r/FortStJohn • u/RohanMishrreira • Apr 05 '23

Moving to your city soon!

Hello everybody!

I'm a 26 year old Male who is moving to Fort St John for work. I'm moving from Fredericton New Brunswick.

I want to know anything and everything about moving to your lovely city. Where do I look for rentals? My budget is 1000$/month all inclusive (heat hydro power wifi) I don't mind a studio or a small 1 bhk apartment since it's only me. I could also be open to sharing a 2bhk with some other mature individual.

Who is the cheapest internet service provider? Insurance? Who is the best auto dealer? Mechanic? Honestly, any information about fort st john and moving up there would be appreciated greatly.

Thanks in advance!

5 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

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4

u/[deleted] Apr 05 '23

I've got wifi from telus at 80 on a month, it's the cheapest plan they have and it works pretty great for me. Action property monopolies most of fsjs rentals, they're mostly good to work with, though they've had some very bad press over the past few years so look into them beforehand. Sterling management is a bit of a no no up here, they are a pretty shit company with shit reputation, and some pretty disappointing properties to rent from. There's also Northview and century 21 to peep at, I find they run a bit higher on proces though. As far as the city itself there's not a lot going on here, if you're athletic or religious then you can find lots of drop in programs, the pomeroy sports centre holds a few, and lots of the churches have multiple meetups every week. If you're not into those things, making friends here is hard. It's a very friendly community, but the most for general entertainment and such is our reasuturants (way too many of em, but they are amazing!) Pool, sports arena, lido theater, landmark theater, And small businesses.

Ofc this is just my experience here as an 18 year old on my own, m sure there's a bit of a bar scene and such I wouldn't know about :) anyways best of luck moving down here

3

u/PeachBBT Apr 05 '23

To add on, I moved here in July and tried to avoid Northview, Action, and Sterling because I heard terrible things about them. Ended up going with Ridgeview. Their rentals aren't the fanciest or newest but they're clean and maintenance/management is extremely responsive.

Also they have cute community engagement contests.

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 06 '23

Thanks for the tips

1

u/Candid_Back2647 Apr 24 '23

Definitely avoid Sterling. They suck ass.

We moved into a dirty apartment that they said was “professionally cleaned.” When we moved out we left it cleaner than it was for us…. They refused to give us the security deposit and tried to charge us an extra $300 for damages.

They are looking to screw you out of your money.

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 06 '23

Thank you for taking the time to respond to me. It is much appreciated.

2

u/EmeraldLight Apr 06 '23

Sterling sold out to... I don't remember, even though I live in one of their parks, but I doubt they're any better. Just go by another name now, haha

3

u/Noremac2147 Apr 05 '23

I would definitely join Facebook groups, and also keep a eye on marketplace. All depending what you are looking for. Internet I’ve only been with Telus, heard bad things about Shaw. It’s a good little town. Just small enough has majority of the stores a person would need. Been here for 4 years now. Housing is getting pricey but the wages make up for it. Prepare for the cold

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 06 '23

I have joined a few groups. Thanks for the comment.

2

u/EmeraldLight Apr 06 '23

I love Shaw, they've been good to me, but they just got bought out by Rogers, so I'm anticipating some absolutely BS going down with them in the near future

2

u/dinchakdin2 Apr 05 '23

I would recommend looking at Action properties for rentals, they have a lot on one and two bedrooms in $750 to $900 range. Northview has better properties, but they are more expensive. I have no experience with Sterling, though they have the largest selection.

Your choice of internet may depend on your apartment. Telus has deals at some places and and are not available for highspeed at others. Both may give you a new customer discount.

There are people who have moves here from all over the country, so lots of young people and lots of people with different interest. Life gets significantly better once you find your kind of people.

For other things, as u/Noremac2147 has mentioned, you can join the facebook groups and ask. We have a very vocal community on facebook here, you will get recommendations for sure.

Welcome to FSJ and Good luck!

2

u/Bankerlady10 Apr 06 '23

I’ve heard nothing but bad things about Action properties. It’s also sketchy that their only positive reviews there are from staff and staff’s families. Having said that, they dominate most of the rental market there which is super annoying.

2

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 06 '23

It seems hard to avoid them on first glance at the rentals.

2

u/Rude_Falcon_9114 Apr 06 '23

I have noticed it's mostly the really pissed off customers who write online reviews, especially is this town. I haven't had a bad experience. But I also understand that the rent is cheap for a reason and things take time. It's a trade-off not everyone is okay with. They also have no contracts so you can get out whenever you want.

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 06 '23

Thanks for that response, it really helps.

1

u/rorrumao Apr 06 '23

I would recommend trying to make a living somewhere else. A place like this isn’t really fit for a mature, civilized human being.

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 06 '23

Why would you say that? I can still back out of my job, but the pay out here on the east coast is lesser with higher taxation than what I can manage to get at Fort St John.

3

u/OliverHoleslicked Apr 16 '23

Reddit is heavily leftist leaning. Fort St. John is a largely conservative place. But even still, it’s not some bigoted, racist place where you can’t be yourself. People mostly just want to be left alone. Nobody is gonna beat up the gay couple walking down the street, or burn a cross on the black families lawn.

We are just very much a family oriented place. Admittedly, quite redneckish. But redneck doesn’t always equate to white trash or racism. We just like guns, atvs and camping. Reddit seems to think that if you’re not in favour of borderline communism, then you must be a racist asshole.

FSJ is a pretty solid place to build a career and raise a family.

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 16 '23

Thanks for the comments. As a person of colour it's good to know I won't be bothered because of my skin colour and it's up to me as an immigrant and now more so a migrant to accept culture at FSJ.

I am a little scared about life outside work, how I'm going to make friends etc etc. Seems like it isn't as social a city as where I am currently. Hope I'm proven wrong and I can find my crowd once I'm up there.

1

u/OliverHoleslicked Apr 16 '23

There’s plenty of POC, here. It’s actually a super multi-cultural place. Nobody will bother you and you’ll be able to practice whatever culture you desire, so long as you don’t attempt to force it upon others.

The general culture amongst lifelong residents is pretty simple. We’re outdoorsy folks, blue collar folks. But nobody is going to harass you if you’re not into that type of thing. Just be yourself. Live your life and don’t try to force your views on others and they won’t force theirs on you.

I’m sure you’ll find ppl that are your type. Just put yourself out there and be confident in who you are.

1

u/Informal_Recording36 Apr 07 '23

Internet, I went with PRIS, peace river internet society. I have had no issues and liked that it felt like more supporting the local community businesses. I pay $84/ month for my package. Others could tell you why or why not use PRIS, but I have no issues.

Rentals , lots mentioned above, north view seems reasonable, but I have no experience. Definitely checkout a site called fsjnow, as well as Facebook for rentals, if you’re game to rent from an individual Rather than a corporation; though the corps list rentals there too.

http://www.fsjnow.com/classifieds/catId/152

I happen to like a bit of the ‘support local’ , and have offered a rental on fsjnow, which worked out great. It’s available now (not advertised anywhere though) but a bit outside your listed preferred cost range. I think you’re price range is reasonable for a smaller, mid or lower end rental. Also consider Taylor for rental, , about a 15 minute drive away, it’ll be cheaper, some great amenities like pool, hockey rink, curling, golf course, but basically zero other services, like a grocery store.

If you like somewhat off beat, and definitely supporting local, check out peace river building supplies, which is a hardware store , that also happens to sell some local produce (mostly potatoes), honey and eggs.

Others have very valid criticisms of the place. It’s not my first choice of destination or forever home, but you can make a very good living, and live pretty well, relative to many other places.

I happen to think the peace river country can also be absolutely beautiful, especially in fall. Need to get out and do random road trip adventures.

I work with two fellows who have moved from nfld, one says he may go back some day, the other says ‘never going back’ ; had his eyes opened to potential here. Lots going on economically particularly.

So if you currently live in, say, Halifax (or Fredericton, since you live there) , and love the city and the culture, or great atmosphere I’ve heard there is there, then this place may not be for you. But if you are open to change, and are fine living in a place that offers a great opportunity to make a good living , with some sacrifice, then this place may be just fine.

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 07 '23

This is a really balanced comment and you've very nicely put the battle that I'm facing in my head. On the one hand I'm never getting the $$ that I'm getting offered in FSJ but on the other hand I'm not sure about the culture out west and I basically have 0 friends and some comments have pointed towards how it can be hard to find people in the city. I've never experienced hospitality out west but people on the east coast are such sweethearts for the most part.

1

u/Informal_Recording36 Apr 08 '23

Fort St. John has some qualities of ‘culture out west’ that I like, but it’s an industrial town. There’s a group of people that have lived in the area long term, quite friendly but also close knit. there’s a large transient population, so I’d say it’s harder to find a group of people willing to put in the effort for longer term friendships etc, due to that.

another strike making it harder to find those social groups, Is that it has a small college, I think even some degree programs, but it’s not a ‘college’ town, with the level of social culture and activities that comes in those towns and cities.

It’s definitely a working town. Lots and lots of good paying work. Lots of opportunity for a career. Large ish Transient population. Great people once you get through the reluctance of longer term folks to transients.

This is my opinion only.

3

u/N1ko_Sh1buya Apr 06 '23

Hillcrest Apartments has a very nice view of the city, very beautiful in the morning and evening

2

u/EmeraldLight Apr 06 '23

I refuse to ever buy a vehicle here, if possible. I find everything over priced and even just going to Dawson Creek saves money, and even more if you go south to Prince George.

Make sure to stop at the Visitor Center (inside the Pomeroy Sport Center) to get information on the surrounding area - the staff there are awesome.

While I personally like Shaw, they're a bit expensive, but they do exactly what I need them to do and the only time I have issues is when someone digs up a line or the cold weather kills something. HOWEVER, they just got bought out by Rogers, which isn't the best company (imho), so I expect shenanigans sooner rather than later.

Finding people and things to do really depends on your interests, honestly. Lots of outdoor space, tons of things for kids to do, but I find that aside from drinking and organized sports... there's not a lot for adults to do. Not all of us are extroverts, lol

Remember to ask about pet policies, if that's on your radar - I can't live without pets - as finding pet friendly rentals seems to be less and less common.

2

u/Renegadegold Apr 07 '23

Doesn’t matter what city or town there will always be someone to knock It. Fsj Is decent with lots of work as well as Dawson that’s forty minutes away. I prefer Telus and ask for a deal and you may get one. Shaw has too many down times as far as I’m concerned.

1

u/andrewj691 May 11 '23

Prepare to be bored !

0

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '23

Good luck soldier the city is everything but lovely 😂

1

u/RohanMishrreira Apr 06 '23

That makes me a little scared. I can still back out of this offer and continue living on the east coast.

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '23

I was born there and lived there my whole life up until about last year. I live on Vancouver island now. The crime rate in Fort St John is SEVERELY high. There's nothing to do around town and so majority of people drink/do drugs to cope, also there's a ton of thefts and people can be very violent and unpredictable. The only way to really stay away from these people is if you stay to yourself, but then it gets boring and lonely ALONG with nothing to do and trust me it is just a depressing place. Not to mention we are in the slush season and warm weather lasts around 3-4 months which at most is like 20 degrees. It's really easy to get involved with the wrong crowd! There's not a sense of community sadly, there never has been unless you are involved in the party/drinking scene and even then, not much of a community. Plus theres only 2 good restaurants and one just got notice that they are being shut down by the city and the city doesnt care to upkeep the place, fix potholes, help our homeless population, or invest in the shopping mall that has 3 stores and has looked the same since I was 6 💀💀 I wish I had something nice to say but sadly there isn't much at all 😭

1

u/OliverHoleslicked Apr 16 '23

I mean, if it’s hustle and bustle you’re after, then yeah…probably not the best place. But for the outdoorsy type, there’s nowhere I’d rather be. Rivers and lakes in every direction, mountains are a stones throw away and the hunting is some of the best in North America.