Tangram

Agreed and nowhere in the Maritimes could be called a metropolis.

sinurt

Hi there,
I have sent you a PM but in summary I think everyone goes through a period of struggling when moving to a new country but honestly we couldn't be happier here. Fredericton is a great family friendly place to live and the winters are not that bad, in fact this year we have had a fairly mild winter, I think we had one week of bitterly cold, and we have had a lot less snow than usual. But even last year which was a bad winter we didn't find too bad. And yes the summers are better.

Sinead

Lord Vader

Surely this has to do with the dirt and ketchup sandwiches we eat in order to survive.

Tangram

Ketchup ..... luxury.

Dave+Jules

I think there is less choice and for example here in Fredericton there are only a 2-3 Chinese restaurants and 2 Curry houses. Public transport outside Fredericton City limits in minimal and Acadian Bus lines are looking to cut services to communities outside of the 3 main cities.

But that said I love it here and have no intentions of returning to the UK (unless Jules packs me up and ships me back when I peg it)

BristolUK

You're kidding

Just within 10 minutes walk of our home we have 2 Chinese take-aways, three Chinese Restaurants (incl Buffet) and an Indian Restaurant

dudlek

Hi

We moved here to Fredericton 10 months ago from Shropshire. No real choice in where we were going as my OH is a Heli pilot in the CAF ( was RAF ) so we were sent where the CAF needed us to be.

That said after a period of settling in ( normal for any move even UK town to UK town ) I can say we are adjusting to life here very well. I dont mean adjust in a negative way - there is just a slower pace of life here! Nothing wrong with that, it just means adapting thats all; that incorporates everything from learning about the whys and wherefores of furnishing your house ( better shops in Moncton/Halifax/Montreal ) to adapting to grocery shopping using not only supermarkets but small specialist shops and places like 'Bulk-barn' and 'Scoop-and-save' to search out the items you need or miss from the UK. The one thing I really wish would be here would be online grocery shopping. I miss my Tesco/Asda occasional home delivery but thats because I am a busy mum (sorry mom!) and I hate grocery shopping!(My life is not all shopping, might I add!) The waiting time in the docs is usually longer than UK; if you can get a family doctor - we have one at last. If you want your children to sign up for summer activities/camps, you have to do it by beginning May(ish) - I discovered this having arrived mid May 2009 to find too late to register for a lot of the summer stuff - nb. 10 weeks is a long summer holiday!

I have found it harder to adjust than my OH and children. That is because I am from the SE of the England with London on my doorstep at any time and Birmingham so close when living in Shropshire. Fred' is probably size-wise comparable with Shrewsbury. We dont have the numbers of restaurants/bars/theatres/nightlife that big cities would have but we didnt in Shrewsbury and we dont have the problems with crime that the big cities have. But I AM adjusting and adapting. It is a beautiful part of the world and to have Quebec/Nova Scotia/PEI and the US so close is a big plus as far as I am concerned.

My girls have had so many different opportunites and so much relative freedom here that they would not have in the UK. I am still not overly happy with the education system but feel that they will not suffer academically long-term. They ice-skate and snowboard lots, they do many other sports and they have lots of wonderful friends. The only thing that was a shock to them last year was the number of children locally who went to their summer houses in the country during the holidays, there werent many neighbours children to play with.

One thing I have felt since I arrived here, which surprised me, is 'Canadian'. This is such a patriotic country, my girls sing the national anthem at school - children stop mid-walk to stand and sing! Havent seen that since my childhood in South Wales. I dont even think my children knew or even know the UK one. The Olympics made a big patriotic difference to Canada, I think, so hoping 2012 has the same effect in the UK, we even supported Canada during the games - no clue who was even in it from the UK - sad!

Housing in Fredericton and Oromocto is much cheaper than the UK and getting your head around building one rather than just buying is interesting. Not something we are used to in the UK so much, but normal practise here. We are currently living in 'suburbia' which is not my ideal but perfect for our life dynamics at the moment.

I'll be honest and say I have more British/European friends here than Canadian but that is not a surprise really - we are going through similar experiences and help each other. That said I have made local friends and people, both local and immigrants, are supportive and welcoming.

Overall, my family are very happy here and, with the CF, we will move to experience other parts of Canada but hope to return here ultimately.

Please note, if anybody wants to open up a riverside bar/restaurant, Fredericton is crying out for one - we have a beautiful river and no great place ( excluding the lighthouse ) to sit by it and relax! No I dont count the Delta - it's a hotel!
Kath

Partially discharged

Great post....we visited friends in Fredericton (canadian born and bred) in the summer of 2000 and 2004 and I think in 2000 we went to the Delta for international night...which was not that international it was really just hotel food. In 2004 when we went they ended up driving us all the way to St. John to a Thai restaurant. The food was great but I'm glad it wasn't me driving there and back and hoping we didn't hit a moose at night.

kosh

I tend to find the majority of the Chinese take-aways in Moncton serve up the same old thing. Not exactly authentic Chinese food which I do miss from the Chinese back in the UK. It seems the local restaurants fear the local population will shun proper Chinese food. Chicken balls, rice, garlic ribs..........., that`s not Chinese to me.

From people at work and others I have got to know over the last few years, locals are generally cautious about trying "foreign food". My Mrs is a good example, she`ll be grossed out by the thought of a Madras or Vindaloo without even trying it! Don`t even mention Shark fin soup!

BristolUK

It's certainly different to UK Chinese

Judging by what I've seen elsewhere I think it's a Canada thing rather than a Moncton thing.

Dave+Jules

Oooh I would kill for crispy aromatic duck with rice pancakes

Tangram

I'm told the one on Prospect does them but I'm not sure how true that is.

scrubbedexpat133

Hi, I have only been here in Moncton for two weeks so cant give you anything in depth but my first impressions are good.

Moncton is a sprawl with not very big population - I was living in Southampton, Moncton/Riverveiw/Dieppe is about half the population but covers twice the area!! It does not seem to have any slums here - Saint John is a dump though!! - reminds me of Portsmouth!! (Im from Stoke originally so I feel qualified to comment)

There seems to be most things that you could want here in the way of shops, restaurants and general entertainment. Not had chance to sample the local Indians yet but there seems to be plenty of chinese to choose from.

The people seem easy to get on with and have been helpfull so far, made a couple of mates in the pub, got invited to to the hockey last night.

The only real negetive so far is the beer is really expensive!!! 7 bucks a pint? ouch

Greenhill

I'm assuming you're referring to 'restaurants' here, rather than 'general entertainment'

scrubbedexpat133

Im not saying cos my fiancee might be reading this!!!