jossie

The prices usually stay pretty high due to the influx of retirees that have already made their money but for the first time since we moved here I have seen them come down quite significantly over the past 6 months. I find the money thing balances out as most of the activities are right on the doorstep and there are plenty of free things to do here.

dbd33

I've only been in Guelph for two years, most of my experience is of Toronto and it is from Toronto that the emigrants returned.

jossie

Interesting. Of the two familes I know that emigrated to Ontario (one to Port Dalhousie and the other to the Milton area) they both now live here in the Okanagan. They both were pretty unhappy so they were contemplating returning to the UK but decided to give a different Province a try first. They were tired of listening to us tell them how much we loved the Okanagan so they decided to give it a try. They pretty much share the same interests as us so they immediately fitted in with our Canadian group of friends and fitted straight in with the outdoorsy lifestyle here. One of the wives works for me and the husband of the other family works with my hubby. Both families are now settled and enjoying their lives in Canada with no intention to return to the UK. I liked Toronto when we did our research trip back in 06 but it didn't tick all of the boxes for us and I think had we moved here my positive posts on here would probably be not so positive by now. Have you ever thought about trying a different Province?

dbd33

No. I can't say the idea has ever crossed my mind. I'm not likely to do that.

"Outdoorsy" sounds cold, are you farmers?

jossie

No, I'm a Nurse and my Hubby is an Engineer and by outdoorsy I mean camping, hiking, mountain biking, skiing, fishing, climbing, hunting, waterskiing, ice fishing etc. The kind of stuff that feeds the soul and in my case plays a part in making me happy in my surroundings in Canada. For some reason it seems hard to explain this to city folk though Maybe this poem by Lord Byron will shed some light

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.

iaink

Wasnt that longa go that you were having to go out to the barn to break the ice on the water trough was it?

Novocastrian

Did Byron spend a lot of time in the Okanagan then?

Oink

Of course. His magnum opus Don Cereza I believe is set in Kelowna.

Novocastrian

Surely it would be called Don Cerveza in that case?

jossie

Maybe, I believe he came up with the line "Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, makes weariness forget his toil." after visiting the Okanagan wine scene.

Novocastrian

Jossie, I'm wondering if your second name might be Stickie?

jossie

Ha ha unfortunately not into that type of religious stick burning if that's what you mean. If you're a born again Atheist then I must be a born again Agnostic. Organised Religion makes me disbelieve whereas my love of the Great outdoors makes me believe. Either way not a joss stick in site.

bats

He's middle aged already. He has a fancy flat and is talking of making sacrifices. FFS.

Young and single people should just do it, do everything they can, while they can. If you don't like it then move on. Just live it.

dbd33

Indeed not. And, in fact, we've been for a long walk with the dogs this evening. We went (horse) riding in a forest last weekend and have just discussed with the neighbour the matter of whether the turkeys he shot recently were on our land or his, as well as whether or not his proposed new deer stand will be a threat to our horses. We're not lacking recreational outdoor pursuits. Damn, I even have a tent and, until recently had a small sailing boat! I don't feel defined by stepping outside though and Larkin is more my man than Byron.

I took "outdoorsy" to mean something more than that, something one wouldn't ordinarily do on the edge of the GTA. I expect the Okanagan is nice. It's not somewhere one hears of outside of this board so I'm left with the impression that it's closer to mountains than here, mainly occupied by retired people and a bit self-regarding. A poor man's Boulder, perhaps.

I can't see that moving to BC from Ontario would change the mind of anyone who preferred the UK to Canada and, as often discussed, I don't think living in Canada offers much more in the way of outdoor pursuits then living in Hendon, except in as much as one might have more money in Canada. Still, if people like BC, good for them.

Geordie Lass

Talking of Okanagan - they do a lovely cider. The black cherry one is simply gorgeous.

That's how I've heard of it!