Peachland or West Kelowna?

[upandaway]

Thanks for all the input, you guys have answered a lot of questions for us. West Kelowna and Westbank are sounding good though. What is there for work in Kelowna for someone in manufacturing/production?

[Darlin06]

http://classifieds.castanet.net/cat/emp ... on/?city=4

[peachlandnotary]

while Peachland is a GREAT place, and we spend lots of time there, I'm not sure I would chose to live there if I had small kids. There's not much to do there for kids, (ice rink etc), and there is only an elelmentary school there. Kids in Peachland have to go to hight school in Westbank.
Also, taxes and levies etc are much higher in peachland than Westbank. Hope this helps.

They are building an ice rink and amphitheater in the new Ponderosa village!

[Verminator]

Just a heads-up regarding Okanagan winters. We get very little sunshine from late October to sometimes as late as the end of March. The clouds often hang so low you can't see the hillsides, and the closer you are to the lake, the worse it seems to get. I sometimes think I'd rather have a sunny, cold prairie winter than the mild, gloomy ones we have here.

As far as Peachland vs West Kelowna, I'd pick PL hands down. I find West Kelowna a singularly unattractive place, particularly if you're driving through it on Hwy 97. The traffic is horrendous, worse than the traffic I've experienced in places like Vancouver, Portland and even Toronto. Once you're over the bridge at Kelowna, pretty much all you see is miles and miles of strip malls, fast food places and big box stores, and the pace is frantic. PL is much more relaxed and quiet, and WK is just a few minutes away if you need the amenities offered there. Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

edit to add: Also, in PL you're not living on leased First Nations land. The rules are very different regarding lease-hold properties, something you should be aware of.

[waterwings]

The traffic is horrendous, worse than the traffic I've experienced in places like Vancouver, Portland and even Toronto

Once in a while, traffic on bridge hill can back up if there is an accident but the same thing goes for drought hill which comes out of Peachland into West Kelowna.

Verminator when relating to Vancouver, Toronto or Portland traffic being the same in West Kelowna must be referring to his bumper being behind some one elses in WK or PL because you ain't seen traffic if you haven't been to Vancouver, Portland or Toronto. To travel 22 kilometers in Vancouver and Toronto can take 60 minutes or all of 45 in Portland been there done that and in West Kelowan under 10 minutes in rush hour traffic (unless there is an accident). But it is like that in Manitoba (Grandview. Swan River, Roblin to be exact).

Further, the only leased land there is in West Kelowna is on Westbank First Nation land and you can distinguish those boundaries easily with research as Westbank First Nation in smack in the middle of West Kelowna.

[dalejrfan]

I come from a small town very close to where you are, also lived many years on an army base close to you. I've been in Peachland since 1971. Lived in Kelowna and Westbank for a bit but always came back to Peachland. Winter may be overcast but I don't miss the abundace of snow and freezing cold of Manitoba. Winter in Peachland is very calm and laid back but the summer is really busy with the walkway along the beach. We have nice restaurants downtown and the only lake swimming place with a lifeguard.I live on the main street and hardly ever hear the highway traffic. I love this little town of Peachland. Oh yeah no mosquitos.

[upandaway]

Oh yeah no mosquitos

Really? Wow! The past few summers bugspray was definately a necessity. Peachland does sound great, we are in a tiny town right now (Peachland is bigger) and we love it. We also have lived in a city (46,000) and that was nice too. So we are kind of on the fence.... It is kind of aggravating to have to drive half an hour into the city to do some shopping. And how nothing is open on Sundays, so you get what you think you may need on Saturday. And being in a small town where everyone knows everyone gives a welcoming feeling, but the city gives the feeling of more privacy. Are stores open on Sundays in Peachland?

[French Castanut]

And being in a small town where everyone knows everyone gives a welcoming feeling, but the city gives the feeling of more privacy. Are stores open on Sundays in Peachland?

The liquor store is.
As well as all the other ones.

Some shop closes for the Winter.

Being on hills in Peachland one good thing is that you don't see any neighbours, well, you may see roofs if you look outside.

Being on flat land in WestK driving to Kelowna is pretty safe in Winter but it's a hell of traffic in Summer.

Oh yeah, and people shave, put on make up, talk on their phones, take the boggie out of their nose while driving but that's only insignifiant details.

Also, you might need a map to find yourself if ever you dare to go to WalMart. It's so HUGE. I'm sure your whole town fits in there. And you can shop 'til 11pm every day.

As for Westbank no one really knows where it is could be confusing if you want friends to come over.

[waterwings]

You need to be unconfused regarding West Kelowna, Westbank and the Westside.

The Westside is the west side of Okanagan Lake from almost Penticton to Vernon area since the days of the fur traders way back when. Westbank was an area on the Westside that did not incorporate and some of the Westside near the bridge into Kelowna used to have Kelowna as an address because Kelowna put Kelowna truck lines (phone lines) into that area.

And, then, incorporation occurred and we now have the name The District of West Kelowna which starts at the west side of the bridge and ends at or near the Connector Highway just past Gorman's Corner (where the mill is) and in the middle or near to the middle is Westbank First Nation with its own boundaries. There are many people who have lived in this area for many years and they still call West Kelowna - Westbank or the Westside but we are the District of West Kelowna. West Kelowna has some lovely communities; Rose Valley; Shannon Lake, Gellatly; Sunnyside; Boucherie; Westbank to name a few. There is pretty much one shopping area in West Kelowna and that is in Westbank or on Westbank First Nations Land. You will be able to distinquish where you are in which community after you travel around for awhile. The same will go for Peachland if you decide to move there.

[French Castanut]

Not to forget West Kelowna, The district of West Kelowna, Westbank, Peachland, and the Municipality of Peachland & Peachland-on-the-Lake, Trépanier or Tree-pâh-ny-yeur *depending how you prononce it* are part of the Regional District of Central Okanagan, which itself is based in Kelowna.

Also, the town of Okanogan is not in the Okanagan, it's in the Washington State.

[waterwings]

There is no; District of Westbank.

[kay-c]

Just look how we'll we get along on the other threads.

[bumblebuns]

The reason there are no mozzies in Peachland is the bat colony in the attic of the old primary school building.
http://www.peachlandbats.ca/about.html

[Glacier]

The Okanagan is one of the cloudiest places in Canada during the winter. Even Prince Rupert and Yellowknife get more hours of sunshine in December-January than the Okanagan does. If you are coming from another part of BC outside of the northern part you will find the darkness doesn't make up for the extra warmth (though the lack of mosquitos here is a big plus), but if you come from the prairies, you'll likely find that having to put up with long periods without the sun is not as bad as having to deal with those bitter cold winds that blow across the Prairies.

Peachland has the mildest winters of anywhere in the Okanagan valley (the lake moderates the climate). Westbank is a degree or two colder in the Winter since it's higher up and further away from the water.

I like the look and feel Peachland better, I'm not familiar enough with either community to make a recommendation to you.


A few questions: Why are you moving here? How did you make your choice as to where you'd like to move? Best of luck.

[upandaway]

I think the bat thing is quite interesting...Do they just stay where they are? Are they ever seen in Peachland? Say you are walking down the street, do you occasionally see a couple of bats fly by? And "Glacier" we always knew we would go out west, as there is nothing here. Even going to school and getting a degree there is always more money to be made in BC doing the same thing you would be doing here. And also, the winters seem to be getting colder every year. We want to be able to go out to the backyard and pick fruit (which is probably overrated for you guys), see the mountains, not have to drive 1 hour to go to the beach. And we narrowed it down to West Kelowna and Peachland because I have an aunt in West Kelowna but we are from a small town and Peachland just seemed fitting when we researched it.