Living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada?

Question

A question those that live in Thunder Bay or have ever visited it. Is the city large? Big box stores? Good transit system? Diverse population? Your thoughts on thunder bay.

Just a few questions because I may be moving there in the fall for school. Thanks

Oh and your thoughts on Lakehead University!

Answer 1

Lived in T.Bay for more years than I wish to count. The city itself is situated on Lake Superior. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful spot for a city. The population is approx. 110,000 depending on whether it's T.Bay and surrounding area or metro.

The main industry is forestry though it's been a rough ride for the last few years. Many of the mills have closed though some have since been purchased and are set to open again. It used to be a thriving port with gain elevators. Now a days T. Bay is struggling to get into the tourist trade. The city itself is starting to revitalize the marina area into Prince Arthur’s Landing. Additions include increased green space, the addition of large plazas, expanded trail systems, a new marina and the redevelopment of Piers 2 and 3 into public piers.

Skiing, boating, water skiing, camping, hiking are all popular pastimes. With so many inland lakes in the surrounding area you have your choice of activities close to home. Do some of the touristy things like visit Kakabeka Falls - a 20 min drive west. The falls itself is higher than Niagara and there's day picnic areas along with overnight camping. Mt. McKay's lookout where you can see the entire city on a clear day. It is run by the native band and they charge an admission to go through the reserve to the lookout. Amethyst Mines going east where you can "mine" your own amethyst. Old Fort William is definitely worth checking out - it's a re-creation of the old fort the fur traders used.

The retail sector has taken off over the last approx. 8 years with new box stores. Intercity Mall is the largest mall and is located kind of in between Port Arthur and Fort William or rather the northward and the southward as they're called since they amalgamated. You will find almost every store here that you would find in larger centers eg: Old Navy, Pier, Home Depot, HMV, etc (you will lack nothing).

T. Bay is a mixture of old and new. The city has 26 properties individually protected by City By-laws as part of preserving heritage. The arts community is thriving with  the Thunder Bay Art Gallery is Northwestern Ontario's largest public art gallery which is centrally located on the campus of Confederation College. Here is their website:

http://www.theag.ca/

While the transit system gets you to most places in the city it may not be up to "big city" standards by any means. The buses don't run as frequently as they would in a larger city.

Here is their website for more info.

http://www.thunderbay.ca/index.cfm?fuse=...

Lakehead University has a video for new students on their website along with tons of info for not just the university itself but events and city information that you would find useful.

http://www.mylakehead.ca/

They offer  an unbeatable combination of quality education at one of the most beautiful campuses in Canada. Lakehead University is committed to educating students who are recognized for leadership and independent critical thinking and who are aware of social and environmental responsibilities. You will find instructors who are committed, of high caliber, friendly and helpful. You will meet student from all over the world here who have come to learn at one of the finest universities.

I could go on and on about the virtues of T. Bay but I think I should get you some websites should help you.

The most comprehensive one that has everything you'll need is:

http://www.visitthunderbay.com/index.asp

One of the radio stations just because:

http://www.ckpr.com/localnews/

City news and updates to everything from real estate to the university.

http://www.tbayicity.com/

The community weekly paper:

http://www.tbsource.com/index.asp

The daily newspaper

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/

The public Library:

http://www.tbpl.ca/

T. Bay city maps:

http://www.thunderbay.ca/index.cfm?fuse=...

You will enjoy the delights of many of the ethnic restaurants in the city. Don't forget to try the Hoito on Bay St. It is the oldest Finnish restaurant with absolutely fabulous food at rates so reasonable even students can afford it. Bar Italia (a few short block from the Hoito) for awesome Italian food. It also has all the chain restaurants you're probably used to seeing elsewhere.

I don't know what else to add but you'll enjoy your time there. You may even want to stay during the summer and take in all the festivals (Blues, Fringe, etc). If you need any more info add a note and I'll try to answer it for you.

Good Luck.

Answer 2

Junebug has thoroughly answered most of your questions and provided you with a lot of great info, so I will just fill in my thought of TB (I lived there for 20 year, went to southern Ontario for 8 year, and am now back in the Bay)

The city of Thunder Bay is actually very large in area considering its population with lots of green space. If you like the outdoors you will have no trouble finding things to do in both the summer and winter.

The bus system isn't great compared to other cities but you will just have to make do if you don't have a car. I always tell people that Thunder Bay really is a car town. However, since the university is centrally located in the city, you will have no trouble getting around or finding amenities near you.

Tbay’s population is somewhat diverse but it is nothing compared to the larger cities in Canada. Since Tbay is located in northern Ontario there is very large Native Canadian population and many people from the northern communities come to Tbay for supplies. The city was basically built by European decedents; with the most dominate cultures being Finnish, Scandinavian, Italian, Polish, and Ukrainian. That being said, you will also find people from many Asian countries as well, such as China, India, Pakistan, Korean, etc.

As for LU it is a good school, especially for undergrad. I went there for my undergrad and then went to both Queen’s and UWO for grad school. The education that I received from LU was very comparable to other universities, so don’t listen when other people put LU down.

Hope some of this helps. Best of luck with your school decisions!