Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Hi, went out to Canada year or so ago to do reccie for a month (starting in Vancouver and ending in Calgary).

Don't really want to live in the big city so much. We're pretty active and have 2 boys (3 and 1). Would love the mountain/outdoor life and def want to be close to skiing. Don't want to push ourselves with a mortgage and both me and my husband 'having' to work full time.

I'm pretty realistic. Think Vancouver area would be nice but more emphasis on the 'work' as opposed to 'life' balance due to costs (esp nice housing!). Calgary, didn't get a massive feel for but stampede was cool.

My husband feels the Okanagan valley may be where to look. We only brushed thorugh it really. We went to Penticton but I didn't like so much. Kelowna, probably has higher house prices. Stopped in Vernon a few hours on Canada Day and park area seemed nice but didn't really investigate further as no time. House prices seem ok....any views on living there??

We currently live in a small market town in the UK with 14,000 people and it would be nice to live somewhere with the same sort of feel - appreciate this may mean a larger town in Canada due to space!

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Can't really offer much help, but I loved Vernon and Kelowna when we went last year for a holiday. - good luck wherever you decide...:)

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Cochrane, Alberta ! ;) Seriously.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Weather dictates everything, the further east you go the colder it is. The only exception is the okanagan valley which has whether like califonia, very very hot and dry. The only dessert in Canada is at the bottom of the valley in osoyoos. The big problem is that it is fruit and vine area and it is very expensive.

We are in the same position as yourselves but have to accept the fact that when we move to Canada (next year) we will have to live at first were the work is, which for most people including myself is in a city.

Canadian cities are very different to the UK, more spread out with the suburbs feeling more like towns. We currently live in the cotswolds in the UK and have lived in villages for years. To replicate that in Canada and sustain work I think is very very hard. First off we will live in a nice neighbourhood of vancouver and move outwards toward the valley as we prosper ending up with a home in the valley when we have enough cash.

Canada is as I am sure your aware an enormous country, we have spent so much time on trips and hours on google maps trying to get a feel for different areas. But to be honest until you are there you will not know what feels right and what does not. All you can do is research as much as you can and base your decision on that information....In the end the best you can hope for is an educated guess.:unsure:

Then again my view is very polarized and there are many people on here living in Canada who may be able to provide better advice.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

I grew up in Vernon and loved it there. I'd go back if there was enough of my type of work there (IT). There are possibilities but not as much as in Calgary so I think I'm here to stay.

Being in Vernon as a kid and a teenager was just fine. Big enough to have everything I ever wanted - about 35000. Close to the great outdoors - lakes, mountains... Close to other places (like Kelowna). So it never felt like I was living in an isolated place. Theres an airport 30 miles from town.

Summers are hot. Winters cool but rarely extremely cold.

What do you do for work? Finding work could be a drawback depending on what you do. Although Kelowna is about a 45 minute drive which, if you don't mind the commute, would open up the employment possibilities.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Enjoying the park is not a good basis to look for somewhere to live. A lot dpends on what you need to do for income. The areas surrounding Vernon are nice, not a lot there though from an economic perspective.

When house prices are lower there is a reason, you just have to figure out if that is a problem for you or not. I have friends in Vernon, he works for an airline so comes down to Vancouver once a week (or less) for work to YVR, off to some far flung place for a few days and drives home when he gets back. They love it there. For me and my business it would be too far from major centres.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

I was recently talking with a young lady were I volunteer. Her mother and father sold up in Calgary last fall and moved to Vernon. They both had so much difficulty finding full time employment they are very disillusioned and are selling up again and moving back to Calgary. They could find part time employment with no benefits but nearly all offered just enough hours to keep you strictly part time.

I have no idea what they both did in Calgary and they are in their mid to late fifties.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

What are the good areas for I.T? I was looking at Vancouver first (although I am in management of I.T now). I heard the winters are very cold in calgery, much colder than in Vancouver.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

For IT there is Kal Tire when they are hiring. Tolko when they are hiring. And there is a Richmond BC based company that has a software development office in Vernon - I think its called Progressive Solutions. The City of Vernon would also have an IT group.

If you include Kelowna in the local job market there is more.

There may be more but its still not a big market. It would be great if you were working but I don't think it would be easy to find work in IT if you ever lost your job.

Winters can be cold here in Calgary. But the good thing is it's not cold all winter long. There can be days or even weeks above freezing. But then again there can be days or even weeks at -30 and below. In 20 years of living in Vernon I can only remember 1 day where it was below -30.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

In general, Toronto may be the best place to look for IT work.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Vernon's about 45 minutes south of where I live. It's a very pleasant town, situated in a beautiful lakeside spot and offers pretty much everything you need day to day.

It's not a cheap place to find housing, with prices not that far off Kelowna real estate levels. The city's expanded greatly over the past few years in terms of residential development, but I've not seen similar expansion in business, except retail.

I'd happily live there, but career opportunities will certainly be somewhat limited, and a commute to Kelowna in the winter wouldn't be a great deal of fun.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

^ Very good advice.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Hello

I'm aiming for Kelowna myself, but it is expensive to buy there.

This link might have some useful info for you, but really another visit & a focus on job hunting would probably help most.

I'm not a skier, but Silver Star is nice & seems to get some good reviews.

http://www.okanaganforum.com/

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

My husband and I live in Kelowna. We have a two year old boy. We have been here for 5 years now. If you have any questions, please ask.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Sorry I can't comment too much on Vernon, but my wife and I along with our three kids, 11,9 and 7 moved to Kelowna 19 months ago and absoloutly love it, real estate isn't much dearer than Vernon and there is more job opportunities here, depending what your field is.

The weather and outdoor life is fantastic, the Okanagan valley offers us everything that we wanted when we moved to Canada, but as I said "everything we wanted" it doesn't mean is suits everyone so please do as much reaserch as possible.

If you need and info please contact me and I'll be happy to help if possible.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

We are also in Kelowna, well actually West Kelowna to be precise and love it here. Personally i didn't like Vernon as much. The main highway through it is something of nothing and the downtown area didn't inspire me at all. The mall is ok and there are all the usual big box stores and Silver Star is an easy 20 minute drive.
There are parts that i do like though. The foothills area on the hill overlooking Vernon is nice and some of the BX area is nice. Unfortunately you aren't close to the lake when in town which is one of the real plus points for downtown Kelowna. Take a stroll in donwtown Kelowna on a warm summers evening along the lake front, listen to the live music for free whilst enjoying an ice cream and it feels like you are on holiday.
Today the weather was fantastic, blue skies and sunshine with more forecast for the weekend. The truck heater was off and the windows were open.
As others have said the employment here is an issue so you really cannot choose this area if securing a well paid job in IT for example is what you are looking for. On the other hand if you are prepared to turn your hand to anything and don't need mega bucks to survive then it wins hands down over big Cities like Vancouver.

If you are looking for value for money on property then areas further out like Enderby, Armstrong, Salmon Arm and even Lumby are possibilities but be prepared to commute for work if necessary.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Many thanks to everyone who's responded so far. It's really great feedback and real food for thought.

Just for info, we're not IT people (someone raised it as another issue). I'm an Internal Communications Manager (ie writer - paper/web/conferences to keep employees informed) and my husband's a project manager.

However, saying that, we're probably in quite a lucky (apart from the exchange rate!) position. We're late 30's, own house (paid up mortgage) and own a couple of small rentals. The theory is we sell the house we're in to buy a house over there and sell one of the rentals to fund moving/start up costs. The other rental can remain and give us a bit of regular back up income. We've also thought about a property in Canada where we could rent out the basement but that's another topic I'd like to get advice on later.

On this basis, we're not 'having' to seek specific work. The dream would be for both of us to work part-time. My husband is a qualified (UK) climbing instructor and mountain leader. I'd love to become a ski instructor. But, we're both open to the fact that we've had the 'big, stressful' jobs here and would just love to turn our hand to anything over in Canada. To get money to live and have a good quality of life as opposed to slogging guts out and trying to get rich.

House wise we'd want at least a 3 bed (ideally detached) in a nice area for no more than $400,000. Have seen that this is achievable in Vernon but not sure about Kelowna. Thanks!

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Hi Supermum here is a forum that I'm also part of and it covers mostly the Okanagan, if you're still thinking of this area then all your questions will be answered on here.

www.okanaganforum.com

Good luck.:thumbup:

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Thanks Mooredog!

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

Im with you Ann M - we're in Cochrane and we love it! Has the best of everything!

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

I've worked in IT in both Vancouver and Calgary. Vancouver has more jobs in pure software companies, and possibly more IT jobs overall, but competition for jobs is fierce. Calgary has way more corporate head office type work and the supply-demand equation is more favourable. Toronto definitely has the most number of jobs and the most diverse selection of opportunities, but the supply-demand balance in Calgary might still be more favourable. I've never lived in the UK, so I can't compare anything to there.

The weather in Calgary is colder than Vancouver, but it's also drier and sunnier. On the plus side, it's not as cold as most other places in Canada (to the East) and the winter is frequently interrupted by chinooks, when warm winds blow up along the Rockies. (So you can get occasional days of 10-20 celcius in the middle of winter.) Summers are also milder, and summer nights are almost always cool, even after hot days. You can get freak snow showers in the summer, those are a downer.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

My family and I moved to Vernon almost a year ago. We too did a recce in 2008, our 1st impressions of Vernon weren't great, but after a couple of days we realised that it has everything:thumbsup: We found Kelowna a bit superfical and too big for us. We actually live in Armstrong, a smaller community about 20km north of Vernon, its has a real village feel to it! We have 2 young sons and were keen to be part of a community, we couldn't be happier:D
We're close to everthing, lakes, skiing, a choice of neighboring towns and cities. I can't believe that after only a year, i couldn't imagine living anywhere else:wub:
If you have any specific questions about Vernon, feel free to PM me.

Re: Where to settle down - Vernon?
 

I visited Vernon on my reccie in 2008. I especially liked the Coldstream area. This was only marginally cheaper than Kelowna though. I thought it was in a great positon in the okanagan, really close to the skiing at Silver Star not far from Kamloops/Sun peaks or Kelowna/Big White. Also convenient for the airport. It had all the stores and facilities you need, but the down town didn't have a great feel.

I absolutely fell in love with Salmon Arm ( about 45mins drive as I remember) which has somewhat cheaper property the the valley proper and despite being much smaller (think it is only around 17K pop from memory) having the same sort of big box stores etc Of course there are less work opportunities and it's further from the mountains, but not far. We are also trying to put more "life" and into the work/life balance, but the plummeting exchange rate put paid to BC as a destination for us to do this in, and now we are off to NS. If I win the lottery though I would definitely head off to the okanagan somwhere. Good luck with your plans.