Hi, new to the site and was just after a bit of advice on the best place to live when we move in 2-3 years.
We are early 30s with 2 small children and are looking for:
long, hot, dry summers
within 1 hr drive of a decent city (but not too close!)
no more than a couple of hours to good skiing
next to a lake/coast
Good schooling/outdoor life/golf/retstaurants

Initially we were looking just N of Victoria, but I hear it's very wet there.

Very picky I know, but any top tips would be gratefully received.

Hi Mutters

We are going to live in Southern Alberta in a town called Lethbridge - called the Windy City - but not always windy.

The Climate is fab and we will get long hot summers there. Other Facts :-

1. 2ish hours drive from Calgary.
2. 1 hour drive fromn US border with Montana.
1.5.hour drive to the mountains at Waterton.


Here is a link with some pictures on it for you to look at - if you play around on the site below there is also a video for you to watch (a bit cheesy but tells you stuff about the town)

http://www.lethbridge.ca/home/Enjoyi...ry/default.htm

Good Luck with your quest

Gaynor

Welcome.

A number of places come to mind .... but is employment a factor?

British Columbia's Okanagan Valley (about a third of the way from Vancouver to the Rockies) may be of interest. It has the lakes on your wish list.

Some members of the Access Okanagan forum also are members of this forum.

It's an awful place, DO NOT CONSIDER MOVING HERE:

40 degree summers, long hot and lazy
4 distinct seasons
4-5 hours from Vancouver, Seattle
2 hours from US border crossing
45-60 mins to ski hills (Big White, Silver Star, they have that cold white snow thing unlike Whistler)
Wineries on the doorstep
Orchards, vineyards.
Lakes you can swim in, drink from
World class mountain biking (cross country/downhill/lift accessed)
Access to numerous Provincial Parks within 1 hour, excellent hiking/walking
Boating, yachting, kayaking, wakeboarding
Excellent and numerous golf courses
Short mild snowy winters
170k population base, fast growing city
Reasonably good service/retail infrastructure to meet everyday needs
Fastest growing airport in Canada
Slow pace of life
"Okanagan Lifestyle" brand/reality
Scenery to die for, in your face every day, world class, though you can't eat it

Rich.

Thanks for that. Okanagan sounds terrible.
Probably should have mentioned, we need to be able to commute to either:
Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton or Kelowna (Sinead needs to work in a cancer centre and I'm hoping to work from an airport)

How long deos it take to get from Okanagan to Vancouver?

Thanks, Neil

Hint - read my post above.

Rich.

Aahh, cunning. - A bit too far to commute then.
If you had a choice, would you go further east towards Kelowna, or W towards Vancouver?

Cheers

Why commute at all? You have to realize that BC is 90% mountains, and that you have to go over high altitude terrain (poor winter roads) to commute into/out of the Okanagan.

Here's a few shots of Kelowna:

Sssshhhhhh, no-one else mention Kelowna!



What would you be doing from the airport Mutters?

Need more idea of the variables involved. If I was in Kelowna and looking for more of/better [see list] going west to Van.....

Weather - no
Urbanization - yes
Sprawl - yes
Crime - yes
Faster pace of life - yes
Congestion - yes
Shopping - yes
Dining - yes
Leisure - no
Study - maybe
Work [professional] yes
Work [other] - no
Diversity - yes
More expensive real estate - yes
Seniors - no
Conservative stuffy NIMBY types - no
Religious raving ranters - no

Rich.

Indeedy, a mid winter crossing can turn into a diversion of 10 hours total journey. Avalanches, multi-truck pile ups, bad weather road closures, etc.

Take a flask of tea and some cucumber sandwiches. An emergency breakdown kit too.

Rich.

Cucumber sandwiches? :scared:

They should be banned.

You not british or an expat are you

I'm not British, but I was an expat twice.... cucumbers make me burb.