saint john nb vs st. john's nl

[tzk]

i've never been to two of these, either. which is worth a visit?? apart of tourism, which is better for other aspects(employment, etc.). ... i'm interested in anything about the differences between these 2 cities.

[Joev]

Originally Posted by tzk

i've never been to two of these, either. which is worth a visit?? apart of tourism, which is better for other aspects(employment, etc.). ... i'm interested in anything about the differences between these 2 cities.

There are a lot of differences, and some similarities. Both have historic downtown cores which are relatively intact, and the similarities mostly end there. St. John's NL is larger, a capital city with a large University, rugged scenery, more unique Newfoundland culture, so that gives it an edge in many ways. Saint John New Brunswick, I think, has a better climate and is easier to get to (close to the US border). Saint John NB is also much more industrial (the home of a large oil refinery), but also has more impressive older commercial buildings, while St. John's NL has probably more impressive ecclesiastical (church) buildings, and row houses, etc.

[tzk]

Originally Posted by Joev

There are a lot of differences, and some similarities. Both have historic downtown cores which are relatively intact, and the similarities mostly end there. St. John's NL is larger, a capital city with a large University, rugged scenery, more unique Newfoundland culture, so that gives it an edge in many ways. Saint John New Brunswick, I think, has a better climate and is easier to get to (close to the US border). Saint John NB is also much more industrial (the home of a large oil refinery), but also has more impressive older commercial buildings, while St. John's NL has probably more impressive ecclesiastical (church) buildings, and row houses, etc.

which of them has a larger downtown commercial area/more commercial buildings?? i've seen their images on other threads, i think that there might be more high rises in saint john nb. The old coloured houses in st. john's should be built denser so that they'd look better. i feel that it's not very good to build the houses or residential buildings in downtown area, like the place i live & images of st. john's i've seen, do u think so?actually there's many people like to live in downtown in the city i live (outside north america), and the downtown is full of condos more than 30 storeys. outside downtown is also full of high rise condos and apartments but there are less office buildings.

[Joev]

Well, for the St. John's NL downtown area, these are the major building heights:

13 stories - 2 buildings
12 stories - 3 buildings
11 stories - 2 buildings
9 stories - 1 building
8 stories - 3 buildings
7 stories - 2 buildings
6 stories - 2 buildings

All others are low-rise or less than 6 stories.

There are several new downtown proposals of 7 stories or less mainly because of heritage restrictions which are generally limited to 15 meter heights. Some 10 storey buildings are proposed in other areas of the city.

The downtown area in St. John's NL is a long strip of about 2 km at the bottom of the steep hills beside the harbour; because of this the wooden houses are highly visible.

I'm not too familiar with Saint john NB, but it has a few hi-rises, and some that are taller. In Saint John NB I think the downtown is a more compact and concentrated area and the city is much flatter.

[tzk]

thanks alot!!! maybe i should visit both.

[Joev]

Here is a photo collage I did of St. John's Newfoundland, most are taken from the Rooms Museum vantage point.



Larger size:
http://www.pbase.com/image/112614673/original.jpg

And of course, you can see a lot of Saint John NB right here in this thread:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=542164

[Joev]

I guess this is an excuse to make a short photo thread.

All photos of St. John's Newfoundland by me from 2007:

























Memorial University Area:

[tzk]

http://www.pbase.com/joecanada/image/110939688.jpg

This is the best image. The images are really nice.

[starman1695]

It is beautiful. Unfortunately, most of my time was spent in the hospital. But when I did get to see the city, I was impressed by both the landscape, the architecture and the wonderful people. It's easily worth a visit. If you go, you MUST go to a restaurant called the Cellar at 189 Water St.

[Chadoh25]

St. John's is beautiful! I hope to visit one day soon!

[Oaronuviss]

St. John's Newfoundland was the best place I ever visited so far in my entire life.
May sound strange, but I absolutly loved it more than anything.
I've been to Vegas, California, etc... but Newfoundland is a really special place. It's un-explainable.

[Joev]

Originally Posted by Oaronuviss

St. John's Newfoundland was the best place I ever visited so far in my entire life.
May sound strange, but I absolutly loved it more than anything.
I've been to Vegas, California, etc... but Newfoundland is a really special place. It's un-explainable.

Thanks for the really nice remark. Most of us who are from there feel that way about the whole island portion of the province; it's a bit like a country onto itself, or a little piece of Ireland. Being an island which used to be a country, it's not really that suprising.

[Stockvideoland]

As someone who has lived in both, I would have to say that St. John's is much nicer.
Saint John is a very industrial city with a high unimployment rate. The only nice parts are the suburbs.
St. John's is more spread out but apart from an industrial park on the outskirts, it is better suited for tourism.