Letters to the editor -
Dear editor,
Bay Roberts makes the Best Places to Live list (April 2010) out of 5,772 Places in all of Canada.
Wow!
Perhaps some have heard that we actually made the "worst places to live" list, but that is one opinion by somebody named Brian out of 33,311,400 (as of 2008, according to Google).
What has actually happened is that Bay Roberts made the "BEST PLACES to Live List" out of 5,772 towns/cities in Canada, and I agree that this is a wonderful place to live.
In the May 4 issue of The Compass it was reported Bay Roberts had 25 newly approved residential building applications, and we have had consistent growth in population where other surrounding towns have not.
Further, it is a very safe town to live in.
I have lived here for only four years after living in Ottawa for over 25 years and where I never thought to leave my door unlocked at any time. But in Bay Roberts, it's not unusual for a neighbour or friend who can't get an answer from knocking at my door to waltz right in and call out to me in this big ol' house.
In Bay Roberts, I don't hesitate to take a stroll at any time of the day or night. In Ottawa, you just don't go out after certain hours without some kind of bodyguard, be it man or dog, and theft is rampant there.
I left a chair to put up for sale on my lawn, and as soon as I turned my back, it was gone.
Regarding cost of living, it's actually quite low here compared to other "Best Places to Live in Canada." Real estate however is booming, with housing values almost doubling in my neighbourhood in the last two years. I think that's a good deal and with low taxes including water, sewer, sanitation and a myriad of other town services, who would complain about that?
Have you tried to find a place to rent in this community? Four years ago my husband and I decided to return to his hometown, and do you think we could find anything to accommodate our rental needs? Not a thing! Instead, we decided to look at the buyers market and have invested for much less than we would in many of the other cities on the Best Places to Live List.
We have a growing community here of neighbours and friends who support one another and look out for each other's backs. We are definitely a very safe and family friendly community with an unparalleled natural environment and numerous social, community and recreational options from which to choose.
As a growing hub of business and industry, Bay Roberts boasts a large catchment area of almost 50 per cent of the provincial population, as well as a superior transportation and communications infrastructure; access to labour force from surrounding communities, a new business park, low business tax rates, a huge untapped potential and our office of economic development to assist developers through the process.
We are also centrally located between the two major modes of domestic and international travel and transportation, the St. John's International Airport and the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal at Argentia. And have our own harbour with capacity for cruise ships, as well as a launching point for regional, provincial and global exports.
So, if anyone is wondering who Brian is, he's the guy who writes pot stirring articles for MoneySense Magazine, but doesn't have his facts straight.
I would say to Brian, why don't you come on over to Bay Roberts and appreciate why we made it onto the Best Places to Live in Canada list out of only 2.94 per cent of all the towns and cities in Canada!
Oh, and Brian, regarding our town website, you apparently don't visit it very often, or you would know how much work has been done on it over the past few years, and I suspect will be done thanks to your comments.
Thank you Brian for having an opinion, regardless of how off-balanced it is, since no publicity is bad publicity.
Margaret French
Bay Roberts
