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In April, Jeff Overholt and Amy Bell started to ask themselves and each other the most philosophical of questions: What do we want in life?
"The answer was actually easy," said Amy.
"We were sick of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) grind and with COVID raging, we decided to move out West."
They considered Vancouver for a millisecond, but it abruptly lost out because it would essentially be trading one big metropolis for another.
"When we dug down, we realized we wanted a smaller city, with a slower pace, an active lifestyle near nature and the water and better weather," explained Amy.
"But we still wanted all the amenities, like a good airport, because I'll resume flying a lot for work (she's a partner with Value Partners Investments) when COVID is over."
So, the quest was narrowed down to Victoria and Kelowna, with Kelowna, naturally, winning.
It was quite the leap of faith.
The Kelowna real estate market is strangely benefiting from COVID.
The market is booming as people from Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, who have been forced to work from home because of the pandemic, decide they might as well move to Kelowna to work from home and enjoy the enviable Okanagan lifestyle.
As well, people already in Kelowna who didn't like the space they were living in when COVID hit are now moving within the city to a home that better suits them.
Or, they are renovating their existing place to make it more comfortable and functional because they are spending so much time at home.
Amy had only been to the Okanagan once, a quick in-and-out to Big White Ski Resort in March 2019 for a work function.
Jeff had never been farther west than Calgary.
And their son, Tyler, 7, hadn't been out West at all.
"We arrived in Kelowna on Sept. 1 and immediately started to take advantage of everything it offers," said Amy.
"We're renting a great house on the lake in Casa Loma, so the water is our backyard and we learned how to paddleboard, kayak and wakesurf and we've done lots of hiking in (nearby) Kalamoir (Regional Park)."
Tyler is stoked to be attending Grade 2 at St. Joseph School and playing U9 hockey.
Jeff, a golf pro, is excited for the longer season, and has already signed on to teach and coach at Harvest Golf Club and indoors this winter at Kinetic Evolution and Simplex Sportszone.
"Even with COVID, everyone in Kelowna has been so friendly and welcoming," said Amy.
Calgary home builder Paul Johnston and his school teacher wife, Reagan, had been considering a move to Kelowna with their family since 2017 when the Alberta economy started to slide because of a weak oil and gas sector.
"And then along came COVID in March and put the nail in the coffin," said Paul, who owns Unique Developments Inc.
"I had to get out of residential building all together in Alberta and concentrate on a commercial job in Kananaskis. By June, I'd moved to Kelowna and then my wife and the kids came out in July and we've never looked back."
The family scored a rental house just across the street from the southern tip of Woods Lake in Winfield and enjoyed a summer of beach time and water sports.
In the meantime, Paul is building them their dream home in Lake Country while he also finishes a house for a client at High Pointe Terraces in Kelowna.
"This move has been so good for us, both personally and professionally," said Paul.
"It's pretty obvious what the Okanagan offers--a great quality of life and better weather. Reagan is into a career change from teacher to realtor and the opportunities for my business are tremendous because the Kelowna real estate market is booming and there's always a need for good, quality home builders."
The kids, Makenna, 10, and Rohnan, 8, had no problem leaving Calgary, especially when they found out the house dad is building for them will have a pool.
Rohnan has resumed playing hockey and Makenna, swimming and basketball.
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