Flowers blooming in Kelowna one week before Easter, March 16th, 2008.
Psst! Tired of Winter? Kelowna's got a secret.
By Steven Darling
Jim Colbourne, a computer programmer who moved his family to Kelowna from Toronto 3 years ago, concisely summed up the mood of the who are packing up and moving across the country to the Okanagan, "We just got tired of winter" he says shrugging his shoulders.
A quick look back at March 10th headlines across Canada tells the tale. Then, the latest in a string of seemingly endless winter storms dumped as much as 50 centimeters of snow across much of Eastern Canada. Police in Ontario dealt with almost 900 highway accidents in that one weekend alone. In Quebec province, up to 35 cm of snow combined with winds over 130 km/h to create snowdrifts on the highways that towered over many vehicles and left many stranded.
While the rest of Canada dug out and sat out that weekend, residents in Kelowna basked in mild weather with temperatures in the mid-teens. Though the weekend's temperatures were above average, mild winters are the norm. With an average winter temperature of only 0° C (32° F), Kelowna enjoys four distinct seasons without the blizzards, power outages and flight disruptions that plague much of Canada.
"We leave our snow on the ski hills where it belongs", smirks Trevor, a ski instructor who moved here from Montreal a decade ago and hasn't looked back. Indeed, Kelowna boasts spectacular skiing with two local mountains, Big White and Silver Star. Both are within 30 minutes of the routinely snow-free roads of Kelowna and both are rapidly expanding to accommodate their surge in popularity, including expansion into summer activities such as mountain biking.
Summer temperatures similar to those in Eastern Canada but without the stifling humidity are an unexpected bonus to many of those joining in the mass Westward migration. "When my friends back home are choking on the sticky heat and pollution, I'll be relaxing in the back yard", chuckles Jim as his son helps him put the finishing touches on a deck which he expects to enjoy much of the year.
As Jim's friends in Toronto and other Eastern residents continue to shovel out, Kelowna's population and economy continues to grow, which means only one thing - if you are thinking about moving to Kelowna, you'd better do it before the secret is out.
