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Not Luxe ☼ Travel
  • ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL
  • WHY “NOT LUXE”
  • Cambodia
  • Australia
  • Travel
  • Teaching ESL
  • Move Abroad
  • Travel Insurance

living in osoyoos

    Living in the Okanagan Valley, Canada (What It’s Like)

    by Nick & Raychel May 29, 2020

    If you’ve been following along with us this month, you know that we’re talking about so many of the beautiful places that we’ve lived in in this world in the past few years. We’ve really taken the month to review these places, and have spoken on Sydney, Australia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Vancouver, Toronto, and now diving into our time living in the Okanagan in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

    We should start by saying that we know that the Okanagan isn’t one city. It consists of multiple cities, including Kelowna, Penticton, Vernon, Lake Country, West Kelowna, Summerland, Peachland, and more! That said, we are going to be dissecting the Okanagan in general, based on our experience living just outside of Vernon, and working in West Kelowna as well as Summerland.

    Find this blog post in video format over on our YouTube channel!

    The Okanagan Valley is absolutely beautiful

    You’re surrounded by mountains, and I mean, if you’re not surrounded by them, you’re living on one. There Okanagan is also famous for it’s many beautiful lakes. It’s abundant with spots to swim, go boating, fishing, paddle boarding, anything that you can imagine.

    The quality life is vey good

    Living in Canada, you reap all the benefits of the great health care, education, and all that that we mentioned in our Vancouver blog here.

    The Okanagan Valley is very different from Vancouver (+ the lower mainland)

    If you haven’t had the chance to figure out Canada’s geography yet, you may be surprised that Kelowna isn’t very close to Vancouver, and it is a very different place. If you’re planning on moving to Kelowna or you’re considering visiting Kelowna, it’s not in the Greater Vancouver Area. We’re talking two totally separate areas of British Columbia.

    You can, of course, drive there or you can take a bus there, and you can take a plane there as there is an airport in Kelowna. That said, if you’re planning a trip or a move to British Columbia, it’s really important to mention when you say Kelowna or the Okanagan, we’re no longer talking about Vancouver, the lower mainland, or even further away in Vancouver Island.

    They are very different in appearance, climate, and lifestyle.

    You really get all four seasons in the Okanagan 

    We’re talking eally hot summers, really snowy winters, crisp autumns & rainy springs. 

    Sadly, with the hot summers comes wildfires, which is something that you have to consider when you think about living in the Okanagan in the summer time.

    For more information on wildfires, please visit bcwildfires.ca

    & there are activities for every season!

    We said this in our Vancouver blog too, but there are activities for every single season. It really is a playground for people who love the outdoors. If you’re a snowboarder, skiier, snowmobiler, hello paradise! If you love beach volleyball, boating, tubing, water skiing, the Okanagan has you covered. 

    If you’re a winter sport person, and then you’re also a summer sport person … guess what. You can have it all!

    The Okanagan is the wine region of British Columbia

    Good for those of you who don’t want to take part in sports! Just kidding, you can do both.

    The Okanagan is the the wine capital of British Columbia. This valley of Canada is abundant with vineyards and is highly regarded for the delicious wine that is produced every single year.

    Yep, that means wine tours & tastings. We mean a lot of them.

    Are you sold yet?

    Kelowna is really – not that big … or cheap

    Within the Okanagan, Kelowna is really the main city.  A lot of people work in Kelowna, but they live outside of Kelowna in other areas of the Okanagan.

    Back in our day, moving to Kelowna from Vancouver as a young adult was a cheaper option to living in a major city in Canada. As of lately, however,  the cost of living in Kelowna has been creeping up. We still wouldn’t say it’s quite as expensive as living in Vancouver, but it could definitely be compared to the the greater Vancouver area.

    When you’re living in the Okanagan, it’s easy to fall into the mindset that Kelowna is the big city – because, well, It’s the biggest city. However, in comparison to large cities throughout the world, it is very small – both in land mass and population.

    Sure, we’ve got an airport – but don’t count it to be a huge international hub. 

    But we LOVE Kelowna

    It really goes to show how diverse the Okanagan can be. If if you go up North, you’ll find lush forest, wildlife. bears, you get the vibe. Just a short ride down south, you can go to Osoyoos which is Canada’s only desert.It’s also the hottest place in all of BC, I mean, at least on their signs.

    It is so beautiful and interesting. We love the diversity of British Columbia. 

    There are plenty of jobs for expats

    The Okanagan is a large tourist attraction for many people from all around Canada and over the world. It makes sense! Because the Okanagan is abundant with orchards, vineyards, ski hills, golf courses, restaurants, and hotels, there are many expats who come to the Okanagan to take advantage of the job market.

    There are plenty of opportunities if you’re an expat wanting to come and explore British Columbia, but you’re looking for something a little different than Vancouver or the ever-popular Whistler. Ca-ching.


    We personally love living in the Okanagan. That’s why when we’re painting a picture for our future, we never leave it out. 

    Whether you’re considering Kelowna or the surrounding areas for your next trip or you’re planning on moving there, we really recommend it.

    Any questions about living in the Okanagan? Feel free to DM us over on Instagram and we’ll get back to ya!


    Still kind of considering Vancouver instead? That’s cool! We love both. Find our post on living in Vancouver here.

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Nick & Raychel
Nick & Raychel

In 2018, we sold everything we owned and moved to Cambodia to teach English.

Let’s make this clear: this journey didn’t start with money. This journey started with a desire to see the world and to do something different for a change.

We’re not going to fool you with photos of floating breakfasts and private jets. We know what it’s like to be on a budget. Although we like to take pretty pictures, we aren’t going to wake up at an ungodly hour to give you unachievable travel jealousy. We aren’t going to censor ourselves or lie to you.

What we are going to do is stay in cheap hostels, find ways to make money, give the advice that we would want to hear, and share our experiences with you honestly.

Are you in?

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ABOUT NICK & RAYCHEL

About Us Hi! We’re Nick & Raychel, the Canadian travel couple behind the brand ‘Not Luxe’. Far before we were married (and on a mission to see the world), we were working…

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Instagram

  • Every choice comes with sacrifice. We chose to use our money that we work for to travel, and we continue to make that choice every day.

But making that choice means we haven’t been able to do other things that another 30 year old couple would maybe do. We sold our car, all of our things, we don’t have a stable place to live, we haven’t started a family, we don’t own a home.

We work overtime to afford our travels, and we have very little money for anything else. 

And of course, we must acknowledge that we have huge amounts of privilege to even be able to make that choice. Our strong passports allow us to see much of the world, we were born into a country where our currency is valued worldwide, and we always have a friend or family member’s couch to crash on if we need it.

So this post is not meant to complain, rather show: everything comes with a sacrifice - and if you’re considering giving up your stable life for full-time travel, there may be some things you have to leave behind.

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips  #girlslovetravel #travelgram #getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #canadiancreator #vancouverblogger #vanlifesociety #vanlifediaries #traveldiaries
  • We’ve lived on 3 continents by travelling slow and working when we end up 🫶🏼

& somehow our travels brought us back to our home city for the summer this year for the first time in 6 YEARS! Damn.

But we’ve said it once and we’ll say it a trillion times, we will do almost a n y t h I n g in the name of travel.

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe #traveltips #budgettravel #cheaptravel #budgettraveltips #gapyear #travelgirls #travelgirlsgo #girlslovetravel #travelgram #granolagirl#getoutstayout #livetoexplore #travelblogger #vanlifeculture #vanlifediaries #vanlifeideas #liveoutdoors #vanlifeliving #vanlife #homeiswhereyouparkit #tinyhome #canadiantravel #ohcanada #canadiancreators
  • If you want to live in a van in 2023/2024, here is our roadmap for getting started with van life. 

⇾ Embrace minimalism and downsize your possessions

⇾ Research different van options that fit your lifestyle and budget

⇾ Set a realistic budget for your van purchase or build

⇾ Plan your layout and storage needs

⇾ Learn about solar power and sustainability

⇾ Source materials and supplies for your build - you can learn on YouTube

⇾ Talk to insurance companies and classify your van as a motorhome

⇾ Download iOverlander and create a budget for your travels

⇾ Connect with the van life community and attend meetups

⇾ Hit the road and embrace the freedom of van life 

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

__

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlife #vanlifemovement  #vanlifegirl #tinyliving #vanconversion #vanconversionideas #vanbuild #camperlife #homeonwheels #vanlifers #vanlifecouple #travelcouple  #granolagirl #vandwellers #explorecanada #travelcanada #yvrcreators #canadiantravelbloggers #outdoorscreator
  • How much I spend in a day living *basically* rent-free in Vancouver 

As many of you know, we live in a van, but we also do housesitting with @trustedhousesitters 

Transit with a compass card is $2.50 which I use frequently - especially to visit my parents who also live in Vancouver 

This day we checked out To Live For Bakery @tolivefor.bakery which I highly, highly recommend to anyone who is cruising through the city and ends up on Nanaimo 

Also popped by @welksonmain for some N/A drinks from  @sobercarpenter & @getgruvi 

And our Trusted Housesitters membership is $11/mo totalling $0.38 for rent per day

& the one day total was $18.23 

Any questions?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

Tags: #notluxe  #vanlifeculture  #traveldiaries #travelgram #livetoexplore #vanlifeculture #budgettravel #worktotravel #traveljobs #travelblogger #vandwelling #discovercanada #vancitylife #bcadventure #canadiancreator #vancouverfoodie #veganfoodie #outdoorsycreator #minimalism #housesitting
  • Things we would have never done if we had listened to ✨ fear ✨(and these are just a few)

• quit our jobs to teach English in Asia
• sold everything we owned (twice) 
• moved to a country we’d never been to before (twice)
• converted an old ambulance into a tiny home with no experience
• drove from Canada to Mexico in our van 
• met up with people from the internet and became best friends 

But mostly, taken a chance on ourselves.

We do our best to not let fear or the opinions of others lead the way. 

Do you have any to add?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

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  • Is van life really cheaper than renting? Van life costs vs. monthly expenses living in an apartment.

Not to mention the average price in Vancouver now is $2,700 - so not sure where we’d find that $1,300 rental anymore.

Any questions about van life?

➟ follow @nickandraychel // full-time van life & budget travel 

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