The high cost of living and nearly impenetrable housing market in some of Canada's biggest urban hubs could work to Kelowna's advantage.
As part of the City's ongoing Imagine Kelowna project, a market research study of 20 to 44 year olds who live in Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary was conducted to get a feel for what this region could do to bolster its working age population.
What they learned is there is a segment of young professionals who are likely to move in the next ten years.
"In fact, 35 per cent of respondents say it is likely that they may move to a different city or town within the next 10 years," reads the report Rafael Villarreal, project manager for the strategic visioning project.
"Those between the ages of 20 to 34 years old are more likely to move than 35 to 44 years old — 40 per cent versus 31 per cent respectively."
The information sources this group would use to find out more about a potential new city/town are the city’s website, a search engine and word of mouth
When asked what they are looking for in possible cities or towns to relocate to, the leading search strings relate to affordable housing, name of city, town or province and career/job opportunities.
Here's a breakdown of the motivators for a relocation, that could make Kelowna look a bit more attractive.
- Career opportunity (72 per cent )
- Better quality of life (70 per cent )
- Lower cost of living (65 per cent )
The survey was funded by the City of Kelowna and the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission. It was conducted using online data collection with a panel sample provided by Research Now comprising of 1,750 respondents