Do you love a rural life, surrounded by big blue skies and the gentle hills of the great Canadian plains? If so, you might feel right at home in building in Mountain View County within the community of Three Hills – a town in the heart of central Alberta, located about an hour and a half northeast of Calgary.
Part of Kneehill County, Three Hills has a landscape of scenic prairie vistas (and, as you may have guessed, some hills), as well as a relaxed but welcoming atmosphere. Residents here enjoy the natural beauty of the Alberta plains combined with small-town spirit and a down-to-earth pace of life that can be hard to find in the big city. If you’re looking for a new place to settle, discover the charm of building your custom home in Three Hills, Alberta!
Building Custom Homes in Three Hills
Nobody would deny that there are a lot of things to know before building a custom house… but today let’s zoom in on 5 that are unique to Three Hills:
1) Know the natural and municipal environments
When building a custom home in Three Hills, the first thing to do is to choose where that house is going to go. And to do that, you’ll need to look into the environment, topography, and sustainability aspects of any site you choose.
It’s hard to tell the impacts of a build without a trained eye, so you’ll likely have to reach out to professional consultants. They’ll help you find people to look into things like whether a home on that site will disrupt wildlife populations, where the spring run-off will go, and how and where utilities can be placed (if they’re not already). These evaluations will save a lot of stress in the future by ensuring work won’t be held up by paperwork.
Speaking of paperwork, this is also a good time to make sure your new home site is good to go in the eyes of the Municipal Planning Committee. Look into the zoning category, the land use restrictions, and other bylaws that may interfere with your plans. Find out if you need to work in sustainability measures, such as green power sources, efficient design, or smart technology. It’s a lot of prep work, but this ensures your home will be free and clear for many years to come.
2) Job searches may take longer
As of 2022, Three Hills had a population of just over 3,000 people. While this is great for personal space, it does mean that compared to larger cities like Calgary or Edmonton, there are less available jobs out in the community.
Now, if you’re building a custom home, you probably don’t have to worry about a new job, and this may not even matter to you. However, if you have family members that will soon be looking for full- or part-time positions, it could be a longer search before they find something suitable.
The upside? There are less big-box stores and faceless corporations in towns like Three Hills. Employers are likely to be more community-based, tight-knit, and caring – and there’s plenty of room to grow if you’re the one starting a business instead.
3) Plan your utilities properly
With smaller footprints and tax bases to pay for them, the availability of utilities in towns like Three Hills is very dependent on the specific location of your new custom home. Make sure you verify the feasibility of utilities, such as water, electricity/natural gas, garbage collection, phone lines, and sewer services on the site you’ve chosen. If they’re not in place, you will have to get in touch with local providers and add in costs like digging a well (if applicable), burying a septic tank, or running utility lines across hundreds of metres of land (or more) that you may not own.
An unplanned cost and delay in connecting to utilities can throw a whole project into crisis, so cover all your bases when budgeting and planning. Much of this will depend on whether you are building within the townsite itself, or on a nearby plot of land that may not necessarily be within the town’s utility zone.
4) Think about how you’ll fit in
How will your lifestyle fit into the local community and all it has to offer? After all, you wouldn’t be moving there if you weren’t interested in the small-town life. What about that life will make it worthwhile for you, and what form does it take in Three Hills?
There are many modern amenities available in Three Hills, such as schools, healthcare facilities, community support programs, and recreational opportunities. Find out about local sports teams, the arts culture, after-school clubs, post-secondary life, what to do in the evenings (or on the weekends), and where you can go hiking for a day. Before you build, make sure it’s the lifestyle you want to lead, and then you can make your home match it exactly the way you want. This is especially important if you have kids in need of activities, care, and education.
5) Get ready to love your new community
With all that said, Three Hills holds a special place in the hearts of anyone seeking that unique Alberta blend of small-town charm, natural beauty, and community-centered living. Surrounded by the scenic backdrop of the three hills from which it takes its name, it’s hard not to feel right at home within the town. It’s peaceful and calm, you’ll get to know your neighbours, and you’ll be able to have a real say in how the town is run if you so choose.
Plus, for a small community, there is a surprisingly large amount on offer. Prairie College is available for higher education, and classic stories come to life through events like the Canadian Badlands Passion Play. Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy the region’s recreational offerings, including hiking, camping, and stargazing. There’s a fleet of volunteer and professional protective services and first responders. Plus, the lower cost of living in smaller towns like Three Hills is a blessing in today’s modern age of inflation and unaffordability. The whole area has the sense of safety and security you can only get in communities like this.
Trust Thomas Built Homes for Your Custom Home in Three Hills
Ready to start the adventure of building your dream home? Saddle up with the expertise of Thomas Built Homes and make every step more exciting than the last! The possibilities of a perfectly designed, customized home made for you and your family are endless. It’s the exact kind of project we love, because those small-town values are the same ones that we believe in and cherish, too.
There’s nothing quite like walking into your new home for the first time, finally seeing it all together. There’s the peace of mind from the National Home Warranty Program, too, keeping you at ease for years to come. So, whether you’re in the early planning stages or have a clear vision in mind, Thomas Built Homes is ready to walk with you. Contact us today to make your future a reality!
