It was the summer of 2007 when my husband and I arrived in Newfoundland for the first time ever. We came to visit friends in St. John's before heading out on a road trip.

I knew right away as we travelled along the Irish Loop that this was where I wanted to live after retiring. The clean smell of the salt air, the awe inspiring landscape, the friendliness of the people, the quiet way of living and the feeling of relief as the stress in my shoulders dissipated, what more could anyone ask of a place as homey feeling as Newfoundland? I honestly felt at home and couldn't wait to move here.

My husband and I retired and then moved to Trepassey in October of 2010. Since then I can honestly say – I have no regrets about moving here. I travel back and forth along the Irish Loop and often stop to take pictures of different things I come across. Some are too beautiful for words. Never a disappointment – there is always something new and interesting to see. I have numerous pictures consisting of icebergs, lighthouses, whales, birds, lobsters, breathtaking scenery and much, much more… And may I add - I am now a proud Newfoundlander...

Nasomi and Anu's dad moved to Cape Broyle about 7 years ago to work as a mechanic in the local garage. They, along with their mother, arrived about 5 years ago. They really enjoy the quiet life and the beautiful scenery in their town. Their mother has found seasonal work at the local fish plant in Cape Broyle. Both girls attend Baltimore school in nearby Ferryland. The girls say it was very scary at first and wondered would they fit in, not knowing English, but everyone was really nice. Anu recently won first place in a school speaking contest, so what started out as a struggle has become a source of pride for her. The girls love the fact that it's so safe here and they get to go wherever they want. They look forward to all the new challenges, opportunities and experiences they will have in their new home.

Anu and Nasomi tell us about living here:
"Hi my name is Anu, I am ten. I maybe little but I know a lot from living here for 5 years. I love it because there are really sunny times in summer when I can go swimming and really cold times in winter, a really good time to go sliding. I love it here! I also like it here because there is not much danger like tsunamis, earthquakes, or tornados. It's also beautiful here with the green trees and plants. I also think the school is very nice. There are many things that you can do like sliding, swimming and planting flowers".

"Hello my name Nasomi, I am 14 years old. My sister, mom and I moved to Newfoundland from Sri Lanka 5 years ago and my dad moved to Newfoundland 7 years ago. I felt very accepted from the day I moved here to even today. I love it here in Cape Broyle, it has the best place to go swimming. I love swimming. It is my favorite part of summer. It is very quiet and peaceful and the neighbors are incredible."

I was born and raised in St. John's and like a lot of Newfoundlanders years ago was forced to go to the mainland to find work. I settled in Montreal where I met my wife Peggy O'Herron, who was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. She moved to Canada in 1966. We fell in love and were married in April 1971. In July of that year, we visited Newfoundland so that Peggy could meet more of my family. Peggy fell in love with the place and the people. She wanted to settle here immediately as she had never experienced the hospitality that was shown to her; but at that time, there wasn't enough work here.

So, we returned to the mainland where my work took us to many parts of Canada in the following years. Eventually, I retired and came back to Newfoundland in 2005. We had met some people in Montreal who were from Ferryland. We came to Ferryland to visit and Peggy loved the area, the beauty speaks to her spirit. Peggy says "I love it on the Southern Shore, mostly people are honest, not pretentious, real, down to earth, they don't wear masks. I feel so safe here, the people are so easy going and friendly. It's so peaceful, here and we were tired of the city life where everyone is rushing".

This little house, overlooking the ocean was on the market and we moved for the last time. Len explains: how after he bought the house in Ferryland, he was busy putting a new floor down and a neighbour knocked at the door right out of the blue "If you need any help-let me know or if you need to borrow some tools". The kindness of people, and their helpful nature, expecting nothing in return is what they love about living on the Southern Shore.

The people in this area are so friendly and hospitable and that played a big part in our decision; as well as their joy in our culture, music, and dancing. The scenery here gladdens our hearts. Since we have been here, we have made good friends from places from Brigus South to Renews and all places in between. So, you couldn't blast us out of here with a ton of dynamite. We will end our days here.

We are Sue and Harry Bryan and we live in Ferryland, NL. Newfoundland and Labrador was the last province we visited and as the saying goes – we saved the best for last.
It was 1996 and from our first encounter with Max and Marina Warren in Dildo to being stopped by a police officer in St. John's who told us we were guests and didn't have to pay for parking (we had out of province plates) everyone we met treated us as long lost friends. We came back a few more times over the years, golfing at Twin Rivers at Terra Nova, sailing on The Sir Robert Bond from Lewisporte to Happy Valley/Goose Bay and back to driving across the province from Port-Aux-Basques to St. John's, it was always a great experience.

We grew up in Ontario and for the most part lived within a 200 km radius of Toronto for all our lives. We decided we wanted to live in another part of Canada at some point and after considering everything this great country has to offer we decided to move to Ferryland.

All we really knew before we moved was that we wanted to live on the ocean. We looked at over 30 houses from Ferryland to Twillingate but The Southern Shore won the contest from the moment we saw Goose Island.

There were several other considerations as well, such as the proximity to St. John's, the convenient grocery store, convenience store, pharmacy, police detachment, fire hall, ambulance, Folk Arts Centre and the list goes on.

Since moving here, everything has surpassed our expectations. The spectacular changing scenery:

• From calm ocean waters to raging seas
  
• The views from the beach at sea level to expansive vistas as seen from The Gaze
  
• Wildlife from whales to puffins
  
• The iceberg that came for a visit and stayed for almost the entire month of June this year
  
• The East Coast Trail with all of its ups and downs and twists and turns
  

More than anything else, however, the people of Ferryland and The Southern Shore have been tremendous. We feel as if we have been adopted from those who came a mummerin' on our first Christmas here -to those who we can now call good friends- to those who wave as we drive by on our way to The Foodland.

Now that we have lived here, year round, for the past two years all we can say is "Where in this great country of Canada would you rather live than on Newfoundland's Southern Shore"?

We received the warmest welcome.......

In the summer of 1999 my husband Andy and I had the luck of stumbling upon an abandoned church for sale on the Irish Loop of the Avalon Peninsula. We had been hiking the East Coast trail continually amazed by the wildlife and spectacular vistas. The day before, enjoying the area, we had playfully discussed moving here from Boston not realizing how much our lives were about to change.

Now thirteen years later we find ourselves living and thriving in our revitalized church. Here we teach yoga, make art and present cultural events. We keep a garden, keep chickens and fill our freezer with the fish we catch and the berries we gather along this shore. Every day we gaze out at the sea with no sound but the wind and the waves breaking on the rocks.

But of course this place is more than a magnificent landscape. It is the incredible warmth and generosity of our neighbors that makes us part of the community of Admiral's Cove and happy to be proud Newfoundlanders.

We had been thinking of moving away from Southern Ontario not only due to the increasing heat, humidity and pollution during the summer months, but also the ever-increasing congestion that was occurring. While we were considering where to move, Dave was contracted to do some bird surveys in the NW Territories. One of his co-workers was from Newfoundland, from whom Dave learned that the southeast Avalon is a great birding area for unusual birds, literally from all corners of the globe. The similarity of the landscape on the barrens to the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, a favourite area of Dave's, was also intriguing. To cap it off, there are trout in all the ponds and streams, and fishing is free to residents. Well, we just had to come and look for ourselves!

So, we came on a reconnaissance trip, originally thinking that perhaps we'd rent a place for a year to try it out. Instead of renting we found an attractive old "saltbox" home for sale in Portugal Cove South, and bought it directly from the owner with just a handshake to seal the deal. The next summer we moved here. Julie left her job of 18 years as a naturalist in Guelph and Dave elected to take an early pension.

To cut a long story short, Julie is now working as a naturalist at Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve and Dave is enjoying retirement: birding, gardening and doing a bit of "trouting", as the locals call it. He has also served on various committees and on the board of a local non-profit organization.

Despite our remote location, we are only a two-hour drive from St. John's, one of Canada's most vibrant cities, with excellent shopping facilities and superb restaurants. Traffic is little to none on the drive and there is only one stoplight between our house and downtown St. John's! Trepassey, which has basic amenities, is a 10 minute drive away.

We love the barrens, the community, the clean, fresh air, the peace and tranquility, the slower pace of life - in fact the whole ambiance. We have been here eight years now, and have already found three birds new to Newfoundland – from Siberia, the Caribbean and the Arctic! In some ways, we regard ourselves as the vanguard of an "environmental refugee" movement!