sarah & andy

So after a great deal of thought and an amazing job opportunity,we (hubby and girls 14&9)are relocating from AB to Kamloops BC.Have a conditional offer on our house sale,so hopefully we will make our goal to be there by mid July.Any suggestions on where to start looking for our girls to keep active and start making friends in the school summer break??Any info on kamloops in General would be much appreciated too?Thanks in advance Sarah

Marie006

My hubby and two kids moved to Kamloops last June. We love it here our first winter was not to cold and not to much snow. The summer was amazing really hot and it doesn't rain here much. Kids have made lots of friends and settled into school really quick. We live in an area where there are lots of children and the elementary and high school they go to I am really impressed with. There's lots of clubs the kids can join depends what they are interested in really. Message me if you have more questions and I will try to help!

Oink

Don't forget your nose clips as the stench from the pulp mill is often overpowering.

Marie006

Think it depends where you live I'm on the hill so can't smell a thing! But have smelt it when my boy plays footie in the northshore!

sarah & andy

Thanks Marie006 I have pm'd you.
Sarah

Danny B

LOL- I work downtown, and I can honestly say that I have only ever smelled the rotten egg smell a handful of times since moving here in 2007.

I have never smelled it when at home, it all depends on where you live/work.

To the original OP,
Kamloops is nice, mild winters & hot dry summers. It's a great place for kids to grow up, however when they leave high school (as my Son did last year) most decide to leave for the bigger cities where job prospects are better.

kb33

Moved to Kamloops last July , We lived in Okotoks for 6 years , We love it here , Generally find the locals a friendly bunch with a sense of humour , As for the smell , Think we smelled it once and we live in Dallas , In fact last year I was going to the pulp mill everyday for a week and didn't smell anything. Best thing I like about Kamloops is the lack of Brits compared to Okotoks. (although we have met a few ) and the shorter milder winters .

Car insurance is more expensive in BC , Plus the extra 7% HST , Gas(petrol ) is more too , Probably evens out about the same compared to AB overall . Its quite expensive to move Provinces , But you can claim a lot back when you file your taxes .

sarah & andy

Thanks for the replies,we are hoping Kamloops will be our forever home,I think It has so much to offer us compared to where we are now,I expect the finances will be challenged initially,but it's all relative, as long as we have a roof over our heads,food in our bellies and we are happy that's all that matters !!

Haryandlouie1

Just wanted to say I'm so jealous of you all living in Kamloops! My dream would be to move there! My husband is a Construction Manager but it doesn't seem like there are many job opportunities there for him.

Marie006

My hubby is in construction and there's no work around here he works away at the moment! When we looked at Canada we were just drawn to Kamloops and in his line of work we knew he'd be working away a lot so I wanted to live somewhere with fab weather and the small town feeling and not in a big city!

sarah & andy

Haryandlouie1
This will be our third move in 7 years,our journey started in Calgary due to work.Hopefully you and yours will get the Canadian dream life you want,it's certainly a journey and only for the brave!!!!
I wish you well wherever yours take you.
Sarah

Haryandlouie1

Thanks for your replies. We are also drawn to Kamloops- it just ticks all the boxes for us. We have 5yr old twin boys and would love to be able to bring them up there. Unfortunately, Canada seems to be drifting further away from us at the moment. My husband was originally offered a job in Saskatoon but after visiting there, we decided it was not for us. Whilst on our travels, my husband was offered another job in Vancouver which is where we could see ourselves living and the job sounded perfect- then once we got home, we kept being told that things were progressing etc and then weeks on we didn't hear another thing? My husband took another trip to Vancouver to see if he could get things moving with the job offer but again the company promised him that they were sorting the visa etc and we have heard nothing back? - we are absolutely confused as to why they would do this again to us? - So now it seems we are back to the drawing board. My husband is so disheartened by it all that he wants to give up all together. It's all a bit of a nightmare really as he has sold his construction business and we had started packing!
Marie006 can I ask how often your husband works away and how far? My husband has had a couple of offers to do this but this is why he sold his business as he was away in the week and now wants to get more time with the kids. Do you find it hard?
Sarah - thank you for your reply, you certainly are brave with all that moving!
Sorry to completely take over your post! - just inspired by your commitment to get to where you want yo be. X

Marie006

Harrylouie1
I have sent you a message!

deepcpearl

Welcome to Kamloops, Sarah and Andy (and Hary and Louie one day). It is a great town and my vote goes for Aberdeen as the best area in Kamloops - great views, great schools, good bus service for the teenager, close enough to the university, shopping and restaurants but without being caught up in traffic. You should definitely take a look at Aberdeen. Hmm, did I mention I have a house to sell?

I've been here 9 years and heading off to warmer climes. (It's a beautiful house, by the way...)

Danny B

Where in Canada are you heading that is warmer than Kamloops?