Okanagan? Kelowna vs Vancouver / Victoria

[BeautifulBC]

Can anyone please describe what it's really like to live in Okanagan, specifically Kelowna?
How safe it is for families, etc.. We are researching potentially moving there as we love the heat, lake and views.. We are in Victoria currently and before that in White Rock / South Surrey.
Thanks!

 

[bill barilko]

Not unsafe at all-winters are a streak of misery though cold, dark, and overall lousy.

 

[petros]

If you kids don't already know how to cook a batch of jib they will soon enough.

 

[taxslave]

Kelowna does have a drug problem.Also a bad cop problem.

 

[BeautifulBC]

Not unsafe at all-winters are a streak of misery though cold, dark, and overall lousy.

thanks for your comment. Is winter short enough though and not as damp as on the west coast I imagine.. temp stats I saw seem not too bad? compared to what I'm used to -20 or -10c back East....

If you kids don't already know how to cook a batch of jib they will soon enough.

surely can't be as bad as Vancouver or other major cities, hopefully?

 

[Curious Cdn]

thanks for your comment. Is winter short enough though and not as damp as on the west coast I imagine.. temp stats I saw seem not too bad? compared to what I'm used to -20 or -10c back East....


surely can't be as bad as Vancouver or other major cities, hopefully?

The Okanagan is sunny, dry and the winters are mild. A little hint: Wherever they can grow soft fruit like Peaches and Cherries and have vineyards suitable for growing wine grapes, the winters are mild and the summers are sunny. That applies everywhere, BTW, not just in BC.

 

[FiveParadox]

Kelowna: It is an absolutely gorgeous place to live, as you mentioned. The hot weather and the water, the proximity to some of the best wineries in the province, and being entirely surrounded by some of the most gorgeous natural rainforest that British Columbia has to offer are all definite points in its favour. For kids, though, there is a very substantial youth drug problem.

Vancouver: I am clearly biased (as I live here), but I think it is pretty awesome. It is one of the most accessible cities in the province, in terms of everything you need being within walking distance of pretty much any residential address. The city also has a fairly effective public transit system. Some areas of the city (such as the downtown east side) face more challenges than others.

Victoria: This would be a fantastic choice. Victoria is beautiful, but is a bit "slower" than Vancouver. Victoria tends to be kept up fairly nicely, which is no surprise, given that it is the provincial capital and the seat of the Government of British Columbia. I would recommend that you live as close as possible to Government House, the official residence of Her Honour the Hon. Judith Guichon, OBC, the Lieutenant Governor, so that you can feel the warmth, protection, and constitutional power of the Canadian Crown surround you in your day-to-day goings-on.

(The power of the Crown surrounds us all, always, but it feels more tangible when nearer to one of the Queen's representatives. May the Queen, by her most Excellent Majesty, smile upon you.)

thanks for your comment. Is winter short enough though and not as damp as on the west coast I imagine.. temp stats I saw seem not too bad? compared to what I'm used to -20 or -10c back East....


surely can't be as bad as Vancouver or other major cities, hopefully?

All jokes aside, the drug problem for kids in Kelowna is pretty serious (and is definitely worse than in Vancouver). If your kids are around their teenage years, Kelowna might not be the right choice.

 

[BeautifulBC]

Not unsafe at all-winters are a streak of misery though cold, dark, and overall lousy.

aww, surprising for a small city! similar to Victoria / Van I guess.. but still less crime than Surrey & Abbotsford.

Kelowna does have a drug problem.Also a bad cop problem.

researching stats from Crime in Kelowna. Safety in Kelowna

The Okanagan is sunny, dry and the winters are mild. A little hint: Wherever they can grow soft fruit like Peaches and Cherries and have vineyards suitable for growing wine grapes, the winters are mild and the summers are sunny. That applies everywhere, BTW, not just in BC.

True, sounds gorgeous, I have lived in Italy too, and it kinda resembles northern Italy... "grapes & humans thrive in the same climate" haha

 

[Curious Cdn]

aww, surprising for a small city! similar to Victoria / Van I guess.. but still less crime than Surrey & Abbotsford.


researching stats from Crime in Kelowna. Safety in Kelowna

I think that he is trying to dissuade you from moving to a nice valley that threatens to become crowded. I have some experience in the next valley North, the Shuswap and I prefer it, personally. The towns are smaller there, though.

 

[BeautifulBC]

Kelowna: It is an absolutely gorgeous place to live, as you mentioned. The hot weather and the water, the proximity to some of the best wineries in the province, and being entirely surrounded by some of the most gorgeous natural rainforest that British Columbia has to offer are all definite points in its favour. For kids, though, there is a very substantial youth drug problem.

Vancouver: I am clearly biased (as I live here), but I think it is pretty awesome. It is one of the most accessible cities in the province, in terms of everything you need being within walking distance of pretty much any residential address. The city also has a fairly effective public transit system. Some areas of the city (such as the downtown east side) face more challenges than others.

Victoria: This would be a fantastic choice. Victoria is beautiful, but is a bit "slower" than Vancouver. Victoria tends to be kept up fairly nicely, which is no surprise, given that it is the provincial capital and the seat of the Government of British Columbia. I would recommend that you live as close as possible to Government House, the official residence of Her Honour the Hon. Judith Guichon, OBC, the Lieutenant Governor, so that you can feel the warmth, protection, and constitutional power of the Canadian Crown surround you in your day-to-day goings-on.

(The power of the Crown surrounds us all, always, but it feels more tangible when nearer to one of the Queen's representatives. May the Queen, by her most Excellent Majesty, smile upon you.)


All jokes aside, the drug problem for kids in Kelowna is pretty serious (and is definitely worse than in Vancouver). If your kids are around their teenage years, Kelowna might not be the right choice.

Thank you for your comprehensive summary of each city. We were on the mainland in the GVA, Van is an amazing city, but now are in Vic, it is very very nice. For us ferry can be an issue with other family on mainland still to visit, also ocean cold to swim in for my taste. We are hoping lakes in Okanagan are warmer.

I think that he is trying to dissuade you from moving to a nice valley that threatens to become crowded. I have some experience in the next valley North, the Shuswap and I prefer it, personally. The towns are smaller there, though.

ha-ha, I see! Actually, I was researching Salmon Arm & areas as well, beautiful!! I will need to go visit and check it out, I've heard from people about their lovey vacations there. I wonder about jobs & schools, etc though, hmm.. I will need to do more research...

I think that he is trying to dissuade you from moving to a nice valley that threatens to become crowded. I have some experience in the next valley North, the Shuswap and I prefer it, personally. The towns are smaller there, though.

lovely , I meant..

Kelowna: It is an absolutely gorgeous place to live, as you mentioned. The hot weather and the water, the proximity to some of the best wineries in the province, and being entirely surrounded by some of the most gorgeous natural rainforest that British Columbia has to offer are all definite points in its favour. For kids, though, there is a very substantial youth drug problem.

Vancouver: I am clearly biased (as I live here), but I think it is pretty awesome. It is one of the most accessible cities in the province, in terms of everything you need being within walking distance of pretty much any residential address. The city also has a fairly effective public transit system. Some areas of the city (such as the downtown east side) face more challenges than others.

Victoria: This would be a fantastic choice. Victoria is beautiful, but is a bit "slower" than Vancouver. Victoria tends to be kept up fairly nicely, which is no surprise, given that it is the provincial capital and the seat of the Government of British Columbia. I would recommend that you live as close as possible to Government House, the official residence of Her Honour the Hon. Judith Guichon, OBC, the Lieutenant Governor, so that you can feel the warmth, protection, and constitutional power of the Canadian Crown surround you in your day-to-day goings-on.

(The power of the Crown surrounds us all, always, but it feels more tangible when nearer to one of the Queen's representatives. May the Queen, by her most Excellent Majesty, smile upon you.)


All jokes aside, the drug problem for kids in Kelowna is pretty serious (and is definitely worse than in Vancouver). If your kids are around their teenage years, Kelowna might not be the right choice.

oh, yikes

 

[bill barilko]

Kelowna: It is an absolutely gorgeous place to live, as you mentioned. The hot weather and the water, the proximity to some of the best wineries in the province, and being entirely surrounded by some of the most gorgeous natural rainforest that British Columbia has...

There's a rainforest in the Okanagan Valley?

That's news to me-and to the people who live there you know the ones who own vineyards and raise soft fruit crops all day in the sun.

As to drug abuse the Interior of BC has always had it bad name a spot and there are 'issues'.

 

[Twila]

Kelowna does have a drug problem.Also a bad cop problem.

Did you mean a badcop problem or a bad....cop problem? One sounds like there's an issue with bad cops and the other sounds like they're being over run by cops.

surely can't be as bad as Vancouver or other major cities, hopefully?

aww, surprising for a small city! similar to Victoria / Van I guess.. but still less crime than Surrey & Abbotsford.

It's my personal view that when you take children to small towns without easy access to a larger city and that has very little for them to do, you have a recipe for very bad things to happen.

If children have access to a large variety of things to do and children to do them with, boredom will not ruin or run their lives.

If children are told the truth and not lied to because the parents are uncomfortable with the curiousity, then a child that is not bored and has a large variety of activities and friends to choose from will not choose the wrong paths as often.

The levels and types of crime in Surrey, Vancouver, Kelowna, and Victoria are all roughly the same. It's wishful magical thinking to think that all the types of crime that happen in Surrey or Victoria are any different.

 

[Mowich]

There's a rainforest in the Okanagan Valley?

That's news to me-and to the people who live there you know the ones who own vineyards and raise soft fruit crops all day in the sun.

That gave me pause and a reason to Bing and Google 'Kelowna's natural rainforest'......funny nothing seemed to come to light.

 

[Curious Cdn]

That gave me pause and a reason to Bing and Google 'Kelowna's natural rainforest'......funny nothing seemed to come to light.

You might find a bit of cactus and sagebrush like you do in Kelowna, along the Coquahalla.

Rain forest? Not in the interior!

 

[petros]

Oh good lord.

 

[bobnoorduyn]

Oh good lord.

My sentiments exactly, I would choose Sydney or Nanaimo over Kelowna any day. Icky weather in winter, forest fires in the summer, traffic, eww.

 

[damngrumpy]

As someone who lives ten minutes from downtown and ten minutes from the major mall
and yet lives on an orchard we farm I would say Kelowna is a pretty damn good place to
live. This has been the worst winter in some time I have had to snow plow my driveway
twice this year. Yes fruit grows in abundance in summer traffic can be an issue the drug
problem is over stated though in my opinion. If there is a bad cop problem I have seen a
few blemishes but not big deal Housing and food are expensive though keep that in minid.
I see a lot of the country as the President of the BC Fruit Growers Association and I haven't
found a better place to live in my travels.

 

[bobnoorduyn]

As someone who lives ten minutes from downtown and ten minutes from the major mall
and yet lives on an orchard we farm I would say Kelowna is a pretty damn good place to
live. This has been the worst winter in some time I have had to snow plow my driveway
twice this year. Yes fruit grows in abundance in summer traffic can be an issue the drug
problem is over stated though in my opinion. If there is a bad cop problem I have seen a
few blemishes but not big deal Housing and food are expensive though keep that in minid.
I see a lot of the country as the President of the BC Fruit Growers Association and I haven't
found a better place to live in my travels.

Yeah, I'm just not a city guy, don't like noise, or people for that matter, maybe we should swap handles

 

[BeautifulBC]

As someone who lives ten minutes from downtown and ten minutes from the major mall
and yet lives on an orchard we farm I would say Kelowna is a pretty damn good place to
live. This has been the worst winter in some time I have had to snow plow my driveway
twice this year. Yes fruit grows in abundance in summer traffic can be an issue the drug
problem is over stated though in my opinion. If there is a bad cop problem I have seen a
few blemishes but not big deal Housing and food are expensive though keep that in minid.
I see a lot of the country as the President of the BC Fruit Growers Association and I haven't
found a better place to live in my travels.

Well, now that's encouraging! Thank you! Sounds lovely. That's exactly what we'd like to have, a small garden/orchard/hobby farm but not be too far from civilization.

My sentiments exactly, I would choose Sydney or Nanaimo over Kelowna any day. Icky weather in winter, forest fires in the summer, traffic, eww.

I respect your opinion, however, as nice as the scenery is, I find Sidney too flat for my taste. Not a fan of Nanaimo either despite the beautiful Mountains up there.

My sentiments exactly, I would choose Sydney or Nanaimo over Kelowna any day. Icky weather in winter, forest fires in the summer, traffic, eww.

I respect your opinion, however, as nice as the scenery is, I find Sidney too flat for my taste. Not a fan of Nanaimo either despite the beautiful Mountains up there. Thanks for your input anyway!

Have never driven the Coquihalla, how dangerous is it really?

Also does anyone know how the air quality is in summer, due to it being drier? Is it quite dusty? Thanks..