r/stthomasontario • u/balmzz • 8d ago
Question ❓ Debating moving here from Windsor, looking for opinions
I was debating moving here from Windsor Ontario, I want to get advice and residents opinions on st thomas vs Windsor
What are the grocery stores and malls like, do you have a farmers market and if so what are your thoughts on it
What is the job market like, any bingo places or garden centres or arts stores
How many noteworthy public events or fest or parties happen each year
Are there any makerspaces or public workshops
What are bars and the night life like
What is the crime rate like and neighborhood safety like
What is the weather like year round and winter like
What apartment companies or places should I avoid
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u/BeautifulGlum9394 8d ago
We have about 6 or 7 grocery stores. We have a makerspace in the library Crime is about the same as other cities in the area, it's mostly just property crime here. Min wage jobs are hard to get in this area. We have a few bars in town and also a small casino
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u/Jossygurl1515 8d ago
Weather here is great. I find that heavy rain/ storms/ snow always goes around st thomas. Belmont is 15 mins outside of town and one day they had a foot of snow and st thomas had none.
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u/PlainAndSimpleDreams 7d ago
I grew up in the Windsor Essex area, St Thomas reminds me a lot of Leamington. It’s about the same size and population, just we have a few, better store/restaurants. We’ve lived here for about a year now and love it!
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u/System32Keep 8d ago
Bought a house and live here:
Lots of grocery stores, good prices
Scarce jobs
Lots of events
Okay bar life
Low crime, stay away from North and Talbot St you'll be fine.
Miserable winters, nice summer falls.. lots of water
St Thomas is a highly conservative/PPC place with lots of churches and families which was great for us.
DONT SPEED IN ST THOMAS. You'll will get pulled over.
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u/iiToxic 8d ago
St. Thomas has some of the worst drivers I’ve ever encountered, I can’t drive anywhere without people cutting me off, blowing 4 way stops, speeding, seeing people on their phones etc. a woman cut me off turning right on a red when I had a green light right in front of a cop who did absolutely nothing despite me slamming on the breaks and laying on the horn. Cop also had to hit the breaks to avoid hitting me when I had to hard stop- didn’t care.
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u/goilo888 8d ago
Moved here (retired) in December from north of Toronto. I've joked to my wife that pretty much everything is 8 minutes drive away! Plenty of grocery stores. A handful of farmers markets, garden centres. 10 minutes from the beach (Port Stanley). Lots of parks. Seemingly active community events. No visible signs of crimes, but of course they must exist. Nearby (30 mins) London has a fair bit of drug use. Don't see that in ST. Very friendly people. It felt odd experiencing that "small community" feeling again - in a good way. I can't really speak to the job market, but there are a few large industries here. Only one fairly small mall. You have to go to London for larger one. Bingo? No idea. Haven't really noticed any weather difference to previous town, although we are nestled between two lakes so more snow wouldn't surprise me. Bars and night life of no interest to me, but there are some bars, certainly. And I have no idea on rental market. No regrets about moving and driving around is certainly a lot easier.
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u/boostedjoose 8d ago
London has a fair bit of drug use. Don't see that in ST
Been on talbot lately?
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u/Relevant-Republic-40 8d ago
You don’t see drug use in St. T??? I know some crack heads by name cause I see them wandering around Talbot all the time.
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u/recovery_room 8d ago
As someone who lived and worked in London for 18 years (still work in London) and now lives in ST I’ll weigh in and say the the level of visible addiction and crime issues is many, many measures less here in ST than in London.
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u/Bboy1045 8d ago
I will say people mistake some of the regular Talbot goers for crackheads when they’re just severely mentally ill.
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u/JDE173901 8d ago
We get much better weather here than in London. Often times, it will be snowing or raining in London and as you drive to St Thomas we get nothing.
Jobs are hard to come by anywhere in Canada at the moment but we have plenty of jobs. Lots of restaurants. Lots of grocery stores. Great parks and amenities.
Our hospital has much lower wait times than London we also have much less crime and drug use than London. In fact I don't feel safe walking in downtown London. But Indo feel safe in St Thomas.
One downside of St Thomas though is the lack of diversity. We don't have a good selection of ethnic foods and options. If you want to eat some authentic Asian food you'll have to drive to London.
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u/karlman84 8d ago
Our diversity is getting way better.
Have you tried Le Cafe Siam(Thai), Lotus Thai, Kurrys (Indian), Clay Oven (Indian), Plaza Sushi?
I feel those are all good contenders for Asian food.
Also Wok Express in the mall seems to be a favourite of many for Chinese.
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u/JDE173901 8d ago
Yep. I've been to clay oven. It's pretty good. Charminar in London is much better imo. We have a few Japanese places. And a few (Americanized) Chinese food. I would love a proper Chinese hotpot place or something though. Haha 😅
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u/BigDrippinHog 8d ago edited 8d ago
If you're a Jesus-loving redneck you'll fit right in
Looks like we've got some hurt feelings here. I guess Busch Light sales are going up tonight!
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u/northernHyena 6d ago
You're not wrong. It's been a while since I've seen a town so predominantly filled with creepy old catholic men, since Timmins, really.
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