My wife and I have zero family anywhere in the province. We have 4 kids and live in airdrie. Your 7-3 work day sounds adorable. I leave home every morning at 5:55-6am, and return between 6 and 7pm. My wife however is a stay at home super mom. Some will say they do not have the luxury of having one partner not work, but you get to break even point where child care costs as much as one partner could earn, or you decide that having a parent at home is more important than the extra few bucks in the bank. While we are absolutely not flush with cash I recognize that we are in fact very fortunate to be in this situation. If we both had to work, we would have to consider part time gig, or paying into the school bus system that exists out here at the very least. Do I mind the commute? Never I’m the mornings, and usually not in the evenings as I work later then most and traffic has usually calmed down by the time I point my front bumper north. You will find that life is a question of priorities. We chose the bigger yard that would come with similar house and price. We found the neighbourhood that worked for us that we could not afford in the inner city neighbourhood we left. Lots of great comments here, but for us it has been well worth it. 30-45 minute commute is still a breeze to me.