tsc

Hi everyone - so our plan had been to move to Nanaimo (which we really like) but it being a smaller city the job prospects are not as plentiful as Victoria or Kelowna...

As outdoor people (with a 7 year old son) who love the mountains and the sea what advice / comments does anyone have between Vic / Kelowna to live?

Cost of living?
Housing?
Standard of schooling?
Crime / Drug problems?

I would love to hear from as many of you that have comments - thanks so much.

TSC

Steve_

I'd say Kelowna, Victoria is a bit cutoff because it's on the island, also subjectively I'd say the infrastructure isn't as good, they've put more effort into the roads around Kelowna lately. Obviously it depends on where you can get a job though, I wouldn't mind living in Victoria if there were jobs.

Weather is better in Kelowna as well.

tsc

Thanks Steve - lots to weigh up - I have family in North Van and Horseshoe Bay and friends in Vancouver and the lower mainland so hence Victoria is coming out slightly above right now.

Although with the amount of skiing available near Kelowna....

Steve_

Although Victoria is geographically closer, bear in mind you've got to take the ferry though. I'd say fly to Vancouver, take the ferry over to Victoria and see what you think as the drive from Kelowna to Vancouver isn't as big of a deal since they improved the roads. But it is a four hour drive.

Kelowna gets the rap of having a high cost of living and high housing costs, but I've never got the impression it's worse than Victoria. Just the drive down Hwy 17 during rush hour in Victoria puts me off it. Needs more flyovers.

Either way both places seem to be turning into centres of retirement so I reckon in future years the jobs are going to be healthcare and hospitality mostly as the baby boomers retire.

el_richo

I'd suggest Vancouver itself or the surrounding areas to be close to family and friends, not to mention the skiing and beaches on your doorstep. You'll have more work options i would imagine too.

Location depends on your budget.

Stick with vacations to the Okanagan and the Island

JonboyE

That rules out Kelowna!

As for your other criteria I don't think there is a great deal of difference between the two.

Lychee

Climate is a major difference between the two - semi-arid (Kelowna) vs. the lush and wet coast. Parched hills covered in vineyards vs. rain forest.

The political climate is yet another factor that differentiates the two, I'd imagine. Isn't Kelowna traditionally politically conservative? I remember right wing evangelical Christian messages on billboards as you enter the city - never seen that anywhere else in BC.

Victoria will give you the sea. Kelowna will give you a lake.

Kelowna's also, by nature, much more suburban-sprawly than Victoria. More reliant upon the car to get you around.

tsc

Thanks everyone - lots to consider. We just don't want to be in a big city... confusion!

Lychee

Have you considered somewhere like Steveston in Richmond, Cloverdale in Surrey, or Ladner in Delta? They're not big city - no more than living in Kelowna or Victoria.

el_richo

The Vancouver area doesn't necessarily mean big city (not that it's a big city anyway). There are many areas as big as, and smaller than, Victoria and Kelowna.

Only you can decide which area works for you and your family. Kelowna and Victoria are very different places. My opinion is that Vancouver offers the better options that you mention, but i'm not you

Super Plumb

wow Really ?. Chalk and cheese
Im lucky enough to live in kelowna and raised my family here over the last 20 years. It was great.
The problem is work because we are in an oasis. If you have work its a different story.
We have less rain than Victoria, but the valley does get socked in with cloud in the winter and its a tad cold.

Lychee

Chalk and cheese, Spain and Scotland, Kelowna and Victoria - two different experiences of lovely British Columbia.

JonboyE

For the things the OP asked about?

Cost of living, housing, quality of schools, drugs and crime?

Of those I don't think there is much of a case of saying one is markedly different from the other. I am not trying to say the places are similar in all (or even many other) respects.