Kelowna vs Penticton vs Vancouver

Last activity 17 November 2011 by rabin bista

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mid_alexActive member27 September 2011 23:27:00

Hi
My wife and I are both in our mid twenties and trying to decide between these three cities. I'm Canadian, she's Scottish and we're living in Scotland now so visiting any of them at length is difficult. We like the outdoors, and are interested in opening a cafe deli. Does anybody have any advice? We're mainly looking to be advised about over land costs in terms of renting to start, commercial lease space, and overall property costs when buying. We would also be looking for advice as to what areas of the three above cities are up and coming therefore a good oppurtunity to grow a business. As Vancouver is listed as one of the best places to live in the world, how do Kelowna and Penticton stack up against it? We don't really want to live urban, but do need some urban space nearby. We've done a lot of reading about Penticton in particular and it sounds lovely. Would this be the best place to raise a family an start a small business? I'm starting to ramble.... If you can help us decide, any advice would be nice.
Cheers,
Alex

kcharltonNew member09 November 2011 04:30:49

I am a relatively new resident to Kelowna and my fiance and I discussed at length the pros and cons between it and Vancouver. Vancouver, while a fantastic place, is quite expensive unless you want to live quite far out of town. Overall, I'd consider the cost of living for rent/real estate to be about half the price of Vancouver. While I do not have much experience with Penticton compared to Kelowna, I must say we are smitten with Kelowna. We are both avid bikers and skiers and as a whole enjoy outdoor pursuits. For anything outdoor oriented, Kelowna is paradise and the weather is substantially less rainy than Vancouver given it is east of the mountain range. Vancouver is an easy drive if you are itching for a larger city and the Kelowna airport is fantastic, making trips to larger urban centres quite painless. Feel free to give me a shout if you have any other questions! Cheers! -Kate

3.1416nessNew member13 November 2011 03:37:18

Hi there,
I agree with Kate, I've been living in Kelowna for 2 1/2 years. It is large enough to have a little bit of everything but also small enough to enjoy the small town living.
Cost of living in Kelowna is average but housing can be expensive, however housing pricing is not as bad as it is in Vancouver.
there are plenty of outdoor activities around and great towns to visit within a few hours driving time.

Now the bad side, I consider that finding job here is tough, I moved to Kelowna after accepting a new job but my wife spent about 6 months looking for a job. it is not caused by lack of jobs but instead by too much competition. We recently opened a shop position in our company and received more than 100 resumes in a couple of days.

Also, people here tend to be a bit cold and getting to know people is difficult.

I hope you the best and if you decide coming to Kelowna and need further info shoot me an e-mail.
Nestor

mid_alexActive member13 November 2011 08:31:55

Thank You both very much. You've been very helpful. As moving time gets closer, I may come back here for more advice. For now though, we'll be getting started on permanant residancy paperwork.

rabin bistaMember17 November 2011 01:31:38

(moderated: off-topic)

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