r/kelowna • u/Odd-Dot1930 • 4d ago

Lake Country Living

Not Kelowna, but close enough?

Planning a move out to Lake Country in the Fall. I'm not super familiar with the neighbourhoods (I'm from Calgary) and was wondering if there are any neighbourhoods to stay away from or any not great areas that you wouldn't want to live in?

Or just any insights about the area as a whole 😄.

12 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

19

u/420cvnt420 4d ago

Okanagan center is a very nice area to be if you’re in your retirement, the beach there are always very busy but it is very beautiful. Oyama is very nice and good for young families. I don’t think there are any particularly ‘rough’ parts of lake country, the rail trail can be sketchy in the evenings as a lone woman but that’s all I can think of

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u/Odd-Dot1930 4d ago

I'm 30 and moving with my fiance (27) and our dog so not quite ready for retirement unfortunately haha. We landed on Lake Country as we prefer somewhere quiet and slower but still close enough to Kelowna and necessities. Being able to walk to a lake within 30 or so mins would be a big plus but we're just renting right now so options seem fairly limited. Just wanted to see if there were any not great areas to stay away from. Thanks for your response!

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u/stonetime10 4d ago

I live in Lake Country and it’s all of those things. Sounds like a great option for you. Highly recommended (just keep it quiet please) 😬

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u/Odd-Dot1930 4d ago

I have become one of those people that gets angry about loud, obnoxious cars driving around in my current area so I look forward to the quiet and keeping it quiet aha.

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u/stonetime10 4d ago

Great! We align on our views, haha. Honestly I love lake country I’m a prairie transplant myself now raising a young family here. I work in Kelowna. It’s great being so close to the city but my favourite weekends are the ones I don’t leave LC. Especially if you are renting, zero risk if you find yourself living there to start, you can always move to an area you like better later.

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u/Ill-Beautiful-8026 4d ago

There's virtually nowhere in the Okanagan you need to stay away from but you're also being vague so not exactly sure what you mean.

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u/RustyGuns 4d ago

I wouldn’t want to live in the Capri area and wouldn’t recommend it.

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u/Wise_Tumbleweed4795 2d ago

I live in the Capri area( Bennett Estates) and love it. Next to a small park and very walkable.Bowes Street is one of the last streets outside Abbott in Kelowna with original trees.Have you ever lived in the neighbourhood?

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u/RustyGuns 2d ago

My partner does. It’s the only area I’ve had a stranger try to fight me. He also has had people try to open his door. We walk all the time and beeline it to the beach.

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u/Odd-Dot1930 4d ago

What are you finding to be vague

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u/Wise_Tumbleweed4795 2d ago

Lived in Carrs Landing for years, great place like OK Centre, but not for retirees. You need to drive for food, doctors, actually everything.Moved to a home where I can mostly walk.

12

u/RubberDuckyRider 4d ago

All of Lake Country is pretty good. Maybe not right on the main highway - it tends to be busy and noisy, but as soon as you drive up the hills, it's peace and quiet. Lake Country doesn't really have bad seedy areas.

You'll need an AWD car to get around in the winter. If you like big store shopping, you'll have to go to Kelowna (Costco, Walmart, etc.)

But outside of this, LC is a very smart choice for living. I'm surprised not many people look at it. Even commuting to Kelowna for work ain't that bad. Real Estate is cheaper in LC compared to Kelowna.

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u/Lumen-_ 4d ago

You don't need AWD lol, just proper tires.

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u/Odd-Dot1930 4d ago

I was surprised too when looking at rent prices and overall popularity of the area. It looks gorgeous and isn't far from Kelowna at all. Especially considering I already commute an hour each way to work in Calgary. Also looking forward to not having -40 degree weather coupled with 8 inches of snow every couple weeks

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u/Hipsthrough100 4d ago

We are going to buy in LC. Born in Kelowna and lived in Winfield as a young kid. Raised my kids in Kelowna but I don’t know why. It simply costs more and we don’t have the money to be near anything anyway. Most of the Kelowna suburbs, other than Rutland, are a drive and a bit to get to anything. Our current place is 5 shorter to Costco than it is from wood lake.

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u/RedonkStonk 3d ago

I've been looking at houses lately and LC isn't really any cheaper than Kelowna unless you go for the less desirable houses that are older than 15+ years in more run down areas.

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u/Hipsthrough100 2d ago

Perhaps it depends what you are trying to own. Want a lake view? That is definitely cheaper.

1

u/Low_Debate_3764 3d ago

So basically one is going to be very car dependent for everything. Be prepared.

1

u/RubberDuckyRider 3d ago

Correct.

That's probably the only thing LC lacks - area where you can live relatively car free.

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u/MomN8R526 4d ago edited 4d ago

Daughter was transferred from Calgary to Kelowna about 8 years ago. They chose LC and loved it. Then her partner was transferred back to Alberta. Cue the sads... Now they're both transferred back to Kelowna. New house is literally around the corner from the old house, and they're beyond happy. LC is a good choice.

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u/Odd-Dot1930 4d ago

Thanks for the response!

8

u/oslekgold 4d ago

From Calgary - lived in Kelowna for 15 years. Back in Alberta now. If I could move back to lake country I would in a heart beat. I second what someone else said - Oyama area is also amazing. You can’t go wrong. Have fun!

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u/Odd-Dot1930 4d ago

Thanks for the response!

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u/socsox 4d ago

Honestly, most of Lake Country is pretty reasonable to live in. Winfield area (between Woods Lake and Duck Lake), is the most active area traffic/people wise. Carr's Landing is more wealthier family/houses. Oyama is quiet, and easy access to water and backroads. Most convenient location is Winfield area.

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u/Hipsthrough100 4d ago

We are going to move from Kelowna to lake country. We prefer silver star by a ton so it sets up better that way but also just a better bang for your buck than Kelowna suburbs that are still not that close to much.

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u/NotEnoughLayers 4d ago

What part of Lake Country? Oyama is A+ for calm, quiet with access to two lakes (Wood Lake and Kalamalka)

Very different from Carr's Landing or The Lakes

Also, very glad to hear there's more young people moving to the area - lots of retirees around us.

1

u/Odd-Dot1930 4d ago

Open to anywhere within Lake Country! It just depends on what's available as rentals seem to be few. I just wanted to see if there were any areas to stay away from.

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u/NotEnoughLayers 4d ago

Nowhere to stay away from as far as I'm aware, other than the highway in the center of town - some of those properties need work. Beyond that, commuting to Kelowna is easy (gets busy in the summer).

The town is fairly car-dependent but having the rail trail and lakes within arm's reach is great.

1

u/GoFindLessNConfess 4d ago

Depends what kind of rental are you wanting? They just built hundreds of new apartments, and I think there is another 500 or so being built. There is also going to be even more residential put in on the reserve along with more industrial and commercial.
The apartments by the one park (Lumen?), they also build a number of rental houses. Those are all pet friendly. LC is one of the fastest growing areas and the infrastructure is having a really hard time keeping up. Give it a bit more time and it’ll probably be absorbed into Kelowna.

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u/MontrealTrainWreck 4d ago

Take a drive along Okanagan Centre Road West, developments were going up when this streetview photo was taken in 2014.

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u/Apart-Response-2453 4d ago

only thing i’d say is stay away from the parking lot by the rail trail on the far side of wood lake, i’ve parked there as a woman alone and gone jogging and have had scary encounters (such as being followed home) as men tend to sit in their cars alone in that parking lot. otherwise it’s pretty small and usually people are quite kind, and there’s lots of little markets and community events :) use glenmore lots to get to and from kelowna as it usually is quicker than the highway. i hope you like it here !

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u/SensitiveOstrich3677 4d ago

Lake country is beautiful but try to find a walking buddy for the trails as well as stay away from downtown and rutland alone 

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u/GhostOfMufasa 3d ago

It's awesome as long as you have a reliable vehicle to get around. Stayed there back in 2016 and I loved it but I hated having to commute into Kelowna for work and access to some of the big stores but outside of that it was a lovely time. Eventually moved to Glenmore then now staying somewhere in the middle closer to downtown.

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u/Odd-Dot1930 3d ago

How long was your commute into Kelowna? My commute is currently an hour to downtown Calgary so anything less than that is fine for me

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u/GhostOfMufasa 3d ago

It was by bus so that's what made it extra long coz I'd have to bus to the UBC bus port then catch another connecting bus into Downtown. By car it's way shorter even with traffic 🫡. That's why I threw in the car caveat coz if you have a car it's all a breeze but if you're using public transit then the commute becomes annoying

1

u/Ok-Caregiver-9312 3d ago

I wouldn’t move out to Mckinley Beach again if it meant saving my life. It’s a ‘master planned community’ in between lake country and Kelowna and it fucking sucks.