harrietslade

Hello,

I know this is irrelevant to the above post, but I noticed you moved from the UK to Kelowna and we are in the process of doing the exact same. My OH has been offered a job here and whilst it looks beautiful and amazing, Im trying to weigh up our options to avoid a dreaded regret!!!
. We have a 4 and 20month old. Perfect age to relocate both boys but Im worried about the cost of living.
Can you give me any information about Kelowna as a whole and cost of living in that area. Do you like it there. Are you happy you made the move. What are the winters like


Thanks

Harriet

Siouxie

I have moved your post to a thread of your own as your question has nothing to do with the original thread. It's always better to start your own thread, that way you get responses to your question rather than somebody else's.



http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...a&city=Kelowna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelowna
http://www.tourismkelowna.com/
http://www.hellobc.com/kelowna.aspx

Vulcanoid

I don't have the experience of living there (yet), but I spent a month there last year, and broad conclusion was - "incredible place to put a city. Shame about the one they put there".

In terms of views, climate, mountains, lakes, skiing, hiking, cross-country, etc, it's pretty much paradise. Long hot dry sunny summers, relatively short mild winters (unless you're comparing to Vancouver/Victoria).

Economic vitality and prospects are another matter. They're undergoing downtown regeneration, but for its size and isolation, it is kinda lacking in many of the aspects that make up 'life' - the population distribution is unusual, despite rapid growth there are bulges in the middle aged and retired, and a dearth of youth (which surprised me, considering it's ideal for outdoor sports). Don't get me wrong, it's a city of some 200k and has schools, but the 15-35 demographic is several % smaller than you'd numerically expect, and you (I at least) feel it.

Speaking of the isolation - other than Kamloops (about 2 hours), Vancouver is 4 hours drive away, Calgary about 10 hours. Stunning drives, and there are many, many, far smaller communities in both directions, but you are a long way from any true big city.

The city is one big suburb. Low rise, low density, lot of driving to get anywhere, lot of traffic. Sidewalks along major roads suddenly cease to exist, or to walk half an hour down a major road you have to cross over about 5 times to stay on one.

It wasn't what I was expecting, but it is what it is. Some cities I've been to and romantically fallen-in-love with, I was hoping Kelowna would fall into that category, it didn't. It has ups and downs. Which is honest of it.

bcmama

Hi there
We live in Kelowna coming up for one year very soon We have two kids although ours are 9 & 6 so a fair bit older than yours. We really enjoy living here as it's provided us with a higher quality of life/work balance that we didn't have in the UK. Better weather year round and so much more to do outdoors and not too far from Vancouver and Seattle etc.
It's a pretty big city in terms of western Canada, so cost of living is higher than a lot of other places, especially since employment & wages are lower. Like any city, there are cheaper and more pricey areas to live and places to shop depending on your budget.
The winter was mild for us, but then we were used to wet and windy Edinburgh Where we live, pretty close to the lake it doesn't snow much. We had to clear our driveway about 5 times and we only got snow tires for going up skiing at Big White, other than that you wouldn't need them for driving around the city. I used to live in Calgary and couldn't hack winters like that, so that was a huge factor in our decision to move to Kelowna.
PM me if you have any questions, happy to try to help.

harrietslade

Hi bcmama,

Thankyou for the useful info. I have pm you if you check your inbox

thanks

Siouxie

It would be really helpful to other members looking for similar information (now or in the future) if questions and answers could be posted in the thread for all to see.

burks

I lived in Kelowna for a year. It is a beautiful city (or rather it is in a beautiful location!). I liked the fact that there weren't any real high rises anywhere, only real exception is the Delta Grand. This may have changed over last couple of years?.. but doubt it. It's a decent size city, and it has everything you need excluding maybe a few specialty stores that may only be found in the major cities. A car would definitely be needed to survive!

It is very much an outdoors city. The Okanagan lake, the mountains, trails, vineyards, golf courses etc. It really is an outdoor playground.

The climate is very dry. So in the winter although there is guaranteed snow, the temperature doesn't get stupidly low like out East. The summers are hot and dry, hence the vineyards throughout the Okanagan valley.

The main thing I don't like about Kelowna are the 'locals'. I call them 'locals' but am never too sure if they are. They are the generation who are living off of their parents wealth, staying in their parents apartments and using their parents boats etc. Take a walk along the water front in the summer and you may know what I am talking about. There was a certain atmosphere in the city during the summer which I didn't like too much. Being a playground is great when you are able to go play.. but when you're living/working there I don't think that I would like it too much.

I know people who love it in Kelowna, and really enjoy the area and everything, and I will still go there in the summer and winter for weekends and what not.

Until you experience a city yourself, it is very hard to be able to judge whether or not you will like it.