Thread: Living in Banff

Ok, let me start by introducing myself. I am from Ontario Canada and have been skiing my entire life (22yrs old). I am originally from Quebec where I use to ski in the laurentians and Vermont. Anyways, I was wondering if anyone from Banff or surrounding area could shed some light on several questions of mine which involve moving to Banff for the 06'-07' season. Yes it's a year away, but I would like to plan ahead.

Basically I would like to move to Banff from January to April, and live like a local more or less, and ski everyday. I was wondering how accommadating Banff is to people like me. Is there many places to stay that wouldn't involve me living like a tourist which involves lots of $$$?? I have been on the net looking at various places to rent, such as appartments for $900/month furnished. Everything else seems to be a 25 night limit and damn expensive. All I would care about is having a bed to sleep in, a small kitchen to cook some food, and a shower obviously. I am just trying to get an idea of what to expect as far as pricing and what is actually available out there over a 4 month period. I am planning on making a 1 or 2 week trip out there this winter to ski and scout out some spots, but I found this forum and thought maybe there would be some people that could help me out!

Thanx for any help

A room in a shared house would start at about $350, most likely unfurnished.
If you have a car you can also look for accom in Canmore.
It might be hard to find a place in January, I had a lot of trouble finding a place in December last year.

How far away in Canmore from Banff? I have heard of that place before, I thought it was like 2 hours away.

it's about 15 minutes.

Banff is a super fun town to live and work in. You're not going to save too much money in rent by living in Canmore, especially when you factor in the extra driving you will be doing everyday commuting to the hill.

check out http://www.banffcragandcanyon.com/cl...php?id=085#085
for accomodation info. it's the local paper and pretty much the best resource for finding rooms.

Thanx guys, this is exactly the type of info I was looking for.

Keep it coming if possible

beware of Greeks!

grat town, have a great time.

One thing the others haven't pointed out is that officially you have to work in Banff to live in Banff. How strict landlords are about this varies from place to place. Not sure if you're planning to work or not, but it might not be a bad idea to work a few hours a week for beer money and to make sure you meet the requirements.

What is the reasoning behind this requirement? I have had friends go to Banff for extended periods of time and they never had that to deal with. Unless this is a new thing?

it's because banff is located in a national park and has a very limited and non-expanding housing market. though it pertains to rental as well as ownership the only enforcement (and that's to say virtually none) i have ever seen parks do is over ownership issues. I've lived here my entire life and have never encountered or heard of a landlord who even takes it into consideration. The only thing that usually concerns them is that they have money in their accounts by the first of the month.

I wouldn't even worry about it.

I've spent a winter in the Rundle Mountain Chalets (I think). They are located essentially at the Banff Park gates. It was relatively cheap and was furnished. It's pretty small though so there wasn't much to furnish. You need a car if you are there, you are just on the outside of Canmore (in Harvie Heights), just far enough that you don't want to walk. We (being me and the girlfriend) showed up on Jan 3 and stayed until April. It might be something to look into. Hope it helps.

Originally Posted by powslut

I wouldn't even worry about it.

ya, for 14 months from now

heck by then rundle will have erupted and wiped out shellbyville (canmore), the hot spring snail will have taken over the whole side of the mountian, a mini golf course will me put on in downtown banff, the ski hills will be closed, pine beetle will have eaten all the trees, and a waterslide on the side of tunnel mountain.

Originally Posted by mntlion

and a waterslide on the side of tunnel mountain.

Put me down for a season's pass!

Mex, do you recall how much you paid per month at that place. Just to give me an idea.

Thanx

Ok Mex, I think I found their site.

http://www.chalets.ab.ca/

Does that place ring a bell?

Originally Posted by blitz007

Ok Mex, I think I found their site.

http://www.chalets.ab.ca/

Does that place ring a bell?

Yeah, that's the place. I can't remember the price. We had a "studio" skis fit nice up in the rafters and you can watch your girlfriend make breakfast from the bed. It seemed the best deal in Canmore and Banff at the time. We didn't really want to deal with roommates. We did just slide in though. I think they only had one or two chalets left that the rent for a season. I'd call them and see what advice they give you if you are seriously interested.

Ya I e-mailed them last night about availability and pricing. Did you find that while staying there you were close to the resorts? What mountain did you ski over that winter that you were there. I am assuming since it's between Banff and Canmore that it's pretty easy to get to hills such as Sunshine and Kicking horse?

Thanx for the info!

from banff
canmore is 30 minute east
hills are to the west of banff
norquay is the closes hill at 10 minutes
sunshine is 20 minutes away plus gondolar ride
lake louise is 45 minutes away
kicking horse is 1:30 - 2 hours west for banff

goggle has some good maps to get a feel for the place

price prices are in a thread that I started (search function)

ah ok, I got ya

For some reason I thought kicking horse was in Canmore.

So if one wanted to ski at Sunshine all winter then he would want to rent in Banff i'd imagine.

poor souls who need to work for a living commute from calgary to sunshine/lake louise twice or three times a week. get a proper car and a friend and it'll cost you $10/trip even at today's gas prices. less with a diesel.

Originally Posted by blitz007

ah ok, I got ya

For some reason I thought kicking horse was in Canmore.

So if one wanted to ski at Sunshine all winter then he would want to rent in Banff i'd imagine.

someone please advise this person about Skiing at Sunshine all winter.

I generally make it my task but too much sniping on the internet.

Give him a break, he's from the least. He might like Sumshine.

sum shine, but not much.

Originally Posted by Telecaster

someone please advise this person about Skiing at Sunshine all winter.

Slight hijack... I am planning a group trip to Banff area this winter. Should we be changing our plans, i.e. are you suggesting Sunshine Village blows? This is a group of friends, mostly advanced/expert, rotate a locale every year, and we've never been to Banff area. Thanks.

if there's good snow at Lake Louise you probably won't bother with Sunshine at all -- the terrain is much better at LL while SSV gets the calgary crowds.

you'll most likely be given a three-area lift ticket as part of your deal so you can choose between the two based on weather/snow (they are in different microclimate zones).

ps: i live in calgary so my opinion may be void when the banff guys chime in