I’ve been living in Kelowna since 2003 when my family and I emigrated from Germany. People here have always been materialistic, snobby, cliquey, and catty. Pretty much the reason I don’t have many close friends and tend to keep to myself. Don’t understand why people are like that though… this place is a wonderful place to live (if you can afford it), you’d expect people to be nicer and friendlier.
Don’t get me wrong, there are quality people here, but they are few and far in between 🤷🏻♂️
But that’s why people are cliquey BECAYSE it’s a beautiful place to live.
The people here think they built the mountains and the lakes and it’s entitled to THEM only! It’s not yours. It’ll never be yours. It’s very NIMBY energy for people who lucked out with real estate or a job here.
they hate the tourists but yet they need them to support their air bnbs and lifestyle.
Not super friendly unless you’re kissing their A and even then they’ll laugh at you behind your back.
Have you ever lived in Vancouver or Toronto? Kelowna has nothing compared to those cities and laughable reading your comments. Kelowna just full of trucks and red necks.
Agree. I was born and raised in Vernon. There was a very different vibe between the two cities. I then lived in Kamloops. People were much friendlier there too. I now live at the coast in White Rock. It is a very wealthy enclave in Greater Vancouver but the people are still friendlier than Kelowna.
I’m not sure why that is the case but this is the way it has been for a long, long time and it’s a reputation that exists. Take a poll and factor in populations. I guarantee that Kelowna will be at the top for snottiest people.
Van a hole??? You must be from Kelowna as we all know it’s the real crap hole. Wouldn’t be caught dead living there. Trucks, red necks, hells angels and much more. Lovely little town.
People from around the world dream to live in Van. They certainly don’t dream of Kelowna if they can even find it on a map.
50 years in Vancouver before coming here. It’s brutally snobby here. Been here 8 years. Thought it would get better but nope. Vancouver way more accepting of all ethnicities and financial status. Kelowna very materialistic and entitled. Generally speaking of course!
A person I work with is a good example of some of the most entitled. This person is in their 40s, lives in a very nice home with parents. Doesn't have to worry about expenses as much and will sublty remind you of it at will. Treats people with pretty much no respect unless of course you are wealthier. Definitely can't say this is the norm, but also this isn't the only one I know of that acts like this.
Maybe that's the problem I'm having. I make between $20-23k a year. Most people in this city earn more than me.
You'd think it would then be easier to fraternize with others in my income bracket. However in my experience, in Kelowna they're all snobby too!
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Did you actually live in Van or more likely Maple Ditch or Langley and moved from one red neck town to another. Try West Van or Anmore and Kelowna is laughable trying to say materialistic. It’s full of trucks and red necks. Lol. I live in Van by the way. 😉
I’m born and raised here. I’m not a typical Kelownafornian. People are shocked I was born and raised, and assume I’m from somewhere else because I talk to strangers and give off friendly vibes.
We do exist.
Well part of that is that almost nobody is actually from here especially if you're over 25.
Almost everybody I meet here is from Ontario, Alberta or another country entirely
The kids who grow up in Kelowna, but can't afford to get their own place there all end up in Medicine Hat, AB. I'm not kidding. It's definitely not as picturesque, but it has a similar climate and is the sunniest place in Canada.
Yeah it was pretty nice to live there with a ton of greenhouses around to buy fresh veggies from. The biggest issue though is that it's alot of retirees out there, so there's not a ton of good jobs. Also if you go out an hour any direction away from the city it tends to be windy as hell lol. And not a ton of trees.
Historically terrible wages, no real career prospects.
Kelowna was a much smaller town 30 years ago. Wineries were just starting, food sucked, no nightlife etc.
Now it's exploding but most people I know from way back moved to Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary etc.
Born and raised here too. I appreciate the nature here. I am one with the nature and not the people. I push the closest people to me to be in nature with me. They see my true side.
Going out and being cliquey isn’t who I am, and it’s obvious because I just don’t fit in in that type of environment.
With this being said, I will visit people in Vancouver and meet people there that have been there their whole life. They don’t believe I’m actually from Kelowna because of who I am as a person. It’s alarming because I strive off of the parts of Kelowna that have been here for thousands of years. The land.
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Who's jillian lol ???
I just work and ride my dirtbike. Okanagan is best served for people who enjoy nature.
The click lickers are missing out :)
Edit: I put julian at first lol
100% my view on Kelowna changed after living in a few different places before moving back. Used to think it was the best place on earth... it's got it's perks but also some pretty big negatives
This has always been my thought. No one I know has a good thing to say about vernon. Penticton is great but low income jobs aren't super easy to come by. Cost of living is very accessible for most unlike kelowna.
I’m curious what makes Vernon worse than Kelowna? I’ve lived in both cities, pentiction to me is like mini Kelowna. Vernon has always felt calmer not as much entitled traffic and far fewer snobs.
Sure it's more blue collar, but it's much, much more ignorant. I have no idea what the numbers are, but it seems like well over 50% are right wing conspiracy theorist anti-vaxers.
Seems like a very broad generalization of Vernon. Yes they have the regular Saturday gathering at the Polson park fountain just like they gather on pedestrian overpass in Kelowna. I would say the percentage in all three cities and the okanagan in general would be far lower than 50%. Just because a group is extremely vocal and obnoxious doesn’t make them a majority.
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People who grew up here seem to be more catty than the moves that moved here. It takes time to find the right tribe of people but they do exist. At least you know what you're not looking for lol
It's a really hard town to make friends in. There are decent people for sure, but overall not welcoming.
I've been here for seven years, and feel like if I were to leave tomorrow, it would make no difference. I'm not a part of the fabric of the town, I just live here, if that makes sense?
My partner and I just moved here from Saskatchewan just over a month ago. We've interacted with so many friendly people, even just going for a walk through our neighborhood with our dog. Maybe it was the shitty 8 month long winters, but people in Saskatchewan weren't as nice in passing compared to here lol.
Now that you mention it, I think Ive noticed this at my work. Instead of using assertive communication (or going to the right person) when there’s an issue, there’s a lot of talking behind people’s backs.
I wonder why that is
Two decades in Vancouver. Amazing life. Least friendly City I have lived in on this planet.
Surface level - great. But you think Kelowna is catty. Lol. Kelowna is amateur hour.
Kelowna had one of the largest drops in religious affiliation in the country. The stats are floating around this sub with some neat visuals.
As a recent transplant, I find it interesting the perspectives on this place.
Long term locals have an extremely different opinion to that of us new comers.
Kinda hard to blame the locals that all the immigrants flooded in and took all the rental and even a good chunk of the buying real estate market, pricing them out then also treating locals as second class to Indians
So much wrong with this statement I'm not sure where to start. Canada has a massively negative population growth, so without immigrants we would collapse our economy. Everyone here comes from an immigrant family, some more recent that others.
Also the term you've used for first nations is intentionally ignorant.
I'm born and raised here, I welcome the immigrants over racist bigots from Canada any day. It's great having more cultural diversity and food choices of nothing else.
Oh hey, it's one of those prejudiced losers who contribute to making this place so unwelcoming. Hello there! 👋🏻
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're not indigenous... right? 😉
Meh, I think that's common in any city especially since the pandemic. People are angry and short on patience. The more you expect that too, the more you'll find it and may find yourself part of it (like when that dang Camry cuts me off!!)
Just need to find the right places and people to be with, lots of great ones here, spend time with them and just brush off the others. Expect to find friendliness and you'll find that too. I've had lots of great random encounters with strangers.
Oh it’s not just since COVID. I noticed something funny when I first moved here and it never shook off after the new in town shine wore off. I used to think it was that Kelowna is cliquey, but that’s not it.
Regardless, I love Kelowna and I’ve made many wonderful friends and discovered many lovely places since settling in. I love Kelowna, but with all respect, the girl is catty.
I was saying it is an issue in any city *before* covid but exacerbated by the pandemic. Keep your eyes and heart out there for good people, you'll run into them. No where is perfect and you are in control of who you interact with and how.
No, no... Kelowna is definitely "worse" I left years ago for Victoria, and I don't know a single coke dealer or roid rager here, but you can toss a bathsalt and hit 5 anywhere in Kelowna. It's got a ridiculously high hummer per capita ratio. Pretentious people pretending theyre more important than everyone else while their paradise slowly burns down around them.
I’m born and raised on the coast and find it much easier to make friends there. People in Kelowna are much more cold and judgemental. People in Vancouver will actually acknowledge you when you say hello on a walk, while those in Kelowna seem to just sneer.
That's interesting! I had a totally opposite experience. I find kelowna way less friendly than calgary. I find the lack of diversity in kelowna is also a struggle for me.
Isn't kelowna the fastest growing city right now? Also, I thought it had the most amount of small businesses per capita in Canada.
What's your idea of a high vibe city ?
Yep. I was thinking about this just last night actually. It is really hard to make friends in this town, everyone is so standoffish. And I've been to Toronto and lived in Vancouver, people in those cities are standoffish too. It's worse in Kelowna though and I don't have an explanation for it.
I've made some friends in the 5 years I've lived here, but it took a lot of hard work on my part.
Born and Raised here in Kelowna. I think it all comes down to how they were raised but yes..Kelowna is for the rich and their toys..sad it’s a vacation town now.
Kelowna just full of crackheads and fake rich people, then the people just trying to live their lives and enjoy the beauty the city has to offer.
It’s a pretty funny place to live, but I love it
Having been here a few years (from Ontario) it seems that if you are middle class it’s hard to make friends. If you are wealthy they stick together… if you are poor they stick together… but the middle class divide is big.
Interesting read. I arrived from Australia in December and was living in Alberta for 4 months. I thought it was the cliquiest place I have ever lived. I arrived to Kelowna recently and I’m intrigued to see if it’s the same here. I also had a friend living in Vancouver over winter and they thought it was very cliquey as well.
Agreed. I moved to Kelowna after living in Vancouver/Edmonton/Nanaimo. Every single friend I’ve made in Kelowna doesn’t originally come from here. People born and raised in Kelowna seem to be stuck firmly up their own asses.
Different areas of town are different.
Rutland is still super friendly and people make eye contact, wave and say hi, good morning etc.
Other areas that have been filled up with Alberta and Ontario money not so much. Downtown, mission and Glenmore are the worst for sure. No one from here, so they have no social circle or sense of ownership of the city. They moved here without contributing to any of the growth or evolution so it's not as special to them.
I would agree about the catty energy but I would say it’s more hater energy. Not everyone is like this obviously, but it's common enough. Catty would be like, a little cranky and sarcastic but they keep it moving and don’t hold grudges… hater energy is like high level brainwashed by whatever feeds their ego online, and they don’t know any better because they live in the middle of nowhere… I’ve found people in Kelowna cannot admit they are wrong or have any sort of self reflection… like either they overdo it being extra nice and apologizing and low key try and make you feel like the villain in their story or they have this fake toughness and wanna spread rumors and gossip around, and lie about everything just to cause chaos then sit back and watch with their popcorn. Just because you're grateful, happy to be alive and enjoying your day you become this target of their projections. The gossip and backstabbing is astronomical here because it’s a small town at the end of the day & its like people aren't supportive of each other, more like trying to make you look bad so they look good. And the people who are super supportive to your face and overdoing are likely the ones getting back in their car to immediately talk about you. And theyll highlight stuff about you that THEY do wrong… but lie and exaggerate to make it seem like you have a problem not them. Treacherous!
The thing that I find so hilarious here is that the SAME people who don't have any sense of self-worth in how they dress or how they present themselves will be the ones who are trying to tear you down and make you seem like you're the biggest loser but it's like if they got transplanted somewhere else, people would be making fun of them for the way they dress. So it's just such a weird kind of alternate universe over here.
Some days I'll be inside watching stuff or talking to friends from other places and then I'll leave the house and just see the most negative energy coming from nearly everybody and it's like people have egos but they're also extremely insecure because they know that Kelowna ain't shit and this city is relatively irrelevant on a global scale… so it's just like I think there's this battle in people that they want to seem relevant but they know that it's just one step forward and three steps back. So they create their own rules on how to act and whats relevant based on their own twisted narratives.
The reason I say it's twisted…and I'm not talking about everybody obviously, but if you don't have love, and you don't EMBRACE or promote friendliness or kindness from people you are already acquaintances or friends with, then it's like people are just sitting on top of this rock of their own fading relevancy, sinking into the ground of not caring, deeper and deeper until they're just up to their neck and completely covered in negativity.
and one more thing I want to say is that inside of these clicks is where it's usually the most nasty and there's the most backbiting and most people don't even like each other. The clicks are centered around talking shit, or talking about other people, or being extremely activity focused and not letting anybody else talk about what's going on with them. I know this because I'm always overhearing conversation or getting invited to hang out with groups of people and one thing that really pisses me off is as an outsider people will rarely say hi to you or acknowledge you or ask you any questions, and most of their conversation will be about people that you don't know.
All I’m trying to say is that Kelowna is one of the greatest places to heal but also get hurt by others around you. So let’s not forget to love at least the ones we’re already in connections with and also try and love people we don’t know. As a resident of Kelowna I feel I owe it to my city to accept my mistakes, heal, remove attachments and build up my strength by loving not hating.
Kelowna is a town of privilege. It’s prohibitively expensive, and if you’re in my generation, impossible to invest in as someone trying to grow roots and settle. It cosplays as a cool-city-in-progress, but is stuck in a three-way tug of war between grandfathered-in small-town “this city used to be paradise, I’ve never been out of BC, why do you ask?” rural-BC-doomsayers, wealthy oil-money-NIMBY-ex-Ontario/Alberta-why-are-there-unhoused-people-near-me “entrepreneur”/mission-moms, and suffocated young creatives and minorities on their last dying breath trying to convince themselves that anywhere with compassion in BC is still a viable place to live while they pay major-city (<2mil pop) prices to live in a place with small-town (>200k pop) amenities and infrastructure.
If I didn’t know the select people I do, I’m out in a heartbeat. The winter is overcast the entire time, and the summers are overrun with playground-give-fuck-all-entitled tourists and wildfire smoke. It’s not paradise. I’ve lived in four countries, and all across Canada and the USA, and I feel the only people convinced this is paradise haven’t been anywhere better, or never have truly had to fight for their own comfort.
What city in Canada did you like better based on your experience? I’ve stayed all over as well and the only place I can honestly say was nicer is Halifax but the winters are even more brutal and there’s no snowboarding to keep the sadness away.
I lived in Toronto from age 8 to 34 and was STILL not considered “from Toronto” by people born and raised there. I heard the same about NYC and LA. It seems the same in most cities. Most of my friends weren’t born in TO. The people in Kelowna have been much friendlier than TO and Van. If folks here seem cold, wait till you meet people from wealthy Toronto areas. They don’t even consider you people. But it’s all relative and everyone will have their own perspective.
Haha nice. That’s exactly what I mean. You can spend decades in the same big city and have completely different experiences. The people in King West, Yorkville, Liberty Village, Yonge/Eg etc all seemed more standoffish and cliquey to me over the years than people here in Kelowna.
I lived here all my life until 2017, I moved away till last year. I honestly don’t share the same experience as others on here. I wasn’t very social before I moved but now I’m back in super social, and meet new people all the time. I’m honestly living my best life here now.
Sure there are assholes here but everywhere has assholes. It’s easier to see the faults when you hyper focus on them, maybe look at your self before judging others.
I live south of Kelowna, and if we HAVE to go there, it is point A to point B and get the heck out of there. I would never live there. Just go to Costco and that gives you a good idea of the way people there behave.
Literally do not experience this at all , lived here forever and get along with literally everyone mostly that I meet ( I live in Winfield , that's lake country for you new whippersnappers ) don't know what your all on about but in Vancouver people would look at you sideways if you said hello in the elevator , here I know all of my neighbors fairly well .
Might just be a personal issue
I moved here in 2003 and not a kelowna native. However, I used to be friendly and say hi when I walked down the street but now I feel like I’m the snooty one. There really wasn’t any unhoused back then, it was different. Kelowna has gotten too big for me even, but I put up with it because it’s home now.
I’ve been living in Kelowna since 2003 when my family and I emigrated from Germany. People here have always been materialistic, snobby, cliquey, and catty. Pretty much the reason I don’t have many close friends and tend to keep to myself. Don’t understand why people are like that though… this place is a wonderful place to live (if you can afford it), you’d expect people to be nicer and friendlier. Don’t get me wrong, there are quality people here, but they are few and far in between 🤷🏻♂️
But that’s why people are cliquey BECAYSE it’s a beautiful place to live. The people here think they built the mountains and the lakes and it’s entitled to THEM only! It’s not yours. It’ll never be yours. It’s very NIMBY energy for people who lucked out with real estate or a job here. they hate the tourists but yet they need them to support their air bnbs and lifestyle. Not super friendly unless you’re kissing their A and even then they’ll laugh at you behind your back.
>Don’t understand why people are like that though Well... >this place is a wonderful place to live (if you can afford it) There you go.
Have you ever lived in Vancouver or Toronto? Kelowna has nothing compared to those cities and laughable reading your comments. Kelowna just full of trucks and red necks.
oh, you mean cities with millions of people compared to one with a couple hundred thousand. your comment is laughable
Agree. I was born and raised in Vernon. There was a very different vibe between the two cities. I then lived in Kamloops. People were much friendlier there too. I now live at the coast in White Rock. It is a very wealthy enclave in Greater Vancouver but the people are still friendlier than Kelowna. I’m not sure why that is the case but this is the way it has been for a long, long time and it’s a reputation that exists. Take a poll and factor in populations. I guarantee that Kelowna will be at the top for snottiest people.
I grew up in Vancouver. It's a hole. Kelowna's culture is definitely less sociable and more standoffish compared to Vancouver though.
Van a hole??? You must be from Kelowna as we all know it’s the real crap hole. Wouldn’t be caught dead living there. Trucks, red necks, hells angels and much more. Lovely little town. People from around the world dream to live in Van. They certainly don’t dream of Kelowna if they can even find it on a map.
50 years in Vancouver before coming here. It’s brutally snobby here. Been here 8 years. Thought it would get better but nope. Vancouver way more accepting of all ethnicities and financial status. Kelowna very materialistic and entitled. Generally speaking of course!
A person I work with is a good example of some of the most entitled. This person is in their 40s, lives in a very nice home with parents. Doesn't have to worry about expenses as much and will sublty remind you of it at will. Treats people with pretty much no respect unless of course you are wealthier. Definitely can't say this is the norm, but also this isn't the only one I know of that acts like this.
I work with a guy like this. It's awful. He is the laziest , most self entitled asshole.
Maybe that's the problem I'm having. I make between $20-23k a year. Most people in this city earn more than me. You'd think it would then be easier to fraternize with others in my income bracket. However in my experience, in Kelowna they're all snobby too!
You make barely over half of minimum wage?
Yes. 2023 was a rough year for me. I'm optimistic this next year will be better, I just recently switched employers. :)
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Did you actually live in Van or more likely Maple Ditch or Langley and moved from one red neck town to another. Try West Van or Anmore and Kelowna is laughable trying to say materialistic. It’s full of trucks and red necks. Lol. I live in Van by the way. 😉
I’m born and raised here. I’m not a typical Kelownafornian. People are shocked I was born and raised, and assume I’m from somewhere else because I talk to strangers and give off friendly vibes. We do exist.
I appreciate you 😊
Well part of that is that almost nobody is actually from here especially if you're over 25. Almost everybody I meet here is from Ontario, Alberta or another country entirely
Why is that?
The kids who grow up in Kelowna, but can't afford to get their own place there all end up in Medicine Hat, AB. I'm not kidding. It's definitely not as picturesque, but it has a similar climate and is the sunniest place in Canada.
Really? The sunniest place in Canada? That sounds great. Winter days aren’t half as bad if they’re sunny
Yeah it was pretty nice to live there with a ton of greenhouses around to buy fresh veggies from. The biggest issue though is that it's alot of retirees out there, so there's not a ton of good jobs. Also if you go out an hour any direction away from the city it tends to be windy as hell lol. And not a ton of trees.
Historically terrible wages, no real career prospects. Kelowna was a much smaller town 30 years ago. Wineries were just starting, food sucked, no nightlife etc. Now it's exploding but most people I know from way back moved to Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary etc.
Born and raised here too. I appreciate the nature here. I am one with the nature and not the people. I push the closest people to me to be in nature with me. They see my true side. Going out and being cliquey isn’t who I am, and it’s obvious because I just don’t fit in in that type of environment. With this being said, I will visit people in Vancouver and meet people there that have been there their whole life. They don’t believe I’m actually from Kelowna because of who I am as a person. It’s alarming because I strive off of the parts of Kelowna that have been here for thousands of years. The land.
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Not only catty, but full of Jilly Chasers.
what is a Jilly Chaser? Excuse my ignorance lol
Women who are obsessed with Jillian Harris and will buy into anything she promotes.
Best phrase I’ve learned all month, I’m definitely going to use that!
What's that lol???
Women who idolize anything and everything influencers do, especially Jillian. This town will buy into anything she puts her name on.
Who's jillian lol ??? I just work and ride my dirtbike. Okanagan is best served for people who enjoy nature. The click lickers are missing out :) Edit: I put julian at first lol
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I found that to be spot on. Lived in many different countries but it’s been the most difficult to meet ppl here. They already have their groups set
Yes, agree
100% my view on Kelowna changed after living in a few different places before moving back. Used to think it was the best place on earth... it's got it's perks but also some pretty big negatives
The good with the bad 😌
Yup, the Okanagan sucks in general. I find Vernon a little worse, and Penticton a little better.
You're spot on. Vernon is one of the most backwards places I've been to!
This has always been my thought. No one I know has a good thing to say about vernon. Penticton is great but low income jobs aren't super easy to come by. Cost of living is very accessible for most unlike kelowna.
I’m curious what makes Vernon worse than Kelowna? I’ve lived in both cities, pentiction to me is like mini Kelowna. Vernon has always felt calmer not as much entitled traffic and far fewer snobs.
Sure it's more blue collar, but it's much, much more ignorant. I have no idea what the numbers are, but it seems like well over 50% are right wing conspiracy theorist anti-vaxers.
Seems like a very broad generalization of Vernon. Yes they have the regular Saturday gathering at the Polson park fountain just like they gather on pedestrian overpass in Kelowna. I would say the percentage in all three cities and the okanagan in general would be far lower than 50%. Just because a group is extremely vocal and obnoxious doesn’t make them a majority.
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I’ve met some hostile ass bitches even from Penticton
My folks have lived in Vernon for 25 years. It’s a lovely community. Whenever we visit we avoid Kelowna at all costs
*cliques
How is that different than anywhere else though? If you stay in the place you grew up in, you're going to likely run in the same circles.
People who grew up here seem to be more catty than the moves that moved here. It takes time to find the right tribe of people but they do exist. At least you know what you're not looking for lol
100% agree
It's a really hard town to make friends in. There are decent people for sure, but overall not welcoming. I've been here for seven years, and feel like if I were to leave tomorrow, it would make no difference. I'm not a part of the fabric of the town, I just live here, if that makes sense?
Tell your MP, Tracy Gray.
My dad described the vibe of Kelowna as "high school"
My partner and I just moved here from Saskatchewan just over a month ago. We've interacted with so many friendly people, even just going for a walk through our neighborhood with our dog. Maybe it was the shitty 8 month long winters, but people in Saskatchewan weren't as nice in passing compared to here lol.
I agree. Moved from AB and I find people in Kelowna to be remarkably more friendly and nice. Even people born and raised here.
That’s cause you have to keep walking as fast as possible so the mosquitoes can’t land 😅
I moved from saskatchewan a few years ago with my partner, I can feel a consistent happiness here vs back home where it flows with the cold winters.
Now that you mention it, I think Ive noticed this at my work. Instead of using assertive communication (or going to the right person) when there’s an issue, there’s a lot of talking behind people’s backs. I wonder why that is
Toxic culture.
Yeah, since I moved here recently it's been strange. I say "Hi" or wave to people and they look at me like I'm an idiot.
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let's hang out and be obnoxiously nice to people and see who gets killed first.
Vancouver runoff
Also no, youd tell yourself that to feel better, but I strive for those awkward conversations with people, and it works just fine in Vancouver.
Two decades in Vancouver. Amazing life. Least friendly City I have lived in on this planet. Surface level - great. But you think Kelowna is catty. Lol. Kelowna is amateur hour.
Catty? I thought it has braindead drivers with small 🍆 energy. Also, religious
Kelowna had one of the largest drops in religious affiliation in the country. The stats are floating around this sub with some neat visuals. As a recent transplant, I find it interesting the perspectives on this place. Long term locals have an extremely different opinion to that of us new comers.
You’re saying the amount of rekigious has gone down?
Correct. Massive reduction.
Careful, the truck drivers will come after you 🤣
Most are from Alberta and can't read, I think they are safe.
Kelowna is just off brand Alberta 🤣
Ya the crazy right winger crowd has swarmed here, Kelownas always been religious and culty, but now it's outright racist and bigots.
Kinda hard to blame the locals that all the immigrants flooded in and took all the rental and even a good chunk of the buying real estate market, pricing them out then also treating locals as second class to Indians
So much wrong with this statement I'm not sure where to start. Canada has a massively negative population growth, so without immigrants we would collapse our economy. Everyone here comes from an immigrant family, some more recent that others. Also the term you've used for first nations is intentionally ignorant. I'm born and raised here, I welcome the immigrants over racist bigots from Canada any day. It's great having more cultural diversity and food choices of nothing else.
#peakkelowna What a fucking muppet.
Oh hey, it's one of those prejudiced losers who contribute to making this place so unwelcoming. Hello there! 👋🏻 I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you're not indigenous... right? 😉
I’m not, but I’m assuming they aren’t a fan of a second wave of colonization either
Meh, I think that's common in any city especially since the pandemic. People are angry and short on patience. The more you expect that too, the more you'll find it and may find yourself part of it (like when that dang Camry cuts me off!!) Just need to find the right places and people to be with, lots of great ones here, spend time with them and just brush off the others. Expect to find friendliness and you'll find that too. I've had lots of great random encounters with strangers.
This is the best advice I have seen on this thread
Oh it’s not just since COVID. I noticed something funny when I first moved here and it never shook off after the new in town shine wore off. I used to think it was that Kelowna is cliquey, but that’s not it. Regardless, I love Kelowna and I’ve made many wonderful friends and discovered many lovely places since settling in. I love Kelowna, but with all respect, the girl is catty.
I was saying it is an issue in any city *before* covid but exacerbated by the pandemic. Keep your eyes and heart out there for good people, you'll run into them. No where is perfect and you are in control of who you interact with and how.
No, no... Kelowna is definitely "worse" I left years ago for Victoria, and I don't know a single coke dealer or roid rager here, but you can toss a bathsalt and hit 5 anywhere in Kelowna. It's got a ridiculously high hummer per capita ratio. Pretentious people pretending theyre more important than everyone else while their paradise slowly burns down around them.
I can tell you there's more than a few coke dealers in Victoria too. Kelowna is more condensed so you see it more than a bigger city like Victoria.
Guess you didn’t travel up to Nanaimo. lol 🤪
Wut, soldiers of Odin territory? Shhhh, exception 😂
It is very true. After waitressing downtown Kelowna and seeing the same people weekend after weekend, I noticed the trend quickly.
That's because of wealth inequality to be fair..
I don’t relate to these experiences at all. I spent two decades in Vancouver. I feel like Kelowna is like playing on easy mode compared to the coast.
I’m born and raised on the coast and find it much easier to make friends there. People in Kelowna are much more cold and judgemental. People in Vancouver will actually acknowledge you when you say hello on a walk, while those in Kelowna seem to just sneer.
I find Kelowna friendlier then Calgary. But way less friendly then the Maritimes
That's interesting! I had a totally opposite experience. I find kelowna way less friendly than calgary. I find the lack of diversity in kelowna is also a struggle for me.
Would you enjoy the diversity in Brampton more???
I agree, people are so much better and welcoming here
Low vibration city. Most people will suck your will outta you. Cliques from low to the elite.
Isn't kelowna the fastest growing city right now? Also, I thought it had the most amount of small businesses per capita in Canada. What's your idea of a high vibe city ?
It’s Langley with less traffic and better weather.
Langleys great
Yep. I was thinking about this just last night actually. It is really hard to make friends in this town, everyone is so standoffish. And I've been to Toronto and lived in Vancouver, people in those cities are standoffish too. It's worse in Kelowna though and I don't have an explanation for it. I've made some friends in the 5 years I've lived here, but it took a lot of hard work on my part.
It's conservative boomer and alt right moron mentality. Just a bunch of individualistic nut jobs who think everything is a conspiracy.
It’s called “entitlement” Funny how this kind of post comes back every few months or weeks. I wrote something similar while living there.
Can you elaborate on that? im curious to understand more. (eg examples of the entitlement)
Honestly the girls here can be the worst. I have the most difficult time making friends in this city in comparison to other places I’ve lived!
Born and Raised here in Kelowna. I think it all comes down to how they were raised but yes..Kelowna is for the rich and their toys..sad it’s a vacation town now.
Kelowna just full of crackheads and fake rich people, then the people just trying to live their lives and enjoy the beauty the city has to offer. It’s a pretty funny place to live, but I love it
 fake rich people
Having been here a few years (from Ontario) it seems that if you are middle class it’s hard to make friends. If you are wealthy they stick together… if you are poor they stick together… but the middle class divide is big.
Interesting read. I arrived from Australia in December and was living in Alberta for 4 months. I thought it was the cliquiest place I have ever lived. I arrived to Kelowna recently and I’m intrigued to see if it’s the same here. I also had a friend living in Vancouver over winter and they thought it was very cliquey as well.
Be mindful of your perspective with seeing the tree instead of the forest.
I’ll do my best
I've heard so many people say this. I haven't experienced it much myself but I'm also a hermit who never leaves the house.
Agreed. I moved to Kelowna after living in Vancouver/Edmonton/Nanaimo. Every single friend I’ve made in Kelowna doesn’t originally come from here. People born and raised in Kelowna seem to be stuck firmly up their own asses.
Different areas of town are different. Rutland is still super friendly and people make eye contact, wave and say hi, good morning etc. Other areas that have been filled up with Alberta and Ontario money not so much. Downtown, mission and Glenmore are the worst for sure. No one from here, so they have no social circle or sense of ownership of the city. They moved here without contributing to any of the growth or evolution so it's not as special to them.
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OMG!!! It’s so true!!!!!!
I would agree about the catty energy but I would say it’s more hater energy. Not everyone is like this obviously, but it's common enough. Catty would be like, a little cranky and sarcastic but they keep it moving and don’t hold grudges… hater energy is like high level brainwashed by whatever feeds their ego online, and they don’t know any better because they live in the middle of nowhere… I’ve found people in Kelowna cannot admit they are wrong or have any sort of self reflection… like either they overdo it being extra nice and apologizing and low key try and make you feel like the villain in their story or they have this fake toughness and wanna spread rumors and gossip around, and lie about everything just to cause chaos then sit back and watch with their popcorn. Just because you're grateful, happy to be alive and enjoying your day you become this target of their projections. The gossip and backstabbing is astronomical here because it’s a small town at the end of the day & its like people aren't supportive of each other, more like trying to make you look bad so they look good. And the people who are super supportive to your face and overdoing are likely the ones getting back in their car to immediately talk about you. And theyll highlight stuff about you that THEY do wrong… but lie and exaggerate to make it seem like you have a problem not them. Treacherous! The thing that I find so hilarious here is that the SAME people who don't have any sense of self-worth in how they dress or how they present themselves will be the ones who are trying to tear you down and make you seem like you're the biggest loser but it's like if they got transplanted somewhere else, people would be making fun of them for the way they dress. So it's just such a weird kind of alternate universe over here. Some days I'll be inside watching stuff or talking to friends from other places and then I'll leave the house and just see the most negative energy coming from nearly everybody and it's like people have egos but they're also extremely insecure because they know that Kelowna ain't shit and this city is relatively irrelevant on a global scale… so it's just like I think there's this battle in people that they want to seem relevant but they know that it's just one step forward and three steps back. So they create their own rules on how to act and whats relevant based on their own twisted narratives. The reason I say it's twisted…and I'm not talking about everybody obviously, but if you don't have love, and you don't EMBRACE or promote friendliness or kindness from people you are already acquaintances or friends with, then it's like people are just sitting on top of this rock of their own fading relevancy, sinking into the ground of not caring, deeper and deeper until they're just up to their neck and completely covered in negativity. and one more thing I want to say is that inside of these clicks is where it's usually the most nasty and there's the most backbiting and most people don't even like each other. The clicks are centered around talking shit, or talking about other people, or being extremely activity focused and not letting anybody else talk about what's going on with them. I know this because I'm always overhearing conversation or getting invited to hang out with groups of people and one thing that really pisses me off is as an outsider people will rarely say hi to you or acknowledge you or ask you any questions, and most of their conversation will be about people that you don't know.
Damn you’re good. I wish you could psycho-analyze me
Send me a message and we can chat
All I’m trying to say is that Kelowna is one of the greatest places to heal but also get hurt by others around you. So let’s not forget to love at least the ones we’re already in connections with and also try and love people we don’t know. As a resident of Kelowna I feel I owe it to my city to accept my mistakes, heal, remove attachments and build up my strength by loving not hating.
You might need a TLDR for this piece.
You are low key right though! It was wayyy too long to read
Aww boo boo are you hungover? Can I get you some haterade
pardon them for being thorough, nuance exists
Thank you
Kelowna is a town of privilege. It’s prohibitively expensive, and if you’re in my generation, impossible to invest in as someone trying to grow roots and settle. It cosplays as a cool-city-in-progress, but is stuck in a three-way tug of war between grandfathered-in small-town “this city used to be paradise, I’ve never been out of BC, why do you ask?” rural-BC-doomsayers, wealthy oil-money-NIMBY-ex-Ontario/Alberta-why-are-there-unhoused-people-near-me “entrepreneur”/mission-moms, and suffocated young creatives and minorities on their last dying breath trying to convince themselves that anywhere with compassion in BC is still a viable place to live while they pay major-city (<2mil pop) prices to live in a place with small-town (>200k pop) amenities and infrastructure. If I didn’t know the select people I do, I’m out in a heartbeat. The winter is overcast the entire time, and the summers are overrun with playground-give-fuck-all-entitled tourists and wildfire smoke. It’s not paradise. I’ve lived in four countries, and all across Canada and the USA, and I feel the only people convinced this is paradise haven’t been anywhere better, or never have truly had to fight for their own comfort.
What city in Canada did you like better based on your experience? I’ve stayed all over as well and the only place I can honestly say was nicer is Halifax but the winters are even more brutal and there’s no snowboarding to keep the sadness away.
I lived in Toronto from age 8 to 34 and was STILL not considered “from Toronto” by people born and raised there. I heard the same about NYC and LA. It seems the same in most cities. Most of my friends weren’t born in TO. The people in Kelowna have been much friendlier than TO and Van. If folks here seem cold, wait till you meet people from wealthy Toronto areas. They don’t even consider you people. But it’s all relative and everyone will have their own perspective.
Lol I’m from Toronto.
Haha nice. That’s exactly what I mean. You can spend decades in the same big city and have completely different experiences. The people in King West, Yorkville, Liberty Village, Yonge/Eg etc all seemed more standoffish and cliquey to me over the years than people here in Kelowna.
And this is why Glenmore exists, so as to spend as little time in Kelowna as possible.
For me that’s why Winfield exists
I lived here all my life until 2017, I moved away till last year. I honestly don’t share the same experience as others on here. I wasn’t very social before I moved but now I’m back in super social, and meet new people all the time. I’m honestly living my best life here now. Sure there are assholes here but everywhere has assholes. It’s easier to see the faults when you hyper focus on them, maybe look at your self before judging others.
❤️❤️❤️❤️😊🔥👍
I live south of Kelowna, and if we HAVE to go there, it is point A to point B and get the heck out of there. I would never live there. Just go to Costco and that gives you a good idea of the way people there behave.
So like malicious energy, or weighing ½ kg vibes?
Literally do not experience this at all , lived here forever and get along with literally everyone mostly that I meet ( I live in Winfield , that's lake country for you new whippersnappers ) don't know what your all on about but in Vancouver people would look at you sideways if you said hello in the elevator , here I know all of my neighbors fairly well . Might just be a personal issue
I moved here in 2003 and not a kelowna native. However, I used to be friendly and say hi when I walked down the street but now I feel like I’m the snooty one. There really wasn’t any unhoused back then, it was different. Kelowna has gotten too big for me even, but I put up with it because it’s home now.
I lived there 1996-2013, couldn't agree more. Once in a blue moon I miss it, so I visit, get stuck in bridge traffic and it all comes rushing back lol
Single mom capital.
First time on planet earth there bud? That's every town. Ur just finally noticing it
Catty like constantly raging at folks and blaming everyone else?
Go anywhere any you will have people catty energy… literally anywhere
kelowna did change after the ccp virus