Hi all, my family and i are thinking of emigrating to Nova Scotia (Halifax) i am a City & Guilds qualified Plumber and a Coded welder can anybody tell me what my chances of finding employment are in this area, Or would i be better looking in a different area for my line of work. THANKS

If you want to live in the best place in the world, then Nova Scotia and all the Maritime provinces are defo the best places to be!

If you simply want work, head to Alberta where they will snap you up!
they are even importing welders from China for the oil patch.

PEI is best!

Hi,
We are on our way to BC but I think we have made a mistake. We want a friendly, safe, slower pace of life where we can bring up our family and I am looking at Nova Scotia in detail. Why are the maritimes the best places to live? Could you give me some info. Both me and my husband are teachers. Could we find jobs easily?
I would appreciate any advice. Nova Scotia looks beautiful.

Louise and Sid

Hi
Not sure about teaching jobs, as it's not my field.
However, you should check out Prince Edward island the landscpe is the best of England, and the people are the decendants of the best that Ireland and Scotland had to offer (if a little nosey!)
Cost of living is better than the cities too.
NS is very nice, but you have to be careful as there are microclimates and a lot of it is rocky, Annapolis Valley is best.
BC is the warmest, but is too wet for my liking.

We intended going west, but decided to tour the Martimes first, and never got past PEI. Been here 2 years yesterday!

Well I have been in Nova Scotia for 20 years........what the heck are microclimates? I have lived in the city and now the south shore. Love Nova Scotia but I also love PEI...
It all depends on what you want.

A microclimate is place that does not conform the the 'norms' of the area.
Like, in a rain shadow of a mountain could be a lot drier (or wetter) than places just a few miles away.

Where we live, in PEI, on a windy hill, we have hardly any mosquitos, but there are places where you have to run to and from the car!
(Not really an example of a microclimate, but you get the picture)

WOW you are smart!!! It is as clear as mud now!
I live on a lake and inland so we have a good climate. Mosiquitos aren't to much of a problem but black flies are unreal. They have already started and are 2 weeks early!
YIKES

Louise & Sid,

Cant tell you much about Nova Scotia other than it is the next place we would live after Newfoundland. If you love the ocean and in many respects a slower pace of live than the more urban areas of Canada its worth checking out. Property prices are cheaper but incomes are generally lower. (& taxes higher!)

One note of caution for you which applies in many parts of Canada I believe. Getting into a teaching position is incredibly difficult. My wife is Canadian, has 5 years teaching experience in UK, two degrees (One in Special Ed) and is finding it very difficult to get into full time teaching. She currently has a half time position til the end of the academic year. Her UK experience seems to count for naught. Its very much how long you have served on the substitute / temp contract list and who you know.

So for UK qualified teachers you will have to get your qualifications endorsed in the province you move to. (A paperwork exercise from one province to another but not sure its so easy from UK to Canada.) I hear that NS and even ON is equally as challenging. Your best hope might be in a rapidly expanding community (read Alberta somewhere) or in a more challenging environment where not so many people want to go (read Iqualuit/Labrador for instance.) Dont want to rain on your parade and this might not be news to you but a bit of advice nevertheless.

AX

Wow,
Thanks for the advice. Much of it is what we have already encountered and secretly feared, with regard to the difficulty of cracking the teaching circuit. I guess we really should try looking at the more rapidly developing areas which must surely need extra teachers to cope with the communities that are springing up all over the place.

As for registrations: we have both started the process of registering with the BCCT in Vancouver for our certification. Once we get this, we'll be able to actually being the applications for jobs. Then it's a waiting game to see what positions (TOC) become available to us.

As for networking, we have always been able to get on with people so we'll REALLY have to turn it on now! Maybe someone on this site in a position of power will take pity on us? After all, my little three year old needs new shoes ...

Take care,
Louise & Sid