I’m very familiar with UNB's Saint John campus (UNBSJ) as I’m a graduate and my dad is a prof there.
UNBSJ is still a bit of a poor cousin to the larger, more established Fredericton campus; however, it is stronger in a number of areas such as business and nursing, to name a few. It has been trying to get a med school for years (it was built next to a hospital for this reason) and has been growing pretty steadily.
The number of foreign students as a percentage of the student body has increased dramatically over the last few years (mostly from China). People are inevitably pretty surprised at how international the school has become given its location.
The location, overlooking the St. John River, is pretty, but the campus is very unremarkable architecturally. The best thing about the buildings is that they are all connected by underground tunnels.
In terms of the library, it’s pretty small and I have heard in the past that there were plans to expand, but this may have just been rumour. The staff seemed pretty friendly the last time I was there about 5 years ago.
Saint John does have an interesting old Victorian downtown (referred to as uptown; nothing is referred to as downtown in SJ), but UNBSJ is nowhere near it. There have been proposals to start an uptown campus, but I don’t think anything is moving forward. The school is in Milledgeville, which is a good 20 minute drive or 30 minute bus ride away. Milledgeville has a bit of a student ghetto, but is very car-oriented. You really need a car here as the rocky topography has led to the city being spread out pretty awkwardly.
As far as actually living in Saint John, I can give you so pros and cons. The pros would be a very low cost of living (some of the lowest housing prices in all of Canada); friendly people and decent pubs; lots of nature, as you are only 20 minutes from pure wilderness; and, for most people, a more laid-back lifestyle than you could have in one of the big cities.
As for cons, the biggest would probably be the industrial nature of the city. It has the largest oil refinery in Canada, a large pulp and paper mill and a giant liquid natural gas plant is now being constructed. I should mention that the first two are pretty much right in the city, so there have been issues with air quality and odour. The other big employers are Aliant (Bell) and more call centres than you could possibly imagine for a metro of only about 125,000.
Another big issue is poverty and its associated social ills. From Stats Can: the average income in Saint John’s poorest neighbourhoods is about $20,000, which puts Saint John in the bottom five across the country; the unemployment rate in those neighbourhoods is 23 per cent, tied with Saskatoon for the highest rate; and more than 25 per cent of the people in these neighbourhoods are on government assistance.
Other issues include a declining population, a very limited dating scene and distance from major cities.
The weather is a bit hit or miss. The summers are very nice as it rarely gets above 30 and there is less humidity, but the winters are pretty harsh and there are many VERY foggy days.
Not to be picky, Shawn, but it’s written as Saint John to distinguish it from St. John's. It’s further confused by the fact that the St. John River uses the abbreviation of saint as well.
Anyways, hope this was helpful and let me know if you need any more info.