Moving to Fredericton? Start here.
The new-resident checklist: NB Power and water accounts, your garbage zone, transit pass, library card, doctor wait list, and the winter parking ban.
Updated
New residents
Moving to Fredericton? Start here.
Quick answer
First week, in order: NB Power account, city water account (506-460-2020), your garbage zone, a transit pass or parking permit, a free library card, and the NB Patient Connect doctor wait list. And memorize the winter parking ban: no street parking 12–7 AM, Oct 1–May 31.
Last verified July 8, 2026
The checklist, in order
- Before the truck arrives
Utilities
NB Power (electricity, most home heating) online or 1-800-663-6272. Water/sewer is a city account, call (506) 460-2020. Internet: the national carriers plus a few local ISPs compete adequately. 2. Week 1
Garbage & recycling
Find your zone and day, learn the blue/grey alternation, accept that there's no green bin. Two-minute version here. 3. Week 1
Getting around
Bussing? $85/month adult pass. Driving? Learn the winter overnight ban before October does it for you ($50/lesson). 4. Week 2
Library card & rec programs
Free card at Fredericton Public Library (12 Carleton St) or the Nashwaaksis branch. Rec programs (swimming, skating, everything) register via FredRec on Amilia, mark registration days, they sell out. 5. Week 2
Healthcare
Register on NB Patient Connect for a family doctor/NP waitlist. Meanwhile: Tele-Care 811, pharmacist prescribing for minor things, and the Chalmers ER (24/7) for real emergencies. 6. Ongoing
Plug into the city
Sign up for Voyent Alert! (storm/emergency notices), find your ward councillor, and bookmark this weekend's events, the fastest way to feel local is to show up.
Neighbourhood cheat sheet
Downtown/plat: walkable, heritage homes, festival noise included free. The Hill: near UNB/STU, student-flavoured. Northside (Nashwaaksis, Marysville, Devon): more house per dollar, its own main street, one bridge between you and everything. New Maryland / Hanwell / Lincoln: suburban, car-first. Rule of thumb: the river divides the city socially about as much as geographically, which is to say pleasantly and with mutual teasing.
Keep reading: the newcomer’s shelf
The deep-dive guides that answer the questions this checklist raises, written from the local consensus, not the brochure:
Renting in Fredericton 2026
What a lease actually costs now, the neighbourhoods, and the market’s honest state.
→
Cost of living 2026
The real monthly math: rent, power, water, groceries and the property-tax surprise.
→
Moving here: real talk
The unvarnished version, what’s great, what’s frustrating, what nobody warns you about.
→
Finding a doctor
How the NB waitlist works, realistic timelines, and what to do in the meantime.
→
Best neighbourhoods for families
Schools, parks, commutes and the trade-offs, block by block.
→
The Fredericton personality
How the city actually thinks, behaves and presents itself, decode your new home.
→
Making friends, first winter, the job market and more live in the full guides library.
Common questions
How do I get a family doctor in Fredericton?
Register with NB Patient Connect (the provincial waitlist). Wait times are real; in the interim use Tele-Care 811, pharmacists, and walk-in/virtual options.
Is Fredericton expensive to live in?
By Canadian standards, no, housing costs sit below those of most large Canadian cities, though they’ve climbed. Property tax bills (provincially billed, due May 31) surprise some newcomers; budget for them.
What surprises newcomers most?
The winter overnight parking ban (Oct 1–May 31, 12–7 AM, snow or not), the absence of a green bin program, and how much of the city’s social life runs through a Saturday farmers market.
Official sources
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