LIVING IN KELOWNA
Imagine a city set on the shores of a glistening lake and surrounded by mountains, where you can golf, visit wineries, hike, and ski, snowboard, or sled in the winter… Kelowna offers all this and much, much more!
The largest city in the Interior of British Columbia, this is a great place for enjoying an active lifestyle. It has a fabulous quality of life with plenty of sunshine (around 2,000 hours per year) and is one of the warmest places in the entire country. We have hot and relatively dry summers, and while winters are far milder than most parts of Canada we still get ample enough snow for enjoying all those winter sports.
Set on the shores of the Okanagan Lake
and with all the wineries and fruit growing areas surrounding us, Kelowna could almost be mistaken for somewhere in the Mediterranean, in the summer months anyway! Like the Med, we attract visitors from all over Canada and the world and have a strong economy thanks to being such a popular destination.
Education
Okanagan College
Okanagan University Of British Columbia (UBCO)
It’s a great place to study too – Kelowna is home to the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus, and UBCO has over 8,000 full-time students. Talking of studying, there are many excellent Kelowna schools, and as well as UBCO we have Okanagan College where a further 5,000 full-time students attend. The population of Kelowna, by the way, is close to 180,000 and because we’re attracting newcomers all the time, that number is going up.
What about housing? The real estate is far more affordable than in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland, for example, and there’s less traffic here! We have many beautiful neighborhoods to choose from, from downtown to the spacious acreages of Joe Riche, and everything in between.
Downtown
Downtown living is popular with young professionals who want to be in the heart of the city, within walking distance of culture, cafés, restaurants, shopping, and the Lakeshore, or there are many great family-oriented neighborhoods too such as Glenmore, West Kelowna, and Shannon Lake. Wherever you live in Kelowna you’ll never be too far away from plenty of services and amenities; there’s great shopping, including the spacious and popular shopping mall, Orchard Park, and most neighborhoods have their own community grocery stores so you don’t have to travel far for everyday essentials. The farmer’s market between April and October offers fresh, local produce and is another popular option.
Recreation-wise this city has it all! Twenty golf courses to choose from; a vast number of parks and open spaces to hike and bike, and enjoy the scenery; a Cultural District in downtown Kelowna with plenty of arts and cultural attractions; the vast stretches of the Okanagan Lake with its ample boating opportunities and of course many fabulous beaches; and there are three ski resorts all within easy reach – Big White, Crystal Mountain, and Silver Star.
Whether you’re moving within Kelowna, relocating here from somewhere else in Canada, or immigrating from somewhere else in the world, we’re sure you’re going to love everything that we have to offer!
