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Old 09-06-2016, 03:32 PM
 
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Over the long weekend, I took my wife to North Bay. It was her first time there, while for me my 3rd (or 4th maybe?) in the last 10 years.

It is a city I have come to like since I first visited (by luck!) 10 years ago. My wife wasn't too happy to go there, thinking it would be small and with nothing to do. But by the end of it all, she enjoyed it so much and decided to extend our stay by an extra night.

Anyway, for those who live in the city or have visited in the past, I have some questions:

1-What comes to mind when you hear of North Bay? This is geared more towards those visitors and non-residents. Do you think of a nice place or just a typical Ontario town that happens to be located on the lake. But nothing special

2-Sudbury being the closest big city to North Bay, is it it common or typical for people from go there, to do big purchase , government work etc ? Or does North Bay has it all and no need to go to Sudbury

3-how bad is winter and snow in NB as compared to the snow belt in Barrie and Muskoka?

4-what are the major employers in the city? I only found one big hospital, college and university. Didn't find any other big companies there, besides tourism, retail stores, restaurants etc.

5-Is Lakeshore drive the most popular street in NB or is it Main Street?


6-I noticed that the town has a lot of churches. Is it just me or is it just like other Canadian town of similar size and population? I actually liked this a lot about North Bay.

Last edited by vaughan905; 09-06-2016 at 03:43 PM..
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Old 09-08-2016, 03:06 PM
 
Location: Northern Ontario, Canada
230 posts, read 533,285 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vaughan905 View Post
1-What comes to mind when you hear of North Bay? This is geared more towards those visitors and non-residents. Do you think of a nice place or just a typical Ontario town that happens to be located on the lake. But nothing special
North Bay is viewed by a lot of northerners as being a nice, larger urban centre, with a strong military presence, and politically rather conservative.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vaughan905 View Post
2-Sudbury being the closest big city to North Bay, is it it common or typical for people from go there, to do big purchase , government work etc ? Or does North Bay has it all and no need to go to Sudbury
People that live in and around Sudbury rarely if ever have the need to go to North Bay for anything. Unless you have family or friends there, I don't see a reason to go. I imagine it's the same for people in North Bay coming here, although according to some we have better shopping options (Costco, for example).

Quote:
Originally Posted by vaughan905 View Post
3-how bad is winter and snow in NB as compared to the snow belt in Barrie and Muskoka?
I've never lived in Barrie or Muskoka, but if you've never experienced a northern winter, it can definitely take you by surprise. Expect temperatures to regularly dip below -30, as well as heavy snowfall. Winter tires are an absolute must; studded tires are recommended.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vaughan905 View Post
4-what are the major employers in the city? I only found one big hospital, college and university. Didn't find any other big companies there, besides tourism, retail stores, restaurants etc.
There isn't much besides government work, health care, education, and the usual low-level service sector work. I don't even think the military is a major employer in North Bay anymore. That's how it is in the north - well, that or resource-based communities.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vaughan905 View Post
5-Is Lakeshore drive the most popular street in NB or is it Main Street?
I think both function basically as NB's main streets.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vaughan905 View Post
6-I noticed that the town has a lot of churches. Is it just me or is it just like other Canadian town of similar size and population? I actually liked this a lot about North Bay.
I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think it's any more religious than Sudbury, the Sault, etc. That said, I was surprised the last time I was there when I saw a 'Right to Life' office near downtown, as I've never seen such a place in Sudbury.
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Old 09-13-2016, 08:42 PM
 
Location: Gatineau, QC, Canada
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I live in Sudbury and visit NB every now and then. It's probably about the same size/population as Sudbury proper, actually. Sudbury is only technically bigger because it was recently turned into a large agglomeration of nearish communities that bumped the population and spatial area of the city by quite a bit. It's certainly not a situation where North Bay depends on Sudbury for things to do. Other than the mining in Sudbury, their economies are probably pretty identical.

North Bay is definitely cleaner and regarded in a more positive way than Sudbury is. Nipissing is a big lake, and despite having one of our own in city limits, lots of Sudburians go to hang out in NB for an easy and scenic escape to a lot of the industrial hang-ups that linger around here. The shopping centre there is also superior to ours, if that matters to you.

It's going to be a few degrees colder than Barrie in the winter, on average. I don't know how to sell Northern Ontario when it comes to climate. I hate the winters here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ajl22586 View Post
I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think it's any more religious than Sudbury, the Sault, etc. That said, I was surprised the last time I was there when I saw a 'Right to Life' office near downtown, as I've never seen such a place in Sudbury.
Apparently there is one here in Sudbury. There are also some regular picketers outside the Health Sciences Centre. Well, like four of probably the same people each time.

Even though Sudbury has shifted to being politically Liberal recently after some scandal I can't remember the details of, is very much an NDP kind of place. Which makes sense, given that its traditionally revolved around protecting its nickel mining population and the security of related-jobs for a working population that doesn't have the training to do other stuff. However, that doesn't necessarily make it a very progressive place. There's a lot of really backwards and uneducated people meandering around here who are absolutely un-cosmopolitan. There's a big youth population that seem to romanticize pretending to be gangsters. I've always had the impression this wasn't a Northern Ontario thing, just a Sudbury thing. I've never lived outside of Sudbury for any meaningful amount of time to confirm this, though.
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Old 09-13-2016, 09:18 PM
 
Location: Canada
7,363 posts, read 8,304,109 times
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Originally Posted by Jesse44 View Post

Even though Sudbury has shifted to being politically Liberal recently after some scandal I can't remember the details of, is very much an NDP kind of place. Which makes sense, given that its traditionally revolved around protecting its nickel mining population and the security of related-jobs for a working population that doesn't have the training to do other stuff. However, that doesn't necessarily make it a very progressive place. There's a lot of really backwards and uneducated people meandering around here who are absolutely un-cosmopolitan. There's a big youth population that seem to romanticize pretending to be gangsters. I've always had the impression this wasn't a Northern Ontario thing, just a Sudbury thing. I've never lived outside of Sudbury for any meaningful amount of time to confirm this, though.

That sounds a lot like Winnipeg.
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Old 09-13-2016, 09:27 PM
 
1,669 posts, read 4,224,701 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ajl22586 View Post
North Bay is viewed by a lot of northerners as being a nice, larger urban centre, with a strong military presence, and politically rather conservative.
North Bay itself is a liberal town, it's the surrounding areas outside of town within the riding that are more conservative.
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Old 09-14-2016, 08:33 PM
 
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North Bay's top employers are all are public sector in nature. The hospital, school board, Nipissing University, CFB North Bay, and the City of North Bay are the the top 5 employers -- various government ministries, Canadore College, The Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, some aerospace, several manufacturers that supply the mining industry (there are no actual mines in the North Bay area) and retail, restaurant and services round out most of the remaining top employers.

A few promotional videos put out by the city:





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Old 09-14-2016, 08:36 PM
 
Location: Canada
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Is there much agriculture in that region?
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Old 09-14-2016, 09:27 PM
 
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^ Not too much, there is some just South of North Bay in the Powassan area, and to the West in Sturgeon Falls/West Nipissing.
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Old 09-15-2016, 08:01 AM
 
Location: Northern Ontario, Canada
230 posts, read 533,285 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jesse44 View Post
IHowever, that doesn't necessarily make it a very progressive place. There's a lot of really backwards and uneducated people meandering around here who are absolutely un-cosmopolitan. There's a big youth population that seem to romanticize pretending to be gangsters.
You pretty much nailed it. I would extend this to many parts of the North. Economically many people are left or centre-left, but socially and culturally they might as well be from the backwoods of Mississippi.
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