Hi there. I am a Canadian citizen through decent and I’m keen to explore this country with my young family at some point in the next few years. Myself and my husband would want to work whilst we are there and my kids would need to be in school. I would sponsor my husband so that he could hopefully gain employment out there. I don’t think Canada is a place we would live permanently but I do believe that a couple of years based over there, exploring a different country would be a great life experience for us all.
I’d appreciate some recommendations on places to live in BC. I lived and worked in Vancouver for 6months many years ago so I’m an aware of its appeals and downfalls. House prices are most likely unachievable for us and in all honesty we would prefer to be within 1hour-2hours travelling of a major city rather than live in one. At the moment we live in a village on the outskirts of a small city in England. Generally home life is quiet but if we want entertaining then we can get to it. We like to keep fit, skating, running, hiking, gym classes. We like coffee, beer, craft ales, horse racing, NFL, ice hockey, live music and movies. I am a veterinary nurse. My husband works in business to business sales of mobile telecoms.
I would rather be in a milder climate. I’m not sure the extreme end of Canadian winters would be for us. So for these reasons I think BC will be the right province for us. I also have family in Alberta and Manitoba. My own research has highlighted the okanagan as an area that would tick a lot of boxes. Kelowna is always at the top of any internet search and it looks a great place to visit and be within striking distance of, but are there any smaller towns that people can recommend that are close by , have good schools still but don’t have the price tag of city living? Alternatively anything closer to Vancouver I should consider? Looking forward to hearing your input and thanks for reading.

Hi, we live in Kamloops. It’s a small town with great schools lots of hiking and sun peaks (ski hill) is just 30 minutes drive 😊. Kelowna is 2.5 drive from here. We have all the shops that you can think of aswell. The town is split between two rivers flowing through!! Very pretty little town but like you said house prices are creeping up here loads 😬😬😐. We have visited Kelowna and (obviously just my opinion) it’s just to busy there lots of traffic lots of homeless people aswell 😞😞. Also there is another town called Vernon which is a bit smaller than Kamloops so you will have to google that aswell. We also have a airport which has daily flights to Calgary and Vancouver. So shoot me any questions you have and I will try to answer them xx just remember we are 8 hours behind you lol 😆 so I’m not ignoring you 😀😀. Tamasin

What about the smoke stack in Kamloops?

Is that still spewing out?

It was always one of the first things I noticed when we visited or went through Kamloops, althou7gh I haven't been there since about 2014, other than on the train.

From last year, the smell is now nicer apparently.
https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/loc...s-rose-4447946

Thanks very much for the reply. I’ll have a look at Kamloops and also Vernon. I did actually spend a few hours in Kamloops when I was in Vancouver many years ago. I only went to the racetrack though so didn’t get to see any of the town. I remember the drive over being really beautiful though 😊

That doesn't sound too promising.

I wonder if they should try to raise the chimney even more ............. it was raised back in the 70s and 80s, if I remember correctly.

Of course, back then, they used to say that it was the smell of money, so not to worry

Consider Nelson, Port Moody, Steveston, Gibsons, Penticton, Squamish, or Cumberland. Not two hours from, but in the heart of these places. Rural BC outside of the main cities is blue collar resource extraction country and fast food - generally not cultural hubs of independent creative types, places for live music, craft ales, coffee bars, etc. If you choose a smaller city, stay right in the city - not on the outskirts, or be prepared for driving everywhere to get anywhere through soulless suburban sprawl - Walmart, McDonalds, Burger King, Tim Horton's, etc.

This is great! Thank you 😊

I would love to recommend Vernon as meeting everthing that you described in your requirements, but Im selfish and Vernon is growing too fast and I like it how it is and I am a complete NIMBY so I wont; definitely stick to Kamloops or Kelowna instead .......

I have lived here for 15 years and have only smelt the 'rotten egg smell' twice in that time.

Forest fires & smoke is a way bigger issue for me, you can pretty much guarantee a ruined 2-3 weeks every Summer now

Kelowna is i believe listed now as one of the fastest growing cities in Canada and it shows. Traffic has become a real issue in recent times and infrastructure doesn't seem to be keeping pace with massive building boom. We moved to the Westside as we liked the more rural feel and less busy than Kelowna itself. 15 years later and its hard to tell the difference now and single family homes average at 1 million but don't expect a large lot or too many upgrades at the bottom end. Throw in an upgraded kitchen and bathroom and some new appliances and you just added another 250,000!!! It's crazy particularly as we are very much a tourist town and not some hi tech city paying big wages. My son cannot afford to buy, he's 30 and still at home. The other one is renting a basement suite that is quite frankly in need of some serious upgrades but rental options are few and far between that no-one dare complain. He is thinking of moving to Alberta. We still get some significant snow here at times during winter and it can be exceptionally cold but generally way better than back east for example. Summers can be ridiculously hot at times but overall pretty nice if you enjoy the beach or water sports. Big White ski hill is an hours drive for summer mountain biking or winter skiing.
Some people complain that the Okanagan is pretty remote from most larger cities. Allow 4 hours drive to Vancouver or double that for Calgary and don't expect to do that trip mid winter unless you have nerves of steel as the mountain passes can be a challenge. Hopping across the US border is easy by travelling south to Osoyoos and into Washington state. Spokane is a nice easy drive approx 5 hours, California is possible if you like road trips and have the time.

Haha! Thanks. I’ll try to look at areas other than Vernon!

If the extreme winters are not for you, then Kelowna would be a good bet. We lived there about 3 years, great city and temps in winter was maybe -17C for the last one, and it really didn't feel that bad, but its all subjective. Definately take a trip over here before finalizing anything if possible. Summers can easily get into 30s, beautiful temps for the lake, feels like a holiday resort.

BUT, house prices... thats something that has gone up crazy in the last few years in BC in general. People we know have relocated to Calgary just purely because of the house prices.