Rural, Urban or Somewhere Between?

The second stop on our Tidy Towns tour for 2012 was the hub of the east coast, AKA Clarenville. I grew up a mere 20 minutes from Clarenville so I remember when certain stores opened and closed throughout the years. I recall when Tim Horton's, KCF and of course the largest event at the time, McDonalds. No more having to drive to Gander or St. John's to satisfy that Big Mac craving! So needless to say I'm generally familiar with the growth that Clarenville has experienced in the past couple of decades. But, even knowing this our tour of the town indicated a level of growth that shocked me.

Clarenville has always been a service centre, with government offices, the hospital and major chain grocery, hardware and furniture stores located there. But to see the number of new housing starts in the community is astounding, especially when compared to other "rural" locations in NL. But is Clarenville rural? If not is it urban? Our standards of rural and urban in NL have always been on a different scale then other parts of the country and it is always difficult to draw a line that separates rural from urban. Whatever category Clarenville fits into it is certainly experiencing the same form of growth that a few other towns like Gander is experiencing. The growth of service centers seems to be a direct result of the slow suffering of rural and remote communities.

Regardless of the reasons Clarenville is doing very well for it's self. Residents are getting more and more services as time passes and it seems to be attracting more and more residents! Do yourself a favor and next time you pass by take a stop in and have a look around as see what Clarenville has to offer!