People & Places
Opportunities in New Brunswick
Over the past few years the number of people emigrating to New Brunswick has been increasing at a steady pace, writes David Fuller
In 2003 just 667 people made a new life for themselves in the Maritime province, followed by 795 in 2004. By the end of 2005 the number of newcomers settling in New Brunswick had risen to 1,092, while even more were expected to have arrived last year.
So what are the reasons for the province's new-found popularity? After all, despite being the largest of Canada's three Maritime provinces – Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia are the two others – New Brunswick certainly doesn't offer the thriving cities and numerous employment opportunities which have long made Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario such big draws for new immigrants. "It's the little things that have made the difference to us," states Loo Elton who emigrated with her family in late 2005 and settled in Quispamsis, a suburb of the province's largest city, Saint John. "We work hard, just as hard as we did in the UK, but we play hard too. "My boys play more football (soccer) here than they ever did in the UK, while [my daughter] Meg is learning to ice skate and loves it. "In the summer the town puts on weekly free concerts on the common and shows free outdoor movies every Friday night, complete with free popcorn."
The province's scenery has been a major factor in helping the Eltons settle into their new life in New Brunswick. "The scenery here, in every season, is stunning," enthuses Loo. "I don't think I've ever seen so many trees in my life, nor had I ever had deer strolling through my garden, or heard chipmunks chattering in the trees. These are pretty much every day occurrences now."
The Spencers are another British family who have emigrated to New Brunswick in recent years, becoming firm friends with the Eltons since arriving in the province. While they live 15 minutes from Quispamsis in Rothesay, a town of around 12,000 people, they agree that the scenery is one of the province's major plus points. "Whether we pass the Kennebecasis River along the valley road, or head out to the highway to drive east or west to another town, you see hills, trees and countryside," explains Daphne Spencer. "There are no high rise blocks of flats or multi-storey car parks disfiguring the skyline. "It puts you in the right frame of mind for the rest of the day, and you feel like you can face anything." Daphne continues: "During the Autumn the leaves were the most amazing colours of red, orange, and yellow. "Even walking to school with my youngest son I have my breath taken away continuously and I feel so lucky to have it all, literally, on my door step."
Obviously, the scenery is not enough in itself to make you want to live somewhere – just an added bonus. So what else is there about the New Brunswick lifestyle that makes it a province to consider living in? A real sense of community, it would appear.
"If I told you that last year's local phone book had the entries for coffee shops and churches on two facing pages, that just about sums up the place for me," explains Loo.
"There's a Tim Hortons restaurant (a Canadian institution) on every other street corner and a church on the remaining ones. They [New Brunswickers] actually walk into church with Timmies cups in their hand! "As a family which has only really attended church for weddings and funerals, the whole church thing does take a little getting used to, although it does seem to make for a wonderful sense of community."
Daphne, too, has found community spirit, not to mention Tim Horton's consumption, to be alive and well in the province. "Everyone in Rothesay is just so friendly," she says. "When we moved into our house our neighbours either gave us chocolates, cookies, home-made wine or baked us cakes. I was then invited to two girly nights at their houses. One lady even gave me the use of her car as I needed to get my children to school and it was pouring with rain – we only have one vehicle which my husband was using for work. This is still an arrangement we have and I can use it whenever I need to," Daphne adds.
If, so far, you feel that New Brunswick sounds very pleasant but a little 'too rural' for your tastes, then one of the province's two bigger cities may appeal more to you: Saint John and the capital, Fredericton. Both these cities have all the attractions that you would expect to find in reasonable-sized cities.
Saint John has a population of 126,500 people and is particularly renowned for its seafood. There are a number of specialist seafood restaurants throughout the city as well as bistros, cafes and other restaurants serving pretty much every cuisine imaginable. Shopaholics should also find Saint John much to their liking, with three major shopping areas located within the city's limits. Likewise Fredericton, situated on the banks of the Saint John River and home to roughly 50,000 people, also offers its residents a wide selection of eateries and shopping facilities (there are over 115 shops in the city's Regents Mall), while it also plays host to the nationally recognised Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival every September. Of course, as is the case no matter where you live, New Brunswick's lifestyle isn't 100 per cent perfect all of the time. "There are a few downsides to life here," confesses Loo. "[My husband] Mark found it hard to get a job, and more often than not there's definitely a case of it's who you know more than what you know. It's very important to network as soon as you get here. I suggest joining a church! "Also, wages on the whole aren't as high as in the UK, although shopping costs twice as much! After a year, I still cringe about the price of cheese and chicken. "Finally, on the whole you only tend to get two weeks paid leave from work a year, and in many cases only two days paid sick leave. This makes it hard if you have children."
Overall, though, Loo can't recommend life in New Brunswick highly enough. "These are not reasons to pack away your immigration application and lock up your passport. The pros definitely outweigh the cons by about 100 to one," she adds. Daphne also has no regrets about choosing New Brunswick as a new home. In fact, she says the whole upbeat attitude of the province is greatly refreshing. "To clarify what a positive community we now live in, the initiative for this current school year is to focus on 'What's rights with the world'. How great is that!"
Related articles about New Brunswick:
Property in Nova Scotia to boom
Our move to New Brunswick
Saint John: A surprising city
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