Okangan - any hints?

Moving back to Canada after living and working in NZ for 4 years and have decided that the Okanagan, BC is the place for me (I'm an ex-Ontario girl).

Anybody care to sway me in any way where I should settle down? I LOVE the outdoors, big into winter/summer activities, looking to buy a house when I get back, and got my MBA while in NZ, so wouldn't mind getting a job where I could put my degree into practice. I was thinking Kelowna (better chance to find a job in the Marketing/Management field), or Vernon or Penticton....

Where would you recommend?

Kelowna is certainly the biggest center in that area with probably the best selection of jobs, but a couple of thoughts (and I just left the Okanagan after living there for 30 years!)...1)if you are looking to buy a house, the houses in Kelowna are quite expensive; it is probably the 4th (or so) most expensive housing market in Canada 2) many jobs are paid less than in other centers and advancement can be difficult. If you are working for a larger company or government, sometimes the next job up ends up going to a person from elsewhere within the company. You may have to move in order to advance. 3) it certainly has the outdoor element, both in winter and summer, although unless you ski/snowboard, the valley gets gloomy in the winter with low cloud ceilings for weeks on end (or so it feels). 4) Traffic, especially now with the new bridge being built, is a major hassle. Personally, I think either Penticton or Vernon may be better choices, but I think that finding a job you like would be the first thing, and then base your move from there. Southern Vancouver Island also has the outdoor activities, but skiing is a bit further away, and there may be more job choices.

To put it bluntly, buying a house - especially on one income, which apparently applies to you - is currently incompatible with working in southern BC. So you can move to Kelowna or another place in the Okanagan, and hope that house prices fall back in line with local incomes, or go back to Ontario, where they are now, or only moderately out of line like Toronto.

Oh BTW, pretty well all the marketing type work in the Okanagan these days is connected with real estate, so if prices do go down, you might not have the income to buy a house anyway.

OP, I'd put your energies into finding a job first, then seeing how your income matches up with real estate prices in the Okanagan. As others have said, assuming you find a job in your field, you will likely be in for an unpleasant surprise.

That said, I'd certainly leave my current well-paid management position and move to the area if I could afford to. ;) As it is, I can just about afford to rent a small one-bedroom in BC, and that's about it.

Take a look at the Sunshine Coast. Lots of opportunities here. House prices are rising but still manageable.

The okanagan real estate scene is on fire, bring loads of money.Vernon is a town that is beginning emerge and your chances of finding someplace to live is probably better.

OP- I just sent you a PM.

I prefer the northern end of the OK valley, its greener less congested and is not yet full of retired rich folk pushing housing prices through the roof, there is as much sport there as you wish to use to.

Vernon also has a slight semblance of a town center which is a positve, just, its basically just another N American car dominated city.

Right now Tim's are paying 14 ph + benifits, to give you an idea of how the economy is desperate for bodys.

The best thing the south has is the climbing cliffs at skaha and the wine.