Compared two neighborhoods for a month before buying in Edmonton

I spent August looking at houses in both Summerside and Rutherford. Summerside had the lake and nicer yards but the commute to my job near the airport was brutal in the mornings. Rutherford turned out to be way better for the price, I got a 3 bedroom for $420k with a double garage and I'm 15 minutes closer to work. Anyone else find a hidden gem neighborhood after doing the math on commute times?

2 comments

2 Comments

emeryfox25d ago

Did you factor in how many times you'd drive past a Tim Hortons on your commute? I'm asking because I chose a place based on yard size once, and realized too late I'd be spending all my weekends mowing it instead of actually enjoying the lake I was too tired to visit. My one true hidden gem turned out to be discovering that 10 extra minutes of sleep beats a nicer view any day of the week (though maybe that's just my grumpy morning brain talking).

kai_bennett24d ago

Big same @emeryfox. I fell for that yard trap too. Thought I wanted space for a garden and dogs and stuff, but now I'm just out there every Saturday with a loud mower wishing I'd picked a place with a smaller patch of grass and a closer coffee shop. That 10 extra minutes of sleep part really hit home. It's the little things that end up mattering way more than the big picture you thought you were chasing.