Kamloops ??? any good for young family ??

[5 fields]

Hi we are looking at emigrating to the Okanagan region but have come across Kamloops on the internet. How far is it from Kelowna?? and is it a nice place?? had a mixed response form the Expat forum, does anyone here know any more infor on the place??

[4d32ftw]

i live here, and love it. any questions .. fire any

[Moops]

Kamloops is approximately a 2 hour drive from Kelowna. Several highways converge in Kamloops, so easy access to the Okanagan, lower mainland of Vancouver and east to Alberta. Kamloops has an active railway system - mainly freight, but the popular Rocky Mountaineer is boarded here ( http://www.rockymountaineer.com/en/ ). It's grown a lot over the years and has plenty of ammenties.

I'm sure 4D and a couple others can enlighten you more about the attraction of Kamloops!

Here's a couple of city links for you to check out in the meantime ...

http://www.kamloops.com/

http://www.kamloops.ca

http://www.tourismkamloops.com

[5 fields]

Could you tell me any good areas for families that have a good choice of activites for the kids, good schools, leisure centre's etc and shops near by??

Also are there many social/drug issues in Kamloops - i know everywhere has its problems just any areas to avoid??

My husband is a gas/plumbing engineer so obviously need to be where the work is. How is the job market in Kamloops??

Thanks
Maria

[mama40]

Hi Maria,
I have a friend that moved to Kamloops this year. I will ask her some of these questions for you.
Cheers

[5 fields]

great thanks for all the info.

[4d32ftw]

kamloops is basically split into 2 by the river, so theres the north shore and the south shore.

Historically the north shore is the poorer side of town, and in the past has more of the drug / crime related issues but they have done a lot to address this and a lot of money is being spent on the north shore to improve the area and facilities avaliable.

the south shore has the main town centre, then you go up the hill to the aberdeen / sahali areas where the mall and big ticket shops are.

I have lived in upper sahali, aberdeen and now pineview valley and would happily live in any of them.
other nice areas are dufferin, Juniper ridge is nice but a bit further out of town off Highway 1. batchelor heights is nice but thats right on the far side of the northshore so can be a way to come if you want to shop in town or up at aberdeen.
lower sahali is nice but older houses. it all depends on what your after as you can buy the historic houses down town or new in places like aberdeen or pineview.

Kamloops has world class recreational facilities at the TCC and recently held the world masters athletic champs, is holding the canadian national gymnastics champs, and i think holds the canada games soon plus lots of other events.
My daughter goes to school in Upper sahali and loves every minute of it. they do a lot of activities and groups and from what i can tell all the kids are doing very well

[4d32ftw]

the north and south tompson rivers meet down town at riverside park, where there is lots of space and a "beach" on the river. were not far from schuswap lake which is great in the sumer.

i'm not sure what the job markets like, but i live on a new estate and they have started building lots again so that must be positive

[Jazzyg]

We are moving there in May , after visiting for a Month last year before we decided to emigrate.

Personally I think Its a great place for kids to grow up , even though we will be living on the North Shore
which is compared to the rest of Kamloops lookin a lil rougher due to it bein the old town.

We even found the beggars to be polite unlike in your face in the UK lol

But we loved it , possibly because we come from inner city Liverpool , big city with a lot of crime and run down areas..
We are initially staying for a period with my uncle till we sort out jobs schools etc, then we will find the place that we like ourselves. we did love Sahali and surrounding areas though. In fact we loved it all ..

Totally different way of life for us and a great future for the 2 lil ones. Loved all things Canadian and they loved us (we hope) gained many friends from Kamloops and also from Vernon and beyond.

We are not just going to concentrate on Kamloops to stay but loved all the Okanagan too and on our return visit will be exploring the small towns we didnt get to see the last time

Gaz & Family

[4d32ftw]

Gaz give me a shout when u arrive