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Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin
My impression though - and correct me if I'm wrong here - is that in spite of its visual splendour the inner city is fairly hollowed out in terms of retail & amenities, no? In other words, if the residents of those lovely brownstones till have to drive out to the edge of town for services, they're not able to live a fully urban lifestyle.
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That opinion would have certainly been true a decade ago but recently there's been a big rejuvenation in the Uptown core. A lot of once empty and abandoned properties are being renovated and filled-in and the Uptown core has seen its population increase in the past census cycle. Retail has come with it, albeit more slowly. It is possible to live Uptown without a vehicle but more growth needs to occur for Uptown to have a fuller, more urban experience that makes living there more comfortable. Tremendous steps and progress over the past decade have been made and it's looking like the next decade will be more of the same given the projects that are coming online.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin
To that end, a place like St. John's offers a much more functional form of urbanity in the true, living sense of it.
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I'd agree, but i'd say Saint John has better built form in terms of things like mini-canyons and a more big-city feel. St. John's has the hills, the rowhouses, the vibrant colours, but Saint John feels more proper big city, if that makes sense.
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Originally Posted by niwell
I thought Lunenburg was pretty neat when I visited a few years ago but it did feel very touristy to me - not particularly lived in. That was my initial impresison though and would be happy to be proved wrong!
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Definitely touristy but probably the most vibrant of the coastal tourist towns. Not very busy in the winter months. St. Andrews in New Brunswick is a smaller version of Lunenburg which gets inundated with American tourists in the summer months for things like whale watching.