Magazine names Edmonton one of Canada's best affordable cities
It’s no secret that the cost of housing in Edmonton is far below that of other major Canadian cities, and a new article highlights that while people are flocking here for affordability, they’re staying for the city’s character.
Canadian news magazine Maclean’s published a list of the “Best Affordable Places to Live in Canada,” and Edmonton was named among nine other municipalities across the country.
Maclean’s defined “affordable” as places where the benchmark price of a home still falls under the national average of $700,0000.
With a benchmark housing price of $392,700, far below the average cost of a home in Canada, Maclean’s touts Edmonton as a “small city with big city energy” in the form of universities, healthcare jobs, and sports teams.
The cheap housing is great for families, and condos in downtown and WĂ®hkwĂŞntĂ´win are fantastic options for younger people. Maclean’s noted Edmonton’s recent zoning bylaw changes as a density-boosting initiative.
Maclean’s writes that Edmonton’s traditionally boom-and-bust economy has also become more diverse, thanks to its prominence in technologies such as video games (BioWare) and artificial intelligence (the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute).
“People may move to Edmonton for economic reasons, but they tend to stay for the city’s character,” Maclean’s writes.
“Situated up above the 53rd parallel, Edmonton’s relative isolation has led to a do-it-ourselves civic culture, with patriotic pro sports teams and a bumper crop of festivals, including the largest Fringe in North America. Plus, when it gets too cold, there’s a pretty big mall to hide out in.”
Other Canadian cities that rounded out the list included Charlottetown, Halifax, St. Catharines, Quebec City, Sherbrooke, Kingston, Fredericton, Windsor, and Regina.