scrubbedexpat091

May want to double check on crime and its on the rise which is the opposite of the national trend.

The Kelowna metropolitan area, which includes the city of Kelowna and neighbouring cities, had a crime rate in 2012 of 8,875 crimes for every 100,000 people, up six per cent over 2011.

That gives Kelowna the highest crime rate of the 33 major cities tracked by Statistics Canada



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Kel...#ixzz2bRQraYHr

januarymix

Hi and welcome bingbong. You've done the tour but I second the opinion above about looking again. People are kind here and share experiences etc which correspondingly provides pointers -- but nothing beats your own look-see again IMO.

Best of luck on your plans and move.

ExKiwilass

Are you an evangelical christian? if you are Mission would be right up your alley, along with Abbotsford and more rural parts of Alberta. If not a Christian you should try for Sikh as that's the other popular religion Abby/Mission way. I have heard of people who commute from Mission to Vancouver. That's all I'm saying. I've heard of it. I wouldn't do it nor would anyone I know, cos that's like REALLLLLLY far. YOu would lose a lot of your day commuting. It would suck. Trust.

Squamish is the poor man's North Van. It's where people go who want that lifestyle but can't afford North or West Van proper. So it's growing, but the reality is teh transit is shit and you are reliant on a highway and bridges to get to Vancouver. It would be better if you could land a job in West or North Van or even Squamish. And you'd be much closer to Whistler, which is nice.

scrubbedexpat091

If you work 9-5 M-F and have holidays off, the West Coast Express is not a bad commute, takes a bit over an hour if you ride it all the way to Mission.

There are a good amount of people who start and end on Mission, I was always surprised how busy it was.

A good amount of people commute from all over the Fraser Valley, the jobs out that way tend to not pay well, but housing is cheaper so for many the cost of the commute is worth it.

70 minutes on the West Coast Express isn't that bad of a commute. There are plenty of commutes within the city on transit that take almost as long.

From my house in East Vancouver, to YVR, takes 1 bus, 1 skytrain, and the Canada Line, and Translink estimates the trip at 59 minutes.

The commute within the "city" can be just as long if not longer, and the buses and trains in the city are not nearly as comfortable.

Obviously if you have a car and choose to drive, it different.

bingbong180

I noticed when passing through small towns in Fraser valley I saw a lot of Kingdom Halls used by jehovas witness's. I was surprised because you rarely see
Them in uk.

cheeky_monkey

all depends on preference i guess..i have lived in Edmonton and now live in Calgary and much prefer Edmonton over Calgary

Almost Canadian

Care to explain why?

cheeky_monkey

Sure... it is easier to get around..has better and newer facilities..i also find it a bit more relaxed than Calgary a bit more quirky if you like or a bit more homely. Yes some parts of the city are a shit hole but i wouldn't live or go there maybe more so than Calgary..i just think Edmonton gets a bad rap for no reason

Almost Canadian

Thanks

I have never been there. Most of the people I know that have any real knowledge of it (not just visited WEM) have attended University there. I don't know anyone that particularly slates it but, for various reasons, they prefer Calgary.

Steve_P

I liked Edmonton when I lived there (9 years), but liked Calgary more when we were transferred here in 1974. Perhaps Edmonton has improved since then.

I found Edmonton when compared with Calgary flat and boring with no hills to speak of except for going down into the river valley and certainly no mountain views. I didn't think Edmonton (except for the River Valley) had as much open park space like Fish Creek or Nose Hill. I also think Calgary has better weather especially the Chinooks in winter.

I think Calgary's proximity to not just Banff but also to Kananaskis much better than Edmonton to Jasper.

Edmonton was built much more on a grid system than Calgary but I prefer the Calgary layout, not quite so square and boring.

We liked at the time the better shopping in Calgary, and certainly now-a days Calgary has better air connections.

Calgary is a much more white collar city whereas Edmonton in more blue collar (my perception).

All that said if I were transferred back to Edmonton I could quite happily live there.

Steve_

Vancouver is very crowded, just look at a satellite image of the Fraser Valley with the 49th parallel running through it and you will see why, the city proper has a higher population density than London. Traffic is a nightmare with all the tunnels and bridges, taxes are higher than Alberta except for income tax if you earn less than $100,000 but given that healthcare in Alberta is "free" and there is no PST then generally you are better off in Alberta. Plus the cost of living is lower in Alberta.

People say to move to BC because the weather is better, I don't think it is, it's sunny and dry in Alberta during the winter but yes it is much colder.

Edmonton imo is a nicer town than Calgary because it's more of a traditional conurbation, but the weather is better in Calgary plus it's slightly less isolated so Calgary wins. You can move to Red Deer, Lethbridge etc. but then you've got a long drive to the airport and decent shopping.

I was actually at Ikea yesterday and in the parking space next to mine was a guy from Montana who had come up to Calgary to get some flat pack furniture.

Plus for $500,000 you can buy a lot more house in Calgary than you can in Vancouver...

Steve_

It's the third time at least you've said this. Why not just get in your car and go up there for the weekend? How can you have lived here this long and not gone to the WEM?

It has to be said that is the most boring drive in the history of creation during the summer.

But you can go on a boat ride on the Saskatchewan River.

Almost Canadian

Simple really, I haven't had a need/wish to go there

ExKiwilass

Alberta winter: your backdoor can freeze shut for months at a time (this really happened to someone I know)
Vancouver: you'll get wet in winter.

Alberta: urban sprawl
Vancouver: high density but lots of parks, mountain views, the waterfront etc. etc. For instance Burnaby, which has lots of towers, has 25% of it's land set aside for parks - so it really doesn't feel crowded.

Almost Canadian

The whole of Alberta? I don't know how anyone's back door in Alberta could freeze shut for months at a time in any location with more than 15,000 people.

The whole of Alberta has urban sprawl but the whole of BC doesn't. You'll have to explain that one to me.

I haven't travelled extensively to parts of BC but, from what I have seen, I would imagine that, outside of Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, population density in both Provinces is likely to be very similar.