Gray C

Some north west radio stations are advertising a show/seminar to be held this weekend near Knutsford Cheshire for people interested in purchasing property in Humber Valley Newfoundland.

Anyone know anything about the place? We are thinking of attending to see what they are offering.

Anyone on here moved to Newfoundland from the UK, just curious to know what it is like?

Graham

Atlantic Xpat

Yes me! AFAIK I am the only emigrant to Newfoundland on the board, which is unsurprising given that less that 400 people emmigrate to NL every year. I've been here (near St. John's) for 11 mths now and absolutely love the place. The scenery is stunning, the air clean, the people friendly and in St. John's at least there is a reall buzz about the place. My wife is a Newfoundlander so I have the support network of a huge and welcoming family.

Humber Valley is a beautiful place. Nearest airport Deer Lake (very small), nearest big town is Corner Brook. Good fishing & golf in the summer and then Marble Mountain (www.skimarble.com) ski resort in the winter. The Humber Valley resort is an upscale resort that is being targetted at the wealthy in UK, Germany & US. Chalets go from $600k upwards. All very nice but if you just wanted a nice enough house in the area from which you could access facilities such as the ski resort and were not bothered about living on the resort itself you could pick up a very good property for $200k or less. I think that they run direct charter flights to Deer Lake in the season. One of the benefits for a Brit in Newfoundland is that short flying time to England e.g. 4.5 hrs from St. Johns. The downside is that it is an expensive Island to get off.

Cheers,
AX

Gray C

Thanks

Will check out some of the links you gave me. I might still go to the show just to pick up a few brochures about the place. It certainly does sound like a nice place to live, even if I would be unlikely to find work (that is a guess/assumption). Is the property dearer than on the mainland and what is the cost of living like?

In August we flew from Toronto to Halifax and the flight was then carrying on to Deer Lake. I was curious at the time to find out more about the area and the province in general.

My wife loves and wants a Newfoundland dog as a point of useless information

Cheers

Graham

Atlantic Xpat

I'd be surprised if any of the owners of Humber Valley chalets a) lived their permanently ro b) needed to work if they did. Its very much second home/holiday home territory - I think the resort offers lettings management for when you are not there yourself.

NL is an interesting if paradoxical place. There is tremendous growth in the St. John's / Avalon Peninsula area fuelled by a booming offshore oil industry. Tourism is also on the up although high fuel prices have affected this year I believe. The traditional industries and the rural areas are fairing less well. The Fishery and the forest products industries in particular are suffering, although fishing continues to be a major part of the economy,

One of the reasons that St. John's is growing so much is that folk are moving in from rural newfoundland in search of jobs. Either that or they are going out to Alberta etc to work. (for example Fort Macmurray in AB is the largest concentration of Newfoundlanders outside the province.) Now migration from rural to urban centres (and place to place urban into context, St. John's has a population of around 150k people so we're not talking big!) is a factor the world over. In NL the debate is whether unsustainable communities should be allowed to die or whether they should be kept open at all costs.

For the aspiring emmigrant, I firmly believe that you can make it here. I chose NL because my wife was a Newfie who wanted to come home and I having visited the place decided it was somewhere I could live. There is opportunity here, sometimes in the unlikelest places - for example I work in the fishing industry, which is supposed to be on its last legs. (but isnt). It depends what you want in terms of work and what skills you have. If you have anything that can be used in the oil business then thats an easy route in. Other skills make take more effort. The provincial govt is actively trying to attract emmigrants, or at least say they are depsite not quite having a plan to do so!

Property prices are some of the lowest in Canada. I have 3 beds and an acre+ of land in a good area about 15mins from St Johns. It cost me less than $250k. Cost of living is on a par with the rest of Canada as far as I can tell. Provincial taxation is higher (a lower average income means that high earners are taxed more.) But I was a 40% tax payer in UK so I dont feel any worse off really. Travel can be a bind as weather is a factor in the fall/winter/spring but thats the same in most of Canada. Getting to UK is easy with one direct AC flight a day but no competition so prices are higher. Getting to the rest of North America is also more expensive than say flying around from Toronto.

The West Coast is stunning - lots of forestry and has good weather with warm summers and lots of snow in the winter for skidooing./skiing etc. Parts of the Island are starkly beautiful or very bleak depending on you p.o.v. Everywhere you drive you come across stunning ocean views to the extent that you get blase about them.

So there you have Newfoundland 101. Hope this helps!

AX

Gray C

Hi

Thanks for all the info it is very interesting. We are open minded as to where we want to live. The work side of things is not that vital as we do not intend having a mortgage and I have a small pension, so part time work would probably suit us, so we do not necessarily need to chase the work orientated provinces and cities, i.e. Toronto, Hamilton, Vancouver etc.

Visited Ontario and NS and like both provinces, but would like to keep all options open

Will read up more and maybe pay NFL a visit sometime soon.

Cheers

Graham

maple

We attended a seminar advertised as below in our local area a few weeks ago. We were pleased we didn't make a special trip ( the venue was a ten minute drive from us) as when we arrived there was just 2 sales people there - and we were the only potential clients. The blurb they gave us was pretty much standard sales patter - and the properties looked fantastic but when compared to those on MLS very very pricey. The designs were obviously catered to the ski/summer rental market with lots of ensuite bedrooms. We have already decided we are definately heading to NS but were interested in what Newfoundland has to offer - as our new neighbour - and as i said earlier it was just a quick trip up the road. The sales team were not pushy in anyway and from the brochures they gave us the Humber Valley looked breathtakingly beautiful. They also gave us detailed floorplans of all their chalet designs - which was really useful to us -so not a complete lost cause. Oh- and they had a sixpage advertisment in the Telegraph on Saturday so they are obviously marketing heavily.

Atlantic Xpat

If you do plan to visit let me know. Always happy to help out/show folks around this area.

Alison33

Hi Alan

How ya doing? Out of interst myself, I have also checked out some of the humber valley websites. Very interesting sites and scenery looks stunning as well as the very expensive houses you'd probably only dream about. Reminded me of a chalet bungalow an aunt of mine rented on Hogans Pond surrounded by pine trees - I was 12 at the time but it was a holiday I will never forget and my first time kayaking, fishing and swimming in a pond (well more of a lake really). I would also get up at 6am and lie on the jetty with my sieve and fly on string and catch stickleback to feed their piranha's. - Just reminising.

Have you ever been to Corner Brook? I have looked at a map to see whereabouts it is but, wondered if you knew how far is was from St Johns. I'm pretty sure I've heard relatives talk about it. What do you or Laura know of the place?

A

Atlantic Xpat

Well the thing is you could buy a place on (or near to) the Humber Valley resort such as this http://www.remax.nf.ca/listings.asp?id=14060 for $425k or a house in nearby Deer Lake such as this http://www.remax.nf.ca/listings.asp?id=12957 for less than half the cost. I've flown into Deer Lake and spent a couple of hours killing time by driving round it and it seemed fine. Not much there though but then not much at Humber Valley either & its 10 mins drive away.

Never visited Corner Brook. It is NL's second city and 8-9hrs drive from St. John's. Or an hour or so flight from St. John's to Deer Lake. It is a beautiful area & very different to the Avalon Peninsula. Driven past Marble Mountain in the summer & my brothers in law ski their all the time in the winter and love it. (Mind you not much choice in NL, its either Marble Mountain or a much smaller operation at White Hills near Clarenville.) Deer Lake/Corner Brook is a couple of hours drive away from Gros Morne park which is one of NL (& Canada's) wonders of the natural world. Plan to try and spend some more time out that way next year as didnt get a chance this - small things like getting married got in the way!

Alison33

Thanks for that info. I've been offline for a little while as had serious computer crash and lost alot of my accounts work (could have cried!). Just invested in a new PC with nice flat screen and mirror raid hard drive, so I can double back up everything now. Still trying to get on top of things but, give me a couple of months and I should be back to norm. Why is it, the minute you have abit of cash saved a calamity happens - what next? Although, I have luckily still set some aside for our travels next year and will be planning shortly so will let you know dates when I have them.

A

Gray C

Hi

Thanks for the kind offer, we will keep in touch

Regards

Graham