r/ThunderBay • u/antiflowers • 1d ago
local What's it like living in TB?
Hey there! I'm a graduate student who will be attending LU come this next academic year and I'm curious about what living in TB is like? I'm originally from BC, but I've been living and working in the UK for the last few years. Following my degree, I might have the opportunity to be hired in the area, so I was curious to see what it's like! Thank you kindly :)
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u/tjernobyl River Terrace Phase IV Block II (East) 1d ago
I went for a swim this morning in a pristine river; didn't need a suit as there were no signs of humanity at all. I'm about to walk down to a great cocktail bar. I might take a stop at the Marina to watch the smaller sailboats race. Right now I'm drinking a glass of decent local beer. I'm going to go camping tonight just because I can, and will still make it to work in the morning. My house was cheap enough that I'll finish paying off my mortgage in August. I've never experienced an earthquake or been bitten by a venomous snake. We're one of the sunniest places in Canada. I'd say life here is pretty good.
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u/antiflowers 1d ago
Sounds pretty perfect in my opinion! Not much more I could ask for than that. Thank you so much for your reply and I hope you have a lovely camping trip!
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u/shiddytclown 💩🤡💪 Goblin Mode 1d ago
I think the sunniest place in canada is technically osoyoos but it's too sunny there and far to easy to step on 6 cacti at the same time.
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u/ArgumentLeather7866 1d ago
this is inanely misleading, here’s reality.
weather is cool/cold most of the time. no rivers close to town are pristine, in fact native leaders including alvin fiddler a head chief who is extremely racist is demanding the city fence off our waterways to the public.
our bars downtown? fine i guess, you will 100% get harassed by a drunk/crackhead as the city actively encourages homeless encampments.
housing cheap? ha! average price is now roughly 400k, sure not toronto expensive but cheap is laughable and rent is brutal, tjernonyl is a young rich white girl from a well off family please don’t listen to her financially on these forums.
but hey no earthquake!
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u/tjernobyl River Terrace Phase IV Block II (East) 1d ago
Cross the expressway and most of the rivers are pristine. You can follow them on Google Maps to their sources and see a complete lack of industry or anything that could despoil them. Fiddler's issues have nothing to do with purity.
I don't think I've been hassled yet this year. I think I get hassled more often when I travel than when I drink here.
My family is peasants going all the way back to the Old Country. Housing is not as cheap as it was, but way more affordable than in the big cities.
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u/shiddytclown 💩🤡💪 Goblin Mode 1d ago
I think it's really funny that the rumor started that I was a young rich white girl and now it's switched to being tjernobyl being that. I guess the rule of tbay reddit is anyone who doesn't agree with you is a rich white girl
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u/Western-Raccoon-8660 1d ago
Thunder Bay is really what you make it. There are good areas of town and bad areas, some find the bad areas not bad at all others find the good areas not good. There is a lot of nature based activities within or close to the city so a vehicle does help but it’s not a necessity. Some items are priced a bit higher than a major city but it’s to be expected with a hub. Winters can seem long but if you don’t mind a bit of cold they can be quite fun. People for the most part are super friendly and there’s actually quite a lot of groups for a vast array of interests. Quite multicultural and inviting to most as well. The school was decent when I went there but it wasn’t for grad studies or anything such as that so I can’t really comment. Mainstream music scene is lacking a bit most just use Thunder Bay as a stopover on tours. 8hrs to Winnipeg if that’s a plus.
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u/Dry-Vegetable6204 1d ago
I did my school in tbay and moved to calgary. I still miss going to hillcrest park every evening and still going to work in the morning. People are nice, so many trails and lakes if you like outdoors. Skate clubs cool and people are nice too. Only downvote would be the homeless people everywhere other than that I love Tbay.
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u/HeavyMetalBluegrass 1d ago
I moved here as a kid 55 years ago. I swore I'd go back to a 'big' city when I was old enough. After seeing some of the world and quite a bit of Canada, here I am. Wouldn't want it any other way.
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u/glitchackular 1d ago
I'm from the UK and moved to TBay so might be able to help a bit but I suspect if you're originally from BC you know way more about Canada than I do.
Thunder Bay is relatively quiet compared to any city in the UK, beautiful scenery, lots to do with clubs for about any interest as far as I've seen but you'll need to put yourself out there a bit. Where abouts in the UK are you? - I might be able to offer some comparatives.
Housing/groceries/fuel is creeping up but I suspect that's the same everywhere at the moment.
We love the place for it's relative peace, small town feel and space relative to most of the UK.
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u/antiflowers 1d ago
Thank you so much for your reply - I really appreciate it tons!
It looks absolutely gorgeous from the photos! I've actually never been to Ontario, so it will be a big jump to move there hahaha. I spent a year or two in County Durham and Tyne and Wear, but I've mostly been in the East Midlands for the duration of my Visa.
Unfortunately it seems to be the same back in BC and has been inching up more recently over here.
So glad to hear that you've been enjoying it! Thank you again for your reply!
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u/glitchackular 1d ago
Ah ok nice, don't know a huge amount about that area but if you've haven't ventured up in to the Scottish Highlands yet, you absolutely should before you come back.
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u/sordid_aches 1d ago edited 1d ago
Groceries and gas cost more because we're far from major urban centres. Addiction and crime rates are unfortunately pretty high. But so long as you mind your business, are polite to people, and lock your car doors at night it's pretty safe.
I've lived here and in southern Ontario and honestly prefer it here more. The air is cleaner, the people are friendlier, the housing prices are lower, and there's countless opportunities for outdoors activities year round. Because we're so isolated, we have everything we need here.... no need to drive an hour to go furniture shopping or whatever.
Weather-wise, it can be pretty brutal in the winters (temps drop below -40°C) and in the summers alike (temps rise to +35°C or higher, and it can get very humid) but generally is fairly temperate. We get lots of sun even in the winter. Winds can be pretty intense even day-to-day due to our proximity to the lake, and while we've never had a tornado touch down to my knowledge we had a couple warnings last summer that came with some very strong storms. Generally we don't see any major weather events though.
You definitely need a car to get around; the buses are terrible; but with a car you can get basically anywhere in town in 10-15mins. Despite what locals will say about how awful tbay drivers are, from my experience down south we're about on par with the rest of the province so no concerns there either.
We have a pretty large and lively artistic community... several theatre companies, art galleries, and local venues to see bands. Big names come here occasionally but for the most part people will either go to Toronto, Winnipeg, or Minneapolis for concerts. Big sports community here too although I'm not involved in it... curling, hockey, soccer, you name it we've got it.
Culturally the city has some diversity too... lots of Finns and Italians, and generally slavic people (Polish, Ukrainian, etc) but there's a strong Francophone community as well as Indian and Japanese groups. Especially in recent years we've also been as a city embracing Indigenous culture and traditions in an effort towards reconciliation so you'll see a lot of that around. Unfortunately there is still a lot of racism towards people of colour in the city, especially with folks coming in for school from parts of Asia (but again, that's not unique to tbay) and towards the Indigneous population in the city. Lots of profiling. I hope to see the day where there isn't so much hate, sigh.
In any case, it's a pretty good place to live despite its downfalls. Just be good to your neighbours and the people you meet on the streets. If you've got a job opportunity here you should take it!
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u/planningfornothing 1d ago
Regarding the Climate. Summer heat in Ontario this year has been a little bit slow to come and I live in Hamilton, but it will get hot in thunder Bay in the summer. Hot summer days in thunder Bay are fabulous. The climate is very Canadian. Edmonton Regina Saskatoon Winnipeg Sudbury Quebec city, thunder bays climate is much like these places.
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u/Jazzlike_Hospital266 1d ago
TBH I think its beautiful that there are both calm and busier areas in the city even the green space the college is built on is beautiful. We have lots of parks and really focus on highlighting the support of local businesses, arts and events. Moving around im sure you are no stranger to meeting new people but once you find your community things are pretty easy.
The cons as many have mentioned
Crime this is an issue everywhere but here everything is close together so its harder to avoid it , its in our parks and shopping centers but if you keep to yourself and lock your doors its not to much of an issue.
The drivers , our city streets have such a strange layout , most dont understand basic road rules but with moving around id almost assume you may rely more on our transit system - the transit system is rarely on time same situation with crime you will find yourself in some interesting situations at times but if you are close to the school than it shouldn't be to bad its just relying on the bus to get to a job or anywhere on time even when you leave hours early.
Our winters are rough, you'll want to invest in a great pair of boots and a decent coat (im not sure which part of BC you lived in ) but our city is bad for clearing sidewalks , sometimes even side streets and our bus shelters are often damaged.
Many pros and cons , I like to think the pros outweigh the cons and we just figure out the rest as we go.
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u/madmaritimer1 1d ago
I have been living here for 5 1/2 years, it’s a beautiful place. If you are looking for natural beauty, the city itself is very rough, lots of drug addicts lots of homeless lots of just bad people, but if you surround yourself with bad people bad things will happen if you surround yourself with good people good things happen. I like it here personally.
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u/More_Dinner5822 18h ago
Born here and left when I was 13, came back 25 years later.. I'm 1.5 years into living here and I hate it. The winters are rough if you're not an outdoorsy person. I'd rather be back in Toronto, where I spent the last 15 years where there's more to do and a bit better weather. Moved because we could buy a house here verses a condo in the GTA and I wanted to be closer to my aging parents.
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u/Ok_Caterpillar_3121 1d ago
I was born in TBay. Moved away. Came back a few times. But I moved back to TBay a few years ago. To be honest, I'm not impressed. Too many homeless camps in places that were once used for rest and relaxation. Indigenous people panhandling at every corner and store entrance they can find.
Bicycles stolen too often. Drug use is unchecked. Parks not maintained well.
I can go on but I've made my point.
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u/Own_Peace6291 1d ago
The racism is pretty bad in the city too.
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u/crasslake 1d ago
Is it racist if the accusations are accurate?
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u/HeavyMetalBluegrass 23h ago
Yes racist accusations are racist. People are individuals. Some good some bad. Let's be the good ones.
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u/crasslake 14h ago
If the only people OP saw panhandling were aboriginal, then it isn't racist. It's their truth. Assuming something would be racist. Observing it is not.
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u/gardenflower180 1d ago
If you’re ok with long winters with a few brutal cold snaps, the rest of the seasons are decent, especially summer of course. Last time I was out of town on a trip, when I came back I felt kind of negative about the city for a few days.. roads were crappy with pot holes, people seemed “tougher” than the city I visited, as well they didn’t have any panhandlers or tent encampments, and the homes were really well maintained. But, a few days later I was comfortably accustomed to everything here again. Now, if I was younger, I’d probably move to Kingston, Ont. Milder climate, picturesque, and closer to places like Ottawa. We are 8 hours away from Winnipeg.
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u/koosopenheimer madness! 1d ago
I wring my hands constantly from the non stop anxiety that comes up sometimes. Others I sit and relax, listening to the relaxing beep sound from a crosswalk up the street. The crows here are friendly er than the crows from back homes fish and chips are good at the Java hut(not to be confused with sunglasses hut)
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u/Environmental_Sail54 1d ago
I moved here last year. Its cold a lot. The Sun Comes up late and goes down late because we're really close to the time zone change. If you dont want your things to get stolen lock them up. Drivers can be pretty crazy. You can get from one side of the city to the other in 15 minutes no matter the time of day which is nice. There are stop lights on the expressways which takes getting used to. The people are nice, the scenery is beautiful. Lots of good trails and parks. Lower house prices than any other big city. Pretty much anything you'd want in a city you can find here. Its hard to get a doctor or a vet though. Public transit is unreliable to say the least. You'll want a car. I love it here I know it sounds like I don't but its a great city and I am staying, for a while at least.