Thanks for the shout out! To clarify about CFAs criticizing Newfoundland.. it's like that sibling you can pick on, but if someone else does it there's gonna be a problem. A good example of this would be the story of Farley Mowat the famous Canadian author. He moved to Burgeo in the 60s and fell in love with the town and its people. A people trapped in a time gone by, not tainted by the modern world but still living in simpler times. He wrote a book praising his new surroundings and the quirky characters he encountered. Then a whale beached on the shore and changed everything. He even wrote a book criticizing the town and the people in a bid to end commercial whaling. He was pretty much run out of town never to return again. I believe we love tourists praising us because for generations people were belittling us. Told often enough a sort of inferiority seeps into the culture. We were bog Irish drunk fisherman who talked funny and had little education. But we are a proud people, which is why we see outsized support for talent competions or tv shows. Its why you see Newfoundland shirts and bumper stickers and flags whenever you encounter a Newfoundlander abroad. I dont think i've ever seen an outline of Manitoba on the back of someones pickup truck.... For such a small population we get more attention than we realize. How many tv shows are set in Newfoundland as opposed to New Brunswick? I don't remember Anthony Bourdain checking out the culinary scene of Halifax on his show or a Tony award winning Broadway play on Saskatchewan etc etc. To sum it up, for centuries we were put down. Now that those tourism ads you see on tv have changed the mindset for a lot of mainlanders, those old insecurities rear their ugly head when negative comments come our way.
I love that you read your comments and interact with your viewers. Also love the honesty, integrity and passion you put into your videos. Thanks, Mark.
Hey Mark! A Newfoundlander here who lived away and moved back home 15 years ago. I stumbled upon your channel two days ago and have been very much enjoying the content. I watched the 'friendly' Newfoundlander video earlier this evening and was excited to see this one pop up. Yes, Yes, Yes. All the things in this video. My husband is a CFA, albeit a not too distant one as he is a Bluenoser, and now being well embedded has noticed much of this himself as well. We, as Newfoundlanders, are most definitely our best to those who visit. We are often our worst to locals, for a myriad of reason. That said there is one caveat I feel needs to be addressed. This is when we find ourselves in a shared experience of strife or grief. Snowmageddon is a great example of this. When the metro regions' daily business came to a standstill for 8 days in 2020, after 90cm of snow fell on top of the 100 already on the ground, everyone who could help did so for anyone who needed it. Grass roots snow brigades and food delivers were everywhere. So much love and help was extended to all, lover or foe. That to me is very much the spirit of the Newfoundlander, at our core. Cheers! Jenn.
That is a great point to make. I really believe that everybody pulled together during snowmageddon because it was the right thing to do. Period. The topic of "the friendly Newfoundlander" is definitely complex. I kinda want to revisit this again in the future when I'm better at making videos and telling stories. It really is interesting to me, and it seems like a lot of other people feel the same. And by the way... thanks so much for watching!
Hey Mark Been following for some time and love your content. This video hits a nerve for sure. My family is from Ontario and we moved here about three years ago so I may be told to mind my business but felt the need to chime in. I agree that Newfoundlanders are generally generous and friendly people but would definitely back up that they are not always nice to one another. We have made many friends since moving here and it seems many Newfoundlanders have cabins in outlying areas for recreation. Our friends are lifetime Newfoundlanders and I’ve seen that small communities can be very nasty if you do t live there full time. It also appears that if one local has an issue for whatever reason, the entire community can quickly turn and rumours go wild. Unfortunate and sad but seems to be a reality. I feel bad for our friends and hate to see it. This can happen anywhere but I’ve seen it a bit more here than other places. As far as I’m concerned we love it here and have no regrets making the move and our experiences after being here 3 years now has been nothing less than fantastic minus some of the weather although I’ll take it any day over 30 degree humidity. All the best!
Thanks for watching and for sharing your message. There is a pretty common thread here where a lot of us recognize/experience the ugly side of NL but there is still just something about the place, and we love it. In the video I tried to stress the point that I really believe that the vast majority of Newfoundlanders are the absolute BEST people, but there are some people who aren't only miserable themselves, but they bring out the worst in otherwise good people too. Just take a stroll through the comments on some of my videos lol. I love Newfoundland more than any other place, despite the poisonous people, and I'm glad to know that you have settled in well too. As for the weather... it's all yours buddy. As long as I have plenty of water on hand I'll take the 30 degrees PLUS humidity any day haha!
Newfoundland has people like anywhere else. Good and bad, mostly good. I'd move back in a heartbeat if I could. To the west coast, Corner Brook area. Good weather, mountains, foretsts and lakes. People in Alberta talk about freedom. Newfoundland is the most free place I've been. And I never liked the whole bay vs. town thing. I've lived in both and love both. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks this way. I've always said the only difference between baymen and townies is where they live.
You’re 100% correct. I come from GFW and to this day there’s still a small divide between people from Grand Falls and Windsor. You take a drive through both parts of the town and you’ll notice the differences, at least visually. One towns Main Street is cobble stone sidewalks and splash pads for the kids to play in on hot days. The other, has potholes and run down businesses. Just take a look someday on your way through. No need to stop. Not much to be at haha Keep up the great work tho, I love watching your videos.
So I'm a CFA and have been living and working here now for almost 3 years. My cousin's, sister and myself where the first gen of the family born off the island, I love it here being a part of my family's history on this beautiful island Truly gods country That being said to me most of the communities I've seen since being here has that old school mentality It ain't bout what ya got its bout what you can do for yourself and how you treat others
I'm from Nfld. I have lived in five provinces and visited all 10. You might be right that there is a little bit of a "show", for the tourists, but that would have to stem from somewhere that most everyone would be willing to participate in it, and I believe it is because Nflders know this is our reputation and take pride in it and wish to carry it along. Everywhere I have been, there have been friendly, welcoming people as well as rude or ignorant jackasses. That's just the makeup of any population. You can always find anecdotal evidence to discredit any stereotype, but as far as I can tell, Nflders are at least as friendly and welcoming as any region I've been in, and more so than most. My experience living in Nfld is mostly from the '80s and '90s, and I remember people helping others to shovel snow, stack firewood or help fix a car. But I also had someone steal my sneakers and a mop, so yeah...not a perfect society. Of course, we still have our share of "Jimmy up the road, f*ck him", but the overall picture I've ever witnessed is more like "Lloyd up the road will lend you a hand". I'd be willing to match up against any other group in Canada, at least.
Well said. Not just because of the clear points (as usual) but also for your use of the name "Lloyd" for your fictional buddy up the road haha... and jeez... they stole your mop?!?
@@mark_royle_newfoundland - was living on the corner of Suez and Liverpool at the time. Was in the shower and heard someone talking and assumed it was my room mate just getting back from classes. Came out to find no one there. The TV, stereo, all our valuables were not touched, but they had grabbed my new sneakers and the mop that had been standing in the corner. Never figured out why, but I've since joked it was so they could make "a clean getaway". :)
There is a difference from being nice to good hearted. I landed myself in a town of barely 100 and we all be ourselves. Good and bad potatoes be all around the world. For instance, with my lineage there is a word for the ones who abandoned their culture to make money and just go visit in summer or go back to live the golden years there. I laughed when they called me this because we were the poorest of all of them. My parents didn't know better obviously. Did it bother me being called this back then, yes but, when I told them the truth of my parents lives they felt bad. Seems that is here also and probably worldwide. I am blessed to have such diverse weather and landscape. Long time till summer rears her head but when she does by god she is 10 fold the beauty. Again I am a simple woman who just wants to live the rest out being happy, surrounded by beauty, and hopefully keep this village on the map. Thanks for the upload Mark.
Newfoundlanders use to be very friendly, easy going people. I moved away from home in 1972 and spent little time back there since. I always found it to be very boring and lonely whenever I went back so I never stayed long. The last trip was to retire there after being away for 20 years. I packed my van full and headed home only to find a very unfriendly, self-centered people. The family and friends I grew up with were self righteous, suspicious, gossipers. I decided to build a cottage outside of town because I did not like the people there. I built on my sister and brother in-laws waterfront property. When I got it built my brother in-law said he did not want anyone on his property so I lost all. I was renting a room off my brother for 500. a month while building my place. After about 2 years his wife asked me to move out? She said that I was the quietest tenant they ever had and never had any problems with getting rent my money. This is suppose to be family who I always had very good relationship with in the pass. I did not find anyone friendly except 2 older men who were neighbours growing up. So I packed some of my stuff and headed back to Ontario to start over at the age of 70. Was pretty much homeless when I got here but thank God I have Sri Lankans and Muslim friends here who took care of me and got me a nice place to live. Are Newfoundlanders friendly?? Absolutely Not by my experiences. They seem to thrive on jealously and envy and pushing someone else down to try and make themselves look good, I have no desire to go back there again. Where I live now is mostly Indians and other brown or black people, very few whites. A more friendly society of multi cultural people who all get along well with each other.
I'm neither Catholic nor Protestant. My parents moved to Canada from Pakistan. Two of my grandparents moved to Pakistan from British occupied India. Nobody kept records, but all of my ancestors were immigrants at one point or another. Human beings started evolving in Africa. All of the superficial differences we adopt and impose on each other are nothing but a social construct. Even though I've never been to Newfoundland, I've been aware of Catholic and Protestant divide on the island since I was a kid. Because my peers and friends who had Newfoundlander parents were taught and were made aware of such superficial divides. No different than the superficial caste divide in the homeland of my grandparents. I've never seen their country, but their dogmatic beliefs and superficial exclusionary divides are still playing a role in modern day Canada. We are tribal creatures by nature. Our tribal association is not based along racial, linguistic or religious lines. We just assume our tribe to be whatever we're most comfortable with.
Born and raised in Nova Scotia. And i disagree. Some are nice. But ive met alot ALOT of selfish newfoundlanders. Not sure what changes when they move here but something does change.
