NorfolkNumpty

26mm difference in snowfall accumulation between Calgary and Kelowna, and its very pretty when everything is white

Rich_007

The Okanagan job market is flaky at the best of times. Right now it is extremely brittle. Medium sized to small businesses continue to close down and the number of new businesses opening is minimal. None of the larger companies (and their jobs) who left the valley over the past few years have been replaced. "Professional" grade jobs are diminishing.

If you're coming here without employment arranged be very careful, and have plenty of backup savings 'just in case' - and do your due diligence on the reality of the employment market here. There are opportunities in healthcare, some government, and some technical occupations. But even Interior health is outsourcing jobs to IBM leaving lower paid non union work in it's place.

Construction and real estate work is dead, but real estate pricing seems to have stabilized somewhat after some declines for 24 months or so.

It is a beautiful place to live, with a great quality of life, but be sure you can make it work from a career/employment perspective. As iaink says "you can't eat scenery". I know plenty of people who are struggling, or who have moved elsewhere to a more viable location.

And to clarify, the amount of Brits living here is fairly negligible. If you want to root them out for social companionship, they are here and willing to meet you, otherwise just get on with living a normal life.

HTH

printer

Rich 007 says it all as far as jobs are concerned so you have to come here with an open mind and plenty of money.
We came here for that "lifestyle" not because of jobs or friends or family or any other reason other than we really liked the place and the lifestyle that was possible. To make it work you need a good wage or lots of savings that's for sure.
Climate has a lot to do with it as well. Ignore the info suggesting its wet here, it's not. The rain we do get is usually short and doesn't hamper everyday things. It is substantially drier than UK.
It is quite common for Golf courses to open in February (Penticton did last year) and Spring kicks in early too. We have 4 seasons here and each one has it's merits.
Apart from being minutes from lakeshore wherever you live you can actually swim in it in the summer and in winter Big White is an hour away or Crystal Mountain about half that.

NorfolkNumpty

There was no suggestion that its wet, I was pointing to the fact that its wetter than Calgary.

You make some excellent points about the lifestyle and cost of the Okanagan. Its a very beautiful place that is for sure.

dboy

Well, after spending 2-3 days a week in Calgary since early October, I think I have an angle on teh weather there. Anything below 15 - 20 degrees is not livable, mind you I am a west coast wimp. Yes it's sunny which does give one a lift, but I had no desire to venture out.

One plus though is the chinooks. I was there last week and it was very early spring like with temps around plus 5. If it would stay about minus 15 I could do it, other wise, I find rain as way less impact on my day to day life. Rain....i would be lying if i said I didn't mind it. But i minded minus 41 more.

I can also remember being there in late summer a couple of years ago and noticing how abruptly summer ended.

Weather alone should not be the major factor in how one defines place.

JonboyE

I wish you would give up this ****.

Annual average precipitation:

Calgary - 412.6 mm
Kelowna - 366.4 mm
Osoyoos - 317.6 mm.

I agree with you that Calgary is not a wet place. It is probably a very nice place to live. But there is not "way more rain in the Okanagan than Calgary" as you claimed in post #3. Stop digging.

NorfolkNumpty

I could say the same about the west coast having spent 1 week per month in Vancouver for over a year but you don't really know the full extent of the impact the weather has unless you kive somewhere. The extreme cold doesn't stop Calgarians from living life and going out doors in the winter. In 3 years here its never been -41, the wind chill has taken it close but that occurs once or twice per winter. Last week it got up to 13 with a Chinook. Give me sunshine and blue skies over and above rain and grey skies anyday.

But your point about weather not being the main factor in choosing location is an excellent one. The work factors and higher cost of living and taxes in BC are way more important factors.

NorfolkNumpty

I agree my comment about the rain was exagerated however the stats I quoted were from Environment Cananda, the average rainfall is higher in Kelowna than Calgary, rain and snow are different things.

Why is it so important to you to to prove me wrong

dboy

Well I have experienced - 41 there. I was there that day and it was the worse experience of my life:

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2.../16290826.html

Cost of living is not much different here outside of housing. Day to day as far as eating out or going for a beer, I have not experienced a notable difference.

I personally dislike Calgary. Its downtown is awful and absolutely dead come 7 pm, no interesting hoods, the worst urban sprawl I have ever experienced, brown and not lush and the mountains are miles away, no ocean, other than sunny winter days it has few redeeming qualities. As for taxes, what the average Calgarian saves in 5 percent pst is paid ten fold in higher property taxes and utility costs.

Vancouver gets as much sun as Kelowna at close to 2000 hours and contrary to popular belief it does not rain here all the time. Outside of witner and late fall, the climate here is great. And even in winter the ski slopes are 30 mins from downtown, 10 from where I live.

Yes winter tends to be grey and wet but we have long, beautiful springs and summers. As i noted, - 15 or so I don't find a major impact on day to day living, but anything more.....Not sure why you cant just accept the differences between the two and have to defend cow town at all costs. I don't care much for Kelowna either, i also go there a fair bit for work. Beautiful country though but too strip mall ish for me.

Piff Poff

I would agree here.precipitation coming down as snow is very different to that coming down as water. It's amazing how quickly a person gets used to minus silly temperatures, it's when it's minus stupid it stops a person going outside.

As to the OP's question, some people love Calgary, some people love the Okanagan, you're going to get biased opinions one way or the other, it's really you're decision to make.

NorfolkNumpty

That news story was widely reported and the source was one website, but it was actually incorrect. The temperature quoted was in Sundre which is north of Calgary, and to be more factually accurate wind chill is not the temperature, its what it feels like.

Vancouver ave rainfall: 1154.7 - bit wet that

Alan2005

Oh, it's only what it feels like. That's ok then.

dboy

perhaps...but i can assure you it was bloody cold!!!! Actually I have to admit that for the most part, I have not found Calgary winter weather that bad. Funnily the first time i went I had an antartic coat, ski pants, mits....i was the brunt of jokes all week especially when i blew on hole in me jacket and feathers were all over the place! I now dress much the same as here. WIth the exception of the other week when it was averaging around -25. Other than that I have expereinced a fair few nice days and more than a few middle of the road days.

As for rainfaill figures they can be misleading. Both Sydney and New York have comparable amounts. Many places in the UK have less. Many places in the north west have around 700 mm, but over 200 days of rain evenly spread throughout the year and only around 1200 hours of sunshine.

Rain is largely seasonal here (and something like 60 percent drops over the winter months), that's what people tend to overstate and believe that it rains all the time. Vancouver is surprinsgly very prone to summer droughts. You will get no arguments that winter here is often dreary but it's a state of mind and it usually comes down to a couple of particulary bad months (usually nov and dec where it can rain endlessly), the other winter months tend to have at least a few sunny days here and there. One can still go out with no fear of one's limbs falling off and skiing is more accessible than Clagarys frozen waste lands.

As noted, the total hours of sunshine are around 2000 hours, and some areas are more. I suspect White Rock is closer to 2100, not that far off Calgary. If you want to talke about climates, check out victoria. Only about 150 hours less than Cow town and the milldest climate in Canada.

I wouldn't be surprised if comparing climate norms outside of winter that Vancouver gets comparable amounts of sunshine and increasingly longer springs and summers. Now what about that dreadful urban sprawl and miserable excuse for a downtown?

printer

Vancouverites are known to be delusional and often suffer from all that dampness. It makes them think their weather is better than it is and that it only rains a bit.

We have lots of strip malls so there is always somewhere close by to cool off when its +40.

thesidds

We were in a simular dilema about 3 years ago . . .and thankfully decided on the okanagan
On paper, for lots of practical reasons we should have moved to Calgary, but we followed our hearts and now have the most amazing lifestyle here in the Okanagan .. . .you just can't beat it
Now, when we take the spectacular drive through the Rockies to get to Calgary airport, I thank goodness that I'm not living in one of those "shoebox" subdivisions, looking at the scenery in the distance!
If your making the move half way around the world, make sure its the right one, if you don't love where you live, it will be so much harder to settle. All that being said . . .you've still got to pay the bill eh?