Considering relocating to Kelowna

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Drury18

1st year on the job, first government job, junior-mid level employee and they had 12 weeks to start.

Any idea what graphic designers and interior designs get? I'm packing in anticipation.

Originally Posted by Jedi Ninja

Read more: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/kelowna-s-crime...#ixzz37VRc7s5w

Yep, despite what people tend to think, typically smaller towns and cities have higher crime rates per capita than the big scary cities.

[Flames in 07]

Wait till your older and richer. You'll appreciate it more.

[Chill Cosby]

How about Stockholm?
I mean, it's basically everything great about Kelowna and Calgary COMBINED.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Wormius

All my memories of Osoyoos are of feeling like that is what clay being fired in a furnace must feel like.

Meh, it's a dry heat. I certainly suffered through some scorchers all in the name of saving a few bucks to play golf. Nice Lake though, loved being able to swim or Kayack at 8:00 and have it still be comfortable.

No doubt AC was a neccessity down there. Even down there though it seemed like half the people under 50 were running a grow op out of their house. The border crossing there was a prime place to get drugs accross the line. Not quite Kelowna gang activity, but no doubt my kid would have been offered pot by another kids parents by the age of 10.

[Matty81]

I am late to the topic but I moved to Kelowna from Alberta a few years back. Here's my longwinded and subjective 2 cents. I would leave if I had to, would never sacrifice opportunity for my family (and would never do the fly in fly out thing), but that's about it. We love it here and my wife would be heartbroken to leave. Have lived in a few spots around Canada and the world and it just fits for me. My two cents;

Pros:
- traffic is nonexistent compared to bigger cities, it takes 20 minutes to get anywhere. Have never lived in West Kelowna though, a lot of people over there complain about the commute and almost all the best jobs are in Kelowna proper.
- quality of life if you are active is great. I can count the number of times it hit -20 (at night) on both hands in half a decade. Outdoor activities everywhere, way more active people in the office here than anywhere else i've lived. Skiing, cycling, hiking, fishing, golfing, all great.
- because of the tourists some pretty world class amenities, restaurants, wineries, golf, spas, etc., etc., way better than what you'd expect in a city of 200k
- quiet town in any of the actual city (eg not the highway area). Relaxing and feels safe, thats relative but thats how i feel
- the rockets are almost always good
- UBC campus has been a spark for culture and education, its not a mature university yet but its 5x as big as when we moved and just seems to keep growing, added a med school last year.
- solid healthcare. Doctors want to be here and you can actually get a family doc. KGH is becoming a teaching hospital. It's the hq of the interior's health region and it is a big and relatively well resourced hospital with large cancer, surgical, cardiology programs etc.
- good location/transportation. Airport has a surprising amount of direct flights and there are too many great roadtrips to list. Interior bc has so many cool little places, Seattle, Vancouver are really easy trips and Oregon is a little further but still way more accesible than from AB. You can roadtrip an NFL or MLB game for the weekend really easy or be at the coast 3.5 hrs after work (ha I speed a little)

Cons:
- lots of tourists from extreme poles. We get quiet rich wine and cycle tourists and we get a ton of rednecks who drive out with oversized trucks/rvs/boats pre stocked with food who add little except crowding. We also get a lot of the "bro" type guys who get ####faced drunk or smoke weed in a lot of inappropriate places and loud shirtless dudes who think they are hilarious seem to clone and invade on summer long weekends. (me to niece - its just a funny smelling cigarette). Nothing major, more of a thing that irritates you when the tourists invade, but the amenities are better because of them so double edged sword.
- the long time valley residents - they have been here long before the university, population boom and rise of more of a city culture and there is some resentment from some folks about change (not all by any means but some feel like small town people trapped in a city and grumbling a lot about change/how the old days were better). It can be a bit cliquey for new people because of some of that Albertan/outsider resentment.
- wages and employment - not as much to choose from, if you are not well educated you will struggle and if you find something good you will still make 75-80% of alberta wages. There really aren't many opportunities for people with mostly oil and gas experience, good for the OP for finding something. Tech sector is ok, service is good, finance/accounting ok, healthcare good.
- no pro sports
- forest fires

Re the Canucks thing, at my office anyway its like 60% Canucks fans, Lots of Flames fans (and Oilers fans lol) in my office too though, it doesn't feel like hostile turf like when I lived in mulletville.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Hey HockeyPuck

My situation was somewhat similar to yours, except I am just starting my career. Grew up in Calgary and took a job in Penticton (30-45 mins from Kelowna). I plan on moving back to Calgary once I get some more experience and build my resume.

Okanagan pros
-you can do anything outdoors here. Lakes, mountains, skiing, biking. You can easily live a very active lifestyle.
-climate-could be a con though. The summers are oppressively hot, especially for Calgarians used to mild summers. The daily high has been above 30 for a couple of weeks here now.
-slow pace. If you're into a slower lifestyle this area is much less exciting than Calgary.

Cons
-EVERYTHING is more expensive. Gas is 20cents/L more expensive. Car insurance is 20-50% more expensive. PST is 7%. Add at least 7% to pretty much everything you buy. Any big purchases will be much more expensive. Housing may or may not be more expensive. Income tax is much more expensive especially if you're a high earner.
-god forbid your children get sick, there is only one childrens hospital in BC and it's in Vancouver. In Calgary you have pretty much all healthcare treatment available, here in the Okanagan you will have to go to Vancouver for certain specialized treatments and/or if your kids get really ill.
-it's probably worse here in Penticton, but the average age here is gotta be about 60. So many retirees, such a boring place to live especially compared to a young energetic city like Calgary. Kelowna is much the same, filled with retirees.

I agree with most of the other posters, the Okanagan is a great place to visit or retire, but spend your high earning years in Calgary. It's not like you're moving from Winnipeg or Regina, you already live in a great city with many awesome lifestyle opportunities.

Personally, as soon as I move back to AB my pay will go up 30-40%. I can't wrap my head around how expensive BC is and how little the pay is.

Instead of moving to Kelowna, take all that extra cash you're earning and go on a monthlong vacation somewhere warm during Jan/Feb

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by Matty81

Re the Canucks thing, at my office anyway its like 60% Canucks fans, Lots of Flames fans (and Oilers fans lol) in my office too though, it doesn't feel like hostile turf like when I lived in mulletville.

this number varies greatly depending on how the canucks season is going. if they lose two games in a row that number is more like 40%, three games in a row it's closer to 30%, and on and on.

at the end of last season i had a hard time finding any canuck fans

[automaton 3]

Not sure how close you are with your respective families, but with that distance you will likely see them far less.

[Envitro]

My wife and I love the Okanagan and have talked about moving there at some point (sooner or later). We're both in our very early thirties and have thriving careers.

We're both consultants and she works from home (and can continue to do so remotely). Me, not so much, I am a Project Manager and it is very customer-centric and usually have to be on-site.

So, the big one for us is not the lifestyle change or the pace, since we prefer to slow things down a little bit. It just comes down to finding work for me.

We've talked long and hard about this and could rent out our Calgary home or sell it, either way would be fine, but we'd only sell if we moved permanently, not just on a trial basis.

[gladaki]

Sell your house, you will probably get higher value. Calgary real estate is for sure taking a drop of 20% in coming time.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/busines...261/story.html

You will be old soon and age will go through. And as some one said above that its more stable job. But do let us know your decision.

[Calgary14]

Personally I'd consider the following in a possible move:

- proximity to family: +1 for Calgary as the family lives there. As someone else mentioned if you're close to them a move would affect that

- recreation: +1 for Kelowna for having better weather, mild winters, etc. As a golfer I could be a bit biased here.

- income: +1 for Calgary for obvious reasons.

- lifestyle: depending on what you place the highest importance on this could go either way. Commute time, proximity to a major airport, location of closest NHL team, proximity to US border, etc - this one is all personal and could go either way

- cost of living: I don't know much about the cost of living in Kelowna but I'd expect it to be less than Calgary. I'd consider factors like gas prices, utility costs, property taxes, real estate, etc.

From the looks of it lots of people have considered a similar move either now or in the future. I've considered it too and I love the lifestyle there (mild winters, slower pace etc) but I like my job too much to leave it. I'd definitely look into moving there when I retire though (along with many others).

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by gladaki

Sell your house, you will probably get higher value. Calgary real estate is for sure taking a drop of 20% in coming time.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/busines...261/story.html

You will be old soon and age will go through. And as some one said above that its more stable job. But do let us know your decision.

jesus christ people must have some monster mortgages if the average house price is almost half a mill.

[undercoverbrother]

I have a neighbour that is moving to Kelowna.

He works up north and there is a direct flight from Kelowna to Ft Mc.

[Sylvanfan]

You want a place with real estate prices that could crash hard? Kelowna had Garth Turner in disbelief at one point in time. At least Calgary somewhat supports high cost housing.

[ExiledFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

You want a place with real estate prices that could crash hard? Kelowna had Garth Turner in disbelief at one point in time. At least Calgary somewhat supports high cost housing.

Calgary has the highest income in the country with the province Alberta responsible for 90+% of job creation in the county. Kelowna has golf courses and wineries.

If there is indeed a real estate correction in Canada, BC will suffer tremendously. Vancouver's economy is so dependent on real estate it could be disastrous. Calgary will still have jobs, the world will still need oil.

[Red John]

It's worth taking less money to live in Kelowna, but if you are going to hate your new job that could be a deal breaker.

It's great to live in the warmest place in Canada but if you are spending 8 hours of your day doing something you dislike you won't be enjoying your time here and may even grow to resent it.

If you can tolerate the job, you can also look into other ways of making side income in Kelowna. There's always business opportunities or even real estate - if you sell your house in Calgary you could always rent out your basement to bring in extra cash or invest in a condo and do vacation rentals. There is huge money in those from May to August. Then just rent it out to a student from September to April. Just an example.

P.S. - Kelowna real estate is just starting its upswing so if you are going to buy here do it now. Even next year you will likely pay too much.

[darklord700]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

jesus christ people must have some monster mortgages if the average house price is almost half a mill.

Half a mil ain't what it used to be, bro. A lot of couples are clearing close to six figure each in Cowtown. Half a mill is only 2 1/2 year of their pre tax income. And our popular mayor doesn't like suburbans and won't release more land for housing, hence, half a mill a house is the new normal now.

[RogerWilco]

Originally Posted by surferguy

Don't chase money, chase happiness.

Go where you and your family will be happy.

Quoted for truth.

[troutman]

Fire on Mount Boucherie:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/britis...owna-1.2707994

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by darklord700

And our popular mayor doesn't like suburbans and won't release more land for housing, hence, half a mill a house is the new normal now.

Ah yes, our Mayor who technically lives in the burbs and also moonlights as the head of the planning department in his spare time.

Rick Bell, is that you?