Why Merritt?
My first visit to Merritt was back in the early 1970's. I drove from Prince George in my 1962 Jaguar MkII to pick up some Jaguar car parts that I had purchased. I remember being very impressed with the Nicola Valley and thinking it would be a nice place to live.
I flew into Kamloops and Kelowna quite a bit during the 70's and 80's and always wished I could live in the area but the work was in Prince George so that's where I stayed.
In January of 2006 Karen and I decided that we should look for a property that we could build on for retirement. Our criteria was to be closer to Vancouver so that we could visit our kids and grandkids without having to fly or drive for hours. We were also hoping for a waterfront lot, either lake or river. I like the winter sun so a south facing lot clear of obstructions was also on the list.
We left Calgary for a road trip to Vancouver to get my aviation medical done and to visit our 4 kids. We also planned on looking for something that would meet the above criteria. I knew that Kelowna and Penticton would be too expensive but I was interested in the area from Osooyas along highway 3 to Princeton. We saw a few signs and viewed a few properties but found nothing that suited. Princeton was relatively inexpensive but we didn't really like the area.
After visiting the kids we headed north to Merritt and Kamloops. We planned on spending the evening in Merritt and took the afternoon on arrival to check out the area. We were very impressed with the estate lots on Spring Bank Avenue. We choose lot 2, contacted the realtor and made an offer that was accepted.
It's almost perfect for what we wanted:
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Large, south facing with unobstructed views
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River frontage
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No building time restrictions
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All services to the lot line including a sidewalk and street lights.
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Groceries and shopping in just a short walk.
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Only 2.5 hours to downtown Vancouver in good driving conditions.