Happy New Yr:

Could you provide detailed information about working and living in Moncton?
I would ask for, parks available? things to do with kids? schools? universities? activities for families? cost of living?

In general any information you consider relevant is highly apppreciated.

We currently live in Montreal but don't like it at all.

Kindly
Carlos

Hi
I see no one has replied so I wiil say a couple of things, having lived in Saint John NB 20 years ago (100km from Moncton) and occasionly passing through Moncton, as late as 2005.
Moncton has as a very strong mix of bilingualism, remeniniscent of Ottawa. It's airport handles flights from all over Canada, having in the last 10? years undergone major upgrades. It use to be known as the Hub city as it is centrally located: Halifax (Int'l airport) is about 3 hours away; Fredericton 2 hours; Saint John 1 hour. If it is like Sain John and other NB places, housing should be reasonably cheap, probably 1/3 of Toronto or Vancouver prices. I believe its major educationl institution is the University of Moncton, which I believe (?) has a law school. I'm told by a friend that the school heavily promotes French based courses which may work if you are fluent in French. I heard that the NB government has targeted the city as a major Health Service area with lots on money going into its hospital(s) to service it and the expanded region around. it Reading about things back east Moncton seems to be an up'n coming town.

Thanks very much for this information

carlos

Most of New Brunswick is less expensive than the larger provinces. Certainly less than many US cities. Moncton qualifies as a city, but with a small town personality. There are plenty of schools, the University of Moncton is a high quality institution, lots of outdoor activities, sports, etc. If your kids are interested in music, you can access private lessons easily. As a very central location, it is easy to visit Nova Scotia, PEI, and the Gaspe Penisula of Quebec with very little cost. Moncton is quite close to Mactequac park (camping, canoing, etc) near Fredericton. Also the Crystal Palace and Water Park near St. John. The highways in New Brunswick are pretty good, airports are handy, so travel in and out is quite easy. For work information, you can visit: www.CareerBuilder.ca www.allcanadianjobs.com
www.monctonjobs.com www.wowjobs.ca
www.canadian-universities.net/Employment/New_Brunswick-Moncton.html

I feel badly you didn't get more replies and no really local replies. If it isn't too late I'll try to help.

Moncton has a progressive "can-do" attitude. They were hit hard with major industrial closings some years back, but shrugged it off and with a lot of enterprise they have prospered. The city seems to have doubled in size in the last 40 years or less time. It is now vying to surpass Saint John as the province's largest city. Industries include transportation, insurance, health insurance, education (the French language, well respected, Universite de Moncton)and I'm not sure what else. But it is doing very well.

A big part of its success is due to its Acadien minority (I'm speaking of "metro" Moncton which includes the dominantly francophone city of Dieppe). New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province and Dieppe is probably the most bilingual place in the province. So lots of companies that wanted that capability have located call centres or offices in the area.

Although Moncton itself is not as beautiful a natural setting as either Fredericton or Saint John, it is wonderfully situated half way between New Brunswick's two biggest coastlines which are vastly different, and each very beautiful in their own way. The south coast is the very cold waters of the Bay of Fundy found at the base of beautiful cliffs. The east coast is very warm water and lovely swimming beaches. To get an idea of the wonderful contrast compare the Irving Eco-Centre (find on the web under jdirving.com "In The Community" listed under parks) with the Fundy Trail (find at fundytrailparkway.com ). The latter is what you find along the south coast of New Brunswick, and the former is the east coast. Moncton is close to both coasts: in fact you can readily get to the Fundy National Park on the south coast or go to the Kouchibouguac National Park on the east coast not far from Moncton. But many Monctonians just head to even closer Shediac on the east coast, or take a drive out to Hillsborough or beyond to see the eroded rocks ("flower pots") on Shepody Bay Beach of the Fundy Coast. Its even lovely to toward Nova Scotia to enjoy the Tantramar Marshes and beyond.

Moncton! What a fabulous location - and only an hour from Prince Edward Island!

I'm sorry I don't know that much about children's schooling in Moncton, but there is no question that New Brunswick significantly lags behind Quebec in terms of normal schools. Some schools do offer enriched curricula within the public system, and some through private programs. But I don't know the details in Moncton. At the high school level Ecole Mathieu Martin in Moncton offers the International Bacalauriate Program (see ibo.org on the Internet) which is great if your kids are extremely bright and hard working.

Moncton has some good hospitals, and aside from Saint John probably the best health care in the province - probably better than Halifax for normal things.

The main advantage in cost of living is close to the cheapest housing of any city in the country. Some other things are more costly: Quebec has by far the cheapest electricity in the country. Food in Moncton grocery stores is likely more costly, but cheaper in restaurants. Gasoline and heating oil are more costly. Wood for the wood stove may be cheaper.

Traffic in Moncton is nothing compared to Montreal or Quebec city.

The best thing about Moncton is the unpretentiosness and warmth of Maritimers.

I hope this helps.