Topic: A Few Days in Saint John and Area

[Blue01]

We recently came back from a week in Saint John, taking part in the wedding of our son.  Damn, I hate it when they meet a girl so far away!

Anyways, here's a few observations of the city.  No pics at the moment.  I just tried to get into my Photobucket account and couldn't.  That sucks.

Saint John.  A pretty old city in places, and pretty cool.  Especially their uptown/downtown.  It was nice to see so many old buildings being renovated and preserved. 
There was one in particular that really stood out (I have a pic somewhere).  It was only a few blocks from the centre of town, stood high above the street, three stories high and had the appearance of being haunted.  That's right, if someone told me it was haunted, I would have believed them.  It was just in the early stages of being renovated and still had people living in it.
The streets in SJ were terrible.  If I moved there I would open a shop specializing in car suspensions!  But to their credit, there was some paving going on.
The outlying parts of the city were a laid out a bit haphazardly.  Thank god for the gps.  One thing about that: there is a distinct lake of street signs in SJ.  Even with a gps we got lost a couple of times.  Once you were out of the uptown/downtown it was like any other city, Costco and all the other big box stores.

But here's one for those of you that live in Saint John   Quite a contrast to Vancouver!
Also a lot more bigger people.  We may as well have been in the lower 48.  One of the locals told us that no one there reads labels on packaging.  And smokers were a lot more noticeable.

But we did like the old part of town with it's restaurants and bars.  A cool place to visit.

[my2cents]

I predict that a million baby boomers will be moving to the maritimes in the next few years.

I can't believe the prices on property.

One was a big house on 50 acres with 1200 feet of waterfront for under $200,000.

You can buy a house for less than $10,000.

I hope this link works - I have it set for prices from $0 to $50,000.

http://www.realtor.ca/map.aspx#acr:false;ac:false;baths:0-0;beds:0-0;fp:false;gar:false;pmin:0;pmax:50000;rmin:0;rmax:0;openh:false;pool:false;stories:0-0;buildingstyle:-1;buildingtypeid:1;viewtypeid:;waterfront:false;forsale:true;forrent:false;orderBy:A;sortBy:1;LisStartDate:;mapZ:8;page:1;mapC:45.752193360631054, -62.720947265625;curView:;curStyle:r;leftMin:false;rightMin:false;chkSchl:false;chkTran:false;chkPol:false;chkMed:false;chkWrk:false;chkFire:false;chkAll:false

[my2cents]

Here's a link that works

http://tinyurl.com/9r2955w

[mrthompson]

Holy cheap real estate! 

[CanuckS2K]

Blue, I assume it's this building that you were talking about?

[tenpenny]

Interesting post.

About the streets - one thing to note is that the old 'Saint John' (the oldest incorporated city in Canada) was only what is the heart of downtown, so things completely changed once you moved out of the center.

As for the 'haunted' building, is that what was the 1880 club (ie, meat market) when I was in high school?  My memories of that place are slightly unfocussed.

The streets are in horrible shape, and it pisses me off every day, and I only have a 10 km drive to work.

As for 'colour', the black community of SJ is OLD, as in, from many many many years ago,  and although small, it's got some terrific history.  Interesting tales of how in WW2, American black soldiers would come here for the weekend to socialize.   The neighborhood I live in is full of Chinese, Korean, and Indian (as in India) people.  Of the houses sold in the last 3 years, probably half or more were sold to Chinese or Korean people.  Of my 4 immediate neighbors, 1 family is Iranian, 1 is Korean, 1 is Pakistani, and 1 is Canadian origin.

[Blue01]

There are very few coloured people there.  No blacks, no browns and no yellows.  Take away the tourists and there might be a hundred coloured in the city.

"Coloured people?"  What are you, Archie Bunker?

What the heck makes you say that?  Are you Edith?

Now back to the topic at hand.
CanuckG35.  No that is not the one. It's just a block or two away.  Meklenburg St maybe.  We saw the one you posted and it's for sale, cheap by our standards.  No doubt lot's of potential.  If it was in Vancouver it would go for at least $5million.  Isn't it listed for about $300,000?

Yeah. land is cheap, so is seafood, but that's all that would entice me.
Also took in Chediak(?) and St. Andrews, both very nice for tourist traps.

Also, considering NB is officially bi-lingual, never heard a French-Canadian accent other than from the Quebec tourists, and there were lots of the.

[chrischasescars]

There are very few coloured people there.  No blacks, no browns and no yellows.  Take away the tourists and there might be a hundred coloured in the city.

"Coloured people?"  What are you, Archie Bunker?

 The PC way is "People of Color".  I guess that "of" makes all the difference.....

No biggie...I don't think he was trying to offend anyone.

The way I understand it, "coloured people" is a slur that dates back to the old days in the southern U.S. Visible minorities is a more, er, sensitive way to say it. Though, I agree, I don't believe the original poster had any bad intent.

Anyways, back on topic: Saint John - someplace I've always wanted to visit. CanuckG35, that building you posted the photo of is gorgeous.

[my2cents]

This is what black people say -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1VdV5oCmK4

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Blue, I assume it's this building that you were talking about?

http://www.remax-sjnb.com/propertyinfo.php?mls=SJ120735

$399k! 

[sailor723]

Blue, I assume it's this building that you were talking about?

http://www.remax-sjnb.com/propertyinfo.php?mls=SJ120735

$399k! 

 I believe this was originally built as a private home by the Troop family during the age of sail.

http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=5874

[G0dspd]

Also, considering NB is officially bi-lingual, never heard a French-Canadian accent other than from the Quebec tourists, and there were lots of the.

Compared to northern New-Brunswick there are not a lot of french-speaking New-Brunswickers (mostly Acadiens) living south of Fredericton.  Although, since most of them are fluently bilingual, they're not as easy to spot as a Quebecois.

[tpl]

Blue, I assume it's this building that you were talking about?

http://www.remax-sjnb.com/propertyinfo.php?mls=SJ120735

$399k! 

I would like that house and it is certainly affordable.  Theoretically, being retired we could sell in G and move. That house is 2 years younger than our last place in TO.

Trouble is I don't think I could afford the $500,000 which it probably needs to refit the systems and add serious insulation and AC...all done in such a way as to keep the original trim and plasterwork. Nor could I afford enough furniture  to fill it.

[sailor723]

Also, considering NB is officially bi-lingual, never heard a French-Canadian accent other than from the Quebec tourists, and there were lots of the.

Compared to northern New-Brunswick there are not a lot of french-speaking New-Brunswickers (mostly Acadiens) living south of Fredericton.  Although, since most of them are fluently bilingual, they're not as easy to spot as a Quebecois.

yep...language groups are still pretty geographically specific here. The north and east of the province are more french while english is predominant in the south/west.

[Ex-airbalancer]

There are very few coloured people there.  No blacks, no browns and no yellows.  Take away the tourists and there might be a hundred coloured in the city.

"Coloured people?"  What are you, Archie Bunker?

 The PC way is "People of Color".  I guess that "of" makes all the difference.....

No biggie...I don't think he was trying to offend anyone.

Demographics is an interesting study.
Sounds a lot like Quebec City and Ste. Foy.
Railton

That is why  the new Neighbour move from Whitby to Cobourg

[CanuckS2K]

There is definitely a number of things that I like about this area, but there is also a number of different things that I hate about it here. 

There are parts of the uptown area that are very nice.  King square, King Street, and Germain street are a couple of examples.  The main street going through the uptown area (Union Street) is an absolute sh!thole.  In general, the roads in the uptown area (and for all of Saint John for that matter) are brutal.  Huge potholes, a gazillion manhole covers that act as either craters or huge bumps make it maze to drive around. 

I also find Saint John not a very forward thinking city either and seem to be very resistant to change.  Oh, and our waterfront is a complete joke.........especially when you compare it to the likes of Halifax. 

BUT, the people are exceptionally friendly and hospitable here.  People talk to other people, whether they know them or not.  It's not something you experience is other parts of Canada (namely the larger cities). 

There are pros and cons to living here, but at the end of the day it's home. 

[Blue01]

I agree about the streets around Saint John.  They are somewhat brutal but it did appear that they are paving some.  Let's hope they keep it up.  And please, put up a few more street signs.
Another concern is that there is not a consistency in the shape and placement of the traffic lights.  Most are vertical and directly in front of oncoming traffic, but some are on the far left of the intersection, and then some are horizontal, like in Alberta.  We almost ran a couple of reds not looking to the far left.
The waterfront is mostly taken over by industry, which may make it difficult to make more of it pedestrian-friendly.
BTW, maybe they should rename Saint John to Irvingtown!

[CanuckS2K]

I agree about the streets around Saint John.  They are somewhat brutal but it did appear that they are paving some.  Let's hope they keep it up.  And please, put up a few more street signs.
Another concern is that there is not a consistency in the shape and placement of the traffic lights.  Most are vertical and directly in front of oncoming traffic, but some are on the far left of the intersection, and then some are horizontal, like in Alberta.  We almost ran a couple of reds not looking to the far left.
The waterfront is mostly taken over by industry, which may make it difficult to make more of it pedestrian-friendly.
BTW, maybe they should rename Saint John to Irvingtown!

Yep, Irvingtown is quite appropriate.     But my wife works for the refinery so I can't talk smack too much!   

[blur911]

Also, considering NB is officially bi-lingual, never heard a French-Canadian accent other than from the Quebec tourists, and there were lots of the.

Compared to northern New-Brunswick there are not a lot of french-speaking New-Brunswickers (mostly Acadiens) living south of Fredericton.  Although, since most of them are fluently bilingual, they're not as easy to spot as a Quebecois.

yep...language groups are still pretty geographically specific here. The north and east of the province are more french while english is predominant in the south/west.

The french speaking Acadians were originally in the southwest, but then their villages were burned and sacked and the people expelled so that Loyalist's from America could have their land.   The ones that came back years later from the expulsion had to settle in somewhat less hospitable land in the north and east of the province, hence the geographic language  and cultural divide.

[safristi]

Just watch the weather reports me boyos....ya might as well move to N Scotland....and ya don't have to screech in.....just shag a sheep on U-Tube......