Choosing Chestermere

Jeff and Jessica Huynh found their forever home in Calgary's eastern neighbour

When it came to finding their forever home, sussing out a family friendly community that offered a healthy, outdoor lifestyle, and was close to family and amenities, was top of mind for Jeff and Jessica Huynh. The Huynhs had been living in Coventry Hills in Calgary's northwest. They enjoyed the neighbourhood, but with two young children, the couple wanted to be closer to family who live in Calgary's northeast areas of Pineridge, Coral Springs and Marlborough.

By July, they'd had enough of all the driving, and made the decision to sell their home. They found the perfect solution in Chestermere, the lakeside city located mere minutes from Calgary's eastern city limits.
"Chestermere was a really good compromise," said Jessica Huynh. "It was a way for us to live in the northeast, without living in the northeast."

CREB®Now: Was Chestermere initially on your radar as a community that you would consider living in?

Jessica Huynh: I have a really good friend who lives in Chestermere. She moved with her family about 15 years ago, so I was familiar with the city because I would come to visit her fairly often. We really loved the fact that it is so close to Calgary, without being right in Calgary, and being by the lake is nice. It is really family centred here, and now that we are all moved in, we find that we spend more time outside doing things as a family. The amenities are good, except there is no Superstore, but with the Walmart and Costco opening up in East Hills – just outside of Chestermere – it is really convenient.

"We really loved the fact that it is so close to Calgary, without being right in Calgary, and being by the lake is nice."

CREB®Now: Have you had a chance to experience Chestermere's sense of community?

Jessica Huynh: It is amazing. Before we even moved, when we came to do our home inspection, we met two of our neighbours. We've already had a neighbour shovel our walk twice for us. We say hi to people every morning. It's a very friendly area. In Coventry, we didn't even know most of our neighbours and we lived there for five years.

CREB®Now: You managed to sell your home in Coventry, purchase your Chestermere home and take possession in just 24 days. That's remarkable. What factors facilitated the process?

Jessica Huynh: It was all very fast. I think that one of the reasons our home sold so quickly was that I staged it. I took all our personal pictures down and decluttered and that made a difference. It allowed people to imagine the space as their own. We also had a great REALTOR®. I think people underestimate the value of their Realtor – they are the professionals and they know the market and how things are moving. We priced it right and we ended up having a bidding war in a very tight market.

When it came to purchasing our home in Chestermere, we scoured the MLS® listings online. We looked at the pictures and I told my husband, "I love this house, we have to buy it." He said, "well, we should go and look at it first." And we drove up and he saw the wrap-around porch and then said, "we are buying this house." We were sold before we even walked in.