KELOWNA B.C.

[TOfan696]

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UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH-COLUMBIA OKANAGAN CAMPUS (KELOWNA)

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[FutureMayor]

wow, beautiful! I'm impressed by the volume of new urban developments in the city.

Louroz

[simply Dan]

http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w199/TOfan696/DTA055.jpg

That type of wood-frame construction shouldn't be allowed. Terrible! I would never pay to live in a building constructed like a garden shed. Where is the reinforced concerte or steel??

It is amazing how low the quality of construction is in new buildings out west.

[Observer Walt]

Nice photos, and nice, attractive surroundings in this town. I think it has a reputation as a retirement community, but I'm sure there is more to it than that. The west is doing well, and not just Calgary!

[tudararms]

Terrific photos, thanks!

If only the built form was as inspired as the landscapes.

[Sir Novelty Fashion]

I'm so moving to BC.

[AlchemisTO]

Cool pics.

I went to Kelowna once with a PhD student who needed to talk to a prof at their university. They sent us on a wine tour, invited us to a barbecue where we just sat and shot the breeze with professors at a chicken farm. I mistook the thenchancellor of the university for a junior prof - everybody was just so laid back. The downtown was neat and tidy and the public library was a source of civic pride. We ended off with a dinner on a downtown patio overlooking Lake Okanagan the sunset over the lake was memorably gorgeous. I couldn't imagine why anybody wouldn't want to move to this area.

By the third day it became apparent that the area is quickly becoming a victim of its popularity. The sprawl in the Okanagan region is obscene. The vineyards were quickly being encraoched upon by monster homes of the most tasteless architecture, and many of the greatest vistas were spoiled by parking lots and strip mall effluvia. Another city I used to love, Santa Barbara, CA, suffers from the same problem. Sprawl in Stoufville or Georgina where the surrounding landscape is just a flat windswept cornfield is bad enough, but when it scars the dramatic hills of the BC interior and the lake is drowned out by jet skis, it really is depressing.

[TOfan696]

Kelowna, the heart of the Okanagan Valley, is the 3rd largest metro area in BC, the wealthiest city per capita in canada, 2nd most expensive place to live in canada, Albertas summer and winter playland, huuuuge tourism industry (skiing in winter, beaches and Wineries/Vineyards in the spring summer) (i think its the 9th bussiest airport in canada now, theyve reached their 2025 expectations of passengers this year) , its the Plastic surgery capital of canada, because of the hot and dry summers and mild winters its a huge retirment community (The florida of canada) , and become a big student town with UBC opening its 2nd location here, okanagan college, Kelowna Arts and Technology institute, and other small coleges. And for a town its size because of the socioeconomic status of most of its residents has most of the big name higher end stores and restuarants ud expect to find in bigger cities. All in all its a great place to go to school, and i doubt ill be returning to Toronot when i grad from UBC.

[TOfan696]

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[bizorky]

its the Plastic surgery capital of canada


Talk about "branding."

[Bogtrotter]

Beautiful landscapes- I can see why it's a popular spot.

[nassauone]

My hometown. Spent 21 years there. While the landscape is beautiful the city itself is a mess. If there was ever a city that did not know how to plan for growth it was Kelowna. The downtown has been forgotten due to the greedy landowners who have developed stripmall after strip mall on their property. The city allowed for this choosing to ignore the fact that the main downtown street is/was beautiful AND historical and runs right into the lake and the largest park in the city. More and more strip malls pop up with half vacancies and while it truly is a four seasons playground (a fact they do not promote anymore) whenever I go home to see my folks I am more than happy to close my eyes until I am in the cosy confines of their place up on the hills. It is so frustrating to watch soemthing with great potential just fall flat due to short sighted civic planners etc.

[ganjavih]

I grew up in Sudbury... spent 18 years there. Its downtown is abysmal but I thought it probably never was that great. Then I saw some old postcards showing how vibrant (http://www.flickr.com/photos/denim/37890844/) and beautiful (http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecaptain_/214282372/) it used to be. I wanted to cry.

[TdotTrickyRicky]

Its been a long time since I passed through looks great, particularly the natural setting.

"Kelowna, the heart of the Okanagan Valley, is the 3rd largest metro area in BC, the wealthiest city per capita in canada, 2nd most expensive place to live in canada,"

Not having the facts straight myself I find claims of "wealthiest city" dubious since there seem to be a dozen folks staking such claims.