New Brunswick

[johnday]

 What a great place! Just got back night before last from St. John. We left in the blizzard about 1300. Strted out in Dalhousie and drove down thru Moncton to St. John. It was -28C in Dalhousie when we left, and 30F in St. John. Felt like a heatwave! ;)

Now a question, about 40 miles out of Dalhousie, I swear I saw a wolf about 30 yards off the road. Now before any of you guys think I'm nuts, I pride myself of being a fan of wolves. I have a full blooded Malamute, and my den walls can't hold another photo of a wolf. I also have many coyotes on my property up north. I find it hard to beleive I could have been wrong. Noone else in the truck saw it, let alone beleive me. Comeon guys, tell me I'm not crazy.

You guys are in a great spot in the world. My wife and I plan on a trip to Nova Scotia when it's warmer, but NB is definetly on the agenda too!!!!! ;D ;D

[SwampDonkey]

Well, come'n up any time. Glad to have ya. ;)

No wolves here, but you may have seen a coyote, which are larger than coyotes to the south. Some call them coy-dogs, which are crossed with domestic dog, but I don't subscribe to that notion. I got a small pack of'em around my woodlot 3-5 (3 for sure). They frequent the neighbor's cow carcass dump. This morning it was -40F in Perth-Andover and -18 F here in Royalton (30 miles south). Much colder along the river valleys, where Perth is located at the confluence of three rivers. It's storming in the southern part of NB and NS and PEI and its cold and clear up here. burrrrr, I gotta put more wood in the furnace. ;)

[theonlybull]

glad you enjoyed yer trip, and i'm sure you'll find it just as nice over here in NS,

BTW, i'm abotu 10 mins from the saint john to digby ferry  

[Scott]

 I live in Saint John> You should have checked the member maps before you left  . You'll fit right in over in Nova Scotia, plenty of Americans over there  :D

[Fraxinus]

I love New Brunswick.  But then, there isn't anywhere in Canada that I didn't like, and I've been to all the provinces except Newf/Lab.
Swamp Donkey, is New Brunswick losing population?  How about Nova Scotia?  There is a man who posts on another board I frequent who says he left N.S. for B.C. years ago because he couldn't make a living in N.S.  Just wondered what the economic situation is there.

[SwampDonkey]

Fraxinus,

Yes, it's pretty much been a hard old grind in New Brunswick since confederation (1867). But, I won't go into that. If you want a high paying job, they are not very plentiful. But, there is lots of work in certain regions, just don't expect $25/hr, they are mainly $6-$18/hr jobs. When they give the average annual income of Canada, I think they skip the maritimes in the equation. :D I once was in BC for a job, was there for 3 years, then the economy fell apart for a period. Alot of mills shut down and some towns were hurting. We are experiencing that here in NB, but mainly do to obsolesence of the mills that are no longer competitive. The economy seems to go in short cycles in BC, where in NB it's an even flow. I returned to NB and went to work within a week with the Marketing Board. Now I am self employed which is up an down with the seasons, but I make a living and I have a supportive family. It's very hard for consultants in NB. I think maybe some marketing boards may be partly responsible for that, but not my local board. Most big consultants I see on the internet from NB are joined at the hip to government or big industry. Alot of folks are silviculture contractors whose main source of income is from timber harvests, rather than consulting services (I mean there often isn't much planning involved).

To answer another question, the poplation is steadily declining and the province has been heading toward a senior citizen majority. This is causing problems with the health care system. There isn't enough internal tax revenue to support it, so the Feds dish out equalization payments. If the crown wood stumpage was a little higher that might eliviate the issue. There's no reason why a public resource as vast as our timberland can't support healthcare. There are obsticles that have to be overcome.

That's probably enough info. ;)

Come and enjoy the maritimes.  8)

[johnday]

Yes Scott, I should have checked the map a little closer. On all the websites I visit there is a lot of guys from NB and NS. In fact one of the other members on this sight, slozuki, appears to frequent the same ones I do. We've exchanged a number of PM's, Ken has given me a little insight on your part of the world. This was a business trip to visit a couple powerplants that have scrubbers. The company doesn't offer much time for anything else. I guess they figure we get enough recreation time on the job. :D

At any rate, my wife and I have thought about visiting your two provinces for years. I do believe a road trip is in the making. A thorough map check will be in order ;D.

BTW, how'd you make out in the blizzard last Thursday?

[slowzuki]

Hello John!  There are a pile of us NB'ers on a select few websites.  The forestry forum seems to have the highest web concentrations of us :D

One thing Swampy didn't say is some parts of the maritimes are growing!  The city of Moncton has been expanding quickly, but even bigger growth is in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  That place is growing at 1% per year the last 5 years.

[Murf]

The other, often over-looked, point is that although the wages are lower than in say, Toronto, the cost of living is also a lot lower.

The same holds true in most parts of Canada also, as long as you are beyond the commuting range of a big city.

You would be hard pressed to buy any house within reasonable commuting distance of Toronto for anything near $200,000 Canadian.

A friend of mine just retired last year at age 40 when he realized the house he owned free & clear was worth so much money compared to other parts of the country. He sold his house here for about $600,000 and moved to Nova Scotia where he bought a nice house for about $100,000. The profit is tax free income in Canada.

Tough to take that kind of profit.

[SwampDonkey]

I dunno Murf. If it wasn't for the difference in housing costs we'de be pretty much on par. Your auto fuel is cheaper than ours next to the refinery. Your food from the grocery is cheaper and you have a larger choice. You don't need an automobile if you live in the city major, thus your transportation is cheaper. Your telephone and internet is cheaper. And we have to pay for it out of a lower income. I can't imagine paying over $200,000 for a house. But, my folks new home was close to that by the time the landscaping was done. There are some houses in the same development over $250,000. This old farmhouse you couldn't get $60,000 and it's one of the best kept houses in the community. You sure couldn't build one as rugged for $60,000. ;D

[Murf]

Swamp, I meant overall, I know some, ok lots, of the everyday stuff is more expensive.

However, if you're not paying $1,700 a month on a $250,000 mortgage you have a little more jingle in your jeans to put towards the other stuff.

As for transportation costs, unless you have big $$$ to live real close to work a vehicle is a necessity, and the catch 22 for most people is that to afford the housing both spouses have to work, which usually means 2 vehicles and all the associated costs.

[Scott]

John, if you heading out this way let me know! I'd love to show you around. The snow storm was pretty crazy. we only got about 20 Cm of snow but it was blowing and drifting really bad. I actually drove my snowmobile up the road for a mile or 2 and never toched bare pavement  :D
  It's not that there's no good paying jobs here, it's just that there aren't as many and the average wage is less. Working in pulp mills as a maintainance tradesman (when i fininsh college  ) I'll be making 30 dollars an hour. Thats considered pretty good money here.

[johnday]

Scott; Hopefully we'll be up sometime this year. Looks like I might be making a number of calls. I'm getting excited for a road trip bigtime. As I mentioned earlier I think, my wife and I have talked about both NB and NS for a while. My Grandmother immigrated thru NS back in the 1930's. Who knows, I might even find a long lost relative. :D