davek

hi...can't find much on Sarnia,Ontario....internet info is also limited...can anyone offer any first hand advice on the area...pro's and cons....many thanks.

welshmountie

Yes, I lived there between 1976 and 1982. Now back in UK, but my Dad is still there and we visit often. Me my wife and kids may be moving back to Canada soon but sadly probably not Sarnia as my wife prefers the Quinte region in eastern Ontario.

Sarnia is a great place, particularly if you like watersport activities and beaches. The lake is one of the cleanest and bluest, thus "Bluewater" region. Sarnia also has three or four marinas. A sailor's dream with many big sailing regatta's starting and passing through.

Sarnia is about 70,000 in population and is far enough from Toronto (2 to 3 hrs) to remain unaffected. Yet, it still attracts external attention. Aerosmith are playing there this July. We are there on holiday the same time and almost bought tickets to go. Sarnia does get a fair share of high profile gigs. Much more than where we live no in Swansea UK and considering Swansea is 400,000 plus!!??

There are plenty of great good value places to buy a home. The south tends to be the cheapest, but the best place to live is north side anywhere along Lakeshore Road, but more expensive. The Sarnia Northern limits seem to be continually spreading North East along the shore towards Bright's Grove. Lakeshore road has plenty of sideroads leading to quiet sandy beaches.

Major industry is Chemical (south) and tourism. There is a good college there so more work potential.

Being one of Canada's most southerly cities, the Weather is the least harsh of all of Ontario barring possibly Windsor. Winters are not as cold or snowy as most and the summers are very hot but humid.

In general the South West Region of Ontario is flat and Sarnia is no exception. However, if you like fruit and veg, the seasonal roadside stalls from local farms are great places to pick up fresh produce at good prices.

Education? I preferred the Canadian system. I had big culture shock coming back to UK and being dropped into the six form. Hated it. The High school (Northern Collegiate) I went to in Sarnia was fantastic.

Shopping is good with a decent size mall for the size of the city. I think there still exists a smaller one near the centre too.

Sarnia is on the US border with Port Huron. They are split by a wide river with two impressive bridges linking them. However, don't be put off by being so close to the poorer relation. It is great to nip over the other side without having to live there and the Canadian border is stricter than most international airports so there is no trouble with US incursions. ...crime rate is low.

Sarnia is close to London, Windsor and Grand Bend. All worth a visit particularly the latter if you want somewhere different on a winter or summer weekend.

Downsides? If you like hills, you'll have to travel about an hour to get some. Living too close to the chemical industry and if wind blows wrong way. Locate in the north end of the city. Not enough snow (personal). City centre could be improved on and livened up. However, most restaurants, entertainment, shopping are on the fringes like most Canadian cities, but their there in abundance.

Some good Sarnia websites:
http://www.tourismsarnialambton.com/
http://www.sarnialambton.on.ca/
http://www.sarnialambtonchamber.com/
http://www.sarnia.com/
http://www.lambton.on.ca/
http://www.informationsarnialambton.org/

It may be worth listening to the local radio stations to get a further feel for it. The one I listen to is an online station, FOX FM...
http://www.foxfm.com/

Hope this helps. I'll be envious if you get to live there. If you can land yourself a good job, you'll have a fantastic quality and standard of life. There will be others on this forum who will likely object but don't be put off. It is one of the few places in Ontario that most would like to live.

polarbearmum

We were there in early March, no snow, sunny but with a little chill in the air. We met with some friends of my OH. This is their opinion and they llove living their, but they feel it will not be long before Sarnia is jsut a retirement town.

There is little work for the youngsters and it seems that Sarnia is being passed over by a few of the larger industries that are now setting up in London and Kitchener/Waterloo. They mentioned that a few of the Chemical plants were closing down, or at least reducing operations.

Of course they did try to persuade us to re-locate to Sarnia despite these things/because of them??? as they know I am really missing the beach etc. Again I want to re-iterate, they love Sarnia and won't be moving anytime soon - but then they are DINK's who spend every possible moment of their summer at their cabin.

A new super Walmart has just opened and there is additional work being done on the whole shopping area (I was told). But honestly I personally would not live there because of the Chemical plants. My OH has been out there a few times in the summer and he has admitted that the smell can be quite nasty at times, although he loves the trees.

dbd33

I work with two people who grew up in or around Sarnia. One grew up on a reserve and it's a running joke between them that "at home" they would be obliged to hate each other. I take this to mean that relations between colonials and aboriginals in the Bluewater region are not too harmonious.

I go through Port Huron quite often on the way to Michigan and points west, but I can't say I've ever stopped there. I think Sarnia looks industrial and rough in the same way as Hamilton does. My impression on crossing into the US is like going from France to Switzerland, suddenly everything looks more affluent. Still, Hamilton's nice enough if you keep your eyes and nose closed, perhaps the same is true of Sarnia.

vegasrockstar

Isn't Sarnia that place in The Sion, The Sitch and the Sardrobe?

Sorry - bad joke

welshmountie

True if you've never lived there and just passed through. However, I found the reverse crossing Port Huron to Sarnia.

Remember, like any city, it has its rough spots and good spots. Like I said in my initial response, if you want affluence and avoid smells of chemical industry, try out the north side and Lakeshore. There are not many other roads in Canada with a stretch as long as that showing obvious affluence.

dbd33

We'll cross there tomorrow or Sunday, I'll take some pictures.

clynnog

My experience of going from Canada to the US are usually opposite.

Try Windsor-Detroit, Niagara area-Niagara Falls, NY/Buffalo,
Montreal area/Plattsburg etc.

In many instances Canada seems a more sophisticated place and the area on the US side seems rather rust belt like with both urban and rural poverty and general ugliness.

However, this is just my opinion.

dbd33

That's because only the poorest of the poor in the US have to live so far north, people who are doing well can live somewhere nice.


That said, do you really think there's any great difference between the are of Windsor next to the border and the parts of Detroit on the other side? Windsor is all about titty bars and selling beer to people who aren't 21 but who can pass for 19, it's a sleazy dump. Detroit is hell for the first mile as you go north but leafy and affluent after that. Not so much in it, in my view.

As long as I'm posting, I thought this an odd comment "There are not many other roads in Canada with a stretch as long as that showing obvious affluence". I'm not sure how far the rich bit of Sarnia goes but what about the Niagara Parkway or that road on the north side of the St Lawrence through the 1000 Islands or Yonge St up from the lake or any coastal road in BC or NS?

clynnog

[QUOTE=dbd33;4712090]That's because only the poorest of the poor in the US have to live so far north, people who are doing well can live somewhere nice.


That said, do you really think there's any great difference between the are of Windsor next to the border and the parts of Detroit on the other side? Windsor is all about titty bars and selling beer to people who aren't 21 but who can pass for 19, it's a sleazy dump. Detroit is hell for the first mile as you go north but leafy and affluent after that. Not so much in it, in my view.


You obviously haven't been in Daytrois that much...basically most of the City of Detroit looks as bad as the area you see from the foot of the bridge. I spent a week there in 2nd year University observing the differences between Canadian and US cities...the differences are alarming...the vast majority of Americans I've met from the Detroit area have given up on the city itself and they live fairly blinkered lives in the suburbs, only venturing into the City for professional sporting events.

The Detroit CMSA is one of the worst examples of urban sprawl with a doughnut in the middle...in other words, little economic/residential activity in the central city compared to the surrounding suburbs sprawling for vast distances due to little in the way of natural impediments, all fueled by a car centric lifestyle....

clynnog

You say that only the poor live in the northern US bordering Canada...you've never been to rural KY, TN, NC, SC, VA etc....rural squallor and general subsistence living can occur all of the excited states of emerica.

welshmountie

Agreed.

Anyway, back to the subject. We need more opinions on Sarnia for our friend who submitted the post, from others in this forum.

dbd33

[QUOTE=clynnog;4712226] Yes, yes, I've been to Detroit. Actually I've worked in all but five states, in a variety of settings, and I understand the phenomenon of donut cities. Detroit is certainly a rough place but it's not a very good/bad example of urban sprawl, Phoenix and Toronto are much worse in that regard.

dbd33

Yes, I've been to those places. I can't say I've seen much poverty in VA, that seems an odd choice, but yes some people in rural America are as poor and deprived as the population of Davis Inlet.

dbd33

OK, it's hard to get good pictures from a moving vehicle and these shots were all taken from the interstate, three blocks away may be different, but this is what a visitor sees:

Port Huron looks like a retirement/weekend vacation kind of place. These are a golf course, a boat dock and some pleasant houses along an inlet.