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City of Kelowna, British Columbia neighbourhoods

Kelowna is a city of about 120,000 population situated on Okanagan Lake. The city affords all big city amenities including entertainment - they have a good hospital [now under expansion], many clinics and is a center for the Interior of B.C. Kelowna is a top destination for those of retirement age.

Kelowna has become the main marketing and distribution centre of the Okanagan Valley, with a focusing on the tree fruit industry, light industrial manufacturing (including boats, plastics, fibreglass, body armour, and oil field equipment ) and forestry products. There is also has a growing high technology sector that includes aerospace development and service.

Kelowna has the largest population between the Lower Mainland/Vancouver and Calgary. The new 5 lane W.R. Bennett Bridge (opened in May 2008) replacing the 1958 2-lane floating Okanagan Lake Bridge provides fast access to the Coquihala (which is no longer a toll highway) connector, via Merritt, means Vancouver is only 4 hours away. Kelowna is the major transportation and commercial hub of the Okanagan, with CP Rail, CN Rail, Greyhound, and a 24-hour airport with scheduled connections to several cities in the West.

Homes

Over the last few years, medium rise apartments have been built faster than other types of housing. Waterfront properties have climbed to $500,000 to $700,000 over the past decade, and nearby Okanagan Mission (south of Mission Creek) is a prestige neighbourhood. The on-a-hill-with-a-view areas like Glenmore and Rutland have also grown in population. New developments are being built in Mission Hills and Kettle Valley. Across the Lake, new developments of Casa Loma and Lakeview Heights. Are popular with short commutes across the floating bridge.

Here are the key neighbourhoods within Kelowna (from north to south):

• Winfield / Lake Country
• Glenmore / Dilworth Mountain / North Glenmore
• Rutland / Ellison
• Downtown
• Kelowna East (Black Mountain, Joe Riche, Big White)
• Kelowna SouthEast (KLO, Beaverdell /Carmi)
• Lower Mission, Upper Mission

Schools

Kelowna's school district serves students within 10 kilometres of the city and has 33 elementary and 12 secondary schools. Francophone programs are offered at Ecole Anse-au-sable (K-7) and Kelowna Secondary (8-12). The Okanagan University College is a degree-granting institution, just north of downtown, and UBC Okanagan opened a campus in Kelowna in 2005.

Shopping

Kelowna is the middle point of the Okanagan, and attracts retail traffic from the entire Valley. The city has several shopping malls, the largest being Orchard Park. The downtown has a quaint little "main street" shopping area on Bernard St., with the more touristy shops closer to the waterfront.

Recreation

Kelowna offers a wide range of recreational activities, being right on Okanagan Lake. There are a half dozen popular beaches, two waterslides (one on each side of the Lake), and easy access to the Kettle Valley Railway recreational trail. In the winter time, Big White is the area's largest ski hill, only 22 km to the east, and there are another 4 ski hills in the Okanagan Valley.

Homes

Kelowna offers a range of housing choices. Prices for houses, townhouses, and condos in good locations are high priced. You can find some condos in lower price categories that are quite nice. There are a number of trailer parks (courtesy of the mild climate) and some that are adult oriented, or even golf-themed (in Westbank).

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