Life in St. Johns, Newfoundland And Labrador

[StijnVD]

Hi everyone,

my name is Stijn, I'm 26 years old, currently living in Belgium and I have a job offer from a company based in St. John's, Newfoundland And Labrador, called Bestboy Entertainment. They are willing to help with a visa and with relocation for both me and my girlfriend. It all sounds very attractive but having never been to St. John's we're having doubts about the location. Especially as we initially have been wanting to move to the Vancouver area.
Can anybody give some more information on how it's like to work and live in St. John's please? I've googled for quite some time and there's not that much to find. Also, comments are mostly two-sided. Some people say it's hell, others can't wait to go back. Going for ourselves is not really an option as I have to decide within a week or two.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.


Kind regards,

Stijn

 

[scylla]

Where do you live now? Do you like living in big cities or do you prefer places with more of a small town feel?

There are going to be two sides to this argument no matter who you ask. Ultimately you have to think about your lifestyle, likes/dislikes and decide if this is for you.

I like big cities. St. John's would not be my thing. But for someone else, it's perfect.

 

[StijnVD]

Hi Scylla, thanks for the reply.
We're living in a little town at the moment and never disliked it. But I've never lived in a big city so I can't tell.
I do realize there will always be two sides, but it's the negative side that worries me, as it's 50/50 and very negative in tone. I've read people in St. John's aren't very friendly towards strangers (does seem odd though), the weather is horrid apparently and life is getting more and more expensive. On the positive side there's an economic boom, good night life and it's pretty safe for raising children (won't be anytime soon though).
Please do correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just trying to collect as much advice/opinions/input/experiences as possible.


Kind regards,

Stijn

 

[scylla]

Here's the honest truth. No matter what city you ask about in Canada, you will hear from people who love it and from people who hate it. St. John's is no exception.

I live in downtown Toronto. I love it here. There are many people who hate it. If you asked people across Canada how they feel about Toronto, I wouldn't be surprised if you got a 50/50 split as well.

As for St. John's... Yes, the weather in winter isn't great. And yes, life is getting more expensive - but things like real estate are still way cheaper there than they are elsewhere in the country.

It's really too bad you can't visit first. But I understand time is short.

Good luck with the decision.

 

[StijnVD]

Thanks for the reply Scylla. I'm not sure what I was expecting to get as feedback when I started the thread.
If I can be fully honest too, it's all a bit scary and comes with a lot of uncertainties.

 

[buliwyf]

Perhaps you can do what I do all day everyday here in the office since I'm just waiting for my visa before I resign from my current job: Virtual travel with Google Maps Street View! Give's me a "general feel" about certain locations in Canada.

 

[steaky]

Perhaps you can do what I do all day everyday here in the office since I'm just waiting for my visa before I resign from my current job: Virtual travel with Google Maps Street View! Give's me a "general feel" about certain locations in Canada.

Many of these google map street view are not update yet!

 

[sarinavene]

Hi Stijin,

I don't know if you're still following this thread, but if you are, I hope I can be of some help. My husband is a "Newfie" and I lived with him in St. John's from August 2009 - March 2010. We may be moving back there later this month, as my husband is job hunting and waiting to hear back from a couple of companies. I will be honest, I did not like St. John's when I was there, because I was very homesick for my home country, Bermuda, and I could not work as I did not have a PR yet. But funny thing was, when I left, I actually missed the place!

Yes, St. John's is COLD - no really - the place is COLD! And the weather changes a lot from one day to the next. Yesterday I see that it was 18C, today it 2C! I got married there on August 28, 2009 and I felt cold! It was August but too cold for the swimming pool! For an Island girl, it was a shock to my system. But I think I just needed to learn to dress for it, use lots of blankets in bed, etc.

I see that you have a job offer there. That is good news, because frankly, I would not move back without a job waiting. I told my husband I wanted him to line up a job because we make the move, because I feel uncertain about the economy there. Many people talk about the the NL economy booming, but this is mostly based on the oil industry. When the price of oil drops, the province tends to get less money as revenue in. In February, the NL Government laid off 1,000 workers; they are only just starting to re-hire for a few positions but anytime you hear of that many redundancies, you want to make sure YOU have a job to go to. Many people hate the Conservative Government because of their handle of the province finances.

Yes, the cost of living is cheap (THAT I really missed!). I don't know much about real estate (we lived in his mom's house so did not have to rent), but you can shop at Sobey's groceries which has BOGO once a month and XSCargo which has virtually everything for the home and is cheaper than Walmart. Rogers and Bell Aliant will compete for your business, so you can probably get a good package on internet/ cable/ TV/ home phone for a good deal (with fast speeds).There are many ways to save money, just keep on eye on the flyers and don't be afraid to use the thrift stores, they have bargains.

As for the people, some were nice to me and some were not. But in big cities, life is usually about hustle and bustle, so I would just go about my way. Newfies have a lot of pride, as long as you don't offend them, you are okay!

Also, glad you mentioned about the Google maps, I've been doing the same thing since my husband started job hunting in St. John's! You are right, they are rather outdated, and the city has grown since 2009, which is the date of the Google maps, but they are pretty accurate for the most part.

Sarina

 

[mic8400]

Perhaps you can do what I do all day everyday here in the office since I'm just waiting for my visa before I resign from my current job: Virtual travel with Google Maps Street View! Give's me a "general feel" about certain locations in Canada.

Definitely a great idea. Do some research on good vs "bad" areas and you'll see how people view it vs what it really is. Some people have completely different views of what a bad area is.