Castanet

The Vernon Army Camp is a fixture, the hospital looking good and the view of the mountains surrounding the area are a beautiful sight. And then the downtown itself sure looks inviting with all the different shops. Quaint might be the word.

I live in Vernon and have not had anything close to the experiences the OP has stated. I couldn't help but wonder if the OP is either very rude to others to create these types of responses or he/she is possibly off of an important medication.

Sure we have our issues like every city has, but my experience here has been nothing close to what has been described in the original post.

Though not my favorite place,not ideal but i think it's getting better. I think i enjoy it more than Kelowna now.
I've known people in the past who always seemed to be the victim of stuff and if it wasn't for it they'd have nothing to talk about. Usually you look deeper there's always more to it.

I think Vernon is a nice town .

wouldn't ya just move if somewhere made you that unhappy if I were terrified to leave my home I would move

Hate to say it OP,

If everyone around you seems like an *bleep*, then odds are you are the *bleep*.

I have lived in Vernon my whole life. I have definitely had the experience of red neck loser in truck cut me off and slam on the brakes because they believe I have wronged them in some way but it's not a common occurrence.
In terms of the other problems seems like every town. By law officers can be a little agressive and power hungry and we do have a disproportionate amount of roid monkey red necks but so does Kelowna etc.
Where can you live and have the climate, lakes, mountains and ski hills so close in Canada?
That's why real estate is expensive here. I'll put up with the other stuff because mostly it's awesome here. Seems weird that this apparently happened exactly in 2010?

Next time get a plate number and drive directly to the police station and file a complaint.

Wouldn't waste anytime getting there either.

Please do yourself a favor and invest in a dash cam. Idiots like that should not have the privilege of driving. Minor offences you could of had on camera.

rofl

This is my last day in this god awful town.

I tried very hard for a long time to wait all the problems of this town but they got worse....

Everyone in this town are selfish inward thinking good for nothing chumps.

I even say this about every friend I ever had here and my family that live here too.

Rip people off at every chance, always WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME, with no care about helping others. Vernon Landlords are the worst. To anyone who defended this town, I really hope you have to find a place to rent soon and realize exactly what kind of BS goes on in this town.

Why is everyone so OK with the bums EVERYWHERE? The hookers, the crack, the needles, like *bleep* IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE??

WHY IS RENT OVER $1000 MINIMUM FOR A 2 BEDROOM PLACE? What are the jobs around here to support that??

Chances are if you live in vernon you are either getting ripped off, or ripping people off.

The worst part of this town is seriously how everyone is in such denial of all its problems, and act like the town is awesome and it is the complainer that is wrong.... Yeah, stay in denial while all your friends kill themselves from drug overdoes... Vernons sucicde and drug overdoes rate is sooo high, so many people die every year from being ignored, abandoned, and not thought of. My exact problems with this town is that. Everyone always in a fairy tale world like everything is awesome.

When you watch your friends sister lay infront of a semi truck because she hates her town, it changes you, when you kick your friends bathroom door down and see her with her wrists cut and blood everywhere, with a note that she hates this town, it changes you. But no, everyone lets tell the complainers THEY ARE WRONG, and there is NO PROBLEMS, and they they are the *bleep*..

slimebucket wrote:The worst part of this town is seriously how everyone is in such denial of all its problems, and act like the town is awesome and it is the complainer that is wrong....

Wrong.

Some things that may bother you don't bother other people. Some things that bother others might not bother you. Some people are better at dealing with things than you may be. Some people weigh the pro's and con's of the city they live in, and that'll be different to everyone.

I'm not a Vernon fan either, but my pro's outweigh the con's, so here I stay for now.

Sounds like you made the right decision, but honestly, I don't think you'll be happy elsewhere either ...

Vernon is not THAT bad. It has beautiful views (think Middleton Mtn, Turtle Mtn, Kal Lake, Silver Star).

However there is one feeling I can't shake off is that Vernon feels like it is stuck in the 60s.

Everything is old, look at the mall, old and somewhat empty. Look at the population, no diversity. Look at the new residents, mostly old people.

With the relatively nice weather and affordable real estate, it is natural that the primary kind of money Vernon attracts is the new money (quick money oil rednecks).

In fact, I would argue that if Vernon became more diverse it would become a nicer place to live, and more attractive to new residents who aren't just the oil rednecks.

Look at the majority of redneck towns (e.g. in Alberta, etc), the predominant businesses tend to be a large Walmart, Marks Work Warehouse, a Canadian Tire, and a few McDonald's sprinkled here and there.

If one would like to change the feeling of Vernon it would need to do 2 things:
-Make the downtown more vibrant
-Build a new attractive shopping center that encourages a place for year round human activity

In general my experience of Vernon has been far more positive. I have rarely met a nasty person, most are very friendly and agreeable. If you ask some of the store clerks, the storey is a bit different, they say there are often difficult customers, and they probably have a better picture of it.
The town in general is fine, the main problem I think is that there are not a lot of decent jobs for young people. That is why we seem to accumulate a certain amount of riff-raff. I always have a great deal of respect for those who are trying to make a go of it, even if their job doesn't pay well, and probably their rent is too high. I have seen the other side of it though, renting out a home at a very reasonable rate and having it damaged by bad renters. I finally sold the home rather than put up with that scene. I would have had to double the rent and it would not have even paid for the damages caused.
So the main problem still is jobs for young people with decent pay. Vernon just doesn't have a lot of industry, and less even that it had in the past, beyond perhaps building some new homes. It needs a wider industrial base.
There are a fair number of good recreational choices, so that's a plus, but I think more could be made of that too.
Much has been said about the homeless problem, there's not a lot you can do for someone who is stuck in the drug scene,which seems to be getting worse each year, most people have their plates full just paying for their own standard of living, let alone supporting those who love their drugs more than working and making a life. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a good place to put those who don't want to support themselves. If they do actually want to work, they probably will have better luck elsewhere, in the Lower mainland or alberta.

^Yeah good point. And with the advance of automation even local forestry jobs are shrinking.

Vernon has a lot to offer, just can't see why they can't move past from the 60s.

Kelowna is experiencing a boom. My guess is Penticton next and maybe afterwards Vernon? So maybe give it 15 years or so Vernon might be a lot different than now.