Welcome to the forum DichotoMe. Great to hear from another eastcoaster.
I'm a transplanted Newfoundlander myself, living the dream here in Alberta, missing my family back home, hoping one day to finish off my working life in NL and retire there eventually. I have nothing but respect for you and those like you, who bucked the trend of moving to the so-called 'richer' parts of the country. If you can eke out a living back home all the power to you. I know you won't, but don't buy into this 'defeatist' propoganda that sprung out of the west. That's just Harper, who supposedly represents us all, spouting off on a topic he knows nothing about. A lot of his minions buy into it though. It's part of the push to keep Atlantic Canada down so the labour force can be called upon when needed elsewhere. Danny 'Chavez' Williams is working hard to change that. But it won't happen until wages are on par with Alberta.
By the way, the latest deal for the southern Hibernia field has NL gaining a 10% stake in the project. This will bring $10B into the NL coffers and $3.5B for the rest of the country. Giving back is such a sweet feeling, especially in these difficult economic times.
And culture...yeah...I miss that too. Haven't danced a jig in a long time.
I hope NS has great success with your new government. A true defeatist attitude would be to condemn this new government before they have time to prove themselves.