Hi Y'all, hope you are having a nice day?

Okay, so we moved to NL in 2008 (we're all citizens now etc...) and are looking to move to Alberta/BC to mix it up a bit, I am not tied to an office for work, so that's not an issue.

We have 2 kids - a daughter 18 and a son who is 12.

We are looking at Lethbridge, Kelowna, Kamloops areas (and surrounding) and wonder if you have experience of these places.

We booked a recce road trip there this coming August to have a look (Edmonton, Jasper, Banff (canmore), Kamloops, Kelowna, Sandpoint (US), Kalispell (US), Waterton, Lethbridge, Calgary, Red Deer and back to Edmonton), we would be very interested in your opinion of where would be a nice place to go and your experience of the places specifically mentioned.

Also VERY interested in ideas of other places we might not have considered.

We are looking for school for my son and ideally some civiliastion in case anything happened to my job (which is as safe as any job can be).

Really looking forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions, please ask.

PS. We don't dislike NL, we just want to mix it up a bit, being here for 7 years is enough.

Did a search for Kamloops and read a few 'really' good posts about exactly my post above :0)

It might help if you gave a bit more background in terms of what you want/expect from a place? What you like, dislike, etc?

Hi - we don't like that there is nothing really to do, go and see in NL that we have not already done 100 times, we like to have places to visit, new things to see, new adventures, and have city's within reach.

NL only have St John's which is literally a small town (in our terms).

So just being able to get in a car and drive to see stuff and do things.

We like walking and have 2 dogs, biking too, but also like the quiet life. Winter is harsh, but hey, it's Canada, although NL is a wet Winter, which really affects my son who has asthma.

So in a nutshell, we want interesting, with things to do and see, places to go in all directions, with a 12 year old, kids his age and a school etc...

Err....what else would help?

That helps a bit. Lethbridge is a good place to consider. You can drive to the Okanagan, Calgary, Banff, Montana, even Seattle and Vancouver. In theory you could do the same from OK, but you wouldn't really drive to Alberta much if you were that far West. LA has cheap housing and relatively easy access to Cowtown. In contrast, Edmonton is a bit remote (except for Jasper). My two cents.

I read that Kelowna and Kamloops don't have such an aggressive Winter and a better climate, we have friends in Lethbridge and have seen the weather they get, still, i'ts better than here in NL.

Any thoughts on Kamloops and Kelowna and area?

Will let someone else answer on Kelowna winter. Probably a bit colder in LA but less snow and more winter sunshine. Okanagan summers will be hotter! It's probably the economic factors (work, housing, taxes) that are going to be the differentiator for you rather than the subtle difference in weather. If you were considering Lower Mainland it would be a different story on weather. Personally I find the interior of BC a bit insular, but it does really suit some people.

BTW what's your avatar? It's a bit small for me to discern.

Sorry to be dumb, what does 'LA' mean? And it's a Newfoundland dog, seemed appropriate when I set my account up.

I think I agree on BC being a bit insular, although we would have nice surroundings, it's still a massive drive to get anywhere, same as where we already are. So as much as we like that area, I don't think we'll gain much by way of getting away and seeing and doing things.

Oops, thought that LA was common parlance. Lethbridge, Alberta

:0)

The thing with the the OK is you literally are in a valley surrounded by massive mountains. So it is quite a drive (psychologically) to get anywhere. It's fine if you like to stay put, and enjoy the recreational lifestyle there, but it has quite a holiday feel to it, and that shuts down Fall/Winter unless your thing is skiing or hunting. Just my take on it, others, if any show up, may disagree. If you're in Alberta you can buy stonking big power boat on the tax you save, and go charge up and down the Okanagan Lakes pissing off the locals anyway.

Lol, well, I work from home selling advertising in the video games industry and need access to an international airport, I think this may be a thing against BC, see, this thread and your reply's have really really helped me.

We originally looked at Lethbridge and then started looking elsewhere, I think Alberta has some good tax savings and things are a lot cheaper there (NL is REALLY expensive, as it's an island and everything has to be shipped/flown in).

I think I am swayed more towards Alberta TBH, as I can simply drive to Kelowna and the beautiful places on the lake that way.

And Calgary Airport is not too far away.

What about Calgary (Cowtown) itself? Wouldn't it be better to be closer to a tech cluster? LA is pleasant enough, but a bit slow and small.

Not really to hot on living in (or close to) a big city TBH, I don't need to be in an office and I think it's close enough (2 hours) if I have to go there for flights etc...

Similarly, if anything should happen to my job then it's still doable in the short term.

If we didn't have kids, I'd love a place a bit out of the way, with acreage, that's the end game I think, enjoy our space etc... But Alberta certainly has space.

Well your recce should give you a good feel for the place.