I spent most of my life living on the West Coast (at various times in Vancouver, Surrey, Langley, Aldergrove, Abbotsford, and Chilliwack, with a few visits up to Vernon and Kelowna to visit family) and now I live in St. John's, NL.
Personally, I prefer the pace of life here and the friendliness of the people. But one thing to bear in mind is that it can be pricey to get off the island depending on your off-island destination. Some things do cost a little more here but that is to be expected when living on an island...at least things aren't as expensive as they generally are on Vancouver Island..beautiful place but I'd never seriously want to live there at this point in my life.
Both my son and I prefer living here, and I wish we'd moved sooner!

Don't feed the idiots or they'll continue being idiots...