St. John's Newfoundland?

intrepidduckling · Post by **intrepidduckling** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 4:52 pm

I've been going through the process of applying to Grad. School this year, and coming down to the wire where I am making a tough decision between staying here in Maine and going to Newfoundland.

Are there any board members from there who would care to comment/P.M me?

I've heard that there's a great music scene...is it true?

Any thoughts on the cost of living?

Affordable ways of getting there?

Etc. Etc. Etc.

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:07 pm

Never been. I've been to the rest of the Maritimes, even to Maine twice, but not out to the Rock. The weather is a bit more .... intense there. It can cost a bit more, so I'm told. All kinds of every music there. Very nice people. I would fly, as it's faster than boat. Best bet would be to go there for a few weeks and see if you like it before making a big commitment.

djm

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 5:16 pm

intrepidduckling wrote:I've been going through the process of applying to Grad. School this year, and coming down to the wire where I am making a tough decision between staying here in Maine and going to Newfoundland.

Are there any board members from there who would care to comment/P.M me?

I've heard that there's a great music scene...is it true?

Any thoughts on the cost of living?

Affordable ways of getting there?

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Are you going to Memorial for their folklore program? A friend who had considered it for another (very mainstream) prgram revised his plans when he asked the department for references to some recent PhD grads who'd got tenure-track positions, and discovered none were employed anywhere but at Memorial. This was, to be fair, more than a decade ago, but I'd ask anyway.

I believe their folklore program is well regarded, however. None of the above applies to it, afaik.

dwest · Post by **dwest** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 6:24 am

Read "The Shipping News" before you make up your mind, nothing but a bunch of wreckers oop in Newfoundland.

Aargh!

s1m0n · Post by **s1m0n** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:03 pm

dwest wrote:Read "The Shipping News" before you make up your mind, nothing but a bunch of wreckers oop in Newfoundland.

Written by an american from Vermont, as I recall. She eventually bought a vacation home in Newfoundland, but not until after the Shipping News had been published.

MTGuru · Post by **MTGuru** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:23 pm

s1m0n wrote:Are you going to Memorial for their folklore program? ... I believe their folklore program is well regarded

Yes, at least it was back in the 70s under Herbert Halpert when I was a Ph.D. student in Folklore at IU. There were only 4 North American doctoral programs back then, and MUN was one of them.

WyoBadger · Post by **WyoBadger** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 7:46 am

Newfoundland has cooler dogs.

Seand · Post by **Seand** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:03 am

dwest wrote:Read "The Shipping News" before you make up your mind, nothing but a bunch of wreckers oop in Newfoundland. Aargh!

The Shipping News is a crock of sh!te when it comes to portraying NL and NL'ers. Please don't even think about using it to get an idea about life here. Annie Proulx peed off a lot people from here with that novel.

The music scene is quite vibrant here in St. John's. I know of at least two night sessions held every week. Plus there is a cafe downtown that has lunch time get togethers. Live traditional music is mainstay at anumber of pubs.

The cost of living is fine - certainly not expensive by any means.

The weather is varied - we have snow from November to March. The winters are not cold - the ocean keeps the place warm in the winter but a little cooler in the summer. The natural beauty of the place can't be matched. Right now the icebergs are making their way down the coast - always make for some interesting sights.

With the exception of two years going to school in Halifax, NS, I've lived all of my 43 years in this place and I'll never leave. "nuff said!!

If you have any specific questions, just PM me. Or post them here and I'll extol the virtues of my fair home to all and sundry.

djm · Post by **djm** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:07 am

Sure, we're all moving to Nfld to look for jobs, now.

djm

dwest · Post by **dwest** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 11:21 am

Seand wrote:
dwest wrote:Read "The Shipping News" before you make up your mind, nothing but a bunch of wreckers oop in Newfoundland. Aargh!
The Shipping News is a crock of sh!te when it comes to portraying NL and NL'ers. Please don't even think about using it to get an idea about life here. Annie Proulx peed off a lot people from here with that novel.

The music scene is quite vibrant here in St. John's. I know of at least two night sessions held every week. Plus there is a cafe downtown that has lunch time get togethers. Live traditional music is mainstay at anumber of pubs.

The cost of living is fine - certainly not expensive by any means.

The weather is varied - we have snow from November to March. The winters are not cold - the ocean keeps the place warm in the winter but a little cooler in the summer. The natural beauty of the place can't be matched. Right now the icebergs are making their way down the coast - always make for some interesting sights.

With the exception of two years going to school in Halifax, NS, I've lived all of my 43 years in this place and I'll never leave. "nuff said!!

If you have any specific questions, just PM me. Or post them here and I'll extol the virtues of my fair home to all and sundry.

Ya just don't get any sunlight up thar. I'll stick with sunny PEI, NS, or NB.

Seand · Post by **Seand** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 2:46 pm

dwest wrote: Ya just don't get any sunlight up thar. I'll stick with sunny PEI, NS, or NB.

I'll agree that we're not the sunniest or warmest of places but what we lack in the weather department, we make up for in so many other ways. These are the things that make this place stand out!!

intrepidduckling · Post by **intrepidduckling** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 6:26 pm

Seand wrote:
dwest wrote:Read "The Shipping News" before you make up your mind, nothing but a bunch of wreckers oop in Newfoundland. Aargh!
The Shipping News is a crock of sh!te when it comes to portraying NL and NL'ers. Please don't even think about using it to get an idea about life here. Annie Proulx peed off a lot people from here with that novel.

The music scene is quite vibrant here in St. John's. I know of at least two night sessions held every week. Plus there is a cafe downtown that has lunch time get togethers. Live traditional music is mainstay at anumber of pubs.

The cost of living is fine - certainly not expensive by any means.

The weather is varied - we have snow from November to March. The winters are not cold - the ocean keeps the place warm in the winter but a little cooler in the summer. The natural beauty of the place can't be matched. Right now the icebergs are making their way down the coast - always make for some interesting sights.

With the exception of two years going to school in Halifax, NS, I've lived all of my 43 years in this place and I'll never leave. "nuff said!!

If you have any specific questions, just PM me. Or post them here and I'll extol the virtues of my fair home to all and sundry.

Thanks everyone for responses. I would be getting a master's in Geography, and I'm still following up about academics via other channels. The biggest hope from chiffboard world is an assurance that I'd find ways to work on my flute and whistle playing...and it sounds like there is. I'm ok with cool messy weather. Hot climates are much more intimidating!

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 10:19 pm

Seand wrote:snow from November to March. The winters are not cold - <snip>. Right now the icebergs are making their way down the coast -

This doesn't seem at all . . . incongruous . . to you, does it?

djm · Post by **djm** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 10:55 pm

The icebergs are from farther north, up Baffin Island and Greenland way. The ocean currents bring them south in spring to melt south of Newfoundland in the Gulf Stream.

djm

Seand · Post by **Seand** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 6:07 am

Lambchop wrote:
Seand wrote:snow from November to March. The winters are not cold - <snip>. Right now the icebergs are making their way down the coast -
This doesn't seem at all . . . incongruous . . to you, does it?

Cold is a relative term. Our average winter temps are certainly not as cold as in central Canada - in particular the prairies. Yet we certainly have colder winters in comparison to, say, Florida!! The North Atlantic Ocean water temp does not change that much from winter to summer. So in summer the cooler ocean keeps the land temps moderate. In winter that same ocean, because the water is warmer than the land, can actually increase the temps on the land.

As djm says, the bergs break off the glaciers way up north and then follow the current until it brings them past the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. Here many run aground where they stay until they either melt in the warmer water or they are broken up by wave action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzCkS64K ... re=related. Believe it or not an iceberg just off the coast can cool the temp on land if its big enough but certainly not enough to affect a large area. Ice bergs can be seen along the coast here well into June- when the air temps are starting warm up considerably. Here's a link to video taken on the bay right in front of my house (about 15 minutes outside St. John's). I can look out my window and see that exact spot where it was filmed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b65GoVTNl0

Now pack ice is another beast altogether. This is when the coast becomes packed in with ice that may be meters thick. Now that can effect the temp of a much larger area than a berg!! The pack ice blew into the bay in front of my house last week. It jammed everthing so tight that a nearby car ferry required assistance of a Coast Guard ice breaker to make its runs. The next day the wind changed direction and the bay cleared out completely - just like that.

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