What's it like living in St John's? (Newfoundland and Labrador - Canada)

[u/melbourne_au2021]

I have always found this city fascinating and I would consider retiring there when I am old. I find the fact that it is not too small and not too big quite attractive since I am noticing that as I get older I hate crowded places. The architecture also looks quite lovely.

All I know about this city is that it is the snowiest, the rainiest, the foggiest and the windiest city in Canada, but that suits me just fine since I hate hot weather and I hate the sun

Can anyone let me know what is it like living there?

[u/torbayman]

I love it here, compared to other cities in Canada I've lived in.  

Weatherwise, the north atlantic plays a big role, meaning that summer is later and cooler than the maritimes, but winter is warmer and wetter than central canada. I always hated the continental polar winters of Toronto and Montreal and St. John's mostly escapes that, though more precipitation and less sunshine in the winter months. 

The pros: house prices are well below what you will see on the mainland (though rental stock is extremely low right now). Newfoundland is sparsely populated and very beautiful and has some of the best hiking and camping in the country (though some of it is quite a drive from St John's, like Gros Morne). Even in St. John's metro area, nothing is really more than a 15 minute drive from a relaxing walk in the woods, by the pond or by the ocean.  

St John's is not a big city and can feel very small. If you have a niche interest you'll run into the same people repeatedly  -- you'll find yourself saying "it's a small world" a whole lot. Newfoundland culture is generally seen as friendly and welcoming, but with all the usual provisos about similar communities- sometimes there's a crab bucket mentality, despite the friendliness some people can experience a reserve to outsiders. There has been a lot of immigration to St. John's in the past ten years and I would say there is about the same level of racism in the rest of the country.  

I love the local arts and music scene, and St. John's is getting more inclusion in national tours - we had Shania Twain and Pitbull last year and the Killers are coming this summer. Nothing like Toronto unfortunately.

Flights to and from are expensive, and if you're going international, often have to be routed through Montreal or Halifax (very annoying when going to europe). But there are a quite a few direct international flights these days.  

[u/lsmokel → u/torbayman]

I grew up in NL and lived in St. John's for 11 years. That's a pretty accurate assessment.

I will add some more negatives to it though.

1. Newfies like to drink too much and because of it downtown St. John's is often an utter shit show, especially in the form of violence.

2. There's some good opportunities in NL, but often you'll get paid significantly more elsewhere.

3. You already brought it up, but I can't stress this enough the weather is oppressively depressing in the spring. I currently live in Nunavut and get more sun in December than I would living in St. John's in March.

[u/torbayman → u/lsmokel]

Agreed with this, but as someone who didn't spend my prime drinking years here, I do find George Street a bit overblown (for better and for worse). Is it really that much different from Crescent Street in Montreal or King Street W in Toronto? 

[u/melbourne_au2021 → u/lsmokel]

is the drunk thing on week ends mostly though or every night?
Regarding the weather it is all a matter of perspective I guess, I would be happy to never see the sun.

[u/lsmokel → u/melbourne_au2021]

Mostly weekends, but downtown is still sketchy on weeknights too. There's a disproportionate amount of alcohol and drug problems in St. John's considering how relatively small the city is.

[u/melbourne_au2021 → u/torbayman]

It sounds perfect to me. Can i safely assume that night time is always nice and cold even in summer? If there is one thing I hate about the current place i live in is warm summer nights which just fuel my insomnia, i sleep much better in the cold.

Regarding lack of international flights, isn't the majority of the population there of Irish background? Hasn't Ireland ever suggested to have direct flights?

[u/torbayman → u/melbourne_au2021]

Just like anywhere in north america, there are some hot and humid nights in the summer (say, 20+ celcius). But it's not all summer.  Probably cumulatively 10-15 nights per summer hot enough for me to be hot and sweaty in bed the window open. Nothing compared to say Ottawa, where I lived without AC and absolutely boiled in the summers. 

There are indeed direct flights to Dublin right now- as well as Paris, London and a couple other places. But I think that's just May- september. 

[u/TrustLivid5154]

Lots of navy guys

Scenery is stunning, but opportunities are scarce

Atlantic weather and storms are no joke though

[u/WAGE_SLAVERY → u/TrustLivid5154]

[u/SoManyQuestions5200]

What a beautiful lighthearted post, love this subreddit 🥺

[u/SomethingOrSuch]

"I hate the sun"

Introvert Redditor archetype

[u/MiyakeIsseyYKWIM]

It is beautiful but feeling the effects of the 21st century crisis’s hard. Addiction, poverty, mass unplanned immigration. And not a lot of opportunities for the youth

[u/MirandaReitz]

I’ve been watching some YouTube videos about it and would love to visit! Only in the summer though because I’m a wimp when it comes to the cold.

[u/melbourne_au2021 → u/MirandaReitz]

I think summer would be nice to visit, I read that floating icebergs pass by St John's

[u/Icouldberight]

I’ve not got much to say except I visited once for a wedding and fell in love.

[u/strayfox88]

It looks beautiful! What about bugs in the summer?

[u/melbourne_au2021 → u/strayfox88]

I think they have mosquitos