Hi, I and my husband have job opportunities in Thunder Bay, from my web searches the immigrant population has not been on the rise there unlike other places in Ontario. Any BE members in Thunder Bay ? would be great to hear about your experiences there.

Welcome again. Thunder Bay is not the ideal location but since you're a GP you'd be welcomed with open arms.

You've done some research no doubt so I won't bother to add that it can be a bit chilly or that it's miles from anywhere else. And even more miles from anywhere of real merit.

Thank you again NC, we are a little restricted due to my Husband's Job opportunities, which are rare unlike mine. I take on board your comment about TB being miles away from anywhere of real merit. Toronto is 3 hrs by flight, but the US border is 40 minutes away which is some consolation! Not sure if the communities are welcoming- hope to find out on our visit soon hopefully.

That's true, but there's nothing of note in MN either until you get to Duluth 4 hours away. Duluth is where Bob Dylan was born, so I'd like to visit. Once.

I think Mr Z got out of there as quickly as he could too.

I lived most of my 45 years in Canada in a small community just west of Thunder Bay and most of my family still live both right in the city and the surrounding area. There's no denying it's isolated but depending on your interests, that doesn't necessarily have to be a problem. A love of the outdoors and winter sports will go along way toward helping you settle in the area and the larger centres aren't as difficult to get to as you might think. If you want to go to Toronto its a 1 hour & 35 minute flight, not 3 hours. Duluth and Minneapolis are about 4 and 6 hours away by car but for what it's worth the trip along the north shore is lovely. Shopping is great in Duluth and lots of people do weekend getaways the quite regularly; I've seen some great concerts in Minneapolis & didn't think twice about the travel.

There are large long established Italian, Finnish and Ukrainian immigrant populations there and in my opinion, live alongside one another very nicely for the most part - they're proud of their traditions and keep them alive but assimilate into the community as well. The people are generally friendly and will welcome immigrants. There has been less immigration to that area in recent years largely due to the fact that unemployment is higher than the national avg. and the wood industry has seen far better days. That being said, they are crying out for medical professionals (the new medical school there is expanding) as are all the neighbouring smaller communities in the area.

It's not everyone's cup of tea (I'm happily married back in the UK) but there are worse places to live and buying a house on a decent sized patch of land is far easier on the wallet.

Hope this helps, by all means PM me if you want to ask anything more and good luck with your move!

Hello Curleytops,
So delighted to hear from you! I had my worries about TB especially regarding the communities and being wanted there. Professionally I know it is an under serviced area, I see it as a good opportunity to make a difference in my own little way. Was worried about the children liking the place as they are city bred and are used to having a lot of friends. Your information has given me a useful glimpse, looking forward to our Site visit there soon. Will post my thoughts after....

Hi, my wife and I are moving to Thunder Bay in about a months time! My wife has a 2 year contract there and we've obviously done a lot of research on the city. We have never been before but we are really looking forward to it. What I would say is that reading lots of forums isn't necessarily the way to go about researching it because they are either very negative or very positive and you don't tend to get the balanced views (I think this is the case for just about any city you search for). There are nice areas and areas to be avoided like any city. The weather doesn't really bother me and is actually one of the reasons we are moving there. As others have mentioned, Toronto is a short flight, Minneapolis and Duluth are within distance for weekend trips.

When are you travelling there to see it? I would be interested to know your thoughts about it.

Hi, thank you for your reply, since I started my thread we did manage to contact a doctor who lives there. We are gathering as much information as we can but yes you are right, to form an opinion we have to see the place ourselves. We are visiting end of July and plan to spend at least a week there. Schools will be closed then but this is the only time we can manage together. You may be in TB by then settling down! Will post my thoughts after. Cheers!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunde...emergency.html

Thank you for the link, definitely made me sit up and notice. It will be interesting to see how the administration and rescue services cope. I take the view that natural disasters can happen anywhere and there is no place truly immune, however the way the after effects are dealt with and how effectively is what really matters. Having said that,need to check if floods are a regular occurrence
in T Bay and the areas more prone to flooding. Hmmmmmm......

Yeah...to Hibbing

Well yes, he was from Hibbing not downtown Duluth. But he ran away when he was 12, 13, 14 and 15 and was caught and brought back all but once.

He said.

Hi there,

Just send you an e-mail.

Gezza