Why Young Professionals are Making the Move to Kelowna

Kelowna is one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities with thousands of new arrivals flocking to this lakeside locale every year. Many are young professionals looking to set down roots.
Here’s why.

Kelowna is fast becoming one of the most sought-after places in Canada for young professionals to relocate. In fact, Kelowna is BC’s fastest growing urban area, according to recent StatCan data — and for good reason. Every year, this scenic city welcomes thousands of newcomers who come to enjoy a lifestyle they just can’t get in another city. There are many reasons why Kelowna is so attractive to young professionals and why many have decided to settle in the city for the long term.

Job Opportunities

Once a sleepy lakeside city that depended on seasonal tourism to fuel its economy, Kelowna is now home to a thriving tech sector. Many of these tech companies are constantly on the lookout for fresh talent to help spur innovation. The influx of tech companies has also fuelled growth in other areas, creating more job opportunities in healthcare, development, agriculture, and the hospitality industry.

The evolution of the downtown core is responsible for much of this growth — as residential condos have breathed new life into the area, businesses have followed in droves. From UBC’s newly-announced downtown campus expansion to tech incubators like Accelerate Okanagan, forward-thinking brands are lining up to put their business in the heart of Kelowna.

“With Gen X and Millennial homebuyers driving much of Kelowna’s real estate market, we’ve watched the average age of residents living in the downtown core drop pretty significantly over a short amount of time,” notes Luke Turri, Mission Group’s Executive Vice President. “This brings a new energy to downtown that we’re all really excited about, it’s one of the reasons we chose to build The Block on such a prominent downtown corner.”

Referring to the Class A office tower in the master-planned Bernard Block community (downtown Kelowna’s first — and only, so far — office tower of that caliber), Turri feels that the idea of a commute-free lifestyle has a unique appeal to the younger workforce of today. “In comparison to larger cities like Calgary or Vancouver,” he says, “Kelowna still presents an opportunity for young people to live and work right in the same area, allowing them to take full advantage of the work-life balance the Okanagan is so famous for.”

Affordable Homes

It’s no secret that housing prices in cities like Vancouver and Toronto can be astronomical. While prices are on the rise across the country, Kelowna is still relatively affordable. Many young professionals find that they can get almost double the living space for the same amount of money they would pay in a larger city. Plus, there are plenty of affordable homes in the downtown Kelowna core, meaning less commuting time and easy access to everything the city has to offer.