Quality of Life

Fredericton offers a balanced lifestyle with abundant recreational and cultural amenities, short commutes, and affordable, safe living!  You can see why the City was named one of "Canada's Best Places to Live" four years running by Moneysense, and the 2009 Cultural Capital of Canada! 

Come for a visit, stay for a lifetime!

A Short Commute

Whether you reside in the downtown core within a five-minute walk to work, or reside in the many suburbia areas just within a five-minute drive - traffic jams are non-existent!

Central Proximity

Fredericton, the Capital of New Brunswick, is centrally located:

• Within an hour's drive to the U.S. Interstate 95 -- the major American north-south corridor. 
• Within a day's drive of Halifax, Toronto and New York. 
• Less than an hour away from Saint John - the region's busiest seaport
• And just a fifteen-minute drive from city centre to the Fredericton Airport -- serviced daily by Air Canada.

Low Crime Rate

In Fredericton, you can feel safe walking the streets alone at night, and driving without having to lock yourself in your car.   The City of Fredericton has a low rate of crime making it a peaceful place to live and work.

Low Cost of Living
The cost of housing is very affordable.  A standard two-storey house was 43% below the national average for Q3 in 2010 (source: Royal Lepage).   To learn more about real estate options in the Fredericton area, see www.mls.ca.

Fred-eZone
The City introduced Fred-eZone in 2003 making it Canada's 1st Free Wireless City!  Fred-eZone is a City-owned wi-fi network, part of its fibre optic network e-Novations, that makes use of integrated traditional and wireless technologies to provide residents, visitors and businesses with mobile high-speed internet access in public areas.  www.fred-ezone.com

Recreation & Fitness Activities

Activities are abundant for the fitness and outdoor enthusiasts such as:

• Fantastic golf with 7 local courses -- a local businessperson was once quoted as saying "I don't know of many other cities where I can be at my office at 4:45p.m and on the first tee at 5:00p.m."  For more information on golfing visit www.golfnb.com. 
• Boat & yacht clubs to accommodate the boating public, plus cruises on the river, canoeing and kayaking.
• Salmon fishing, and hunting.
• Several health clubs in close proximity to the business district so you can grab a quick workout over the lunch hour, or even a jog on the riverfront Green.
• Outdoor / indoor tennis facilities.
• Over 85 kms of connecting trails fantastic for walking, hiking, running, biking and cross-country skiing! 
• Downhill skiing at Crabbe Mountain, located at the city's doorstep just a 40-minute drive away.
• Miles of groomed snowmobile trails that connect to the provincial system. 
• TreeGo Mactaquac offers a thrilling aerial adventure zip-lining through the tree-tops www.treegomactaquac.ca/english.html
• Fredericton has 3,076 acres of parkland and green spaces.  There are two major parks within the downtown area. Wilmot Park, comprising 12 acres, has a great playground and wading pool for children, lawn bowling and tennis facility. Odell Park, comprising 388 acres, has an arboretum, picnic facilities and lodge, duck pond, playground, and over 16 kms of hiking trails.

Mecca of Art, Culture & History

• Fredericton was the Cultural Capital of Canada for 2009!
• The city boasts a colorful art, craft & cultural community renowned for its status as the Craft Capital of NB, and Pewtersmith Capital of Canada. 
• The city has numerous galleries and studios such as the famous Beaverbrook Art Gallery -- home to the Salvador Dali's Santiago el Grande.
• The Playhouse sets the stage for live theatre like the highly acclaimed, The Bricklin:  An Automotive Fantasy, co-produced by Theatre New Brunswick.  The Playhouse also features a regular program of ballet, music concerts and classical performances.
• A centre for numerous festivals like the internationally renown NB Highland Games/Scottish Festival, and Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival.
• The Historic Garrison District, located in the heart of the downtown, features walking tours, day adventures, music, craft & artisan shops, changing of the guard, and much more.
• Kings Landing Historial Settlement is located just 20 minutes west of Fredericton, where you can experience all the sites and sounds of rural New Brunswick in the 1800s at this recreated 300-acre outdoor living history museum.
• edVentures - Atlantic Canada's largest vacation learning program in craft and culture.
• Music for all tastes including Symphony New Brunswick, NB Country Showcase, concerts and everything from Irish to rock performances at local establishments weekly.  During the summer, one can enjoy the outdoor Summer Music Series with free, live performances.

Vibrant Nightlife & Restaurants

• Fredericton has a vibrant nightlife including dance clubs, unique cafes, and pubs. 
• Restaurants feature various cuisine such as: Asian, Greek, Indian, Mexican, Caribbean, and of course some of the best maritime seafood.

Shopping & Specialty Boutiques

There are four primary shopping malls, and numerous specialty boutiques scattered throughout the city.

Family Oriented Activities

In addition to all the previously mentioned amenities, Fredericton has many other great forms of family entertainment:

• Movie Theatres - 10 cinema complex at the Regent Mall.
• A number of bowling facilities.
• Skiing, snowboarding, skating, sliding, sleigh rides.
• Swimming at the Fredericton Indoor Pool.
• Kingswood Entertainment Centre, a state-of-the-art facility, features a fitness and gymnastics centre, indoor playground including the "Laser Zone", cosmic bowling, and much more! www.kingswoodpark.com
• Science East with over 150 exciting hands-on science and technology exhibits for children www.scienceeast.nb.ca.
• www.fredkid.com for information on family-oriented activities and resources.

Saturday Farmers Market

A Saturday morning ritual consists of a trip to the Boyce Farmers' Market, where you can enjoy the enticing aroma of ethnic food, find unique crafts & gifts, and buy your fresh produce, meat and flowers.

Education (*also see Technology Research & Education section)

Fredericton is proud of its excellent educational facilities from kindergarten to post-graduate studies in both official languages:

• The province delivers immersion/non-immersion education programs with over 35 schools residing in the Fredericton area.
• Fredericton is home to four universities: University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University, Univerity of Fredericton, and Yorkville University.
• There is also a large cluster of training colleges and institutes located throughout the city including the NBCC and NB College of Craft & Design.

Francophone Community

Centre Communautaire Sainte Anne is the heart of the francophone community providing a wide variety of activities:

• Ecole Sainte-Anne, a renowned school within the complex, offers education from kindergarten to high school levels.
• The centre also offers theatre, day care, the Centre de Sante Noreen-Richard Health Centre, a public and school library with over 30,300 French titles, meeting rooms, community events (like art exhibitions, concerts, social evenings, church services -to name a few) plus sporting facilities.

Source  Centre Communautaire Sainte Anne, Phone : 453-2731, www.centre-sainte-anne.nb.ca/

Multicultural Community

Fredericton has a strong multicultural community having formed the Multi-Cultural Association of Fredericton in 1974.  The association provides a number of services to newcomers including language instruction, settlement services, host program, health information, homework club, job search assistance, and nutritional classes. 
Source  Multicultural Association of Fredericton, Phone: 454-8292, www.mcaf.nb.ca

For more info on recreational, tourism and cultural amenities, see www.fredericton.ca and www.tourismfredericton.ca