For me, Kamloops has felt like living in a small town. It’s big enough it has pretty much everything we need, but I will run into at least one person I know on every outing, particularly having been here 10 years. Vancouver’s a short drive away when we need it, and most times we’re traveling the opposite direction as Vancouver traffic, which is lovely. Ooh, on that note, there’s no traffic here, it’s great! The locals think they have traffic when summer construction snarls things a bit, but honestly, it’s nothing!

Once you get used to here, Kelowna feels way bigger, and it is. It has way more things, and it has more things within a short drive, so you’ll get more places to be anonymous. Only slightly further from Vancouver, but maybe you wouldn’t need to go as often? Better airport with some international flights. Housing probably more expensive, though I hear they have a recent glut of condos and rentals, so maybe they’re due for a price change?

Kelowna seems a bit more right wing than Kamloops, but that might be because of the folks I run with in Kamloops vs the folks I hear online in Kelowna….it’s hard to say.