is kelowna all its cracked up to be

If you're not making at least $40-50,000 a year in this town, take my advice : forget it. You'll never get ahead here on anything less. Anything less in this town is poverty level.

Kayla wrote:

All of these posts have been helpful for me to read, does anyone else feel this way.?
I am moving to Kelowna tomorrow but I am living in a house that my girl friend's parents have there and they are paying for majority of the rent and charging their daughter and I only 400 a month, plus food and such. I am bringing money with me. It may not be quite a grand but I also get another pay cheque from my job here in 2 weeks following for some. I have experience in catering and customer service. Since all I hear is the jobs there may be minimum wage but with affordable rent and I dont eat much I figure it shouldn't be hard to get by at all as long as I find a job, preferrably FT in a restaurant and making some tips. My advice personally my self to anyone else that reads is in life if you want to do something bad enough and prepare in advance who gives a crap what others say about this and this about the place. They are perhaps unsatisfied with their own personal problems in their own lives or lived there to long and complain but perhaps they dont truly see all the positive things.=) I have wanted to live in bc for a long time and I realize its expensive but if your a determined educated person with the drive and dont listen to all the drama and are a good judge of character and things then GOOD FOR YOU!
I said my words of peace, now for the outcome, bring it on. I will survive no matter where I end up.

Mike wrote:

I was thinking of checking out B.C. for a possible move, how are the trades in that area? I'm a 1st year machinist in Toronto looking for some varied experience and the whole auto sector is falling apart here.

i have been in manufacturing for 26 years&Kelowna is a JOKE!Lazy,back asswards, ways of thinking.I spent most of my career in Calgary as a CNC machinist.The weather is nice, but the money&attitudes are the worst i have ever encountered.Word of warning:STAY FAR AWAY FROM REIDCO MANUFACTURING!!!!!!!!!the office staff like to play mind games with the good honest people that work thier&the floor production staff dont have a clue;prime example.....the shop manager keeps the day today workings in his head for job security.DONT COME HERE!!!im leaving to back to a province where they know what REAL production,and manufacturing techniuqes are all about

Kelowna is definitely a hard place to live. I lived in Calgary my whole life and moved out to kelowna with my boyfriend about 2 years ago and it was a huge struggle for about the first year until my boyfriend found a job up north... which kind of defeats the purpose of living here for him. If you are not coming out here with a lot of money or coming with a fairly high paying job, it will be a struggle to get by. Housing is expensive and the jobs suck... compared to calgary anyways. I heard on the radio that you need to make at least $70000 a yr to be comfortable here, so that's definitely something to consider. My best friend moved out here for 6 months and hated it and moved back to calgary, mostly due to not making any money and people who get Seasonal Affect Disorder get it really bad here. The locals can be pretty stuck up too, some are super nice tho, but the whole nightlife scene is pretty shitty with kinda trashy ppl. BUT the outdoor activities are really great...

I moved here from Vancouver in 1957 so I like it.
I moved away for a bit to work in Edmonton. Not great!
I moved to Vancouver to work for a bit. Not bad! At least the drivers in Van are better than Edmonton. I visited my son in Calgary and the drivers there are just plain stupid.
Big towns in Alberta suck big time.
Kelowna used to be just great. Not now most of the drivers are from Calgary and I think they are all the ones that can't drive. Jobs here are not very good pay. You can find good paying ones but you have to realy look hard and stay at it. Whatever the first job you take you need to keep upgrading job and education. If you can take living in an apartment you can get by on low paying jobs but you need a partner to help pay the rent. It takes time!

This town is a drug spot.. cant imagine a lower quality of life now.. I wonder who's gonna see this... There's No jobs here for people without drivers licenses that are not fast food / retail .. Planning on moving to Fort st john or to Alberta .. Need $$

alj wrote:

Im moving to kelowna for a while in about a week. anything i should know??

You are moving to somewhere that you know nothing about?? Good luck with that one

I am from Alberta and just recently got accepted to the UBCO (planning to live in rez). After reading these posts, im wondering if i should be worried about where im moving to?

I was born and raised in the Okanagan and I absolutely agree that the whole valley is chocked fulla douche bags and wannabe gangster, sub-urban clowns tryin' to floss all their 'hard earned' dope dealin' scratch on a sick ride & a gold watch or fake tits for their oompa loompa girlfriends... This doesn't concern me. I don't let other people's douche baggery let me stoop to a sniveling level of straight up hatin'. I work my ass off, blood, sweat and tears on the rigs for the past 10 years and I've been exposed to enough of life's ups and downs that I've come to realize that its all about what you make it. My girlfriend makes good money as a nurse in Kelowna, I have buddies who work trades here, my best friend is a lineman for TELUS, so there is work, maybe not like Calgary or Edmonton - but who the fuck would want to live in those shitholes (which FYI, both have plenty of HA, other gangs, roid-heads, douche bags, drug addicts and oompa loompa Jersey Shore broads) I lived there from '02 to '07 and look where I wound up - back in the OK. I come home, I have money, I have a nice place, I'm lookin' to buy a decent house, I do what I want when I want it and I never let other goof action phase me, not one bit... I never write on this kinda crap, but I stumbled across this page by accident and I read enough that I just had to get my 2 cents in. I think most of you are probably either fat, ugly, lazy, hipsters or any combination of the above... put the macbook down, hop on the treadmill, put your lil earbuds in and think real hard about taking a good, honest crack at getting your own life under control before you stereotype a whole 120,000 person city based on your own cynical thoughts that, by the way NOBODY GIVES A FUCK ABOUT. And as for ktownsfinest, anyone yappin HA usually don't know shit about shit and if you haven't done a grubby bit on G or H unit over in KRCC yet, keep runnin' your mouth ya little twerp, it'll come - you'll be checked in before you get out of A & D big shot. K town is the bomb, yes there are lotsa shitheads, but I surround myself with people that make me happy... I didn't used to, but I changed, that's why my life is better now. Keep Hatin' Haterz, I'm gonna watch hockey and have sex now, fags.

Nobody forces you to go there...it' a choice, sure who is talking did' nt live anywhere else than the place where he born, so stand up and go where you want ,if you like try kelowna too, there are lots of places worst about work, landscape,and even houses,here , where I' m moving it's nice and friendly,and believe I come from Italy , here house price is almost half than Italy and the bank I've you somemoney

You guys are spoiled! I grew up in the Kootenays, lived in Kitimat for 34 years, Prince Rupert for 4 years and Prince George for 1 year. Moving to Kelowna has been the best thing that ever happened to me!!

Kelowna is a shithole which is overcrowded with douchebags like the ones in the pathetic "Kelownafornia" video. Look it up on youtube. On the bright side, if you happen to be a complete douchebag, you'll love kelowna.

Left SK 4 years ago because of the cold winters, but the people in Kelowna are colder!!! Winters may be a "bit" warmer, but the cloud blanket is almost unbearable - so dull and dreary, one wants to commit suicide. As well, I didn't think the winters would be as cold as they are and didn't think they would have snow that would stay as long as it does. Very disappointed in the winters!!!
Now the summers suck - it is 25 - 30 in SK, and here this month it has only been 15 - 25 - what a total disappointment in the weather!!
BC does stand for Bring Cash!! Unbelievably high and not many good paying jobs - employers here really take advantage of the workers - underpaid and no benefits, purely sticking to 2 weeks vacation (in SK it is 3 weeks)
And the people!!!!! Well, where do I begin - snobs, inconsiderate, impolite - I guess if you are rich, you fit in!!!
Yes, I know what your response is - well, then go back to SK - I would but have a husband who actually likes it here (think he is has too much pride to return to SK and doesn't want to admit the place sucks!!)

Well, I was born here in Kelowna in 1969 and grew up here for the most part, and all I can say is that it sure was nicer back in the day than it is now - nicer people and less of them, better summers (it's June 30, the Canada Day long weekend, and its overcast, raining, and about 17 degrees C. Last year was the same), none of the traffic nightmares we have now, very little crime and drug problems, and very affordable (a new 3 bedroom house in 1980 was about $45,000, depending on where you bought). Now it is an overcrowded and very expensive place with very few good jobs, major crime, drug, and homeless issues, and a population of arrogant, stuck up morons. People that move here act like they're members of some sort of exclusive club, or something, and it's all about how you look; very superficial. Everyone looks the same - white shades and tattoos - and drives the same kind of vehicle - a jacked up truck if you're a guy, or a sports convertible type if you're a girl. For those of limited means, a Pontiac Sunbird. Not a lot of original thinkers here. So, if you do decide to move here, bring lots of cash, make sure you have a job lined up before moving, and don't expect to make any real friends any time soon.

Calgary stocks Kelowna food bank
by The Canadian Press - Story: 77309
Jun 30, 2012 / 1:00 pm
Groceries have been trucked in from Calgary to help the Kelowna food bank weather an unexpected surge in demand.
Nearly 11,400 kilograms of non-perishables were delivered this week to the Ellis Street depot, where applications for assistance are up 12 per cent from this time last year.
Calgary food bank spokeswoman Kathryn Sim says that city's food bank had a surplus of stock and its corporate partners want extra food to go where it's needed most.
The Kelowna food bank is still counting on a successful Christmas in July campaign as it hopes to raise $50,000 and 100 tons of food.
It hasn't met its targets in the past two summers.
Kelowna food bank manager Vonnie Lavers says donations are down because businesses and households have been struggling to make ends meet.(Kelowna Daily Courier)
Move to kelowna and you'll be eating out of the food bank and the bank will repo your house. Google kelowna foreclosures.....you'll see what I mean.

It's not that Kelowna isn't a beautiful place. It is. For maybe 5 months of the year. It is a bit overrated for what you really get, which is about 4 months of hot, sunny weather, horrible traffic and drivers, exorbitant cost of living, major crime and drug problems, and some of the stupidest, most annoying people on Earth. Lots and lots of them.

Gordon Munro wrote:

Let me tell you something, I live in Toronto and i went there for three weeks on a whim and now 2 months later i am dropping everything and moving there......4,500 kilometers away.....min wage is like 15 dollars an hour, Tim Hortons will hire on spot, free uniform, full benifets, union, who can ask for more to get started buddie, there unemployment rate went down in the winter, what does that tell you......see you there maybe controvercial_maximum@hotmail. com
regards

Sorry but minimum wage is not $15 per hour. I live in Kelowna and the minimum wage is $10.25, and the reason tim hortons hires on the spot is because everybody quits because of crappy employers. Sorry to be a downer but thats reality.

love kelowna. bought a 2 bed 2 bath condo in Holiday Park Resort for 150k

Horrible. Have to live there for a few months... not looking forward to it.

shell wrote:

i have lived in very many places. I grew up in chilliwack, BC. Ten years ago I moved to different areas of alberta and also northern saskatchewan.( i was born in Sask.) I was living in fort mcMurray before i moved to Vernon, BC which is 35 minutes from Kelowna. I have been here 4 years and I am going back to the prairies.I cant afford the car insurance . Example, I have 1987 toyota .In alberta I paid approx. 500 to 600 a year basic PLPD insurance. Sask. was even cheaper 400 dollars per year. I come to BC and with my 40% driving discount I am paying for basic insurance ( no collision either)(R U ready for this?) 840.00 per year. This is just one of the reasons. Rents for a 1 bdrm apt. in Vernon start at 800.00 per month. Carpenter labourers make 8.00 bucks an hour and not too many people make 15.00 dollars an hour. I used to love BC but not anymore . It has been built on rich retirees and rich immigrants. If u move to kelowna or the lower mainland make sure U bring lots of money because it is geared and set up for the wealthy and retired. Many families are moving because there is as they say no bread and butter in the okanagan. Companies wanted to move in but they can't afford to set up shop because land is too valuable to be wasted on providing jobs for the average working class. The city councils make more money selling any land available to rich developers who will grease their palms too. Well i am just seeing it like it is . I cant afford to live here anymore and I work for a school district and make over 20.00 per hour. Its the cost of living in canada's lotus land i guess

I grew up in the prairies moved to kelowna for 3 years and loved it! Rent is the same as in mb car icbc is a little higher but food is cheaper utilities are cheaper the air is thinner and cleaner a lot more healthier all this in kelowna I've just moved to moose jaw sask I hate it! Humidity is horrible I can't breathe it feels like someone is sitting on my cgest! I would give up everything to move back to bc kelowna but its the ocean I miss! Bc best place to live in canada we rent hubby made $17.50 detailing cars we have 3 kids!

The grass is greener in kelowna and so is the air. Compared to the prairies kelkowna had plus 12 in january mb minus 30. Clouds in the morning by lunch time the sun comes out. Ppl aren't snobbs there modern civilized ppl. I moved from kelowna for all the wrong reasons! I thought better money would make us happier hete in moose jaw,sask but we truely hate it here. Utilities are cheaper in bc anf food is cheaper in bc insurane is a little higher in bc but rent is the same in kelowna as it is in sask and manitoba. But here in the prairies the humidity kills you, you can't breathe the air is so heavy feels like someone is sitting on your chest! We are saveing to move back to bc for a happier and healthier lifestyle! We miss the ocean you can't compare the ocean to wheat fields! Moven back to bc soon!