Considering relocating to Kelowna

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

This is very Henry David Thoreau.

That a few on this board feel the economic advantage of Calgary is the deciding factor on a relocation. This attitude is very Calgarian in it's nature. People are always spending, consuming, vacationing like it's going out of style because they are always on the treadmill to make the money. Which defeats the purpose. Last night when we were on the patio, we thought how few great nights there are in Calgary. How the weather is usually not the best.

The more stuff you have, the more of your life you spend managing the stuff and dealing with the extra expense and trouble that comes along with the stuff. It's a cycle.

You can live very cheaply in the Okanagan. You can have a garden and practically grow all your vegetables from April to October. (Plus they taste better), you can do more outdoor activity, you've got some lakes and so many things to do.

Anyways, only you can make your decision, but I don't think the idea is unwise.

I haven't seen anybody in this whole thread advocating for making more money in Calgary so he can consume more. That would be ######ed. Everybody has been talking about making more money here so he can save for a better financial future. That's solid advice by any measure.

[DuffMan]

make the move and get a pet dog or 2.

[Sliver]

nm

[Ozy_Flame]

Don't forget that if he sells his house in Calgary, the OP may be able to cover a good chunk of, if not all of the cost of a new house (depending on his financial situation of course). He mentioned this in the first post.

Not having to pay a mortgage could significantly raise the quality of living for his family.

[Table 5]

I actually think working in a job that you know will suck is way worse than the money thing. You can adapt to living with less money...but a crappy dead end job just seems to suck the life out of people. Yes, you gotta work to live...but you're still living 8 hours (ie. half of your time awake) of your day at work.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I actually think working in a job that you know will suck is way worse than the money thing. You can adapt to living with less money...but a crappy dead end job just seems to suck the life out of people. Yes, you gotta work to live...but you're still living 8 hours (ie. half of your time awake) of your day at work.

Does the OP think the jobs suck? Or do the benefits suck? I don't think that was ever articulated.

Maybe the 9-5 duties he will be doing isn't so bad.

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

This is very Henry David Thoreau.

That a few on this board feel the economic advantage of Calgary is the deciding factor on a relocation. This attitude is very Calgarian in it's nature. People are always spending, consuming, vacationing like it's going out of style because they are always on the treadmill to make the money. Which defeats the purpose. Last night when we were on the patio, we thought how few great nights there are in Calgary. How the weather is usually not the best.

The more stuff you have, the more of your life you spend managing the stuff and dealing with the extra expense and trouble that comes along with the stuff. It's a cycle.

You can live very cheaply in the Okanagan. You can have a garden and practically grow all your vegetables from April to October. (Plus they taste better), you can do more outdoor activity, you've got some lakes and so many things to do.

Anyways, only you can make your decision, but I don't think the idea is unwise.

Thoreau also believed that there was no such thing as learned wisdom, that the older you got the less you knew, and didn't like government.

Moving to Kelowna and taking a government job is not, in fact, very Henry David Thoreau.

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by Red John

-15 during the coldest part of winter compared to -40 in Calgary. It's a huge difference. And most of the time it's around the freezing mark which is pretty manageable.

Also, the words "spring" and "autumn" are only technical terms in Calgary - those seasons don't really exist. Kelowna actually has 4 seasons and they are all very beautiful. Usually snow doesn't hit until January.

If mild climate is important to you, its worth remembering that Calgary's weather is a hundred times worse than Kelowna's and it isn't close.

If you like to spend time indoors especially in winter with your family then it may not be as big a deal. It depends on lifestyle.

Ok, i think your over the top on this, the quickest internet search will show that in the Jan/Feb timeframe on average its about twice as cold(not 100 times). As to -40, I think that has happened once since 1995.

I hate to single you out, but i have relatives in Kelowna and it almost seems like the common theme from the people who live in Kelowna is that it has Maui like weather. Now if we were to compare Kelowna to Maui then the "100 times better" adjective may apply.

I think we get it that its a nice place to live but lets not distort it for people that are looking for relevant information.

[calgarywinning]

Originally Posted by Chill Cosby

Thoreau also believed that there was no such thing as learned wisdom, that the older you got the less you knew, and didn't like government.

Moving to Kelowna and taking a government job is not, in fact, very Henry David Thoreau.

You should try reading Walden. The experiment where he left society to live on his own as low key as possible. It's about taking the less beaten path for your own personal needs, which in my opinion, what the OP is questioning.

His mistrust of government was in terms of government passing laws which override your common sense or ability to live freely, which around the time of his life was burgeoning topic with the balance of individual freedom which was hard fought for and laws of government.

His parents also had a pencil factory, but that's not relevant to this conversation.

[HockeyPuck]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Does the OP think the jobs suck? Or do the benefits suck? I don't think that was ever articulated.

Maybe the 9-5 duties he will be doing isn't so bad.

It's gonna be suck. As mentioned before, I've worked the regulatory side, and it's going to be a job of looking at applications for O+G.

Chatting with the manager, it's looking at design drawings and checking to see if they meet regulations.

I'd don't mind callling and chatting with industry -but the application review.... It's government work... mind numbing....

And that's my biggest concern is not so much the money, but I'd be giving up what Shell has to offer - challenging work and future opportunities...

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by HockeyPuck

It's gonna be suck. As mentioned before, I've worked the regulatory side, and it's going to be a job of looking at applications for O+G.

Chatting with the manager, it's looking at design drawings and checking to see if they meet regulations.

I'd don't mind callling and chatting with industry -but the application review.... It's government work... mind numbing....

Looks like you're trying to convince yourself to take it. That's not a good sign.

Don't move then. Stay here and find something else.

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

You should try reading Walden. The experiment where he left society to live on his own as low key as possible. It's about taking the less beaten path for your own personal needs, which in my opinion, what the OP is questioning.



His mistrust of government was in terms of government passing laws which override your common sense or ability to live freely, which around the time of his life was burgeoning topic with the balance of individual freedom which was hard fought for and laws of government.



His parents also had a pencil factory, but that's not relevant to this conversation.

Literally just re-read it along with some of his other works in June. But sure, I guess I'll just "try" to read it some time.

He was a great man with great ideas, but if this is "Thoreau" to you, then maybe you're not really understanding this situation, or you don't really understand Thoreau, in my opinion of course. Maybe you're just trying to shoehorn in a philosophical reference? It's not the best situation for Thoreau, but I get the desire and where you're seeing the loose possibilities.

Even at the most basic understanding, moving to Kelowna and working a government job (or just job in general) that you think you might be miserable in is not even remotely related to anything Thoreau talked about.

[squiggs96]

Originally Posted by calgarywinning

You can live very cheaply in the Okanagan. You can have a garden and practically grow all your vegetables from April to October. (Plus they taste better), you can do more outdoor activity, you've got some lakes and so many things to do.

I cannot live cheaply in the Okanagan. There are too many wineries there. My last trip there I brought home 96 bottles. If I lived there I'm guessing I'd be opening up my car when I got home, there would be a case of wine in the back, and I'd have absolutely no idea how it got there. There are a ton of wine events and restaurants I'd go to if I was close enough. These reasons are definitely why I'm looking at getting a place there during retirement, but in the meantime I need to make money elsewhere in order to fund that desire. To me, I feel it will be worth it in time.

If I was able to earn my full salary, and have the same career potential that I'm looking at now, but in Kelowna, I'd be very tempted to move there. I think I'd enjoy a lot of things about the area. My career opportunities that allow me to earn what I want, are available in big cities. Kelowna can't match that unfortunately.

[habernac]

You can do more outdoor activities in Kelowna? You're not trying hard enough here.

[Muta]

HockeyPuck - if the job sucks, but you love the Okanagan, then you've got a tough decision to make. Judging from what I'm understanding, if you made half of what you made now, you would still be able to live okay - you wouldn't be considering a move from the start otherwise.

Everyone in this thread tells you to stay in Calgary and build your nest egg with your oil and gas money here, which is good advice, but you should really also follow your heart. At the end of the day, on your deathbed long in the future, would you rather you died with good money and the straying thoughts of missed opportunities making you ask 'what if?', or okay money and completely satisfied you did everything you wanted to do?

You can move to Kelowna and still provide for your family too. Don't let anybody else tell you otherwise. Lots of families already live there doing that. You don't have to be a 1%'er to live there. Just make sure it's a job that you know can help you get somewhere else in the future too.

By the way, have you considered mobile independent consulting for your industry? Maybe that is a route you should consider. I'm sure there's a way to do that from Kelowna, at least on some level.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by fotze

Or he'll be on his deathbed saying, sure glad I didn't jump at the first opportunity that came across my desk and stuck to my guns about thinking I can do even better, I stayed, did 10 years of expat positions throughout the world with Shell, made a boatload of tax free money while experiencing the world, then when I retired 15 years earlier than I could have, bought a $2.5MM place on the water in Kelowna.

You are speaking like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it is most definitely not.

I like this plan!

1. Stay in Calgary.
2. Bounce around in a company he might be let go from.
3. ???
4. Profit / Money / Magic Beanstalk Yahoo Train!

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I like this plan!

1. Stay in Calgary.
2. Bounce around in a company he might be let go from.
3. ???
4. Profit / Money / Magic Beanstalk Yahoo Train!

Big deal, if you ever attend the oil and gas show you'll see dozens of multinationals recruiting for tax free overseas positions. Shell isn't the only gig in town. Sure beats the money isn't everything crowd, that crows about how people make too much in this town so everyone should slum it because money makes you a prisoner.

[Hockeyguy15]

If you aren't happy at work you run the risk of bringing that attitude home with you. What's the point of moving to a city if you have to work at a job you dislike?

[Chill Cosby]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

I like this plan!



1. Stay in Calgary.

2. Bounce around in a company he might be let go from.

3. ???

4. Profit / Money / Magic Beanstalk Yahoo Train!

This plan is better!

1. Move to Kelowna
2. Work in a job he knows he's going to hate.
3. ???
4. Eternal Happiness FOREVER

[Muta]

Originally Posted by fotze

Or he'll be on his deathbed saying, sure glad I didn't jump at the first opportunity that came across my desk and stuck to my guns about thinking I can do even better, I stayed, did 10 years of expat positions throughout the world with Shell, made a boatload of tax free money while experiencing the world, then when I retired 15 years earlier than I could have, bought a $2.5MM place on the water in Kelowna.

Sounds amazing. I didn't know that was the OP's plan.

Originally Posted by fotze

You are speaking like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to work for an energy regulator, it is most definitely not.

LOL, nope. The opportunity is about moving, not his job.