Please help me choose the best area

[estceashzed]

Hi guys, I'm about to apply for college but I'm unsure which one I should pick. I want to base my choice on good: part-time job opportunities, rent availability, living coast, and public transit.

Below are google map links for each potential location:

NBCC in New Brunswick
Saint John Campus: see
Moncton Campus: see
Woodstock Campus: see
Miramichi Campus: see
St. Andrews Campus: see

Holland College in Prince Edward Island
Summerside Campus: see

I highly appreciate your time and advice. Thank you.

 

[selvakk]

Hi guys, I'm about to apply for college but I'm unsure which one I should pick. I want to base my choice on good: part-time job opportunities, rent availability, living coast, and public transit.

Below are google map links for each potential location:

NBCC in New Brunswick
Saint John Campus: see
Moncton Campus: see
Woodstock Campus: see
Miramichi Campus: see
St. Andrews Campus: see

Holland College in Prince Edward Island
Summerside Campus: see

I highly appreciate your time and advice. Thank you.

Both colleges are located in the smaller provinces, whose cities are smaller than the ones in the bigger provinces.

Part-time jobs - You will have competition from other students and local residents from what jobs are available.
Rent availability - The cost can lower than the bigger provinces, but availability will be limited, in one shot there will be many international students looking for rooms for rent. Availability is an issue that will be common in any province, the main difference will be the rent.
Living cost - I am not too familiar with the cost of living in New Brunswick or PEI, but rent would be lower, and certain services would be lower as well.
Public Transit - In this list, only Saint John, Moncton and Woodstock have decent public transit. The rest either have a few lines, or there is no public transit at all. Some will not run on Sundays, or have reduced service on the weekends. If you are going to depend on public transit, then this will be a problem.

 

[estceashzed]

Thank you selvakk for your reply. There will be competition with other students for sure.

I did some research and here's what I've got:
https://i.postimg.cc/7hPqn67y/campus.png

I have rounded the numbers to make the comparison clearer. Note that the area isn't the campus area but the city where the campus is. The part-time job and room number isn't an indicator for whether that job or room is suitable but it adds more chances to the equation.

The population density seems a good indicator for a "living city" meaning more jobs and rent opportunities (?) or maybe more competition like you mentioned...

Please let me know what you think, I would love to hear from students or anyone who lives/d in these places. Also, if there are any other websites or forums you could refer me to where I could find advice.

Thanks !

 

[selvakk]

Thank you selvakk for your reply. There will be competition with other students for sure.

I did some research and here's what I've got:
https://i.postimg.cc/7hPqn67y/campus.png

I have rounded the numbers to make the comparison clearer. Note that the area isn't the campus area but the city where the campus is. The part-time job and room number isn't an indicator for whether that job or room is suitable but it adds more chances to the equation.

The population density seems a good indicator for a "living city" meaning more jobs and rent opportunities (?) or maybe more competition like you mentioned...

Please let me know what you think, I would love to hear from students or anyone who lives/d in these places. Also, if there are any other websites or forums you could refer me to where I could find advice.

Thanks !

Yes there is a catch of more jobs in big cities and more competition. However, as I personally don't drive, I would stick with the cities with better public transport.

 

[estceashzed]

I don't drive too and I don't plan on buying a car because of the expenses.. (maybe a bike tops).
When I google public transit in [city name], I find that there are buses available in all of them, and from an outsider point of view, I have no clue if it's decent public transit or not.

I'll try to contact students who attend/ed the college I plan on going to and see how things are.

 

[selvakk]

I don't drive too and I don't plan on buying a car because of the expenses.. (maybe a bike tops).
When I google public transit in [city name], I find that there are buses available in all of them, and from an outsider point of view, I have no clue if it's decent public transit or not.

I'll try to contact students who attend/ed the college I plan on going to and see how things are.

You have to see the map routes, many have only a few routes. Only Moncton, Saint John and Woodstock have transit that covers a decent portion of the city. Just having one or two lines is not enough, if the transit options are less, you are restricted to where you can live. Frequency is also important.

 

[estceashzed]

You have to see the map routes, many have only a few routes. Only Moncton, Saint John and Woodstock have transit that covers a decent portion of the city. Just having one or two lines is not enough, if the transit options are less, you are restricted to where you can live. Frequency is also important.

Solid advice, gotcha !