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Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Old Feb 9th 2011, 3:52 pm
  #31  
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by 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?
Kinda what we're feeling. Where about's r u? do you have kids?

Gav.
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Old Feb 10th 2011, 12:08 am
  #32  
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by 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?
We've just come back from a trip to Calgary and the surrounding areas (we went to Okotoks Cochrane, Airdire and a few others), and whilst I will agree that a lot of the Calgary burbs are bit mediocre I think a compromise on the Calgary subdivisions and living in the countryside would be to go for Cochrane, here you are in beuatiful countryside, would be within easy striking distance of the city and the rockies. For us ith as to be the job that determines roughly where we live. As someone has said, "You Can't Eat the Scenery"

Hope this helps.
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Old Feb 10th 2011, 1:01 am
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by 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.
This may comes as a surprise to those who stereotype vancouver as a dark, wet dreary place: (Canadian climate norms):

Kelowna:
Annual sunshine: 1954
days with measurable sunshine: 305
% of daylight as sunshine: 40.1

Nov: 52.8 (hours of sunshine)
Dec: 37.6
Jan: 40.3

month with most sunshine: July: 300.5 hours

Vancouver:
Annual Sunshine: 1928
days with measurable sunshine: 288.5
% of daylight as sunshine: 40.3

Nov: 64.3
Dec: 56.1
Jan: 60.4

Month with most sunshine: July: 294.5 hours

Vancouver does of course receive much larger volumes of rain. I think the stats speak for themselves though. Vancouver is stereotyped as a wet, dreary place. For 3-4 months it mostly is...but it also gets a fair amount of sunshine. It appears that Kelowna is as equally sunshine deprived during th e winter, infact more so, although arguably drier. Of interest, Melbourne is around 2100 hours and Sydney 2300 hours, although of course warmer.

The areas further south in Vancouver get considerably less rain and a bit more sunshine. Both White Rock and Twasseenn get around 2100 hours, more than Kelowna.

Last edited by dboy; Feb 10th 2011 at 1:08 am.
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Old Feb 10th 2011, 1:07 am
  #34  
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by dboy
This may comes as a surprise to those who stereotype vancouver as a dark, wet dreary place: (Canadian climate norms):

Kelowna:
Annual sunshine: 1954
days with measurable sunshine: 305
% of daylight as sunshine: 40.1

Nov: 52.8 (hours of sunshine)
Dec: 37.6
Jan: 40.3

month with most sunshine: July: 300.5 hours

Vancouver:
Annual Sunshine: 1928
days with measurable sunshine: 288.5
% of daylight as sunshine: 40.3

Nov: 64.3
Dec: 56.1
Jan: 60.4

Month with most sunshine: July: 294.5 hours

Vancouver does of course receive much larger volumes of rain. I think the stats speak for themselves though. Vancouver is stereotyped as a wet, dreary place. For 3-4 months it mostly is...but it also gets a fair amount of sunshine. It appears that Kelowna is as equally sunshine deprived during th e winter, infact more so, although arguably drier. Of interest, Melbourne is around 2100 hours and Sydney 2300 hours, although of course warmer.
Ok so its only dark wet and dreary for 4 months, i'll let you off.

The comment that i heard from a few people about Kelowna, well the Okanagan was that it can be grey and miserable during winter months. We don't get the huge blue skies of Alberta. It certainly can be like that but this year seems to be a mix of that and sunshine too, so it's not all bad. Some winters have longer periods of greyness i'm told.

I guess some will say global warming is to blame.
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Old Feb 10th 2011, 1:15 am
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by printer
Ok so its only dark wet and dreary for 4 months, i'll let you off.

The comment that i heard from a few people about Kelowna, well the Okanagan was that it can be grey and miserable during winter months. We don't get the huge blue skies of Alberta. It certainly can be like that but this year seems to be a mix of that and sunshine too, so it's not all bad. Some winters have longer periods of greyness i'm told.

I guess some will say global warming is to blame.
It has been much the same here. We have had a very mild winter. It was 13 degrees the other day. Vancouver gets a bad rap and the rain is overrated and you have to spend a couple of years here to understand the nature of the rain. Mind you I do try and get away around nov to dec and again in the new year. It helps to break it up.
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Old Feb 10th 2011, 2:27 pm
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by Glam
Kinda what we're feeling. Where about's r u? do you have kids?

Gav.
We're in Armstrong, just north of Vernon and we have 2 young boys.
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Old Feb 11th 2011, 8:26 am
  #37  
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by thesidds
We're in Armstrong, just north of Vernon and we have 2 young boys.
Snap, 4 & 6......well apart from the armstrong thing!!.

What do you do for a living? if you don't mind me asking.

Gav.
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Old Feb 11th 2011, 2:22 pm
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by Glam
Snap, 4 & 6......well apart from the armstrong thing!!.

What do you do for a living? if you don't mind me asking.

Gav.
I work in marketing and my husband is a mechanic.
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Old Feb 16th 2011, 1:38 am
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Why stress about this?

Go to Calgary. Work. Bank the extra earnings.

You will also be able to spend a year or two enjoying what Calgary has to offer, and part of that is proximity to things like the West Edmonton Mall, and the Royal Tyrrell dinosaur museum.

Then, if the recreation opportunities are not enough, you can move to the Shuswap, Thompson or Okanagan. The choice is actually bigger than just Kelowna, and no doubt, you will meet plenty of people in Calgary who can provide you information about one or the other.

Kelowna isn't as nice as the lake setting might seem. To get to the lakes you generally have to get through the summer traffic jams since the town wraps along the edge of the lake. It might be nice in the suburbs north of the airport where you can also broaden your job search to Vernon which comes within commuting distance.

Or go the other way and live in the Peachland/Summerland area where you could commute to Penticton. Or just go to Kamloops and get your lakes in the mountains. Or go to the Shuswap with its long convoluted shoreline that offers room for lots of people to live "right at the lake".

In my opinion, getting a good job comes first.
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Old Feb 16th 2011, 2:19 am
  #40  
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

What extra earnings? Calgary has some of the highest priced properties in Canada; affordability and household debt loads are beginning to become a source of concern. And the "proximity" of West Edmonton Mall! Edmonton is a 3 hour drive up the QE2, and the Royal Tyrell Museum is a 2 hour drive away. I know long-distance jaunts are quite normal here in Canada, but somewhere that is a 1-hour plane ride away, is not in any proximity to Calgary.
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Old Feb 16th 2011, 2:58 am
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by wavetossed
Why stress about this?

Go to Calgary. Work. Bank the extra earnings.

You will also be able to spend a year or two enjoying what Calgary has to offer, and part of that is proximity to things like the West Edmonton Mall, and the Royal Tyrrell dinosaur museum.

Then, if the recreation opportunities are not enough, you can move to the Shuswap, Thompson or Okanagan. The choice is actually bigger than just Kelowna, and no doubt, you will meet plenty of people in Calgary who can provide you information about one or the other.

Kelowna isn't as nice as the lake setting might seem. To get to the lakes you generally have to get through the summer traffic jams since the town wraps along the edge of the lake. It might be nice in the suburbs north of the airport where you can also broaden your job search to Vernon which comes within commuting distance.

Or go the other way and live in the Peachland/Summerland area where you could commute to Penticton. Or just go to Kamloops and get your lakes in the mountains. Or go to the Shuswap with its long convoluted shoreline that offers room for lots of people to live "right at the lake".

In my opinion, getting a good job comes first.
Firstly the West Edmonton Mall is in Edmonton and NOT Calgary and secondly as someone has said its a fair distance away, in fact you may as well live in Kelowna and say Vancouver is in proximity.

Yes Kelowna has summer traffic but there is a reason for it, everyone wants to come here to enjoy the surroundings. It isn't true to say that you have to "get through the jams to reach the lake" there is plenty of shoreline to choose from without parking issues and without parking charges too.

Winfield is north of the airport and that wouldn't be described as a "nice suburb" IMO. Sunset Ranch is a new subdivision just behind the airport which is nice but its a golfing community and strata rules and fees apply
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Old Feb 16th 2011, 2:30 pm
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by printer
Yes Kelowna has summer traffic but there is a reason for it, everyone wants to come here to enjoy the surroundings. It isn't true to say that you have to "get through the jams to reach the lake" there is plenty of shoreline to choose from without parking issues and without parking charges too.
What he said. It seems fair to say that last year saw a significant slowdown in people and traffic and general "busyness" in the area. Tourism numbers, whether from the US or within the provinces of BC and AB are definitely down. There was a period say 2005-2008 when you could barely get a seat at any diner in town. Last summer, not a problem at all, and hardly any US plated vehicles were visiting town. "The Strip" (a vile hybrid mixture of Blackpool, Wigan, and Vegas) is a lot quieter than in previous years. Though part of that may be because locals are fearful of driving underneath the new pedestrian walkway on Highway 97 in case it collapses onto their Escalade.

In addition I would add that there are plenty of off-the-beaten-track beaches where all you need is beach gear and a picnic and you can be away from the hordes, or head up to a remote lake to camp/parkup/chill out at your leisure. Just be sure not to go too far out, as there are many remote rural grow ops being managed by itinerant criminals using the local water resources and plentiful sunshine. Welcome to the Grow-kanagan.
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Old Feb 16th 2011, 5:06 pm
  #43  
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by YoshiPal2010
What extra earnings? Calgary has some of the highest priced properties in Canada; affordability and household debt loads are beginning to become a source of concern. And the "proximity" of West Edmonton Mall! Edmonton is a 3 hour drive up the QE2, and the Royal Tyrell Museum is a 2 hour drive away. I know long-distance jaunts are quite normal here in Canada, but somewhere that is a 1-hour plane ride away, is not in any proximity to Calgary.
Now add on the distance from Kelowna. As I said, the West Edmonton Mall is close to Calgary and you could even take a day trip there.

I used to live in Armstrong BC and work in Calgary, commuting back and forth every Friday and Sunday evening, so maybe my idea of close and far is different than yours.
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Old Feb 16th 2011, 9:20 pm
  #44  
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

The summer jams in Kelowna.....I tend to visit in either end June / early july or end august and other than those caused by roadworks have not found things too bad. but perhaps this isn't the peak.

My sis moans abit about them, but coming from my daily commute in UK I don't find it bad at all, just means no open roads..maybe I have v low expectations by comparing to the uk.

I do however prefer the beaches south of the main town, as they are nearer to where I stay & I expect those are quieter.

Can't say I like the strip of big box shops out towards the cinema, but there are plenty places like that in the UK too, it is just flatter and less hidden there.
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Old Feb 17th 2011, 3:07 am
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Default Re: Calgary AB v's Kelowna BC (Okanagan)

Originally Posted by GandH
We've just come back from a trip to Calgary and the surrounding areas (we went to Okotoks Cochrane, Airdire and a few others), and whilst I will agree that a lot of the Calgary burbs are bit mediocre I think a compromise on the Calgary subdivisions and living in the countryside would be to go for Cochrane, here you are in beuatiful countryside, would be within easy striking distance of the city and the rockies. For us ith as to be the job that determines roughly where we live. As someone has said, "You Can't Eat the Scenery"

Hope this helps.
I can HIGHLY recommend Cochrane! We moved here five years ago and have not looked back. I can't comment on the Okanagan as I have yet to go, although its on our list of vacation spots!
For me, Cochrane has it all. Its close enough to the city with all of the amenities, business etc if needed, and yet it takes us just over an hour to the slopes of Sunshine in Banff!
And as for raising a family, I feel you cannot beat Cochrane. Its a growing town for sure, but still retains the small town feel. There are so many great programs that my children and I enjoy.
Good luck with your move and decision!
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