A whole different world

[Tony]

A $500,000 home if fully mortgage is $2,240pm+taxes of approx $200 for $2,440pm, a far cry from your $4,000pm. My information is from RBC's website.

I dunno where you take your digits, but mine were accurate. I said ABOUT 4000$ INCLUDING taxes.

Well, it shows 3500$ NOT INCLUDING municipal taxes. Right from RBC Website.

For a 500,000$ house, I'd expect about 5000$ municipal taxes a year, making 3900$ a month :-)

You based that on a $500,000.00 mortgage. If your mortgage is $500,000.00, then you paid somewhere around $675,000.00 for your house, based on 25% down payment. If you have a $500,000.00 house, the biggest mortgage you'll get is $375,000.00, lowering your payments significantly.

[hoot]

Penticton is a town masquerading in a city's britches.

It is poorly located for any type of manufacturing commerce, and does not even come close to being called a "hub" city. To transport anything from Penticton there is only the 97 North and South . Why would a business transport its widgets and extra 30 minutes north to get the connector, or drive 5.5 hours to the coast via the Hope Princeton ; especially in Winter.

Kelowna is a Hub City , because it is at the junction of major transport routes, and that is why it has grown in leaps and bounds. as has Kamloops.

No manner of rinky dink "investment incentives" is going to draw major industry to this town , and that's how the majority like it.

Why set up your factory in Penticton when Hope and Chilliwack are so much nearer the coast. ?

Penticton has severe limitations when it comes to expansion, unable to grow to the north and South because of the Lakes and West because of the First Nations land.

If I want to transport my widgets south, the nearest major cities are Spokane and Seattle, which is within easy reach of the Fraser valley communities.

No The biggest danger to Penticton is a council that will rubber stamp high-rise development , which will mar our beautiful city.

No, best Leave Penticton as it is , most of us like it this way. So the kids will have to move to find better job opportunities ,that’s not such a bad thing.


posting to a forum is like having food allergies , but once you find out where the nuts are you can avoid adverse reactions

[French Castanut]

You based that on a $500,000.00 mortgage. If your mortgage is $500,000.00, then you paid somewhere around $675,000.00 for your house, based on 25% down payment. If you have a $500,000.00 house, the biggest mortgage you'll get is $375,000.00, lowering your payments significantly.

And.. Let's say you pay 1200$ for a 2 bedrooms appartement.. And that you pull 1000$ bucks every month toward a cash to buy a home. It would take you merely 10 years to have a 25% cashdown.

How much will your 500,000$ home cost in 10 years from now?

Shoot, you'll have to save for an extra 10 years because 10 years ago that house was being sold just under 200,000$. So in 10 years from now, why not 750,000+$?

But again, no one answered my initial question. Where are the 100,000$ a year jobs in Penticton for the average joe that arrives in town with average education and wants to make a living here?
Town management?
Doctor?
Judge?

And yes, if you have a 500,000$ mortgage, it takes you 4000$ a month just to pay that mortgage. + You have to live on top of that.

[wanderingchef]

While I do agree with just about all of your points Hoot. I still have a few bones to pick......

As far as the first nations lands, why don't we as a community come to some sort of an agreement on how to develop their land in a way that benefits them and the city for years to come. The reserve is a fair size with lots of unused land and many different elevations.

There is a ton of developable land on the east side of the valley including campbell, carmi, and greyback area's The key is to be creative with the planning and layout.

I agree that it does not make sense as a manufacturing center but why has the town not focused on developing in another direction. Pick an identity and promote it! I think that we need to refocus our efforts on being a tourist destination BUT YEAR ROUND!!!! let's invest in things like clean modern campgrounds, more attractions, updating our food scene and accomodations and investing in more bike trails, snowmobile trails and other recreational activities. Hosting events and compititions through the winter could bring more people during the sleepy months. The key is to have some young fresh idea's from people willing to try new things. Yes we have some great events like; Show n shine, Peachfest, Elvisfest, Ironman, the Farmers market, Mr.Muscle Miss. Bikini ect... But what else could we have? Boat/sailing races, Kite surfing events, a music festival, Host a ski or snowboard event, Paddle board race, road Bike race, Rally car race, Outdoor challenges, Snowmobile races, mountain bike races (both x-country and downhill) Culinary events, 4x4 events the list of possibilities could go on for ages.

With places like Kamloops, Kelowna, Vancouver, Spokane, Seattle, Calgary and Prince George all within a days drive it is an ideal place for tourists to come too. (Maybe thats why it has been a tourist destination for so long)

I also think that it would be good if we invested even more in agriculture. Not just wine grapes but all sorts of different foods. While we may not be a manufacturing hub we could be even more of a breadbasket. While I also agree with a previous post, I would not want Penticton to look like the Westbank Wasteland I think that it could still be a shopping center if it focused more on having boutique style shops (kinda like Nelson)

I feel like it is lazy and complacent to just say that the youth should leave home to make a good living and raise a family. We as a community should look for ways to adapt and grow to keep pace with a changing world.

We have awesome mountains, clean lakes, wicked beaches and terrific weather let's use them all to our advantage.

[Stellerjay]

While I do agree with just about all of your points Hoot. I still have a few bones to pick......

As far as the first nations lands, why don't we as a community come to some sort of an agreement on how to develop their land in a way that benefits them and the city for years to come. The reserve is a fair size with lots of unused land and many different elevations.

There is a ton of developable land on the east side of the valley including campbell, carmi, and greyback area's The key is to be creative with the planning and layout.

I agree that it does not make sense as a manufacturing center but why has the town not focused on developing in another direction. Pick an identity and promote it! I think that we need to refocus our efforts on being a tourist destination BUT YEAR ROUND!!!! let's invest in things like clean modern campgrounds, more attractions, updating our food scene and accomodations and investing in more bike trails, snowmobile trails and other recreational activities. Hosting events and compititions through the winter could bring more people during the sleepy months. The key is to have some young fresh idea's from people willing to try new things. Yes we have some great events like; Show n shine, Peachfest, Elvisfest, Ironman, the Farmers market, Mr.Muscle Miss. Bikini ect... But what else could we have? Boat/sailing races, Kite surfing events, a music festival, Host a ski or snowboard event, Paddle board race, road Bike race, Rally car race, Outdoor challenges, Snowmobile races, mountain bike races (both x-country and downhill) Culinary events, 4x4 events the list of possibilities could go on for ages.

With places like Kamloops, Kelowna, Vancouver, Spokane, Seattle, Calgary and Prince George all within a days drive it is an ideal place for tourists to come too. (Maybe thats why it has been a tourist destination for so long)

I also think that it would be good if we invested even more in agriculture. Not just wine grapes but all sorts of different foods. While we may not be a manufacturing hub we could be even more of a breadbasket. While I also agree with a previous post, I would not want Penticton to look like the Westbank Wasteland I think that it could still be a shopping center if it focused more on having boutique style shops (kinda like Nelson)

I feel like it is lazy and complacent to just say that the youth should leave home to make a good living and raise a family. We as a community should look for ways to adapt and grow to keep pace with a changing world.

We have awesome mountains, clean lakes, wicked beaches and terrific weather let's use them all to our advantage.

Its all about the economic system. I spent a year in Australia, my best friend just got back from a year stint as well. You get paid well for most jobs you do down there, jobs that would have paid me 9-10/hr I was being paid 19-20/hr down there. There is a reason why that country ranks second in quality of life indexes. The idea of paying people a living wage is met with completely hostility in this province and nothing is going to change that. I just don't see our Political and Business leaders ever coming up with anything that is fair or viable, they don't have the intelligence or will to be visionaries. They see as far as the front of their collective noses.

[wanderingchef]

While I do agree with just about all of your points Hoot. I still have a few bones to pick......

As far as the first nations lands, why don't we as a community come to some sort of an agreement on how to develop their land in a way that benefits them and the city for years to come. The reserve is a fair size with lots of unused land and many different elevations.

There is a ton of developable land on the east side of the valley including campbell, carmi, and greyback area's The key is to be creative with the planning and layout.

I agree that it does not make sense as a manufacturing center but why has the town not focused on developing in another direction. Pick an identity and promote it! I think that we need to refocus our efforts on being a tourist destination BUT YEAR ROUND!!!! let's invest in things like clean modern campgrounds, more attractions, updating our food scene and accomodations and investing in more bike trails, snowmobile trails and other recreational activities. Hosting events and compititions through the winter could bring more people during the sleepy months. The key is to have some young fresh idea's from people willing to try new things. Yes we have some great events like; Show n shine, Peachfest, Elvisfest, Ironman, the Farmers market, Mr.Muscle Miss. Bikini ect... But what else could we have? Boat/sailing races, Kite surfing events, a music festival, Host a ski or snowboard event, Paddle board race, road Bike race, Rally car race, Outdoor challenges, Snowmobile races, mountain bike races (both x-country and downhill) Culinary events, 4x4 events the list of possibilities could go on for ages.

With places like Kamloops, Kelowna, Vancouver, Spokane, Seattle, Calgary and Prince George all within a days drive it is an ideal place for tourists to come too. (Maybe thats why it has been a tourist destination for so long)

I also think that it would be good if we invested even more in agriculture. Not just wine grapes but all sorts of different foods. While we may not be a manufacturing hub we could be even more of a breadbasket. While I also agree with a previous post, I would not want Penticton to look like the Westbank Wasteland I think that it could still be a shopping center if it focused more on having boutique style shops (kinda like Nelson)

I feel like it is lazy and complacent to just say that the youth should leave home to make a good living and raise a family. We as a community should look for ways to adapt and grow to keep pace with a changing world.

We have awesome mountains, clean lakes, wicked beaches and terrific weather let's use them all to our advantage.

Its all about the economic system. I spent a year in Australia, my best friend just got back from a year stint as well. You get paid well for most jobs you do down there, jobs that would have paid me 9-10/hr I was being paid 19-20/hr down there. There is a reason why that country ranks second in quality of life indexes. The idea of paying people a living wage is met with completely hostility in this province and nothing is going to change that. I just don't see our Political and Business leaders ever coming up with anything that is fair or viable, they don't have the intelligence or will to be visionaries. They see as far as the front of their collective noses.

Agreed! I loved how much money I made in other commonwealth countries doing the same job I do here. How do we get from where we are now (10-15 per hour) to where we should be (18-25 per hour)

[strawberryskies]

I would not want Penticton to end up like Westbank at all. That town is ugly and has no soul. Its big box stores surrounded by urban sprawl.

Agreed it's a eyesore and brings low-paying dead end jobs.

It's also a demographics issue, they know people from outlying communites will drive into Westbank or Kelowna for shopping.

If the shoppers come to you why bother opening up more retail locations? Ikea is far yet most Okanagan homes have IKEA furniture.

[C&J]

Agreed! I loved how much money I made in other commonwealth countries doing the same job I do here. How do we get from where we are now (10-15 per hour) to where we should be (18-25 per hour)

What sort of training do people have for these jobs?

I think $10-$15 for a job that requires no previous experience is more than adequate, if anyone off the street can come and replace you, then the pay should reflect that.

There are lot's of short 6 month training courses that people can take which will put them in that $18-$25 range.

[GEW]

I don't know how people can say there is no manufacturing, factory, construction jobs here; let's name a few;

Penticton Foundry, Slimline, Normar, Moduline, Berdick, Britco, Pattison Signs, Greenwood forest products,P&E lumber, Peerless (they are called something else now), |Structurlam, Greyback, Cantex, Peters brothers, Action Steel plus many smaller one or two person operations. We did loose quite a few jobs when the U.S. economy tanked. Many of our manufacturing jobs depend on a weaker Canadian dollar to be viable which is not currently happening.
I think it is partly perception that Penticton is doing worse than other cities. I work all over the \bc interior; and everybody from Kamloops to Osoyoos are saying that this is the slowest year they have ever seen (for building anyway). Kelowna construction numbers are way down and many Westbank big box stores are sitting empty, and downtown Westbank is very empty.
We overbuilt and are paying the price big time. However, I do wish that Penticton had a big mine outside of it like Kamloops does. Cities where resource extraction is occuring, are doing much better for well paying employment at the moment.
Are there any prospectors looking around the old Nickel Plate mine for new gold finds, given the gold prices these days?

[Tony]

Are there any prospectors looking around the old Nickel Plate mine for new gold finds, given the gold prices these days?

That's a great idea. Any place that has some resources is doing well right now.

[twobits]

Mines pump a lot of economic activity. Three major hurdles. Natives, tree huggers, tourist huggers.

[Tony]

I think the current government on the First Nations side of the bridge could be convinced to participate. As far as the huggers - well................

[wanderingchef]

Agreed! I loved how much money I made in other commonwealth countries doing the same job I do here. How do we get from where we are now (10-15 per hour) to where we should be (18-25 per hour)

What sort of training do people have for these jobs?

I think $10-$15 for a job that requires no previous experience is more than adequate, if anyone off the street can come and replace you, then the pay should reflect that.

There are lot's of short 6 month training courses that people can take which will put them in that $18-$25 range.

It is not about the training or the difficulty of the job.... It's about raising our standard of living.

I have a Red Seal as a chef and would be lucky to find a job in this town that would pay $18-25 an hour. And thats with four years training!!!

[twobits]

I have a Red Seal as a chef and would be lucky to find a job in this town that would pay $18-25 an hour. And thats with four years training!!!

Have you given consideration to opening your own restaurant or catering business. You seem to have some interesting ideas.

[-fluffy-]

It is not about the training or the difficulty of the job.... It's about raising our standard of living.

It's also about business. It's a nice thought to think that everyone should be able to bring home a good buck, but the reality is that when you start increasing business expenses you need a corresponding increase in revenue. That means selling more product or raising prices, and both those solutions carry their risks.