McKenzie Towne residents Chris and Alisha went through just that when they moved into their new Mosaic townhome, by Hawthorne Homes, and their son Keenan was seven months old. Though the couple didn’t know it when they moved in, they would find a built-in network of friends in McKenzie Towne.
Living with Chris’s parents in Bragg Creek while their home was under construction, and taking care of a newborn, Alisha felt isolated, though she found support through an online parenting group. She mistakenly thought no one from the group lived in McKenzie Towne and that even after their move, she would still be isolated despite her online friends.

“I was super worried,” says Alisha. “I didn’t have any friends with kids, and McKenzie Town is far out there. I thought for sure I would be all alone.”

Contrary to her expectations, after the family moved in December 2005, Alisha noticed more and more group members moving to McKenzie Towne, and more McKenzie Towne residents joining the group. So many, in fact, that the group branched off into a McKenzie Towne component. Now, the families meet for holiday parties, potlucks, playgroups and birthday celebrations.
“Now, almost all of my best friends live in McKenzie Towne,” says Alisha.
Luckily for Chris and Alisha and the other families, McKenzie Towne is designed specifically for their demographic. The small town feeling of the villages of McKenzie Towne is exactly what many parents envision when looking for the perfect place to raise their kids.

While Sharon Walker, senior manager of sales and development with Carma Developers, explains that the community of McKenzie Towne offers something for every buyer from those who are just starting out to empty nesters, she also acknowledges that young and growing families are a big part of McKenzie Towne’s buyer demographic.

Walker explains Carma’s intention for McKenzie Towne was to include lots of “destination spaces” for families to visit. These spaces include plenty of parks, tot lots, ponds, pathways and facilities for tobogganing and skating in the winter. Each village within McKenzie Towne features a central park; in Elgin this is Elgin Hill, a six-acre green space with a central hill for enjoying the view, flying a kite or sledding.

“You want to make sure that there is some variety of amenities, especially with young families. In McKenzie Towne we’ve included lots of space for both active and passive recreation.”

Chris and Alisha also enjoy the community events geared towards families. Each holiday year-round brings different activities for the kids and the whole family, whether it’s Christmas, Halloween or Canada Day. A variety of classes for children and parents, from Kindermusik to cooking classes, are offered at the Towne Hall, and a number of different organizations hold their meetings at the centrally located McKenzie Towne Church.
“You wake up on a Saturday morning and the streets are packed with strollers,” says Chris. “This is a great community for new families.”
Because Chris works as an Emergency Medical Technician, he is often away from home for days at a time. Alisha enjoys the network of other moms and families during these times on her own.

“Being an EMS wife can be very lonely and tiring,” she says. “It’s really hard to get any me time or a break with a toddler in the house. That’s why a support network is so invaluable to me; they support me when I have a bad day, when I need a sitter for just an hour or, most importantly, when I’m just lonely.”

For a mom at home alone with a young child, the maintenance-free condo lifestyle is ideal. Alisha does not have to worry about what to do with Keenan while she shovels the walk or mows the grass, because all those details are taken care of.

The couple began shopping for a home in early 2005 when they faced a rent increase and realized that, for what they would soon be paying in rent, they could own their own home with three bedrooms instead of two, as well as a garage. Friends were already living at Mosaic Elgin Hill, and a Friday night dinner date at their townhome convinced Chris and Alisha that this was the place for them as well.

“We walked in and loved it. We had dinner with them on Friday night, visited the show home on Monday and had bought our home by mid-week,” says Alisha, adding that they didn’t bother looking at any other homes before purchasing.

The layout of the townhome appealed to the couple. The Abbotsford plan the couple chose is a split-level with a garage at street level in the back, ground-floor great room, open kitchen/dining area on the second level overlooking the great room and bedrooms on the third level.

Chris and Alisha also liked the fact that their townhome would face a park, with only a sidewalk and low chain-link fence in front of their home. Chris adds that the garage was a bonus.

They found the building process as enjoyable as building a new home can be, and appreciated that the sales representatives in the showhome graciously watched over Keenan while Chris and Alisha checked on the progress of their home.

Bumps on the road have included “all those little fees” that crop up, which many homebuyers don’t anticipate – overlooked utility costs, mortgage insurance and property taxes, for example – as well as continued construction in the area after the family moved into their home.
To other parents looking for a family-friendly community, Chris and Alisha offer the advice: “Look for the strollers.”

“Go to the parks and talk to other parents,” says Alisha. “Reach out – that mom pushing her baby in the swing, she wants you to talk to her. Say ‘hello!’ ”

Chris and Alisha feel they’ve found their home in McKenzie Towne. “We’ll be ‘Townies’ for life – Keenan will have these friends forever.”