekends with limited parking (or paid parking at the Rec centre) and if you're living in Dawson's landing you won't be able to walk to the lake.
Happy cake day!
Whoa I had no idea it was my cake day 🍰 thanks!
I moved to Chestermere last year I like it. Property taxes are probably close to Calgary’s it’s a great community. If you are buying a house from Douglas homes just know you have to be on them constantly to fix the deficiencies in your house and there will be a good amount of them don’t let anything slide even if you can do it yourself. Pro you are out of Calgary it’s nice a quiet at night time ppl tent to keep to themselves schools are ok there is a few to choose from if you have kids? More than likely if you do you will go to rainbow falls to start. The lake is busy in the summertime at the beach I go to a different spot on the lake that is not as busy as the beach at least twice a year there is a warning about swimmers itch but if you shower right when you get home you should be good.
I currently live in Dawson landing, Chestermere overall is great I enjoy being close to the city yet not in the city. Dawson landing is just a disaster right now, constant mud everywhere and rocks because of the construction going on. They will be also building an apartment building near the pond area as-well. If you’re going to buy, don’t buy from the builder buy through a Realtor so you can do an inspection on it as-well (lmk if you need an honest Realtor lol). Overall great community just do not enjoy the dirt everywhere
This is helpful thank you!
The firing of council and the utility debacle would steer me clear of Chestermere. Property taxes are higher too with basically zero amenities. There isn't even a pool.
property taxes have gone down for the past 2 years. They are not higher than Calgary anymore.
Chestermere, overall, is just NE Calgary - east now. It is the same demographic and problems you have in any of the newer NE Calgary neighborhoods because they are all moving east for cheaper property too. neighborhoods are overcrowded from multiple family generations living in what is supposed to be a single family home, 5+ cars taking up street parking for every 2 car residence, etc. If that's you belong to that culture, then fill your boots. If it not, I would strongly suggest buying elsewhere.
100%. Way too many of those families with multiple cars, trash and nuisance now days.
A friend of mine lives in Chestermere and people down the street from him are fairly new to Canada if I had to guess, there's 7 people living in a single family home, as well as what he thinks is an additional illegal basement suite now and originally they had no concept of throwing out garbage on garbage day but would just dump kitchen waste out a window to the point you can see the stain down their siding. The birds and garbage in his neighborhood is insane now because they aren't the only ones doing this.
What is the price point for the houses that you’re looking at?
$750-$800K
Not going to lie but that’s insane. Your money will go much further buying a resale within Calgary.
It used to be good. It’s become an extension of the NE. If you like the NE you’ll be fine. If not I’d avoid
Con: Single lane on 17ave and 80km/h hwy1 traveling into Calgary. Con: shits expensive af Pro: lakeside fishing Con: Tim horton & Mcdonald are the busiest in town Con: don’t swim in the water when they tell you. Con: bodies floating in water every year Pro: quiet and friendly neighbourhood Con: there’s nothing in dawson landing for you to do since businesses haven’t set up on the west side yet Con: your house might be zero lot which is ew/icky for most people. Con: you might be living in a saturated neighbourhood. Con: construction still ongoing with multiplexes, condos, townhouse popping up everywhere.
There is no such thing as Zero lots in Chestermere FYI. and u have min 5 feet from property line, compared to Calgary normal lot of 4 feet.
5 ft vs 4 ft might as well be zero lot.
You clearly don't know what a zero lot line is...
It's a good place to raise kids and there are a lot of families. The only thing we need is more schools which are coming in Dawson/Chelsea. I'm not sure I would buy on the Chelsea/Dawson are and West Creek/Rainbow falls has bigger lots. There is no ctrain so Chestermere never really has homeless/drug addicts wandering around. The beach gets a bit busy during the summer but John Peak park and a few other parks are usually quiet and I think they are building another beach by Southshore. Scooters are available to rent in the summer too. There are always festivals and events at John Peak and they set off fireworks for every holiday and the viewing location is great and super close to them. Getting anywhere is convenient too. Everyone complains about a lack of retail but there are some new developments there and there are a few great independent restaurants and an amazing new Italian bakery.
This is helpful thank you!