First congratulations are in order.
Now for the next decisions. There seem to be lots of us who live in BC who can give you suggestions. You seem to like a big city as the heart of Calgary drew you back near the downtown core. Being that you're leaving Alberta to get away from the cold I doubt you want to be any farther north than Kamloops.
Kamloops - closest drive back to Calgary but the #1 is a wicked road and often closed in the winter. There are always flights out. It's about 4 hours on the Coquihalla. This is no longer a toll road. If you like flat, Kamloops isn't for you. Can be hot in the summer, can be cold in the winter. Definitely four seasons.
Kelowna is actually farther to Vancouver than Kamloops because the Connector to the Coke is slower. An international airport can get you cheap flights back to Calgary. Kelowna is in a valley so there is flat in central area with the suburbs up on the hill. Can be hot in the summer, can be cold in the winter. Definitely four seasons.
Describing the cold - nothing compares to what you've been describing for Calgary.
Vancouver - overall the nicest weather and you don't shovel rain. An airport that can you anywhere. Downtown core is very pricey but I haven't followed it.
Victoria - very pretty city. Some people don't care for being on the island.
Then there's all the other towns in the interior.
That's just a quick summary to start with. If you give us more of what you're looking for maybe we can help you in your search. This is very exciting.
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To make things easier, here is a list of all BC Costco locations. It seems the place to start, lol!
Downtown Vancouver
Richmond
Burnaby
Willingdon (also in Burnaby)
Surrey
Port Coquitlam
Abbotsford
Langley
Kamloops
Kelowna
Prince George
Langford
Nanaimo
It would be easier if you picked Ikea. There are only 2 Ikeas in BC! (Coquitlam and Richmond)
Good luck with your search! A post you made a while back sounded like you were going to kind of get in the car and see where you ended up-maybe not exactly but the only thing I'd say to that is be sure to remember it's fire season. (you don't want to end up in the middle of that)
I guess Victoria is just too old to warrant a Costco!:D
Congratulations on your quick sale!
To make things easier, here is a list of all BC Costco locations. It seems the place to start, lol!
Downtown Vancouver
Richmond
Burnaby
Willingdon (also in Burnaby)
Surrey
Port Coquitlam
Abbotsford
Langley
Kamloops
Kelowna
Prince George
Langford
Nanaimo
It would be easier if you picked Ikea. There are only 2 Ikeas in BC! (Coquitlam and Richmond)
Good luck with your search! A post you made a while back sounded like you were going to kind of get in the car and see where you ended up-maybe not exactly but the only thing I'd say to that is be sure to remember it's fire season. (you don't want to end up in the middle of that)
Wolfbaby has given you a good description of Kelowna. Prices are high but I think you are looking for something in an older, DT, area so there might be what you want. Many restaurants, a good hospital, very hot in the summer - AC is mandatory for those times. Really, you do start to get used to it. Costco and almost all the other stores except Ikea. Take a trip to Vancouver or Calgary. They have a very good arts & cultural community.
Winters in the Okanagan valley tend to be mild (anything is more mild than you have shown us in Calgary).
Penticton & Vernon are the two other larger cities. Both have character. Neither are cheap but you're not coming from cheap.
BTW, the valley is full of transplanted Albertans.
Salmon Arm is very pretty in the summer but has a lot of snow in the winter. Look at all the cedar trees to confirm this.
Kamloops - rethinking my hilly description of it - true, but the DT core is along the flat river valley. Prices are lower and they do have all the amenities of Kelowna.
Forget the rats and mountain lions - those are things they show you on the news to create a story. It can happen but I've never seen either and I've lived in city and wilderness.
I agree with Jeep that Vernon is lovely. If you want to be that far out of town, there is Westbank, Peachland and Summerland on the other side of Kelowna, also very close. While Kelowna is a major medical center, Summerland is the Southern Interior trauma center, so lots of medical availability. I think Westbank might be too "suburbsy" for you, Peachland and Summerland have possibilities.
Kelowna has excellent vets, including one of the few holistic vets in the province.
Having lived all lover the province I think that Vernon is a place to look at. it has the hills lake and beautiful vinyards and orchards without the traffic of Kelowna. It is 35 minutes to Kelowna for you Costco fix. You can walk down the streets and see all the nice quaint shops and coffee shops. We looked at Salmon Arm before moving back here and I found it to hilly every yard was on the side of a hill. Creston is a nice place but a little farther for good shopping but only a couple hours to Spokane which could be a plus. Real Estate is less in Kamloops than in the Okangan and even less again in Creston. Having just moved from the Island my DH couldn't stand the dull skies in the winter and the ferry can be a real hassle and not cheap. Congrats on selling the house and happy house hunting.
DBD: Congrats on selling the house. I know you have sold your previous houses in less time, but I still think under 2 weeks to sell is pretty darn good. I can not add to where to move to as I have lived my whole life here in Southern Ontario but I envy you, having the world in front of you and picking where you would like to live - no job or family to hold you back, etc. It is sooooo exciting!
Quite honestly - you have described Kelowna. There are lots of lovely old neighbourhoods with great character houses and mature trees, quiet, local shopping you can walk to, and feel like you are in a small town. When you go through, you need to actually go and find them, because they are very close to town but very secluded and almost private which is what makes them so quiet and pleasant.
Then 5 minutes away is Costco, Home Depot, Winners, etc.
Winters get some snow - not much. In 11 years living in the Okanagon (various towns) I've used the snow shovel twice - both times more because I felt like than because it was needed. Mind you - I have a 4 wheel drive so snow in the driveway doesn't bother me, but it's never enough to worry about even with a 2 wheel drive. If you are going to want to go to Vancouver in the winter though, a 4 wheel drive and good snow tires would be a very good idea - or fly.
Vernon is just north of Kelowna, close enough to visit, and Salmon Arm just beyond that.
Kelowna has an international airport, excellent hospital, great recreation facilities, beautiful beaches and is dog friendly with dog parks and walking trails.
I don't live there - but it would be high on my list if I was picking.
I used to live just south of Penticton, and it was a long way to get to Kelowna for a good shopping spree. Penticton is nice, but I think you'd be itching to visit some of your favorite stores that just aren't there. I was, and I'm not nearly as spoiled as you are ;)
My mom lives on the Sunshine Coast, and it's beautiful, but it is difficult when you have a medical issue and need to get to the lower mainland. Unfortunately only the major centres in BC have complete medical facilities these days (Kelowna being one). She also finds it a drag that if she wants to go to a show or have dinner out or see the ballet she has to stay overnight because the last ferry is at 9:20 most of the time.
We had dinner one night with a South African Doctor and his wife who had moved here about a year previously, and he told us he finally figured out what to use the snow shovel for. He said everyone told him he had to buy one, but all winter he had no use for it because there wasn't enough snow. Then, one day people dropped by unexpectedly, and he finally figured out what Canadians use the snow shovel for - since we don't have maids - he used the snow shovel to shovel all the mess into the back closet in a hurry so the unexpected company wouldn't see it.
I've only seen rats in pet stores, i've never seen one in the wild or in anyones back yard. I have friend in Toronto who sees them regularly near garbage dumpsters so I don't expect BC to be any different.
I have seen a bear but normally they don't come this close to town but it made me think twice about people with pets. I would think mountain lions might be something to worry about when walking a dog or jogging. But again, these animals don't normally like to hang out in developed areas so I wouldn't worry about that too much.
Okay, I am used to a city but one of the reasons I am so attached to the inner part of Calgary is it is more like a small town than the burbs. What drove me abslolutely nuts when I moved to a new burb was you couldn't walk anywhere unless you just wanted to see houses and more houses. Here there are corner stores, restaurants, parks and other interesting places I can walk the dog and if I happen to want to turn around I can just turn a corner and head down a different block. In the new burbs you get stuck on a major drive and have to stick to it because there is no other route back.
there also aren't major huge trees or the assortment of houses and people in those kind of neighbourhoods and I do like older areas because of that. so it's not so much because it's more urban as much as there is more character, atmosphere and choices in an old area like this. It really is more of a community feel because you can find so much so close to do and see. Sort of a town within a city. Having it central and close to DT was a huge draw when I worked DT as I could walk or grab one of the zillion buses that head through this area and if I drove it took me literally 5 minutes from my garage to the office. Working from home now that isn't such a big deal to me any more but it still makes it easier for me to access the places I need to get to for meetings etc. since I am not way out on one end of the city. From here I can head any direction without having to fill my gas tank or pack a lunch.
So I think there is a lot in smaller communities that would appeal to me as long as I didn't end up in the new burb type areas I know they have built in the smaller towns near Calgary. Words really can't describe how I feel about the way the burbs were designed after the 50's. they are just too dependent on cars
I am thinking I would be fine being within 1.5 hours or so of a major center so I could shop for the extra stuff when I want but would like enough choice when it comes to the daily needs close by (like what would I do without a Costco? I have no idea since I have never tried). That also includes things like vets as there is no way I'd be comfortable with a good vet too far away (call me spoiled having mine within 1o blocks of me now as I can dash in at the drop of a hat and I really needed that with my last dog and when we moved to the burbs that trip went from 5 minutes to nearly 30 to get her in during an emergency and it really bothered me).
As for winter...I guess it's trying for the lesser of evils. I've lived in Ottawa and N. Ont and in the Rockies and the winters in Calgary are so much easier. There isn't much snow here normally (last year was the first time in ages I've seen snow drifts here) and the Chinooks make it really easy to take. Some years I never even had to pull out the boots or heavy coat. It's just so lonnnnng and the growing season is basically June to end of Aug. Why as of last week, there are already poplar leaves all over the ground and their leaves start going yellow by mid July. I think those trees only have leaves 2 months of the year sometimes.
I don't mind snow so much (although shoveling is not my idea of fun with having a bad back now) as long as I know it will go away in 90 days or so. I have no idea how it is to live in rain for long. It rained here and was cloudy all last week and I wondered how this would feel after a couple of months but having the other seasons last longer could be a good pay off. I'm not really bothered by clouds like some people. My mom nearly went insane when we lived In Ont. because the sun wasn't there in winter the way it is here but it never bothered me much. How I'd feel about it now is unknown though. Again it's thinking what the trade off is. To see green all year would be something I think I could really get in to which means the coast/island appeals. It also doesn't seem to get quite as hot there and seeing the 30+ weather the interior just went through had me imagining how miserable I might be in that sort of heat since I start to melt at 24. One thing I really melt from is humidity so the interior is probably better in that regard than the coast. I'm not sure since I haven't been to either place lately but I always liked it around nelson and Vernon.
One thing I know I love is having mountains within view. There is something about them so living in flat lands is something I am not sure I could handle. Calgary is pretty flat but just seeing those peaks in the distance makes the difference to me since I know I can be in the middle of them in less than an hour. Heaven for me would be to live in the mountains again but I don't know of any without the long winters other than maybe in the US or the coast.
So, after all that. My idea of heaven is some place with some green, trees, longer spring, summer, fall. It needs to be close enough to a larger center to allow me to not feel hard done by when I want my Costco fix or to just be able to get what I need without it being a big deal. I like character over everything brand new and shiny. I like high speed Internet, having vets and doctors and people close enough so I don't feel too isolated.
And here is the wimpy side, I've been told the island has huge spiders as big as cats and slugs as big as bananas. I also have never really had to worry about rats being in AB. Those things creep me out. There are also things like ticks and other critters that carry things the dog can catch but they just don't survive here so I've never had to worry about them, so that will be a new experience. I mean I remember seeing rats in Ont and the way I freaked over the mice here I don't know what I would do facing a rat now or how common they are to see in BC. I don't hear a lot of people complaining but maybe they don't see them as unusual? Sort of like when you live in the mtns and 'it's just a bear' doesn't register very high on the distress scale. That's me, bear, moose, deer wandering through wouldn't phase me but a 6" slug might have me seeking a chair to stand on.
Anyway, I am open to any and all ideas, comments, opinions since this is a new experience for me especially since I am more a creature of habit than I was in my 20's when nothing like these issues would have crossed my mind.
We moved from Kingston, ON to Burnaby, BC and lived there for about 18 months. I have to say that being so close to constant rain made life unbearable...the flip side was that when it was sunny, there was no other more glorious feeling! Waking up to the mountains everyday was wonderful, too!
To have balmy February weather with no snow, sunshine and flowers sprouting was amazing to say the least...But the rain, oh the rain...that honestly made me happy to move back to Ontario.
I just wish it was K-town again opposed to Ottawa...that's a whole other story...
As a side note, when left Burnaby in spring 2008, the average small detached house was selling for about $500, 000. I think the average detached house in Vancouver was closer or just over the $1 million mark. Not an easy pill to swallow...:eek:
Although Burnaby and Surrey & other places like that are technically cities, they really are just suburbs of Vancouver. As I recall, this is not what DBD likes. Abbottsford and Chiliwack are older cities, but again not what I'd describe as urban. These are all nice places, but again I don't think they have the urban flair.
DBD - if there is anything you want to ask me directly, feel free to p.m. me.
I've met an astounding number of people who moved to Vancouver to escape the cold Ottawa winters only to return a few years later because they couldn't handle the rain and overcast days with no sunshine. At least we get a good amount of sunshine when it's -30 which makes it bearable for many of us.
Anywhere in the Okanagan is going to be nice as I mentioned in the other post.
However if being in the Vancouver area is a goal I'm a Sunshine Coast type of guy (and we may get to go back real soon - that's another separate topic that we can leave till later.)
If you remember Beach Combers then Gibson's & Molly's Reach come to mind and just up the road is Sechelt - very nice place and quite civilized. The ferry to the coast is so pretty and I just love the trip.
Victoria is the retirement capital of Canada. No arguments about that but there are other nice spots on the Island too with lots of growth in the Nanimo area and what's not to like over in Tofino. Fantastic drive and those really tall trees.....
DBD - you have so many choices, but you also have your needs and you might have already picked an area that works best for you. If not, all of the areas mentioned are worth considering.
Okay time's up. What dd you decide.:confused:
Yes, congratulations!
I think Kelowna would make you happiest because it has the best of many worlds. It's a "money town" which there aren't many of in the interior - because there is a lot of money there is also an excellent selection of amenities that you would find in a large city, from theatre to shopping to restaurants to shopping. Mild winters and pretty hot summers, on the northern end of the fruit growing valley. It takes about 20 minutes longer to drive to Vancouver from Kelowna than Kamloops.
Kamloops doesn't have the selection for shopping - it doesn't have the money base. It's very spread out, and amenities exist but are very limited.
I love Victoria. It's like no where else. Don't know if I want to live there though - I guess that's a personal decision.
Vancouver - well, as long as you prefer to get rusty than to tan, it definitely has the mildest winters. :D Basically winters consist of 40 days and 40 nights of downpour, followed by another 40 days and 40 nights, followed by - well, you get the idea. It's very green year round though - an actual rainforest!
So, maybe time to ask - what do you want?