Upon meeting new people in this town, it’s fairly common to ask one another, “Were you born in Kelowna”?   Meeting that elusive, native Kelownite (or is it Kelownian?) is actually rare.  Many people, myself included, found themselves in Kelowna having given up the ‘big-city’ life to live the dream… spend more time working to live,  less time living to work,  provide our children the opportunity to play in a neighborhood where they are free ’till the street lights come on’ and where the possibilities for really living are endless.

The golden moments - fishing off the dock in Okanagan Lake with my son, Jack

When I was a boy, I wanted to grow up and have lots of money.  My three brothers and I didn’t have alot but like most kids that grow up in small towns, we made our own fun.  My wife cringes at some of the stories we tell – tales of gopher torture, tree branch sling shots (sorry about your teeth, Colin), shooting each other with pellet guns.  Ahh,the good times.  But the world is full of good ‘stuff’ that costs money, money that we didn’t have.  Babysitting became my way of getting  ‘stuff’.  I babysat alot. In fact, I had a pretty solid clientele.  I could take whatever those little buggers could throw at me for that whopping $2/ hour (and I cleaned, a lost art I might add in today’s world of babysitters).  I bought a 13′ TV for my bedroom for $450 when I was twelve.

Flash forward to a few years ago, I was living in Vancouver and had worked my way up from babysitting to VP of Sales for a large Lower Mainland developer, Polygon Homes.  My wife, Shauna, worked at the Vancouver Sun & Province newspapers.  We worked alot.  We both spent over 2 hours in our car everyday travelling to and from work.  Once the kids arrived, we moved to Coquitlam and seldom got to enjoy the Vancouver lifestyle or amenities.  No little kids in our neighborhood.  Our friends and family (that we miss dearly) were spread from one end of the Lower Mainland to the other.   But technically, I’d made it… my dreams had come true.  I had a great job and a great income.  So, that’s it right?  I had fulfilled my childhood dream.  But…

Nearly three years ago, my wife and I left our jobs and moved with our two young children to Kelowna. It was not a decision that we took lightly.  And though life threw us a few BIG curve balls that first year, we knew within a few weeks of moving into our home in Kettle Valley – and meeting our awesome neighbors and all their kids – that we had not made a mistake.

I am turning 40… tomorrow.  I will not be in Business in Vancouver’s ‘Top 40 Under 40′, I don’t live in North Van or drive an Audi.  But that’s OK.  I am living the dream here in Kelowna.  It’s not all fun and games – like so many others, I still have to work hard to ‘make it’ in this town.  However, I was thrilled to recently learn that Nyrose & Associates ranked as the #1 team in 2010 4th Quarter Provincial Standings for Sales and Total Units at Coldwell Banker.  Yeah!  My wife, Shauna, has carved out a new place for herself in the marketing community here, and is becoming a yoga teacher, all while still having time to be with our kids in a capacity that feels right for her.

Despite all of this, I have to say, I feel like a winner just seeing my 6-year old son running down the our quiet Kettle Valley cul-de-sac at twilight without a care in the world.   And I know that I am rich man.

Darcy