Anyone emigrated to Kelowna in Okanagan?

[emma329]

We have only just started the ball rolling with sending our application forward, but would like to know if there Is anybody that has emigrated to Okanagan.

[mikejb]

Originally Posted by emma329

We have only just started the ball rolling with sending our application forward, but would like to know if there Is anybody that has emigrated to Okanagan.

Hi Emma

I am sure there are many people who have chosen to make their home in The Okanagan. It's a beautiful part of the country and possibly has some of the best climate you are likely to find.

While this website has any number of people who do their best to assist with many a varied topic, it is probably best you be as specific as possible when posing your questions. In this instance, maybe it would be better to be a little more exact with the area/towns you are looking at as options. It might also pay, (if you have children) to ask about schooling/education or if children are not the case then maybe other specifics might come to mind. I find people are more likely to respond to those more direct questions.

As a point of note, to my mind, Kelowna is a well balamced town with plenty of industry/business with an abundance of countryside allowing for the Canadian ethic of outdoor recreation which, if you are planning to come from the UK is something you maybe didn't get enough of.

Myself, I live further North inside BC Interior almost exactly mid way between Vancouver and Edmonton, where summers days will range from 25 - 30 plus degrees and where winters probably average -20 and often lower.....

Sorry I haven't been of much help but always willing to assist where I can....

Mike

[inutley]

Hi,

We emigrated to Kelowna just under 3 years ago from Bristol in the UK with our young family (2 girls under 6). It has taken a little while to settle in but the move has definetly been worth it. The climate here is great - not to cold in winter (but great for skiing), and really hot summers (most of the time) and the children love it - there is so much for them to do outdoors. If you have any specific questions, let me know and we will try and answer them.

Regards
Fran

[emma329]

Hi Fran oh that is fantastic news. What do you think to Kelowna? We live in the country in Lancashire so we are used to it being rather quiet. Would you say Kelowna is easy to adapt to? My husband is a joiner/plumber (dog of all trades) and was thinking Kelowna has a lot of construction businesses and am hoping it will be easier to find work. I'm a qualified nanny but work there doesn't pay well so I'm thinking to concentrate on the housekeeping side of things. We will hopefully be taking his 15yr old and 11 yr old too. What outdoor activities do you do with them. Ps My brother is in Bristol too. He lived in Clifton till recently. What is the rent and house prices like?

[emma329]

Hi Fran, I've just realised that you must be married to Ian (in construction). My husband is a joiner and I've just sent Ian an email asking if he is based in Kelowna. I know all wives are going to say that their husbands are great at what they do, but honestly he is. He works so hard and does the job of several contractors as he can turn his hand to anything. It would be great if he knew anywhere where they are constantly looking for construction workers. We have started the process to emigrate to Kelowna and have been told the process is usually a year.

Hope to hear from you soon and would also be great to keep in touch. I'm looking at making friends with people in Kelowna also.

Thanks

Emma G

[inutley]

Originally Posted by emma329

Hi Fran oh that is fantastic news. What do you think to Kelowna? We live in the country in Lancashire so we are used to it being rather quiet. Would you say Kelowna is easy to adapt to? My husband is a joiner/plumber (dog of all trades) and was thinking Kelowna has a lot of construction businesses and am hoping it will be easier to find work. I'm a qualified nanny but work there doesn't pay well so I'm thinking to concentrate on the housekeeping side of things. We will hopefully be taking his 15yr old and 11 yr old too. What outdoor activities do you do with them. Ps My brother is in Bristol too. He lived in Clifton till recently. What is the rent and house prices like?

Hi Emma,

We spent a few years up in Blackpool when my husband worked up there! - he is in construction too. There are quite a lot of housbuilders here but not that many large firms, so most of the guys are self employed. Work is ok at the moment but it is not booming - a lot of people are working away as there is more work in Vancouver and Alberta. Kelowna is easy to adapt to - we used to live in a small village in the country before we moved in to bristol and Kelowna is not a big city, but big enough to have most amenities, its easy to find your way around and people are friendly. Being close to the lake is great too. There are so many things to do with the kids - skiing, ice skating, roller blading, soccer (Sorry football) (its big for girls here), swimming (in the pool and the lake), tubing (on the lake), ballet/gymnastics are just a few. House prices can be a little high in some areas, but house size tends to be larger than we are used to in the uk. $400,000 would get you something really nice and West kelowna offers better value house wise than kelowna. Rental for a 4 bed house in a nice area, good condition with all amenities would be around $1800-$2000.

[emma329]

Do you think construction work will improve? Is there a recession in Canada or is it just that there's not enough work for joiners etc. Does ur husband have his own firm? Do u know what house builders wages are like? It would be nice to have contacts so I can find my husband a job before we emigrate if possible. So glad you enjoy Kelowna. Sounds lovely. Worries me slightly that there isn't much construction work. Which area would you say is best for construction work? Is Alberta far from Kelowna?

[G-Mo]

Kelowna is a growing community predominatly from baby boomer retirees nationwide, but is otherwise a moderately sized city of about 100,000. We own a property just outside of Kelowna, there is construction, but it's not booming, it's fundamentally slow growth, the odd big build (industrial or residential) here an there, but mostly a slow burn. Eventually, as the retiring baby boomers wind down, a lot of the recent growth will stop and there will eventually be a lull as the properties available outweigh those available to purchase, but that's the curse of any current retirement driven community.

What do you mean by joiner? Here that means someone who cuts and fits joins in wood and is generally obsolete in North American building styles.

[emma329]

He is qualified as a joiner/carpenter but in his work he is doing other things like fitting windows and doors,tarmacing,tiling,plumbing but has no visible qualifications for this work bit does it day in and day out.Is there an area which is better for finding construction work?We obviously want to find him a job to walk straight in to if that is possible x quite worrying for me knowing there isnt too much building work around.

[Casslee87]

Hi I have been reading your situation Emma. Me and my family are thinking about the move to Canada also, near to where your thinking, we have two children 5weeks old and 2 yr old, I'm stay at home mum, and my partner is a plumber gas safe engineer, we are thinking about visiting next year for 1 month. Have you started the ball rolling yet? We don't know where to begin? We live in Lancashire to, do you know where to start and how long it takes etc to get things going? Thanks cassie