Driving around Calgary over the last couple of weeks, I have noticed more snowmen in front yards than ever before. It then occurred to me, perhaps there should be a "Snowman Index" as a measure of community's family friendliness.
Who wouldn’t want to buy a house in a community that has lots of snowmen?
A few years ago, urbanist's started ranking cities and communities based on the number of Trick-or-Treaters that went house-to-house. The logic being that the more trick-or-treaters who came out, the more child-friendly and safer the community. Today it has become a fun competition between cities across North America as well as between communities within a city. The Calgary Herald now has an annual kid count. And as one would expect, the newer communities that appeal to young families usually have the biggest turn out. However, in 2016 Garrison Woods took top honours with some households reporting 350 to 600 kids. What I like about the Snowman Index is that all you really have to do is drive around the neighbourhood you are thinking of moving to and count the snowmen in the front yards. The more snowmen, the more children there are and the more children there are, the more family-focused and safer the community tends to be. For many buyers, these attributes are what make a particular community attractive.
This idea is not a crazy as you might think.
A few years ago, urbanist's started ranking cities and communities based on the number of Trick-or-Treaters that went house-to-house. The logic being that the more trick-or-treaters who came out, the more child-friendly and safer the community. Today it has become a fun competition between cities across North America as well as between communities within a city. The Calgary Herald now has an annual kid count. And as one would expect, the newer communities that appeal to young families usually have the biggest turn out. However, in 2016 Garrison Woods took top honours with some households reporting 350 to 600 kids. What I like about the Snowman Index is that all you really have to do is drive around the neighbourhood you are thinking of moving to and count the snowmen in the front yards. The more snowmen, the more children there are and the more children there are, the more family-focused and safer the community tends to be. For many buyers, these attributes are what make a particular community attractive.
A recent walkabout in West Hillhurst, Lake Bonavista and Tuscany turned up 15-17 snowmen in about 20 blocks. While I don’t have any data to compare to other communities, I think that is pretty good. Does your community have a good "Snowman Score" ?
Drop me a message, I'd love to hear about it.
