Where Are The Main Places To Live In New Brunswick?

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Where Are The Main Places To Live In New Brunswick?

The three biggest cities in New Brunswick are Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton.

Almost half of New Brunswick's population lives within the metropolitan areas of these three cities and, for most people, the best opportunities for work can be found here. The major primary industries in New Brunswick are fishing and timber.

Saint John (Metropolitan population around 125,000) is the most industrial city in New Brunswick and perhaps the least picturesque.

Saint John is New Brunswick's principal port and manufacturing area. The port is ice-free in winter because of very vigorous tidal currents in the Bay of Fundy.

Saint John has faced difficulties as its older industries - like ship building - have been unable to compete in the world economy and have been closing. Current industries include brewing, electricity generation, transport / distribution, call centres and the largest oil-refinery in Canada.

Moncton (Metropolitan population also around 125,000) is a lively area with a mixture of English and French (30 percent) speakers and cultures.

Almost all of Moncton's French speakers are bilingual. A significant number of Moncton's English speakers do not speak French. It is easy to work in Moncton without speaking French but, if you are in business, it could prove useful.

Moncton is a growing centre for high-tech and service industries - including call-centres drawn by Moncton's bilingual workforce.

The Université de Moncton - a French speaking university - is based in Moncton and the city is well provided for in terms of shopping, schools and recreation.

Moncton and Halifax (Nova Scotia) are actively promoting a Moncton-Halifax growth corridor to try to enhance their mutual economies along with those of Truro, Amherst and Sackville en-route.

Moncton is home to New Brunswick's main airport, operating scheduled flights to Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary, Edmonton and Newark. Seasonal and charter flights operate to France, Germany, Florida, and Caribbean islands.

Fredericton (Metropolitan population around 80,000 - 85,000, depending on student numbers) is the capital of New Brunswick and sits, picturesquely, on the St John river.

In addition to government work, Fredericton is a university city, with good shopping facilities, schools, and recreational facilities. Fredericton is the home of two universities - The University of New Brunswick, founded in 1785, and St. Thomas University, a centre for Catholic liberal arts education.

Information technology based businesses are a growing force in Fredericton.

Fredericton's airport operates internal flights to Toronto, Montreal and Halifax and externally to Boston, Massachusetts.

Which City is Best to Live In? The commonly held view is that Fredericton and Moncton, with less heavy industry, are preferable to Saint John in terms of quality of life. In May 2007, the average price of a house in Fredericton was $157,000 and the average price in Saint John was $145,000.