As I read the mayor's comments I thought he must have been speaking in a sarcastic tone. There's no way he can be serious!
Sadly, he seems to have no solid perception of what the working class families in Kelowna have to do each month to make ends meet.
And there are a lot of us who would like to move but we simply can't afford to do so. The cost of moving is too far beyond our reach because the current cost of living eats up every penny.
Housing is ludicrous. Taxes are ridiculous!
Has the Mayor taken a good hard look at his utility bills lately?
The cost or water, power and gas has gone up considerably in the last 5 years. Not to mention the cost of everything else including groceries.
Is the Mayor aware that if I work full time at minimum wage, 1/3 of my paycheck would go directly to daycare?
Thank goodness I have friends and family who can help me out, which is not the case for the majority of parents and single parent families who struggle each day to live here.
I have lived and grown in this valley for nearly 40 years. The rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer.
And those stuck in the middle are always stuck in the middle living paycheck to paycheck hoping nothing big goes wrong like a vehicle breakdown or natural disaster.
We pay $1900 a month mortgage and our neighbours who are renting (a house 800 sq.ft smaller) pay $1750 a month. Where is the justice in that?
Sadly this is not a one-renter issue, look at the ads out there at houses for rent.
The bottom line is not only is Kelowna no longer a "middle class family friendly" place to live, it's now also a destination for the wealthy and privileged only.
Students, single working class citizens, single parents, blue collar workers...we literally count every cent to make ends meet in Kelowna.
Bethany Wright