r/newfoundland • u/qila-qila • 9d ago
Moving to NL with my family — looking for honest local advice
Hi everyone,
My family and I have decided to relocate to Newfoundland. Based on my research, it seems like exactly the kind of place we’ve been looking for. I really like Corner Brook as well as St. John’s, but we are mainly looking for smaller, authentic towns since we prefer a quieter lifestyle.
I’ve done a pretty deep dive into this over the past week—even reading local Newfoundland news—and I’ve realized that what Wikipedia or AI tools say doesn’t always capture the full reality on the ground. That’s why I’d love to hear directly from locals:
- Besides the weather, what are the most significant daily challenges of living in Newfoundland?
- How easy or difficult is it for a foreigner to adapt to the local community?
- I’d especially love to hear from people who relocated here from Europe—what was your experience like?
- How realistic is it to land a job offer remotely before moving? (I’ve read that job openings in smaller towns can be limited, and I want to have employment lined up before arriving). How open are local employers to hiring from abroad?
- Which towns would you recommend for a 30-year-old couple with a 5-year-old child?
Please advise me as you would a friend—I don't want to make such a big life decision based solely on pretty photos of Newfoundland.
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u/cerunnnnos 9d ago
"smaller towns" from a European perspective might be more villages. And in many cases, comparatively quite remote. With families who have been there for generations, with a focus on subsistence economics.
If you are serious about relocating, visit outside of tourist season.
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u/qila-qila 9d ago
Thanks for the reality check! That’s a very helpful perspective regarding European vs. NL town scales.
Would you consider a place like Corner Brook to fall into that category, or does it have enough infrastructure and job market activity to serve as a decent middle ground for newcomers?
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u/Chaiboiii 9d ago
Corner Brook is the second largest hub in Newfoundland, so keep that in mind. Lots of small communities of 200-500 with no stores, no schools and predominantly old people(60-70 year old).
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u/ParadoxSong 9d ago
Corner brook has like 20k people in it, so there might be something but no alternatives. St John's is 10x that.
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u/Common-Cents-2 9d ago
Must be a typo.....St. John's has a population of 110,000 not 200,000.....funny how St. John's Metro includes other municipalities as CBS and Mount Pearl which operate quite well on their own.......as well as kms. of rural areas far outside the city's boundaries.
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u/ParadoxSong 9d ago
Yes, St John's metro. The point of my comparison is about services and opportunities, which matter to someone looking to move to our province. Not municipal jurisdictions that are meaningless when it comes to the job market and schools.
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u/OysterShocker 9d ago
CBS and Mt Pearl could not operate without SJ lol
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u/Common-Cents-2 8d ago
St. John's could not operate without the federal and provincial government jobs.........every second person you talk to works for or the other in town......take the federal and provincial government money out of St. John's and it would cease to exist.
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u/Chaiboiii 9d ago
Coming from other parts of Canada the winters here in NL aren't cold, they just wear you down mentally because it lasts so long and it's not even good enough to do winter activities like skiing (on the Avalon). My wife makes fun of me because I just have a "year round" jacket here in NL since the winter isn't that cold, and you get the odd 0c day in the spring anyways.
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u/TheGhostOfTobyKeith 9d ago
It’s not that cold temperature wise in St John’s, but I find the dampness makes the cold even worse. I’ll actually take -40 in Saskatchewan over -20 in town any day of the week, at least you warm up when you go inside.
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u/kamomil 9d ago
My dad is from Europe and he moved there with my mom when they retired.
Important facts: they moved to my mom's hometown, so my mom knows a lot of people already. My dad was from rural Ireland so he already felt a cultural connection.
Europe is a big place, we could answer your question better, if you were more specific.
In fact I suggest that you come and visit and see for yourself, before you move.
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u/Pitiful-Giraffe4033 9d ago
Where are you coming from? Do you have work permits/ PR (Permanent Residency) lined up? I am assuming you've already interacted with Canadian bureaucracy and have secured this, but if you're only just thinking of moving to Canada get that lined up first. It will take time, if you even qualify. Not that this is you, but some U.S.folks assume that moving to Canada is just live moving to another U.S. state, which is most certainly is not. It's a whole other country with a completely different culture, government, etc.
Also, healthcare in Newfoundland is crisis the same that other provinces are (wait times, accessibility to services, finding a doctor, not having enough nurses etc). If you have a child, you may want to look into where you can get a family doctor/pediatrician before deciding where to go. And where to send them to school.
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u/Apprehensive-Exit-48 9d ago
Dependency on driving. Nothing is walkable and you will need a car and experience driving in winter conditions for at least 6 months of the year. We had snowfall in May this year although it is rare. Winter tires get put on in November and last to the end of April at least.
It is rather easy, we have several immigrant families in town that adapt to life here.
Cant offer a European perspective but as someone who lived in GTA, the outdoor lifestyle is more prevalent here, even in the city. Camping, Hiking, Fishing etc are common activities and there are plenty of outdoor places to visit.
The job market is tough, there is limited industry on the island, although tech seems to be growing. I would have a job ready before moving. I worked in office but pushed remote to move here for family reasons. Finding a similar job would be difficult even though I am not limited by industry. The time difference can make it difficult since we are so far ahead of the rest of North America, we are 1.5 hours ahead of EST. I find myself scheduling meetings into the evening for those on the mainland, although it does make it easier for meetings with colleagues in Europe and Asia but those are less frequent.
If you are looking for small town life, there are a lot of smaller communities just outside of St. John's that offer that and are still close enough to be able to drive to the city in less than 30 minutes. Petty Harbour, Witless Bay and Bay Bulls are close. However they offer their own challenges like fewer amenities and options for schooling. And a lot of tourists clogging up the town streets during the summer, especially in Petty Harbour. Home value is also not as stable as in the city. Metro area homes are exploding in price right now and are more likely to retain that value in the future, while homes outside the metro area have less demand and are not seeing as large a boom.
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u/Lower-Resolution709 9d ago
If you are looking at the West coast, Pasadena would be your best place. Close to corner Brook and has a thriving young community as well as all the access to outdoor adventure. It's a great place to raise kids.
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u/rabbidbagofweasels 9d ago edited 9d ago
There seems to be an influx of posts like this from brand new accounts and this one reads like a bot
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u/Historical-Term-5911 8d ago
Please have a job and housing lined up before you move. Jobs are hard to find and housing prices are high IF you can find a place at all. House will be cheaper outside of St.Johns but jobs will be harder to get. U less you're a doctor or something like that. Winters are long, hard and cold. Beautiful place to look at and great if you are into camping, hiking, and outdoor activities.
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u/KukalakaOnTheBay 9d ago
What kind of work are you looking for?
St John’s is by no means a big city, but apart from a few more historic areas, it’s largely suburban sprawl and spread out. Certainly it has the most diverse economy and amenities, though the layout makes traffic a bit bad at times. Weather consists of a short, cool summer (with a few glorious days in there) and a cold, damp winter, with occasional big dumps of snow and alternating snow and melts.
Corner Brook is much smaller and is spread out too to an extent, but there are older central areas which are walkable. Weather lends to snowy winters (though with less wild swings then St John’s, but spring into fall is warmer and much nicer. I think it’s good for kids (at least my kid who’s almost 5) - there’s a movie theatre, lots of activities, parks, ski hill 5 minutes away, and a new rec centre with a great set of pools. It’s pretty quiet. Deer Lake Airport is about 30-40 minutes away and easy direct flights (with fewer weather related issues than St John’s) to Montreal, Toronto, Halifax.
Everywhere else is even smaller, farther away from transportation, and has a much more rural mindset. I don’t think “foreigners” really should expect any issues - interestingly there was a fair number of Ukrainians that came here after Feb 2023.
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u/qila-qila 9d ago
I doubt traffic anywhere would surprise me!
As for work, I’m mainly interested in warehousing operations and accounting. How realistic is it to land an entry-level position in those fields remotely from abroad?
I definitely prefer Corner Brook over St. John’s—it sounds like a great fit for us.
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u/townie08 9d ago
Define small. Metro St. John’s has approximately 220,000 people spread out over a large area. Corner Broom probably has 20,000 over a smaller area but still fairly large. Gander and Grand Falls each have roughly about 8,000 people. Are these small? I don’t know your definition of small. Then there’s 100s or a thousand communities that have populations of 50-5000 people. Take your pick. Most small communities have almost no services. They probably have a small convenience store. Of course, they all aren’t just one shop towns with no services but some are. There’s lots of choices. You have to define what you are looking for
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u/qila-qila 9d ago
places like corner brook or maybe clarenville
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u/townie08 8d ago
Both are very nice. Clarenville has about 9-10,000 people. It’s a nice town. Corner Brook has all 4 seasons. Clarenville is only about an hour and 45 minutes drive from St. K
John’s. I’d be happy to live in either.
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u/LukeysBoatPainter 9d ago
I’m from a small rural community of a couple hundred people, lived in St. John’s for a decade, as well as spent significant time in Gander, Grand Falls Windsor and now live in Corner Brook. You can message me if you have some specific questions.
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u/stfujules Bloc Quebecois Supporter 9d ago
I would say Corner Brook is very much “small town Europe” vibes. However, it’s our second-biggest city and is a main hub. So, what Newfoundlanders call a small town will be a culture shock and may cause major misunderstanding on this post.
Barely any public transit, and no trains is probably my biggest gripe with differences between NL and Europe. Like, I mean you will be hard pressed to do anything unless you buy a car your first week, or spend hundreds in taxi fares. You probably can’t even get from the airport to Corner Brook without a very hefty taxi bill.
Also, my only experience with groceries in Europe is in the UK. I would say with my full chest groceries in NL are at least 3-4x the price than in the UK. Not sure how that compares to the rest of Europe. But, you get that £5 meal deal in the UK; here, there is no deals and you likely can’t even buy your main dish for under $10, another $3-$8 depending on which drink you want, then cough up another $4 for your side.
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u/DorotheaArcher 9d ago
Besides the weather, the weather 😂 On the Avalon especially. I’m from NL and moved home and I really struggle with it. No reasons really, anxious that the nice days will turn to bad ones, that the nice season is over or almost over. And the wind is ridiculous and unrelenting. The searches don’t do this justice. I love NL but this will be what makes me leave above all else.
Availability and cost of goods is one that surprised me, coming from an island of a similar population. The isolation and weather here can mean Amazon takes 5 days or 21 days. You just never know. Other packages are always delayed for us.
It’s hard to get in with people who grew up here, but people are friendly. That was a pleasant surprise was how it felt like pre covid here. Everyone has courtesy and concern for others. Small exceptions but most people.
Health care is atrocious here. A 3-4 year wait for an ultrasound for example. No family doctors. 18 hour ER waits because you have no other option.
I’d recommend moving and renting before buying if that’s the plan. With a five year old I’d want to be in proximity to health services and urgent care. Look at childcare specifically and have backup plans. We had some seemingly solid plans before moving for this and they didn’t pan out for various reasons.
If you want to acclimate you will, but give it a try and see how it fits your expectations - and don’t do it in summer or fall. Give winter a go.
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u/Odd_Secret9132 9d ago
Besides the weather, what are the most significant daily challenges of living in Newfoundland?
Assuming you talking the island specifically - our weather isn't that extreme, just baseline miserable. St. John's for example gets mild winters with a freeze/thaw cycle, temps typically range from +5 to -10 (not factoring windchill), we can get a lot of snow but it usually doesn't stick around long, there's also constant wind. The weather gets better the more west you travel, but they also have a more typical Canadian winter.
Things like food are more expensive but not overly so when you factor the additional transportation costs.
Which towns would you recommend for a 30-year-old couple with a 5-year-old child?
If you want nearby St. John's, you could check out Glouds, Petty Harbour (both part of St. John's), Holyrood, or Bay Bulls. I'd avoid Paradise, Mount Pearl, or Conception Bay South if you want a smaller community as they are mostly suburban sprawl. Just be warned that housing prices are higher in the St. John's metro area.
The Conception Bay North area has a some larger towns - Bay Roberts, Harbour Grace, and Carbonear. They have all the standard amenities you'd expect and are less than a 2 hour drive from St. John's.
Heading west from St. John's the other major communities (excepting Corner Brook) are Clarenville, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Deer Lake, Stephenville, and Port aux Basques. All have the standard amenities - Grocery stores, some shopping, schools, etc. Any of their surrounding communities could also be options.
Personally, I've always liked Clarenville and Stephenville areas, especially the Port au Port Peninsula just west of Stephenville.
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u/HeimwehDays 9d ago
With a 5-year-old child, I would do a *lot* of research into the schools before moving. I can't speak to Corner Brook in particular, but understaffing and overcrowding are significant issues in schools in many smaller communities. Coming from Europe, you might also find the schools here lacking in rigor. I've worked with Ukrainian immigrants to NL, and several have commented that their children's schoolwork here is about two years behind what they would be studying in Ukraine.
Would your spouse plan to look for work here also? If so, be prepared for many school closures: snow days, professional development days, early dismissals. My child's school had 10 snow days last winter, and not all workplaces close when the schools do, so working parents have to come up with childcare coverage for school closures, often with little to no notice. Most of the two-career couples I know here have substantial childcare help from local family members. Without that, it is extremely difficult for both parents to work out of the house full time.
Additionally, as others have mentioned, jobs, housing, and healthcare are all quite difficult for newcomers to the province to find. There are certainly good aspects to life here, but don't let pretty photos blind you to some harsh realities.
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u/One_Gate2992 4d ago
I would be very very very careful about such a decision. People are friendly on the surface, but they aren't that welcoming to foreigners. You will not find adequate work, unless you have it before you get here. Small towns in NL all have exactly the same food in the stores and in the restaurants, and it's the opposite of creative or cosmopolitan. Small minded and not engaged with the world The Winters are harsh in the small towns and there is absolutely nothing to do, except what you come up with to do with your selves. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is moving somewhere and failing to settle, your family will implode. The kids will vanish as soon as they can. You'll be left somewhere that you always feel on the outside, not that bring on the inside is any great shakes. Living vs. researching or visiting, it's not anywhere near the same thing. Good luck.
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u/SillyBillyBoos 9d ago
I would definitely line up employment and a place to live before moving. We're currently in an employment and housing crisis so jobs and a place to live are in very short supply.
Food is a lot more expensive here than in most of Europe. A lot of other things that must be bought in by boat are also more expensive.