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Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Old Jan 21st 2017, 6:39 pm
  #31  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by Vulcanoid
Penticton has an airport, don't know about Osoyoos, but most people fly from Kelowna which has many more destinations.

Neither of them are within 'commuting' range of Vancouver - it's about four hours from the Okanagan to the coast. You could arguably do weeks in one, weekends in the other.

Penticton will probably be the quieter of the two - Osoyoos is very much a playground. House prices aren't cheap anywhere in the Interior, but again I'd guess Penticton lower (as most people would choose Kelowna or Osoyoos, given a choice of the three).
Osoyoos is tiny- under 5000 people-Penticton about 33,000. Osoyoos seems fairly dead- it's tiny, but lots of vacation rentals.. Pencticton is a retirement place but also a holiday place. Some families. Definitely more going on, I would live in Penticton at a push but Osoyoos is too miniature for me. Penticton's average house is more expensive than Osoyoos. Neither are commutable to Vancouver except if you own your own plane.
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Old Jan 21st 2017, 10:50 pm
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by snoopdawg
Osoyoos is tiny- under 5000 people-Penticton about 33,000. Osoyoos seems fairly dead- it's tiny, but lots of vacation rentals.. Pencticton is a retirement place but also a holiday place. Some families. Definitely more going on, I would live in Penticton at a push but Osoyoos is too miniature for me. Penticton's average house is more expensive than Osoyoos. Neither are commutable to Vancouver except if you own your own plane.
I suppose it depends what poster means by "quiet". My interpretation of both is based purely on visiting, when I lived in Kelowna. Penticton undoubtedly has a much higher permanent population. But in terms of 'going on' - experience of Penticton was absolute death. The friend I was with and I were both on our first (and only) trip, in the middle of the day, with nearly abandoned streets in downtown, a few tripped-out people hugging the outside walls of buildings, and eventually having to get lunch at a highway Boston Pizza because every high street eatery we tried was closed. It felt like the apocalypse had happened somewhere else, and the only people left in Penticton were zombies. Perhaps we hit it on an unusually bad day, but we uneasily left town, and swore not to risk going back left we get bitten and join them. Contrast with Osoyoos, which felt like vacation central - there were people everywhere, milling around, stores were open, the beaches were busy, boats all over the lake. Much less town, could easily walk from one end to the other, but what was there felt active, and lively. (In the height of summer, and I suspect it's completely dead this time of year when the whole point of going there isn't there )
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Old Jan 23rd 2017, 2:26 am
  #33  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Have been through both Penticton and Osoyoos. I'd take Naramata over both of them - it's close enough to Penticton if you need a bigger town's facilities, but way nicer and there's enough wineries to keep you distracted for a good while.
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Old Jan 23rd 2017, 10:35 pm
  #34  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Thank you all for your responses re Penticton.

i am looking to move from England (Birmingham/Dudley) and thinking of Penticton or Okanagan valley areas.

in my personal life, i am looking for the scenery, landscapes, and a slower pace of life, but want to socialise.

for work, i will be self employed - working from home but likely to commute from time to time to vancouver. also probably needing a small base outside of the home

i guess i am looking for the best of both worlds and the flexibility to choose.

What is public transport facilities like in Penticton? i am a driver but may also use public transport to get around

Many thanks
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Old Jan 23rd 2017, 10:42 pm
  #35  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

I found Penticton not Canadian enough- great if you like wineries, especially with the Naramata bench nearby. Too much like vineyards areas in the Med IMO. I would visit and form your own opinion. The population sizes range from 100k in Kelowna to about 200 in Enderby (well maybe a few more but probably not many!)

Public transport outside big cities is generally pretty crappy

https://bctransit.com/penticton/schedules-and-maps

Last edited by Stinkypup; Jan 24th 2017 at 12:33 am.
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Old Jan 23rd 2017, 10:51 pm
  #36  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by FromUKtoBC
Thank you all for your responses re Penticton.

i am looking to move from England (Birmingham/Dudley) and thinking of Penticton or Okanagan valley areas.

in my personal life, i am looking for the scenery, landscapes, and a slower pace of life, but want to socialise.

for work, i will be self employed - working from home but likely to commute from time to time to vancouver. also probably needing a small base outside of the home

i guess i am looking for the best of both worlds and the flexibility to choose.

What is public transport facilities like in Penticton? i am a driver but may also use public transport to get around

Many thanks
Penticton and the Okanagan isn't regularly commutable to Vancouver, though day trips are certainly possible. I live a similar distance away from Vancouver and visit there on business regularly. Next week it's costing me $400 for a return flight, so I can go there and back in a day and be productive for 8 or 9 hours. If I drove it's a 9hr round trip, so business is pretty limited unless I have an overnight.

Penticton is a small town, busy in the tourist season, quiet and sleepy October to April. I stayed there this past December and it was deserted. Back in September when I previously visited it was pretty busy.

Public transport in smaller towns like Penticton is pretty limited, certainly not what you'll be used to from a convenience perspective in the West Midlands. It'd be safe to assume you'll want/need a vehicle of your own.
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Old Jan 24th 2017, 12:18 am
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

thanks again

will be doing Recce in the summer. already know that i dont want to live in Vancouver or Victoria
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Old Jan 26th 2017, 8:20 pm
  #38  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by R I C H
Penticton and the Okanagan isn't regularly commutable to Vancouver, though day trips are certainly possible. I live a similar distance away from Vancouver and visit there on business regularly. Next week it's costing me $400 for a return flight, so I can go there and back in a day and be productive for 8 or 9 hours. If I drove it's a 9hr round trip, so business is pretty limited unless I have an overnight.

Penticton is a small town, busy in the tourist season, quiet and sleepy October to April. I stayed there this past December and it was deserted. Back in September when I previously visited it was pretty busy.

Public transport in smaller towns like Penticton is pretty limited, certainly not what you'll be used to from a convenience perspective in the West Midlands. It'd be safe to assume you'll want/need a vehicle of your own.
Commuting to Vancouver from Penticton is pretty easy. There are 3 direct flights out and 3 flights back daily. The flight is less than 1 hour and you only need arrive at Penticton airport 30 mins before departure. I often do this - sometimes a few times each month and I am in Vancouver working at head office before 8:30am.
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Old Jan 26th 2017, 8:40 pm
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by jossie
Commuting to Vancouver from Penticton is pretty easy. There are 3 direct flights out and 3 flights back daily. The flight is less than 1 hour and you only need arrive at Penticton airport 30 mins before departure. I often do this - sometimes a few times each month and I am in Vancouver working at head office before 8:30am.
I do it regularly from here, but I was talking about on a daily/multiple times a week basis. The cost gets astronomical, and if your place of work in Vancouver requires further driving, your productive work time gets compromised.
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Old Jan 26th 2017, 8:50 pm
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by R I C H
I do it regularly from here, but I was talking about on a daily/multiple times a week basis. The cost gets astronomical, and if your place of work in Vancouver requires further driving, your productive work time gets compromised.
And if you work in Vancouver in the week , live in Penticton weekends then you need a place in Vancouver as well as Penticton which kind of makes the initial move pointless!
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Old Jan 26th 2017, 9:03 pm
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by Stinkypup
And if you work in Vancouver in the week , live in Penticton weekends then you need a place in Vancouver as well as Penticton which kind of makes the initial move pointless!
We have a couple of friends that do the daily commute. They just get the 6am flight out and the 5:35pm flight back so they don't need a place in Vancouver. Many people that live and work in Vancouver have a worse commute through the traffic.
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Old Jan 26th 2017, 9:15 pm
  #42  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by jossie
We have a couple of friends that do the daily commute. They just get the 6am flight out and the 5:35pm flight back so they don't need a place in Vancouver. Many people that live and work in Vancouver have a worse commute through the traffic.
Checking about 2 weeks in advance, you can get that for about $130-150 each way. Doesn't seem likely to go much lower than that. For $1400 a week, you could rent some very nice places in Vancouver...
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Old Jan 26th 2017, 9:37 pm
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by jossie
We have a couple of friends that do the daily commute. They just get the 6am flight out and the 5:35pm flight back so they don't need a place in Vancouver. Many people that live and work in Vancouver have a worse commute through the traffic.
We fly from YLW to Vancouver for the odd trip -takes 40-45 minutes dead easy, great airport our end, would I do it daily? Up at 4.30am, back home if you are lucky by 6.45pm.. No chance.

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Old Jan 26th 2017, 9:45 pm
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

When I worked for a small airline flying between the island and Vancouver, I was surprised how many near daily commuters there were. You really got to know the passengers schedule, taking the same flight in and out each weekday.

I have a friend who commutes daily on BC ferries from Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver, well partially by ferry and by bus.

Suppose if one has the income to afford the commute, may as well live where you want and enjoy.

Suppose a 40-60 min commute by air is no worse time wise then commuting from the Fraser Valley to Vancouver by car.

Last edited by scrubbedexpat091; Jan 26th 2017 at 9:49 pm.
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Old Jan 26th 2017, 11:16 pm
  #45  
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Default Re: Leaving Vancouver for small town BC

Originally Posted by Jsmth321

Suppose a 40-60 min commute by air is no worse time wise then commuting from the Fraser Valley to Vancouver by car.
Unless your home and office locations are close to the airports, it doesn't end there though. I've a 25 min drive to the airport on Tuesday, then an hour's drive away from Richmond. With checking in, renting a car on arrival etc the whole journey is 3hrs+.
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