Hi! My name is Marie-Claude Caron and I work for the Centre de Services Scolaire du Littoral. I’m pleased to be starting my 7th year of teaching at the Mgr-Scheffer school in Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, a delightful village with a population of approximately 1,500 on the Lower North Shore. I’m a special education teacher and have seven marvelous and kind students. Last year my partner and I left the Middle North Shore to go work in an urban area, but we so missed the friendly people, wide-open spaces and, above all, the freedom, that we wanted to return to this remote area. It may be far, but it is not isolated. With all the services available, equal to or better than what you’d find in a city, the village is a dynamic place. All the comings and goings by plane and boat, with connections to Newfoundland and the Maritime provinces, add to the liveliness of the area. Here, you’re not a number. People want to get to know you. The arena, the hockey tournaments, snowmobiling, lakeside camps, fishing and all the community activities allow young and old alike to take advantage of what the region has to offer. On the Lower North Shore, stress is nonexistent and people take the time to live life to the fullest. The abundance of pure, fresh air, the sea stretching out to infinity, the rare and fragile vegetation, the waves crashing against the rocks, the beach, the plains and, above all, the friendly, warm and helpful people: these elements will surely convince you of the appeal of this area. To conclude, here’s what I tell those who think it’s too far: ‘Happiness comes by letting go of the familiar.’
