We made this exact move back in 2006....moved family (wife & two young kids) to Kelowna from Calgary. A little background.....my wife & I are both from BC & had lived in Calgary for 15+ yrs. We both have family in Kelowna and none in Calgary. We had travelled to Kelowna & vacationed there many times over the years so had a pretty good idea of what we were getting into. Although we both work professionally, the main reasons for the move were lifestyle, climate & family.
There have been many posts in this thread in support of both locations and most come down to personal preferences and really, what one becomes used to as their normal & known lifestyle. We saw it as a new adventure & embraced the move. Most of the posts in this thread are neither right nor wrong, they are just personal preferences.
The positives we enjoyed were obviously the lake & climate. It really is nice when spring starts in March & you can golf while Calgary still has a couple more months of winter before the rainy season begins. We love heat so 30-35 degrees in the summer & the warm evenings were always welcome....A/C is a must. Wineries & golf courses are a plus when one has time to take advantage. We also have a great relationship with family so it was nice to have some close. Never ending house guests in the summer are both good & bad!
As with anything, comes some negatives. The winter is really dreary. It can get 'socked in' for days & -10C in Kelowna is a lot colder than the same temp in Calgary. Bright blue skies go along way for me personally. The two winters of 2006 & 2007 were the most snow I have shoveled in years (we were on a hill above the town). All the years in Calgary hailstorms my vehicle was never damaged & first year in Kelowna my vehicle was blasted! Of course, the locals said they have never seen such a storm. The constant threat of forest fire & smoke in the summer were never a concern for us personally, but were a regular occurrence.
As for the cost of living in Kelowna vs Calgary, I think many are uninformed. Real estate in Kelowna may be slightly less than Calgary (especially right now), but it is not a drastic difference. Without repeating many opinions in this thread, the cost of most everything is higher in Kelowna. Groceries, property tax, home/ auto insurance, gas @ .20 cents a litre higher, property transfer fee etc etc. Add the PST & the cost of Kelowna might surprise you if money is a concern. Add to this that both my wife & I earn higher salary in Calgary and pay less tax, the difference is meaningful.
Although a city, Kelowna feels quite small & clicky. Many people move to retire so the young vibe for families is not obvious. If you are used to city living & Calgary as we became, you will miss many of the amenities that the city offers. NHL & CFL games, zoo, science center, heritage park, calaway, street festivals, concerts/ theaters, extensive shopping. Seems that kids have a lot more choices in Calgary.
One of the biggest things we never considered that much was our social circle & friends. You cannot underestimate the impact of life long friends, and of course , family.
In case you haven't guessed in reading this post, we stayed only two years in Kelowna & couldn't wait to move back to Calgary in 2008. I was actually ready to move sooner but it took my wife just a bit longer to come to the same conclusion. While we enjoyed the adventure, we missed the amenities, social circle & sunny skies. Our prime earning years will be in Calgary as will many post secondary opportunities for the kids. If I were to retire to kick back & golf, Kelowna would be a great option, just not right now. We don't regret the move to Kelowna, and certainly not the move back to Calgary. In speaking with others, it is surprising how many have moved to & away from Kelowna over the years. For us, it is a nice place to visit, which will always be the same, but I can't imagine that we will ever live there again.
My .02 cents!
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