Calgary Accomodations

Just as a personal reflection, I'd have to say that Calgary is "dry". I mostly notice it at the skin level. After having lived for the past two years in Malaysia where water sits on the surface of one's skin 24/7, probably one of the first things I noticed after arriving here is that my skin is not wet anymore. In fact, it's cracking up! I became a little obsessed with finding natural hand creams, face moisturizers and body lotion.

The second thing I took note of is the "cookie-cutter" housing. (Watch out cuz I think I'm going to get a little negative here and quite possibly over exaggerate by expressing my own opinions.)

Because the landscape is mostly flat with only a little gentle rolling to it, entire housing developments can be seen with the naked eye from quite a distance. And they all look the same.

Ok, to be fair, I have to specify that these are recent housing developments. You can go back as far as two decades and find that the same-looking siding was used on hundreds of attached homes as well as the same roofs, windows and doors. Talk about cookie cutter. And every home situated in the same neighbourhood has the exact same layout inside.

I prefer random.

Ha! My grandsons like to use that word "random" in ways that I never would have imagined. And, in many cases, it sounds like they're using it to describe something that was either annoying, disgusting or generally unpleasant. (What does random mean, anyway?) To these kids, things are either "random" or "cool" and it seems they can't be both. Right?

However, when it comes to housing, I prefer something unique. Let's use that word instead. You know, a home that looks like it's a bit different than all the others, in a neighbourhood with houses that are all a little unique in some shape or form. Either the front door is a different colour, or there are different shaped shutters besides the windows. Possibly an awning or front walk stands out as being (God forbid) different.

Perhaps the housing that has sprung up so quickly in Calgary attests to the "big boom" that made Alberta famous for having the strongest economy in Canada. In essence, I believe it still does have. The oil industry is still alive and well and enticing newcomers from all over the country and the world.

And, as long as there are people willing to rent or buy a house that's identical to their neighbours', these type of dwellings will continue to proliferate. And any exceptions will just be "random".