Guest Ticket Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Hey St. John's folks, I'm looking for your help. I'm trying to figure out where to live in when I move to town. I'm hoping to buy something that is new enough that I won't have to do maintenance while I'm in med school (i.e. maybe a condo or townhouse). I'm doing my looking from Ontario and some of the ones I've found are showing up in places like Grovesdale Park and Pleasantville. There is also several places on Chamberlain. What are these neighbourhoods like? Where are the good and bad areas of town. Muchly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevetilley Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Ticket, I've been looking to buy a house for the past while (although no rush right now cause I currently live w/ parents). Anyways, most of the stuff close to the university if kinda old and expensive, but i know of a couple of new townhome developments off of thorburn road that are nice and not to expensive (around $120k). They're close to the avalon mall and about 5 mins from MUN. More of them are being built and I reckon should be available soon. Can't remember the name of the developer though. However, here's one I saw from this development on the resale market (its already sold though): www.nfprivatesale.com/def...s&count=43 Too bad, one of the 4th years who is going away for residency just sold his house up there privately, had i known I couldv'e given you his contact info. Your best bet is to spend a week or so here in july and find something you like and get it sorted out before school starts... Good Luck! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevetilley Posted June 3, 2004 Report Share Posted June 3, 2004 Ticket, One more thing, if you're looking at buying a house, you should call or email a local realtor, who would be more than happy to look for something for you (just tell them your looking for an affordable new home close to MUN etc...) I'll give you the email of my agent its sheilagh_byrne@yahoo.ca Shes nice and knows alot about the neighhbourhoods close to the university... -Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillibow Posted June 4, 2004 Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 Hey Ticket, I spent a good 1/2 hour putting together some info for you, then my laptop crashed (damn Dell). When I have time, I'll attempt to throw it together again. In the meantime, living downtown is somewhat popular, but expensive and involves older and attached homes. Once you leave the downtown core, the trend is the farther out you go, the newer the subdivisions, the more expensive it gets. Once you actually leave the city proper and look at houses in the surrounding communities Torbay, Chamberlains etc, you will see lower costs, but a further commute. The beauty about St. John's is that you can get from any point of the city to another within 15 mins drive. So, unless you don't have a vehicle, distance is really not that much of a consideration. The bus system is good, but nothing like TO or Ottawa. Taxis are plentiful, with 7 or eight companies I can think of. The city is divided into the West End, East End, Centertown and downtown. The West end (with it's main landmark being the village mall) is a nice part of town with some new subdivisions in the Cowan Heights area. As an east-ender, I rarely have a need to head out that way, except maybe to shop at the Village. (Distance from MUN - 10 min drive) The East end is my part of town. A mix of old and new subdivisions. Recent completion of the Stavanger Drive Commercial Park (Costco, Futureshop, Wallmart, etc) in the area has made the Clovelly Trails subdivision a popular new place to live. The airport is on the outskirts of the east end. Some people say the east end see more fog (and slightly lower temps) than the west end, as it is closer to the Atlantic. It's an interesting phenom that adds fuel to the competition for who has the better end or town, east or west. Go East! (Distance from MUN:10 min drive) Centertown: This is where MUN is located, just on the outskirts of beautiful Pippy Park (a campground, trail system within the city). Centertown is nice, slighly older houses, but well maintained. Lots of streets with beautiful trees. Being in the center of town, you have quick access to all points, including the largest mall in the city, the Avalon Mall. Few newer houses in this part of town as it was developed decades ago. Downtown: You probably heard of George Street, having the most pubs per capita in Canada. Downtown housing consists of mostly of older houses (20-30+ years old) that are attached together, sometimes 9 or 10 in a row. I've never really seen the appeal of living downtown, as you can find newer houses in other parts of town for much more reasonable prices. Nevertheless, downtown is where the weekend action is, with George Street filling up on Friday and Saturday nights. Nice shops and botiques downtown as well. Caveat: Parking sucks downtown, you will probably need a parking permit to live there and will have to find a place to stash your vehicle when snow clearing is in effect. (Distance from MUN: 10 min drive - see a pattern here? ). Anyways I'll send more info down the road. Good luck. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chillibow Posted June 4, 2004 Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 PS: I'm not a huge subscriber to the notion that St. John's has any particularly bad areas, but if you asked anyone from town, they would probably say to skip your search in the following location: Mundy Pond Area Buckmaster's Circle Shea Heights Resources: Classified section of the telegram (http://www.thetelegram.com) Remax Newfoundland (http://www.remax.nf.ca) Newsgroups: (nf.general, nf.wanted, nf.arts) 'luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ticket Posted June 4, 2004 Report Share Posted June 4, 2004 You see, this is why I'm going to Memorial - the people are so helpful! Steve, thanks for your agent's contact info. I found out last night that one of my parent's friends is going to help me out (she's an agent in St. John's). I looked at a few places online in that new subdivision near MUN, and they look really nice. Chillibrow - thanks for the head's up about living downtown. I'm used to not liking living in the outskirts because its too far away from the action - but I'm seeing that it won't be a problem in St. John's. In the meantime, if you hear any leads, let me know! Have a great weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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