Here’s The Reason We Desperately Want To Get Our Hands On Some Vernon Real Estate
Having recently moved to Vernon BC from the UK I get a lot of relatives and friends ask me why we selected Vernon. The short answer is that we wanted to relocate to Canada and this is a really nice place to have your home, but there is a lot more to it than that. Lets take a look at Vernon and I reckon you will discover for yourself why it is such a desirable place to live.
In fact our only reservation about moving is that as new immigrants we are unable to easily buy into the Vernon real estate market. Just try getting credit as a new immigrant and you will soon find out why!
The city of Vernon has around 36,000 people in the metropolitan area and around 56,000 in the Greater Vernon area, which makes it the biggest city in the North Okanagan. Vernon is surrounded by three lakes, Swan Lake, Kalamalka Lake, and the biggest of the three lakes, Okanakan Lake, which stretches down to Kelowna and beyond. During winter the lakes can freeze and you can regularly see people out on the frozen lake fishing through holes they have made in the ice.
Vernon also has a lot of orchards and the weather is ideal for growing apples, cherries, and also for wine making. The incredibly warm summers are not only good for the fruit growers but also for the tourism. With beautiful hills, lakes, beaches, and fantastic weather is it any wonder that so many tourists flock to Vernon every year? And getting to Vernon is exceptionally easy, with Kelowna airport approximately 40 kilometers away and Vernon has it’s own regional airport. As well as easy access by air there are three provincial highways that pass through Vernon. Highway 97 passes through Vernon, Highway 97A begins in Vernon, and Highway 6 which terminates inVernon.
Outdoor pastimes are popular with skiing and golf in particular. Silver Star Mountain Resort is a popular winter sports venue with locals and tourists for skiing and snowboarding. There are quite a few golf courses around Vernon. Predator Ridge is a 27 hole golf resort and community and is one of only two public courses to have been ranked as one of Canada’s top 25 golf courses over the last 8 years, while The Rise golf course has terrific views of both Vernon and Okanagan Lake.
The property for sale at both The Rise and Predator Ridge are amongst the most prestigious in the Vernon real estate market with prices well in excess of other areas in and around Vernon. Further areas that are popular with people looking to buy Vernon real estate or sell Vernon real estate include Bella Vista, Coldstream, East Hill, BX, Mission Hill, and Okanagan Landing among others.
Vernon is also the home to the Vernon Vipers, Vernon’s hockey team that have a passionate local following.
During the summer Vernon’s beaches are also very popular, with Kal beach perhaps the most popular of the beaches. Yet, there is a strict no-alcohol policy in place and patrols go up and down the beach to make sure that nobody is drinking beer or any other alcohol. Kin beach is also a very popular, but slightly quieter beach. However, Kin beach is also on Indian land and while it is less commercialised than Kal beach it has the additional benefit that the stringent no-drinking rules do not apply here!
With the superb weather, and plenty to do, not to mention the fact that so much Vernon real estate has such magnificent views of the lakes and hills, is it any wonder that Vernon was ranked as one if the top six most desirable places to retire to in North America?