R I C H

The pulp mill's smoke output isn't really a big deal, and there are plans to change the smoke stack configuration over the coming months.

As air quality goes province wide, the 2007 BC Lung Association "State of the Air" report contains this chart which shows PM 2.5 levels in different BC communities (chart attached) Kamloops is about the middle of the pack in BC in terms of levels of PM 2.5.

I think you're grossly overstating meth addiction issues here, and I think the quality of life for kids is far better than many urban communities in larger cities.

Lychee

Wow, the two places are very, very different.

Climate alone is very different. It's kind of like comparing Italy to Ireland.

Vancouver is lush, rainy, on the coast with mountains and rain forests. Temperature is never extreme. Seasons come the same way they do in the UK.

Kamloops is in a semi-arid river valley - almost desert-like with sagebrush covered hills, not unlike the scenery from a wild west movie. The climate is extreme with some of the hottest summer temperatures. Winters are cold, though not as cold as elsewhere in Canada, but colder than Vancouver.

Kamloops is a small Canadian city while Vancouver is a large (by Canadian standards) international city.

The demographics are also very different.

Alan2005

With air quality - you stop noticing it once you are used to it. You only realize how bad (or good) somewhere is if you leave for a while and go back.

I'm not sure that I'd want to be 15 or 16 in rural BC. Given half the schools are closing cos there aint any kids in them it must get kind of lonely for the few that are left.

R I C H

And, as the report I quoted indicates, Kamloops is pretty average within the province, so it's not really a case of learning to live with something exceptional or unusual. I'd rather live here and not suffer the pollution that congested traffic causes elsewhere.

Maybe in rural communities that's an issue. Kamloops has close to 100,000 residents - the city schools aren't exactly half empty with lonely kids wandering the corridors.

Danny B

The pulp mill smell doesn't bother my kids as they are always wacked out on meth...

Lychee

By the way, you may wish to explore Kamloops and Vancouver with Google Street View if you haven't already.

Bali2010

A matter of opinion no doubt, but is Kamloops seen as a small town by Canadian stds?

I know I come from Yorkshire, but I wouldn't personally have said small town for 100k pop.

Lychee

It's small town compared to Vancouver I suppose.

Kamloops is a hub city for the interior of BC. Most Canadians would think of it as a small city.

pip_is_fab

Just spent the day in Kamloops, no smelly areas experienced at all. Also no addicts, or anyone particularly crazy seen, which is more than can be said for visiting most towns in England.
I like Kamloops (probably because i don't know many other areas), OH not so keen as it doesn't offer the work oppurtunities for him.

Steveh27wp

Hi,

I have visited Kamloops on several occasions and have always enjoyed it. Sure, there are some ares where I would prefer NOT to go. Sure there is a drug issue there. Yes, there is a pulp mill and yes it can smell.

I have been to Vancouver....they have areas I would prefer not to go. There is a drug problem there. They may not have a pulp mill....but they do have industry there.

The fact is...it's life. These towns/cities all exist because they were established to provide for the needs of the area. If there were no pulp mill in Kamloops....there probably wouldn't be a Kamloops. Think what you would be missing then!

The same goes for so many towns....they were built around, and to provide for, the local industry. Logging towns, mining towns all exist....and look what happens when the mainstay industry is closed.

Steve