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Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Old Feb 18th 2016, 3:06 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Originally Posted by the_tones_guy
All really great replies here, thank you, does anyone have any information on Vernon, we DID drive through Vernon on the way to Kelowna, but as it was not really on our radar, we didn't pay much attention.

I did quite a bit of Googling of Vernon, looks nice enough and it's only 40 minutes from Kelowna, so it's not like it's a million miles away.
We like it, others haven't, you can see the demographic stuff on the Internet. House prices are better than Kelowna and I'm sure that you could find an acceptable one around that price range. It is a mid sized town, has most of the things that you might want, I would recommend 2 of the schools- shops aren't obviously on the scale of Kelowna but still adequate. Good cinemas, great performing arts centre, fairly good sports facilities- new sports track and training centre. Great hiking places- we live next to Kalamalka Provincial - great for hiking cycling and dog walking. Several more - free spaces to walk, a great and beautiful outdoor environment in the area. Great skiing/snowboarding at Silverstar. The highway to Kelowna is very quick and the airport is this side of Kelowna if you need it and is a great airport- gets you to Vancouver, Calagary Tronno etc, Vegas, Seattle etcI I'm sure Snoop will contribute more on the sensible front as she has a more organised brain! Just PM me if you have any specific questions

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Old Feb 18th 2016, 3:18 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Really great information thank you and where we currently live is a 40 minute drive to good shops, so it's kind of the same, but Kelowna has a real lot more to offer than where we are, both from a 'things there' and 'places to go, without having to leave an island' perspective.

I saw some really nice houses in (and around/close to) Vernon in the price range, so High school (grade 9) is what our son will need, is there only 1 high school or the 2 you mention, are they both high schools, is one better than the other (please DM if you don't feel comfortable publicly answering that )?
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 3:34 am
  #18  
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

There are several high schools in the area, popularity seems to ebb/wane.
We live in Coldstream, next to Vernon but really all one place. Our high school- all start at grade 8 here- is Kal- it was considered the best academically- it's full of professionals' kids but now VSS- ( Vernon Secondary school) is most popular. Its in a very new building- considered great for sports but I think is the "in" place to go- wait lists I'm told. There is also a french immersion school- but unlike most places is looked down on -my kids seem to think its for - shall we say- the more unruly , "less interested in work" types.
There is also another- more out of town- but is close to the Okanagan Lake so some nice areas housing wise.
Armstrong/Lumby have their own schools
http://www.sd22.bc.ca/Schools/Pages/default.aspx
There is also a private school the "Vernon Christian School" if that rocks your boat!

Things to do? Our shops are ok- Kelowna is better , supermarkets- a huge Canadian superstore, 2 Safeways, a large Save on foods, small Coopers.
A large cinema complex- close to Vernon and Coldstream- rest as old Stinky.
In the winter, most kids are to be found "up the hill" i.e. at Silverstar
In the summer- they on beaches ( or in boats)!!!
They are quite deprived!!!
Summer here is beautiful- if you like a very hot dry climate- with few bugs

Now- what my eldest would say! He is almost 22- was 15 when he moved here.
He says that a lot of local kids are "red necks"!!! There was a lot of drugs around when he was at school ( maybe true for everywhere but he came from a private English school so was shocked I think at first). Lots of them went to Uni but some just headed north to Fort Mac- no doubt out of work now.
He would never live here again, too quiet, not enough to do. He loves Victoria for now. But I think even he would say, its ok whilst growing up. I think Kelowna would give you better shops but as a teenager I'm not sure it would give you much more but you have more congested roads, more tourists and the ski hill is much further from town. So- I could pop up to Silver Star to drop off a kid and later pop up again to pick them up- I think much too far to Big White from Kelowna to do that.
An old railway between Kelowna and Vernon has been bought up by local councils and the Province I think. It runs along Kal lake, then Wood, Duck lake. Its being made into a bike/walk way- about 40-50kms long in total I think. They are hoping it will attract more tourists- the scenery will be stunning with chances to stop off for a swim. I think it could be very successful. It will be much more accessible from our end I think.
Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative
There is also Kal park- an absolute jewel in the Okanagan's crown- but we also have Ellison on the Okanagan and various other small parks.

Housing- definitely cheaper our way as long as you don't want lakeside- that's reserved for wealthy Albertans!!! Look at Coldstream as well- VSS is between Vernon and Coldstream. I prefer Coldstream.
Jobs- not easy especially at present,lots have lost jobs in Alberta and northern BC, but you are ok there aren't you?

I'm editing to add: before I moved here I had never thought of "risks"- you know -Vancouver earthquake etc. Our major risk is fire- it is bone dry all summer. There have been some huge devastating fires in BCs central interior. I used to be afraid of storms just because but now I'm really afraid due to fires! I took out the largest safety deposit box at my bank and have lots of personal items in it- birth certificates etc.
We keep all our old negatives and spare hard drives away from our home. I have an evacuation plan. We live next to Kal park- I have heard that "they" will not let it burn- due to its value economically- this is from people involved in forest fire fighting- the very small fires it has had have been eradicated very quickly using a huge amount of equipment- planes/helicopters so this seems true! Vernon itself- down town would also be ok. But this is just an FYI! Kelowna always seems worse that us- look up its fires! You get very upset if you see people smoking in parks, lay-bys etc. Stinky had to tell off some people smoking and flicking ash ( whilst holding a baby) in to dry grass at a view point close to us last summer. I reported some idiots having a BBQ on a beach in Kal Park- when fires were illegal.A huge wind storm started up just after they had been dealt with.
The smoke can also be awful at times! I still love it though!
HTH!!!

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Old Feb 19th 2016, 4:29 am
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

There- told you! Me lazybones , Snoop very erm.....thorough.. Some would say (me)-ridiculously so but you gotta give it to her- you ask a question and boy does she answer it! A handy person/pup to have on the forum

Are there any awards for the most ridiculously long post of the decade?
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 8:12 am
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Originally Posted by Stinkypup
There- told you! Me lazybones , Snoop very erm.....thorough.. Some would say (me)-ridiculously so but you gotta give it to her- you ask a question and boy does she answer it! A handy person/pup to have on the forum

Are there any awards for the most ridiculously long post of the decade?
I think you're both good to have on the forum. Always take the time to give good responses. Even though it wasn't meant for me, I appreciate it
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 10:36 am
  #21  
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Absolutely wonderful replies, thank you so much, I think I'm more inclined to look at Vernon (and area) now we have a more local knowledge perspective.

Putting this geography into perspective, we lived 40 minutes north of London by train (Letchworth Garden City) in the UK and as much as everyone goes on about how great London is, I would not want to live there.

It's the same with Kelowna (kinda), in that it's great to have, to be able to jump in the car and go there for new things to do, things to see, places to eat (we have very little choice here), we don't need the hustle and bustle of bigger city.

We LOVE to walk our dogs for ever, the trail sounds brilliant, I'm a keen cyclist (trails) too, so this excites me.

And drugs, sadly, I think that's just everywhere now.

When we did our road trip back in August last, the fires were everywhere, so actually, we have only seen Okanagan through smoke, it was sad and we got re-routed loads on out 2,000k trip.

I like the thought of hot dry summer with few bugs, they are horrendous here, there is a 3 or so week period where you can't really go outside without bathing in deet spray, not ideal.

One other reason for choosing Okanagan is my son has asthma and the Winters here in NL kill him, wet cold and every year, he gets bronchitis and pneumonia. Looking forward for that to not be a thing.

In NL, we have MCP (like the NHS, free healthcare/hospitals/doctors etc...) it costs nothing (although we DO have top up family medical insurance through Flexcare and Greenshield), is it the same in BC?
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 2:30 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

We have MSP- its means tested to 30,000 then we all pay the same- there's a campaign to change it to be included in our taxes so its fairer - but Crusty Clarke is indicating there will be changes just not that. Most Provinces have it in their tax don't they???

Asthma- I also get asthma- I can be bad in the summer with smoke. Winter is ok- sometimes we get socked in for days ( weeks!!)- the cloud base is low- not a lot of rain/snow so not too damp. If you want sun/good air- the ski hills generally give it.
If you like cycling- there are more trails- Kettle valley- Kelowna southwards, there's another bit of the railway which hopefully will be another long trail to the north, shorter trails in Vernon, Coldstream, Kal park has an active bike community and if you're a lunatic, SilverStar is a huge mountain bike destination. Plus it is developing it's fat bikes now for winter. I would say cycling is quite a big thing ( and growing) here- lots of shops catering for it also.
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 5:24 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

So excited about the cycling trails, as my son gets older, although we go out together now, doing more trail riding really floats my boat!

Okay, so I'm going to ask the question they laughed at me for, when we moved to NL.

We don't have bears in NL, we what about Kelowna/Vernon and area??
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 6:11 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Originally Posted by the_tones_guy
So excited about the cycling trails, as my son gets older, although we go out together now, doing more trail riding really floats my boat!

Okay, so I'm going to ask the question they laughed at me for, when we moved to NL.

We don't have bears in NL, we what about Kelowna/Vernon and area??
Yes we have bears- black bears- I have posted photos on threads of a couple that we have had in our garden- three in total, one had climbed a magnolia tree after bird food- no more bird food!- You will be fine on a bike, we see them and steer a wideish margin- I love being in amongst them .They are not a threat and I don't know of any incidents of injuries ever in this area. Cougars are rare but are spotted- I never have. Pacific rattlesnakes- around but don't cause hassle- Kal Park is a reserve for them- protected species and rightly so . Cycling here is great
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 6:40 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Originally Posted by Stinkypup
Yes we have bears... three in total...
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 6:44 pm
  #26  
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!


That didn't occur to me when I wrote that !
Snoopilocks it is then!
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 7:12 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

LOL.
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 7:19 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Probably the only positive thing I can say about Kelowna is its not Kamloops.
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 7:36 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Originally Posted by Oink
Probably the only positive thing I can say about Kelowna is its not Kamloops.
Are you still taking your meds?
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Old Feb 19th 2016, 8:12 pm
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Default Re: Kelowna, the good, the bad and the ugly (but might still be good)!

Originally Posted by Oink
Probably the only positive thing I can say about Kelowna is its not Kamloops.
Wow.......ive never heard you say anything positive about Canada before
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