St. John's for the newbie

[RWin]

Okay, so you probably gather from some of my posts (and PMs in some cases) that my daughter is planning to move to St. John's this fall. The plan is to get there about a week before the beginning of class in part so that she isn't so rushed last minute and also to get the lay of the land.

As she settles in, St. John's will become home but for that first week I suspect it will be more like a vacation.

So, what do you suggest for the newbie Newfoundlander in that first week - thinking about it as a bit of a reccie trip?

Sure, the tourist things are good to hear about, but what do the locals do?

[SignalHillHiker]

I'm not sure you wants your daughter to be at what the locals do. ;) :haha:

If she's car-less, she'll need to familiarize herself with Metrobus. St. John's has terrible public transit; she's in for a shock if she's used to the sensibility and convenience of public transit in Calgary. Routes and times here are generally inconvenient.

http://www.metrobus.com/home.asp

A good first day activity is the familiarize herself with the lay of the land. St. John's is a linear city, not very wide from east to west but incredibly long from north to south.

Also, coastal cities are very different than prairie ones: on the prairies, the downtown is usually at the geographic centre of a city. In St. John's, and most coastal cities, the downtown is at the extreme edge of the city along the edge of the land. There are vast parts of the city she's never going to see or need to go to.

Since she'll be on res, I recommend taking the bus downtown on her first free afternoon and exploring a bit. Downtown St. John's is very dense and compact, as old cities tend to be. It's easy to walk around the works of it in a few hours. Focus particularly on Water, Duckworth, and George streets since this is where she's likely to end up most often.

When she goes clubbing with friends, advise her not to go to Allure or Onyx. These places don't have the best clientelle and, while anywhere in St. John's is perfectly safe, they're the types of places where Girls Gone Wild videos could be filmed.

Dusk is the pretentious dance bar, VERY popular with the university students from big cities. That's a better choice. If she's more into pubs, then Christian's, and the two bars on campus (Breezeway and Bitters) are great bets.

Sundance is also very popular.

Martini Bar is a great option for a respectable young lady who still wants to have the college experience of crazy nights out.

Anyhow, back to her walk...

The must-stop spot for lunch is Rocket Bakery. Rusty van Reddick thinks it's one of the best cafes he's been to, so it's a great introduction to the local cafe/coffee culture and food scene.

http://rocketfood.ca/

For clothes, Model Citizens, Always in Vogue, and Twisted Sisters are the trendiest for girls. They're all downtown.

You can buy booze anywhere here - corner stores, gas stations, whatever else. But if she wants wine or anything hard, she'll have to go to a grocery like Sobey's.

If she's into learning a bit about the local culture, The Rooms Museum is the best first stop. There are also lots of informative signs and plaques all over the city, generally on the route of the Grand Concourse (our urban trail system - includes park trails, city streets, etc.).

For a reasonable price, you can also hire a sight-seeing cab at a flat rate. They'll take her all over the place, even to Signal Hill and Cape Spear (which are otherwise long walks with no bus service).

Beyond that, she'll find whatever she wants based on her own interests. Everything is downtown except the big box stores. Even the main sports centre is downtown. And it's all in such easy walking distance that she'll have no trouble killing a few days and discovering all sorts of things she'll want to look into further.

She'll also have easy access to a swimming pool (the Aqua Arena) on campus as well as a skating trail in Bannerman Park, so she should bring along the necessary equipment if she enjoys either of those things.

She'll also want to consider a pair of rubber boots. They're fashionable here in winter and spring, in bright colours and patterns, and VERY necessary if she's going to be walking anywhere. Even in the depths of winter, it's generally mild, slushy and wet here.

Also, the city doesn't plow the sidewalks in the winter, so people have to walk in the street.

http://i59.tinypic.com/2db6iom.jpg

[RWin]

Wow! Thanks!

[SignalHillHiker]

Oh, when she's getting Screeched In, don't go to Trapper John's. Their only joke in the performance is they talk fast and they make you kiss a stuffed puffin.

Go to Christian's. Their MC is awesome - he dresses up in a slicker, they get some bologna and Screech, and his performance is full of audience interaction, jokes, and so on. It's a much, much better experience.

W71zOwJMTic

She'll want to wait until she makes a few friends to do it, because it's more fun with people. The night she plans to do it, show up early at the bar to register (you have to do that in advance so they can get your Honorary Newfoundlander certificate printed up). They'll tell you what time to come back that night for the actual ceremony.

[Marty_Mcfly]

SHH nailed a lot of stuff on the head there, I think his advise is solid. A few things I'd add:

Obviously check out campus before class starts. It's not huge, but it's definitely not small. There are probably 40+ buildings, however chances are she'll never have to go to most of them, and should just become more familiar with the main buildings (Education, Library, PE, Field House, Aquarena, Bruneau, Arts & Admin, Math, Science, Chemistry & Physics, University Centre, Earth Sci, and Engineering) Chances are these are the buildings she'll be spending most class time in. Some of the buildings have formal names that show up on online schedules (like the Education building is formally called The Hickman building). Besides hearing the library called its actual name (Queen Elizabeth II library, or more commonly the Q-E-2) these formal names are never used. Familiarize herself with the letter abbreviations for each building (SN for science building, ED for education). Finally, make sure to check out the munnel system; the underground tunnels that go around campus. They connect pretty much every building and use a silly subway-style color line to navigate. I avoided them forever because I was told that people would get jumped/mugged/raped in them in afterhours but this isn't true. I've been on campus for 6 years and nothing has happened, they're usually very busy and there are lots of cameras and security.

Now for the more fun part: definitely check out downtown like SHH said. The route 10 from campus will go directly into downtown and drive down water street. Get out and check it out. Presumably your daughter isn't of drinking age yet (19 here in NL) but if she is check out George Street. But there are plenty of nice bars/pubs on water and duckworth as well which can have a much nicer atmosphere for a casual drink with friends. If she likes coffee then downtown will be paradise. There are a lot (and I mean a lot) of coffee shops. You have your typical Tim Hortons, Starbucks, and Second Cup, but also plenty of great locally owned spots like Hava Java, Coffee & Co, Coffee Matters, and more I know I'm missing simply because I haven't been there before. And I can't say enough about how great Rocket Bakery is. Go there for coffee/lattes/baked goods and sit down and enjoy the old building. It's a hipsters paradise but I still enjoy it :D

Also take the time to check out the neighborhood near Rawlins Cross. It's fairly close to campus, and is really nice. I'd walk there if she has a car; the intersection can be a bit confusing/outright insane for non-locals (I haven't even attempted it ;)). Bannerman park is an absolutely lovely spot and a great place to unwind at any time of year. It's in this beautiful said neighborhood and is situated right next to the old Government House.

If your daughter is athletic in any way I really encourage her to join a local team for whatever she's in to. Ultimate Frisbee has caught on here like crazy and pretty much everyone I know plays in a league now. Rugby is also really big :)

I wouldn't worry about safety in the city. As long as you're smart you won't find yourself in trouble. But I guess coming from Calgary this is probably already known.

I guess the only thing I'd suggest is pack extra warm clothes. The months of June-October are delightful and make you forget exactly where you are....but once fall hits, boy.....

[Copes]

Will she be living in residence on campus, or have you located off-campus housing? There are some neighbourhoods near the university I would recommend, and others I'd likely suggest staying away from... but if she will be living in residence, that's obviously not a concern.

SHH and Marty are right all around. I come from Nova Scotia in 2007 and did two years in res, and then moved off campus. The ONLY areas I really ever had any need to visit were the University, the Avalon Mall (about a twenty minute walk from the University straight down Prince Philip Drive), Downtown (about a forty minute walk, or a $14 cab ride) and Churchill Square / Elizabeth Ave area. There is very little need for a University student to venture into other, primarily residential areas of the city. If she can familiarize herself with the areas I listed, she should be capable of surviving. Further exploration would strictly be to see the diversity of the City.

[J_Murphy]

Okay, so you probably gather from some of my posts (and PMs in some cases) that my daughter is planning to move to St. John's this fall. The plan is to get there about a week before the beginning of class in part so that she isn't so rushed last minute and also to get the lay of the land.

As she settles in, St. John's will become home but for that first week I suspect it will be more like a vacation.

So, what do you suggest for the newbie Newfoundlander in that first week - thinking about it as a bit of a reccie trip?

Sure, the tourist things are good to hear about, but what do the locals do?

If she is looking for some stuff to do in her spare time, other than what has been posted, I would advise her to buy a good pair of hiking shoes and a good camera. One of my favorite things about St. John's (and I've lived here my whole life), is the proximity to nature. A short drive out of town in any direction and you can feel like you are very far away from urban life. There are plenty, and I mean plenty, of beautiful hiking trails where you can enjoy breathtaking ocean views, coastlines, wildlife and small picturesque towns. I would strongly encourage taking some boat tours if you come for a visit.

This will all be easier of course if she has a vehicle, or meets someone who has one. Public transit outside of the boundaries of St. John's is pretty much non-existent, unless you are willing to pay exhorbitant cab prices. Oh yeah, cabs are expensive in St. John's.

[ConundrumNL]

My other posters have covered things pretty well, but I will mention a couple things.

The St. John's area has three primary Big Box Centres: Kelsey Drive (located a 5-10 minute drive from the Avalon Mall), Stavanger Drive (located at the edge of the city, near the airport), and another located in the neighbouring city of Mount Pearl. They all have the Canadian Big Box standards (Wal-Mart, Staples, etc..), Stavanger Drive is the largest and contains the city's only Costco, and Target. All the centres are located on bus routes.

The Avalon Mall and the Village are St. John's primary malls: The Avalon Mall is the largest in NL, contains a fairly good selection of stores and the areas main cinema. The Village is much smaller, but contains the city's only Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Labels, and Rossy. Both malls act as transfer points for buses, so getting to them won't be difficult.

The two main Supermarket chains here are Sobeys and Dominion (Loblaws), local chain Colemans also has a couple stores in the area. If your daughter is staying in area around the university, I think the closest would either be the Sobeys on Kelsey Drive or the one located at the edge of the Rabbittown neighbourhood across from the Rooms.

If your daughter is going to have a car, I recommend picking up a decent sat-nav system. St. John's has a very organic street pattern, and compass points are of no real help. Traffic in the city isn't really that bad, however in my experience drivers in St. John's tend to have far less patience, and drive more offensively then in mainland cities.

[SignalHillHiker]

That's a good point, Conundrum. In Winnipeg at least, they give directions based on the cardinal points. It's probably similar in Calgary. People here never do that. It's based on street names, landmarks, uphill/downhill, etc.

[J_Murphy]

Traffic in the city isn't really that bad, however in my experience drivers in St. John's tend to have far less patience, and drive more offensively then in mainland cities.

One cannot stress this comment enough....lol.:(

[RWin]

For her first year at least, Res is her accomodation. At least if 174 on the waitlist isn't a bad thing. They did say she has a gauranteed room.

No car for now. Hiking boots are a good suggestion since she is an outdoorsy sort of person. She may actually like to ultimate frisbee thing too.

I don't think she'll be able to sneek into a bar unless they really don't care to much there. She certainly looks like she'll get asked for ID. We were joking that she'll get on the plane in Calgary as an adult and get off in St. John's as a child. And won't be an adult again until after the end of second semester.

I did some rent checking online and 1 and 2 bedroom places seem to be on part with smaller town Alberta (like Lethbridge where my other daughter wants to go). For this year at least she'll be on the meal plan at Mun but I'm also curious what food costs there (grocery store rather than resaurant that is). Like what does 4 litres of milk cost ($5.09 here) or a dozen eggs...

[SignalHillHiker]

I don't even know if you can buy 4L of milk here? :haha:

Here's the weekly flyer:

https://www.sobeys.com/en/flyer?

Choose Sobey's - Merrymeeting Road as your store for local prices.

[ConundrumNL]

Like what does 4 litres of milk cost ($5.09 here) or a dozen eggs...

I've never seen a 4l carton of Milk here, I think the max is 2l. Milk is expensive here, your going to pay around 4-5 dollars for a 2l carton. I believe the price is artificially inflated, as all our Milk is produced within the province and the majority of it is actually shipped to the mainland.

Foodstuffs will be somewhat more expensive, because it's all shipped by truck via the ferry. Produce is often a lower quality then what's available on the mainland, mainly because of the increased shipping time. If your daughter is big on fruits and vegs, then I'd recommend getting a Costco membership, there produce seems to of be of higher quality.

Although food prices can be higher, our Supermarkets offer a variety of items you don't commonly see on the Mainland. Mostly locally produced goods, but also British imports that you would only normally see in speciality stores elsewhere.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Mmm....turkey and stuffing sandwich at Coffee Matters.

Groceries can be shockingly expensive. Maybe it's better now, but I remember moving back to Saskatchewan and seeing apples for $1.29 and thinking I'd gone to heaven.

Yes, drivers are impatient. St. John's is the only city I've been to where I've been honked at to go through a red light.

[RWin]

I don't even know if you can buy 4L of milk here? :haha:

Here's the weekly flyer:

https://www.sobeys.com/en/flyer?

Choose Sobey's - Merrymeeting Road as your store for local prices.

Comparing my local flyer to Merrymeeting Road is a little cumbersome since I can only set one "My Store" at a time but a quick look at the first page and it's not too bad I guess. The turkey is only 20 cent per pound more there than here. $3 on a 15 pounder shouldn't break the bank. Although I suppose $3 hear and there on a cart full of groceries can add up pretty quick.

[Marty_Mcfly]

That's a good point, Conundrum. In Winnipeg at least, they give directions based on the cardinal points. It's probably similar in Calgary. People here never do that. It's based on street names, landmarks, uphill/downhill, etc.

Another point based off this is that east-west directions are often a little confusing as directions in the city are based off the harbour as a reference. In reality the "east end" part of the city is actually north, and "west end" is typically south :haha:

[SignalHillHiker]

Yeah. If she has any concept of the cardinal points she's going to think Newfoundlanders don't know which way is up. :haha:

[ConundrumNL]

Another point based off this is that east-west directions are often a little confusing as directions in the city are based off the harbour as a reference. In reality the "east end" part of the city is actually north, and "west end" is typically south :haha:

Or the Southside hills that shelter the harbour are actually in the east. Another good point, is that when listening to traffic reports all roads seem to be reported as East/West bound, even when the actually travel North/South. The East/West things seems to be a localism, with East meaning inbound to the core of the city, and west being outbound.


No car for now


That's probably for the best, as I believe first year students very rarely get parking on campus.

[RWin]

Yeah. If she has any concept of the cardinal points she's going to think Newfoundlanders don't know which way is up. :haha:

She's pretty spatially aware. But then Calgary isn't exactly hard to figure out either.

[RWin]

That's probably for the best, as I believe first year students very rarely get parking on campus.

She hates driving anyway. It's been an uphill battle to get her to even get a drivers license. And all her friends are the same. Boys, girls, I don't get it. It was almost a rite of passage when I was 16 that you go and get your drivers license as quick as possible.

[PoscStudent]

That's probably for the best, as I believe first year students very rarely get parking on campus.

I don't believe she'd even be allowed to apply. I think you have to have so many courses completed first. Although I don't know how it works if you live on campus.

[Marty_Mcfly]

She hates driving anyway. It's been an uphill battle to get her to even get a drivers license. And all her friends are the same. Boys, girls, I don't get it. It was almost a rite of passage when I was 16 that you go and get your drivers license as quick as possible.

Wow when I was 16 I rushed to get a license so I could drive away from home as quick as I could :haha:

[ConundrumNL]

She hates driving anyway. It's been an uphill battle to get her to even get a drivers license. And all her friends are the same. Boys, girls, I don't get it. It was almost a rite of passage when I was 16 that you go and get your drivers license as quick as possible.

A year or so of riding the St. John's Metrobus system would soon change that.

[Marty_Mcfly]

I think we took care of a lot of the basics in here. Feel free to post any other questions, and of course we're always available by PM. I know it can be a little hard on the nerves packing up a child and shipping them across the country so to speak but I imagine everything will be fine, MUN is a great school and St. John's is a great city, what else could you want? :cheers:

[RWin]

I think we took care of a lot of the basics in here. Feel free to post any other questions, and of course we're always available by PM. I know it can be a little hard on the nerves packing up a child and shipping them across the country so to speak but I imagine everything will be fine, MUN is a great school and St. John's is a great city, what else could you want? :cheers:

Yup, but we all did it and survived. Truth is I'm looking forward to it for her. I suspect she'll make it her home. The more I look at St. John's, the more I think, Hey, my company has an office there.

[PoscStudent]

Yup, but we all did it and survived. Truth is I'm looking forward to it for her. I suspect she'll make it her home. The more I look at St. John's, the more I think, Hey, my company has an office there.

Well the whole family should move down, and tell all your friends!

[KAO79]

I moved here from the West Coast of BC almost a year ago (holy time has FLOWN BY) and I'd like to think I've adapted to the city fairly well. The only things I've complained about, and could do without is pretty much everything to do with the nasty winter we just had! It was cold, snowy, dark (rolling blackouts!) and definitely the hardest and longest Winter I've ever been through. But, coming from the rainiest settlement in North America, it gave me a dose of what "real" Canadian Winters are all about!

Getting around town on the Metrobus does suck some times, especially if you don't plan ahead and don't leave yourself with enough time to get to your destination. The busses do break down, they do get delayed, and sometimes you have to take the next bus. Buuuuut, there is free Wifi on most busses, you can earn Air Miles with every ride, and they have a pre-loaded card system so you don't have to carry cash. There is also an app for all the schedules, and it will show you exactly where your bus is, and if it's on time.

Exploring the city has been the best part of being here. There is so much history to learn about, things to see, and places to go! I still go up to Signal Hill almost every week, been to Cape Spear numerous times, and go for drives and walks downtown just to see what's going on. I'm pretty excited the snow is gone and it's warmer out, so now I can get back out and explore the hundreds of km's of walking and hiking trails around town! I just picked up a new rain jacket and some new hikers at Intersport at the Avalon Mall, so now I'm set!

It IS expensive to buy food here - milk is over $4 for a 2L, but sometimes you can get 2 for $7. Fruit and veggies are even worse, not to mention the quality and freshness isn't the greatest :-( a lot are half spoiled before you buy them. There is no shortage of places to go out to eat here, whether you like fast food, good for you food, or fine dining. Just be ready to pay the price for it, because it's not cheap either, but always a good time eating downtown, specially on a weekend, when the city comes alive with extra visitors!


I honestly could write a lot more, but it's already been said by the guys ahead of me. St. John's is an amazing place to be, and their schooling is top notch, and cheap! If you, or your daughter have any questions, feel free to pm me, and I'll do my best to help you out!

[SignalHillHiker]

I just wanted to add KAO79 and I are Facebook friends and I've rarely seen someone get as involved in a new city. Kao's social life is busier than mine. Definitely a great person to get the newcomer perspective.

[KAO79]

Oh SHH, you're too kind. My social life is lacking, but my Facebook life is pretty fun! We still need to get out and take pictures. I just noticed you haven't posted in the St. John's photo thread since March 9!

[SignalHillHiker]

I'd love to! :D And, yes, need to update soon. Work has been INSANE.

[RWin]

So here we are just a little over a year later and my daughter is home for the summer. She had a great first year in St. John's and at MUN. And she's already looking forward to going back. I imagine by next year she may just stick around St. John's for the summer. She brought back this souvenir which really won't last long (fortunately if you look hard enough you can find them in Calgary):

http://members.shaw.ca/rwinhold/ssp/jamjam.jpg

[statbass]

So here we are just a little over a year later and my daughter is home for the summer. She had a great first year in St. John's and at MUN. And she's already looking forward to going back. I imagine by next year she may just stick around St. John's for the summer. She brought back this souvenir which really won't last long (fortunately if you look hard enough you can find them in Calgary):

http://members.shaw.ca/rwinhold/ssp/jamjam.jpg

Glad to hear your daughter had a great year at MUN (and St. John's).

[Marty_Mcfly]

Eat those jam jams ASAP; they dry out quickly! :P

Glad to hear your daughter enjoyed the city, it's a shame she's leaving before the best season of the year

[RWin]

UPDATE!!!!!

Hmmmmm, a year since this thread was active. My daughter is home for a week. Or I should say, in Calgary for a week (and brought JamJams of course).

Home is definitely St. John's for her now. Her drivers license was about to expire so before she left, she exchanged it for a NL license. I guess now that she has her membership card, she's officially moved there.

[Marty_Mcfly]

UPDATE!!!!!

Hmmmmm, a year since this thread was active. My daughter is home for a week. Or I should say, in Calgary for a week (and brought JamJams of course).

Home is definitely St. John's for her now. Her drivers license was about to expire so before she left, she exchanged it for a NL license. I guess now that she has her membership card, she's officially moved there.

Awesome :notacrook: We need more young people here. Glad to hear everything's going well for her. Now that she's had to make the painful pilgrimage to the Mount Pearl DMV, and has felt our pain, she's officially one of us :P

[RWin]

Awesome :notacrook: We need more young people here. Glad to hear everything's going well for her. Now that she's had to make the painful pilgrimage to the Mount Pearl DMV, and has felt our pain, she's officially one of us :P

Yeah, I couldn't believe that's the only place in town where you can do that. I even asked SignalHillHiker if that was true and sure enough. She went there using transit - it wasn't her best day on record :)

Unlike here though, she got her license right away (didn't have to wait a week for it to come in the mail).

[Marty_Mcfly]

Yeah, I couldn't believe that's the only place in town where you can do that. I even asked SignalHillHiker if that was true and sure enough. She went there using transit - it wasn't her best day on record :)

Unlike here though, she got her license right away (didn't have to wait a week for it to come in the mail).

Wow. I'm not sure which neighbourhood in town she lives in, but this is a real trek. I had to do this back in the fall; got a 40 minute bus from Memorial University to the Village Mall, then paid for a 20 dollar, 20 minute cab ride from the Village to the DMV. Another bus transfer and ride probably takes another 35 minutes but I didn't feel like waiting a half hour for the transfer.

It really is a day long ordeal.

[SignalHillHiker]

Very flattered to hear it, RWin. :)

Sucks having her so far away, I'm sure.

[Ayreonaut]

Haha, I looked up the DMV on google maps and ended up just keeping AB plates and license for my 5 years there. I'm glad she is still enjoying herself there, but not surprised. It's a great place to be a student.

I hope you've fulfilled your duty as a Calgarian to make her as jealous as possible about the weather this winter. Just ask SHH, jeddy, or Marty...I've been relentless since January on Facebook. :D

[RWin]

I certainly can't complain about the weather here. I must admit I chuckled a little bit last week. But then thought, "Wait a minute, that could ground planes and she's traveling this week :( "

[KAO79]

hahaha oh the hour trek one way to the DMV on Metrobus.... how I miss thee!! I also had to partake in a new NL ID, and was also very surprised when I received my card after talking to the clerk for 3 minutes. In BC, we usually have to wait 2-3 weeks and the card is much better quality, now with chips built in for security.

RWin I'm glad your daughter has enjoyed herself here so far. It's definitely a fun and entertaining place to be!