Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Hello!

I have been reading posts on here for a while, but only signed up today to make some myself.

I am an anaesthetist based in South Wales (Cardiff), with a wife who nurses and four young children (6y - <1y). For a while we have been thinking about the possibility of working somewhere else, whether that be not in the middle of a UK city, abroad or 'rural' UK. The pandemic and how it has affected us as a family as well as a community/nation has been a catalyst really. Apart from the wife speaking Welsh, the family speaks no other languages proficiently (useful!). Professionally, the best options abroad for me would be either NZ, or Canada in a location where provisional (not full) RCPSC registration is required based on the fact that I am a UK and not Canadian consultant and so cannot be appointed immediately to a post demanding full reg (correct me if I am wrong). My wife's dream is to run a livery yard due to her lifelong equestrian pursuits, so nursing abroad is not essential for work as she is open to other things. My wife has lived in NZ and found it to be too quiet and behind the times in some social attitudes to be appealing enough to move to, plus salaries are equivocal to UK. Canadian salaries are better than UK, but cost of living and way of working does differ.

Out of all the provinces in need of doctors, I personally found BC to be the most stunning and in the South, an appealing and tolerable climate (we don't mind snow or - 20C in winter). With all things considered Kamloops ticked the most boxes. 'On paper' it doesn't appear to be remote by Canadian standards, has good infrastructure, seasonal weather, proximity to outdoor pursuits, plenty going on with lots of sports, places to go out and a air of 'up and comingness' I personally experienced moving to South Wales and now am seeing the dividends of where we live (good and bad).

I would love to hear from Brits in Kamloops about life there, if my readings are well-founded or complete rubbish, if we have a chance at having a wholesome family-oriented lifestyle, good opportunities to meet like-minded folk, enter friendship circles and participate in the community while ensuring the children are safe and well-educated.

I know it isn't Calgary we are asking about, but may be of worth to mention we are white, non-religious, left-leaning (sort of UK Greens/Labour) sorts, broad-minded and tolerant (as you can be working in public health!). I understand these things can factor in to particular locations, as it would in the UK (wife is from Ceredigion and rural pockets there are ultra conservative/Welsh nationalist).

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and would love to hear about Kamloops, warts and all!

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Poster R I C H moved to BC from the UK, bought a derelict equestrian facility and made a go of it before selling it and moving on. His first few years' worth of posts might be of interest.

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Hello 👋

Lots of equestrian opportunities in and around Kamloops. I owned what’s now called Sun Meadows equestrian centre in Barnhartvale, a community of medium to larger sized acreages.

Spent around 10 years in/around the city and roughly 5 years running a business in Sun Peaks. The city grew quite a lot over that time and now offers everything you need on a day to day basis. If you need more choice or a change of scene Kelowna’s not far and Vancouver’s only a morning’s drive away.

We loved the area and made some lovely friends. From what you’re saying it seems a good fit - if you’ve specific questions, fire away .

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

I emigrated to Kamloops from Cheltenham in 1992 and love it here, have done so many things that i would not have been able to do in England, i didnt go back for about 14 years and will probably not go back again, Kamloops is my home. Shame you are not a GP Kamloops has a severe shortage of family doctors. Is this the sort of thing you will be looking to start.
https://www.jandanaranch.com/

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Hi we are in Kamloops also😀😀 we lived in Essex, our daughter rides horses and has been riding at Sun meadows for a little while now as well. it's beautiful there she also helps out at k.t.r.a wich is a horse charity that help the disabled and she loves itit. It's just by the airport. Like Rich said we have Sun peaks about 30 minutes away as the ski resort lots and lots of open spaces as I said we have out own airport. Downtown has lots of nice little shops there we have out cinema, everything we need is here (and hockey stadium) we are finally starting to understand the rules!!! We live in Aberdeen on top of the hill. There are a lot of horse ranches in knutsford which is about 10 minutes from Aberdeen so you can try that area (Google) so personally it's The best thing we have ever done!! Life here is quite slow paced everybody here is so kind and nice they work for the weekend's so they can go camping and stuff. Like someone said above kelowna is a bit more bigger town than ours i personally thought it was very busy when we visited. So if you need any more information or have any more questions just ask ok 👍 and listen to these guys on here they know there stuff about emergrating we would not have been able to make it out here if it wasn't further wonderful people and moderators on here 🙏🙏 goo d luck and like i said you won't regret moving here.

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada :: International medical graduates
https://www.healthmatchbc.org/Anesthesiologists - there are vacancies in Kamloops :)

(it will take some time for your wife to go through the registration for nursing, if she were to want to return to it..)

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

I can see there are many equestrian facilities and livery yards in the area. Would we be at risk of saturating the market if we ever wanted to set up a yard there?

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

That place is actually for sale, £1.7m! Too rich for our blood. We would rent initially anyway if we were to make the move, which would be ages away as I understand the process is long.

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Ooh lovely! Other people I have asked about Kelowna say that it is too crowded and full of posers, but I know there can be inter-city rivalries! What are the schools like? Is there variability based on the 'area' or more homogenised in Canada, which I have heard about (as well as being 2nd best system behind Finland, apparently). We have made so many new friends since our children started going to primary school and this has been the main friendship group we have. Does Canada have the 'parents chatting at the school gate/parents-what-lunch' culture you get here?

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Ha! This is what started this whole process! And also I originally registered with Healthmatch BC 4 years ago when I was a registrar but decided against it until I had finished training.

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

It may be different in BC but, here, in ON, the terms "livery" and "yard" are not used at all. People ride at a "barn". The barn might be referenced according to the sport and level of sport involved so "an eventing barn" or "an A circuit barn". We board at an English training barn, that is the primary business on the premises is the development and sale of horses, no roping is involved. Previously we boarded at a Western lesson barn. There's every permutation, of course, and lots of racing barns for thoroughbreds as well as trotters and pacers.

Again, BC may be different but a way in which riding is different here than in the UK is that here the indoor arena is critical, people board for the arena and often keep horses at home as well. In the winter there are few riders as everyone who competes, even in the middle amateur classes, decamps to Florida. .

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Yeah I imagine having an indoor arena is a must over there. Is any business made boarding horses in the winters or is it simply use of facilities to work the horses that they use?

Firstly, we would want somewhere to keep our own, with potential to grow a business on site in the future, as 'ready-made' for sale properties are unaffordable.

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

There's lots of business from recreational riders, it's common for people to board their horses in winter while keeping them at home for the summer. Other riders trailer to the arena and rent it for a while, sometimes with a coach, sometimes not. If it's a lesson barn then people may trailer in for lessons.

Again, I'm in Ontario and it may be different in the desert province but, if bringing horses, I'd board the horses initially. It's sensible for people to rent a house for a year before buying and that's massively more true with horses. Boarding gets you a network of vets and farriers and so on as well as an idea of the pitfalls of local properties.

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

There are essentially 2 types of horse owners, those that have their own acreage and access an equestrian facility for coaching or competition, and those that board 12mths of the year.

Without indoor and outdoor riding arenas you won’t attract year round boarders, which is essential to make that sort of facility make financial sense. We would only offer 12mth boarding contracts. Drop-ins for lessons paid an hourly fee.

There area a few small holdings that provide stabling facilities and direct/easy access to Crown Land for riding out, but I wouldn’t say they’re money making businesses.

Whether you buy acreage with the potential to start a facility and then invest, or look at existing business opportunities, suitable land and build costs are going to be the thick end of $1m if you want a residence of some sort too. We sold Sun Meadows over 10 years ago for close to double that, and I believe it’s been marketed since then for $2.5m.

The population of Kamloops is growing, but I’m not convinced an additional facility would be an easily justified business case.

Re: Moving to Kamloops, BC
 

Watch for commercial/residential zoning restrictions. You’ll need a LOT of space. Horse owners rigs (truck/trailer) take up large parking areas. Acreage is modestly priced out of city limits where property tax is lower too, but your target audience will be far smaller.

Don’t buy any acreage that doesn’t have a water licence (to extract from a creek or the river), or you’ll have no grazing from May through September. It’s a very arid area. We irrigated 24x7 during those months to keep grass alive. Of course property with water licences or a high capacity well attract premium prices. You cannot just buy a licence and add it to increase the value of your acreage. They’re grandfathered and only transferable to another property that you own, or very occasionally sold on (devaluing a property considerably). New licences are like hen’s teeth.