Kelowna once again failed to break into the Top 100 Best Places to Live in MoneySense magazine’s ranking of Canadian cities, prompting one community booster to turn his nose up at the report.
“It’s an annual tradition that we’re on the deep-end of the list, so when it comes out we look at the other communities ahead of us, and ask ‘where would you rather live?'” said Robert Fine of the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission.
“The last census shows we have the fourth fastest growing population in Canada, and the fastest growing population in B.C. — it’s where people want to be.”
That said, MoneySense magazine’s editors may not be packing their bags to relocate to Kelowna, the 144th of 190 cities ranked— a fall from last year’s ranking of 121st, and 2010’s 110th placement.
It’s even ranked worst among Okanagan cities, with Vernon being 127th and Penticton 132nd.
Cities were placed after numbers were crunched under a variety of different criteria, including household and discretionary incomes, population growth, crime rates, the availability of doctors and the number of people who walk and bike to work.
This year, the business magazine added three new categories to its survey including, Best Places to Retire, Best Places to Raise Kids and Best Places for Jobs—none of which cast Kelowna in a positive light, as it was slotted in at 111th, 170th and 110th, respectively.
“Other indicators we got penalized for was having too much sunshine, and not enough precipitation,” said Fine. “That’s actually what caused a lot of people to move here recently—particularly people who moved here from the UK.”
Ultimately, said Fine, it’s just one viewpoint among many, however it’s not one he puts much stock in.
“Vancouver was ranked No. 56, meanwhile the economic intelligence unit, for The Economist magazine, ranks Vancouver No. 1 in the world,” he said. “So you kind of go, ‘hmm Economist vs. MoneySense, what would I rather be attached to?'”
Ottawa was been named the best place in Canada to live for the third straight year by MoneySense magazine.
Rounding out the top 10 were: Burlington, Ont., at second: Kingston, Ont., at third; Regina, Sask, at fifth; Halifax, NS, at fourth; Brandon, Man., at sixth; Fredericton at seventh; Edmonton at eighth; and Red Deer, Alta ninth and Winnipeg at 10th.
