Do you feel happy living in the Okanagan?

[Bsuds]

If one is not happy being here, why be here?

I think the biggest deterrents for moving are cost and fear of the unknown.

[MAPearce]

I think the biggest deterrents for moving are cost and fear of the unknown.

Yeah .... I'd have to save for two years just to be able to afford to move to Rutland.....

[Bsuds]

Yeah .... I'd have to save for two years just to be able to afford to move to Rutland.....

And then there's the fear...

[LANDM]

But, if one is actually unhappy with where they live and find the area to be undesirable with lots of social problems, it would make sense to still make a move, no?

Once I hit a certain point in life where I saw enough people dying around me, I had decided to not have a situation where I could be lying on my deathbed wishing I would have done things differently, done more, or had been happier by simply changing a situation......all within reason, of course. Run-on sentence alert....

One has to live within their personal means but a self imposed fear, accompanied by actively saying they do not like where they are and what their situation is, seems horrible to me.

[MAPearce]

Yeah .... I'd have to save for two years just to be able to afford to move to Rutland.....

And then there's the fear...

It's a package deal.......

[Woodenhead]

But, if one is actually unhappy with where they live and find the area to be undesirable with lots of social problems, it would make sense to still make a move, no?

Possibly so, possibly not. It's not necessarily economically feasible for everyone. There can be other issues to hold one in place, too, such as family. Plus, not all of the conditions you listed may apply. If someone only has 1 negative about staying vs. 5 positives about staying, then they'll likely stay, which makes sense. And that doesn't mean one shouldn't strive to fix that 1 thing, either. Always strive to improve that which can be improved. Just because somewhere else sucks more doesn't mean we should sit on our hands & do nothing about issues here.

Personally, my only negative here is wages vs. housing costs. I have numerous positives, which outweigh that singular negative by enough of a margin that I have little desire to leave.

[LANDM]

I totally agree, Woodenhead, but it isn’t the people who have one negative and five positives that I am thinking about.

There are some *extremely* negative posts here which fascinate me. It’s the ones where people rip the city to shreds in the most basic way and would indicate an actual hatred of the area.....if you hate the people, the makeup of the city, the way it operates, and that there are no businesses or employment opportunities that are positive.....well, that doesn’t leave much to be desired.

But, everyone makes their choices and I firmly believe that some people are happier being miserable. Odd but true.

[Urbane]

I love it here and there is no place that I would rather be.

[Woodenhead]

I firmly believe that some people are happier being miserable. Odd but true.

Agreed - I work with a few of those.

[monroe]

What it comes down to is the desire to move vs the will to set aside those resources to make it happen.

In most cases, maybe not all - I think its easy for some to say they hate where they live and theyd move if they could.

I could be off base but it all sounds a bit BS'y. Comments like that make those people sound disgruntled, unhappy.

Misery loves company comes to mind.

[Queen K]

In my case it isn't a "hate issue" it's a longing to see other parts of Canada as they are during different seasons and new photography opportunities. I also wonder if what is said about the Okanagan true and I'm just too much in it to see properly.

Monroe, are you and Mrs. Monroe making connections in 'S'toon by now? Maybe those that didn't happen here in Kelowna?

[monroe]

We've had/have connections both friends and family in the Valley since I first moved there in '93.

That said, it's a totally different mentality out here - no better or worse than the valley. Jus different.

The plus to being here is, its just a better vibe amongst the average person. People here seem more approachable.
A drawback to living here is that this place doesn't have that smaller town community feeling we got living in the Valley - moving away from home (Kelowna) I've come to realize, I do miss that.


I think if anyone has anything against Kelowna, they should try something different. Really didn't sink in what we missed about the place until we moved.

[stevei]

For the most part I think Walter is right. A couple of years ago an article appeared in The Province newspaper. Headline was
"Kelowna: Paradise Lost" It mainly dealt with the incredible lack of urban planning in Kelowna. One look around and you can see the truth of that. cheers Steve

[Grandan]

I bought a house at the peak of market values in 1981 and then watched prices drop 40% afterward so it was quite disheartening for a while.
Now, traffic has increased to the point of unpleasant at times on our road but on the whole I am very positive. There are few hidden gems left unfound, it's all been exposed to the rest of the world, it cannot be undone.
It was wonderful while it lasted, being able to drive around the streets and have so few cars around, hot afternoons on the beach after work and the cool drive home feeling perfectly refreshed. Bluebird was one of our favourites.

[dirtguy]

I hate living in Westbank/Kelowna, the only thing keeping me here is work