Howefamily

Its another leap of faith and you need to pick your area. What are you looking for and maybe we can help with pointers

Lychee

Why isn't Ontario for you? You never said. If you let us know what you like and don't like about where you live, it may help us determine if NS or Calgary will just be giving you more of the same of what you're trying to escape in Ontario.

mush77

Hey, sorry, not sure how I missed this question! I think its more Brantford, rather than Ontario, I cant seem to 'blend in' with the people I have met here, I like to get out and explore and hike, travel, no one I know here does that (I could find that everywhere!). Unfortunately, most people I know here are very routine and have a set plan of what they like to do and its hard to change that in them - i.e. sit in their garage on a Friday night and drink all weekend, and their idea of a hike is to drive to the side of the river and walk to the edge and take a picture. And in the winter, no one leaves their house - and Brantford does not have a winter compared to the rest of Canada!!

Partially discharged

I feel for you. For about 15 years I had to endure Brantford 2 or 3 times a year as my SIL and family live there. Now they live in Binbrook which isn't much better.

My impression is that many people lived in Brantford due to its relatively low housing cost or they were from there. To me, it wasn't a very diverse place and King George Road has to be one of the ugliest in Ontario. Downtown in the 90's/00's was pretty bleak. One of my sons friends just started at the Wilfred Laurier campus there and his impression was that downtown Brantford was full of meth heads.

mush77

Yes, yes, yes - the drugs around here are unbelievable! I used to always think some parts of the UK were bad for drugs, but when I came here I felt like I was in a different world, I have never seen anything like it! Yet, everyone says 'everyone in the UK has bad teeth'!!
I understand everywhere has its 'bad areas', I have traveled to many parts of the world, even found a rough part in Paris!! I've spent 7 months in Iraq...but the drug scene here scares me more!

mush77

A friend of mine who lives there has advised on some nice areas to live near Halifax so that I'm not too isolated - he mentioned Dartmouth, Bedford, Eastern Passage....I'm swaying more towards eastern passage. Its still close enough to the city, but also right next to the ocean, there seems to be a higher percentage of my age group in that area too.

Any other suggestions?

Howefamily

Eastern passage is really nice. Depends if you have a car, where you hope/plan to work, whats important to you. For me, we live 45 mins outside of Halifax. It works for us as we like the rolling countryside here and have a horse. We also like the community and everything we need is here. We go into Dartmouth or Halifax for nights out or certain restaurants. A friend of mine, in comparison, found Sackville too quiet for her and would likely have been much happier in the downtown core of Halifax. Different strokes as they say....

mush77

Is there a specific thread in regards to moving to a difference province that anyone can direct me to?

I have no idea where to start, I'm hoping to move next year, I'd need to sell my house here, buy a house there, and get myself, my dog and everything I own over there, quit my job here and find a new job there....as well as transferring everything i.e health cards, driving license, phone etc.
There is probably a mountain of things that I havent thought about, so if anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be grateful

mush77

I like quiet, but quiet close enough to busier areas if I need them. I'm hoping to visit in the spring and my friend is going to give me a tour of the different areas.

Howefamily

Sounds like a great plan

Sparky6

I've lived in Edmonton (with frequent visits to Calgary - my father grew up there) and have been back in Nova Scotia since 2007, after 7 years in the UK.

My experiences in Edmonton were a long time ago for grad school, so the situation was quite different from you - I moved without knowing anyone, but had a ready-made social group waiting for me. I loved it there, bitterly cold winters and all.

I found, and still find, it difficult to find professional work in Halifax, but there always seem to be loads of customer service positions available, if you're looking to continue with that work.

Dartmouth and Eastern Passage are more inexpensive than Halifax and Bedford (in general), and as for being closer/farther from the water, there really isn't anywhere in the area that is very far. I love not far from downtown Dartmouth, and a neighbour is always strapping her surfboard onto her car to head to Lawrencetown Beach.

Something to bear in mind, depending on where you want to work: Halifax proper is a peninsula, which means limited ways in and out of the downtown core, and lots of people trying to get there and out during rush hour. It's by no means the worst traffic in the world, it just means that when there's a REAL jam (stalled car on a bridge, for example) things really shut down.

People are generally friendly and welcoming (especially if you have a British accent), but there has historically been a "come from away" approach to new residents. If your family hasn't been here for 4 generations, you're from away. It's eased more in the past 10-15 years, but there can still be a hint of it around.

NS has its warts, like anywhere, but overall, I love it. I actually planned to stay in the UK, but every time I came back to NS for a visit, I missed it more and more.

I also have a house for sale in Dartmouth, just saying