Community Spotlight - Bay Bulls/Witless bay
- Jillian Molloy
- Aug 22, 2019
- 4 min read
First of all, welcome to my blog & my first post! I figure this is a great outlet for me to elaborate on some topics that cross my mind that wouldn't quite fit into a facebook or instagram post.
The first thing that has come to my mind that I would like to highlight is what I will call the "community spotlight", where I can elaborate on some things that a town has to offer that may not be typical public knowledge.
So since I myself live in Witless bay, I decided to highlight these Southern Shore communities first.
Myself or my husband aren't from this area, I am from a small town called St. Bride's - Placentia bay, and my husband is from an even smaller town, Peter's river, St. Mary's bay.
We were living in Paradise at the time when my husband started bringing up buying land in Bay bulls. I was a hard no, thought it was in the boonies lol. From there we would go for a coffee and drive and conveniently end up in Bay bulls to scope it out. The deciding factor for me ended up being the 25 minute drive from Mount Pearl - and the great piece of land we got for a great price. The drive was a no brainer coming from Paradise - half an hour sitting in traffic, or half an hour for a constant drive to get to your destination. I was just about 21-22 then, but the older I got the most important thing about a forever home for our children to grow up with the sort of freedom and small town feel that we did.
Fast forward to today, we live on a lovely cul de sac in a subdivision (technically.. but all the lots are minimum half acre and well spread out), with tons of kids around and never plan to leave.
Anyway, back to the point of this post.
The southern shore is full of stunning ocean views, hiking trails galore, delicious restaurants and a wonderful small town vibe.
There are two schools. St. Bernard's Elementary (K-5) located in Witless bay & Mobile Central High (6-12) located in Mobile.
The towns amenities and small businesses are plentiful, here is a list of some main options:
- Foodland grocery store, Bay bulls - Where you can scan the aisles while listening to traditional Newfoundland music and have a chance to say hello to many familiar faces.
- Pharmachoice, Bay bulls - this building houses a doctors clinic as well as a pharmacy.
- Saltwater Country, Bay bulls - a beautiful unique home & gift store.
- Several hair salons, including my personal favourite - Headquarters located in Bay bulls.
- Medicine Corner/Bay Bulls Family Practice - another lovely doctors clinic and pharmacy.
- Needs convenience, Witless bay
- Harrigans convenience, Witless bay - where you will find the best soft serve of all time.
There are also many amazing restaurants to mention:
- First, my personal all time favourite place to go, where I head to any chance I get - Irish Loop Coffee house, located in Witless bay. It is the sweetest little cafe with an amazing ocean view. Just trust me - if you are heading up the shore for any reason, make sure to drop in here before you leave.
- Tongue & Cheek, located in the O'brien's boat tour building in Bay bulls.
- The Captains Table, Witless bay - with its (literal) award winning fish and chips and amazing homemade cheesecakes, you won't be disappointed.
- Last but not least - Fork. Located in Mobile with an out of this world menu, follow the link and check out some photos of their beautiful meals. Much too fancy for me to describe lol, but delicious!
As for recreation - the towns have several playgrounds, the one located behind the Regional Lifestyle Centre being my 4 year olds favourite. Which also fills with kids during those evenings when everyone gathers to play soccer/T-ball/baseball.
The centre has many uses for the surrounding communities. It houses a gym (Falcon Fitness), a daycare, the gym which can be used for anything from weddings, concerts, to birthday parties. There are also free playgroup actives for pre school aged kids several days of the week, as well as breastfeeding support groups & baby & me group. It is a wonderful way to get out and meet new moms and have your kids meet some kids their age who they will eventually go to school with. I personally take my kids there any chance I get.
If you are anything like my husband, his favourite recreational activities are involved outdoors. Where we live he can do exactly what he loves - he can hop on the bike or skidoo from our home and head out on many trails. Along with biking trails, you can access many sections of the East Coast Trail as well.
So there it is, just some extra information about these southern shore communities that you may not have known. Maybe you were like me and didn't even really consider this as a place to settle until I really opened my eyes to it. I love it here and love that my children can grow up with the same small town vibe that I did, but on a larger scale with more kids as well as still being nice and close to town to be able to bring them in for activities anytime.
There are many beautiful homes for sale in the area, if you think this could be your new home - send me a message! I can send you a list of all listings in the area.
Email me any questions at all, or if you have anything extra to add that I have left out let me know! jillianmolloy@kw.com
I'm curious, what was important to you in choosing location of where to buy your home? Leave a comment below! :)
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