Sealaig

Have you seen these guides. http://www.novascotia.com/about-nova...r-travel-guide

izzi81

I've been in NS for almost a year, and I've been on 3 recce trips staying in 3 different places, and I've never experienced red water, and I've never known anyone who has. I'm presuming this phenomenon is very localised!

Personally I don't understand why, but NS seems to generate very negative opinions from some people. Each to their own, we love it, and I really do think that compared to where you're coming from you'll really like it. You're doing the best thing by coming for a look around yourself

Give me a few mins and I'll ponder a route

izzi81

Ok well I presume you'll be starting in Halifax. I'd stay there for a couple of days to get a feel for the city. The centre feels small, and quite historic, and the waterfront area is lovely. The Seaport has a good farmers market, and the Hydrostone buildings have some lovely small shops. You can get around the central area on foot. There are several universities in Halifax, so one option would be to stay outside Halifax and drive in to a uni if you were studying. The main universities are Saint Marys and Dalhousie, and they're close together in the centre of the city.

From what you've said before you're looking for somewhere rural and quiet, not close to other houses but not too far from civilisation Probably the route to take would be down the 333 to Peggys Cove, which is just beautiful. The road there along the coast is lovely too. Then you can go West on the 3 to Hubbards, and then you can either stay on the 3, take the 103 highway, or take the long and windy coastal route on the 329 - that might be a bit too long!
If you stay on the 3 you'll get to Chester, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg and Bridgewater (Bridgewater is the only one I've not been to). All are lovely towns, and I'd recommend staying for a couple of nights in this area so you can explore.

Then you could go up highway 10 to the Bay of Fundy. It's up to you from a time perspective whether you head West on the 101 (or the 1 if you want a more scenic drive) to visit Annapolis Royal (historic town) and Digby (home of scallop fishing fleet). These places would be more like 2-2.5hrs from Halifax however.
Then drive back East on the 101 (or the 1) to Kentville and Wolfville. I'd recommend staying in this area for a couple of nights as well, so you can explore. Wolfville is a university town, with quite a few B+Bs. It is very picturesque. While in the area drive on some of the smaller roads - the 358 through Canning and out to Blomidon and Cape Split, the 221 and 359 through the countryside, and go down to some of the small towns on the Bay like Halls Harbour (get lobster at the pound!) and Baxters Harbour (very small!). The landscape here is agricultural (lots of farmers markets). Driving south on the 12 for a bit will give you some different local scenery - lakes and trees.

Then come back down on the 1 through Grand Pre, Hantsport, Windsor and eventually back to Halifax. (You could take the highway but you'll see more wee towns on the 1).

If you've got time you could have a look at Hants county on the 236 or 215, but I don't know how much driving you want to do and how much walking around exploring!

confused_uk

You do have remember that the ones that have something to moan about are going to be more vocal than the people enjoying it. I have no idea what red water is, the water in my area is fine.

I have been nearly all over NS & personally I wouldn't live anywhere West of Annapolis Royal (it's just too far from Halifax) & really anywhere East of Halifax. The nicest communities in my opinion are on the South Shore (Mahone Bay area is lovely) & the Valley.

This is what I did on my first trip over & you could definitely cover this in 10 days:

- First few nights in Halifax

- Drove along the South Shore & stayed in Mahone Bay a couple of nights

- Stayed a night in Lunnenberg (though found this wasn't really necessary as it's just up the road from Mahone Bay), then continued East to Liverpool & cut across the province on Hwy 8

- Stayed a few nights in Annapolis Royal & explored the area

- Travelled East on Hwy 1 through all the towns in the Valley

- Made our way up to Truro (not particularly nice area, it was more of a pit stop) for a night, then did a loop through Parrsboro, Amherst & back down to Halifax for a few more nights.

Tips:
- Try & stick to the secondary Hwys, it takes longer but you will see more of the towns as it usually goes straight through them. Obviously if there's a long stretch where there's not much to see switch back to the main roads.

- Meet with some estate agents in the areas & have a look what kind of properties are around

- Get the free guides & map from the link Sealaig posted, they come in handy

deltadeliquent

Thank you everyone!!!
We like driving.

dbd33

We had red water, not in NS but I suppose it's the same stuff. It has too much iron in it. We had some other undesirable content and so needed the more complicated model of filter; it was the best part of $1,000. Still, once it was installed, that was that. One could have much worse problems.

deltadeliquent

My experience with red water was from a well in Oregon. A lot of iron, and a massive water treatment system. Still made my clothes grey and the inside of the toilet tanks was......well, I can't even talk about it!

bats

But when you buy a place you have the well tested before you buy, no?

Cookie

I have lived here for 7 years and never heard of anyone having red water I am on a well.

woodworm

where we are we do have some iron in the water, but it nothing that worries me.. we have a filter system, which wasn't too expensive ($500) and I have been drinking the water from our well ever since we moved here. I know it's time to change the filter when I see a slightly pink hue on my white grout lines in the shower :-)

Diesel Don

We live just outside Windsor enough shops ans services to supply just about anything we need.6 acres of land to supply the wood burner. Wildlife in abundance and pleasant local folk. What more can you ask for. House prices are cheap weather is good. I am happy here. moving back to Uk fills me with horror.
Cantact me if interested in further information

anders101

We had our water fully tested when we moved in to our house. Advanced testing came back as 'good quality' That only really tells you how it is at that time.(the folk we bought the house from had obviously made an effort to get it up to scratch for selling) The iron content in our water is so high, that we have tried various different types of filters/treatments (at varying expense) We had the water guy out yesterday and we now have to get a new system to deal with the problem. $3000. The other problem we have with out water is an exceptionally high level of arsenic. We are always getting sample bottles through the mail that we have to send back to the water dept. for testing. The problem with all these things, is that when you buy the house, no one is going to admit there is a problem. It is best to ask neighbours before you commit. I wish I had.
The iron problem is dotted around NS depending on where you live. There are def. some areas worse than others.

A footnote for anyone interesed...Atlantic Canada has an unusually high number of people with cancer. Over the last 3 years, a research study has been carried out (by Atlantic Partnership for tomorrows health) They are almost ready to release the document, but basically they are finding a link between the high level of arsenic in the water and the Cancer rate.
A friend of mine has been working on researching this and she says people may be quite shocked when they read the results. I wait with interest to read the full findings!

deltadeliquent

Say, Anders,my thanks for that.mi will make sure we do our homework.
What area are you in?

bats

http://halifaxcommoner.kingsjournalism.com/?p=2701

This research?

anders101

The one my pal is working on is not quite finished yet. It is due for release soon