Another NS report !
May 26th 2008, 2:30 pm
#16
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Location: France
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May 26th 2008, 4:01 pm
#17
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Joined: Aug 2005
Location: Cochrane ,Alberta
Posts: 635
Re: Another NS report !
Hi
We came back from NS on Tues night but I'm still recovering from a 2 day return journey with no sleep and to find we'd been burgled! We spent the time when we should've been sleeping talking to the gendarme and then little rascals were found and all the kids Playstation and games returned. Oh what a day!
Anyway here's a summary of the RDA's, where we stayed, what we thought, where we went and some costs for anyone who's interested based on a family of 4. Kids 12 & 9.
Kentville/Wolfville
Stayed at Beechbreeze motel (small apt) with seaview at Grand Pre. Value for money & great if you have children.
We loved Wolfville - very pretty & beautiful buildings. New Minas is just a shopping centre ( loved the Dollar shops!). Kentville was a lot nicer than I expected - lots of new subdivisions around.
Kings County RDA - Madonna
Very helpful, and she will make sure you have everything as she seems to represent all the other RDA's at any immigration meetings. Once happy that OH was employable and had a skill she would have nominated us.
Truro
Stayed at the Irwin Lake Chalets. WOW!
Only 8 mins from Truro and worth every extra minute. Again great value and great for families or just if you want a view!
We didn't fall for Truro as it's not exactly the prettiest of towns though some of the properties are beautiful, however there are some very nice areas on the outskirts with larger plots. Schools & clubs appear to be excellent, the arts & cultural scene is huge and there are jobs if you look. Every job centre we visited confirmed that only 20% of jobs are advertised. I was told I may need to network through schools, clubs or volunteering to find my ideal job - a bit harder for me than OH as I'm in admin.
Truro is in a great location if you need to commute - OH may need to travel to Halifax, North Shore, Moncton for gigs.
Colchester RDA - the ever helpful and lovely Margot.
She was pro-active and had already arranged to take us meet the director of the Cultural centre as OH is a musician/teacher. She was clued up on who we were from previous emails and had excellent advice re contacts. Again she will nominate us no problem.
New Glasgow
We went to visit for the day and were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. There is also the benefit of the fab Melmerby beach just up the road. Visually we liked New Glasgow more than Truro and work wise it was better than Kentville. There are lots of business here - and we were told there were jobs to be had in IT & admin. They are also in desperate need of hospital staff.
Pictou RDA - Jana
We decided to meet with the RDA in case we were going to change our minds about location as we had never considered New Glasgow before. I think that's because they haven't put the same effort in to promoting the area as they've been concentrating on increasing business there. IMHO it's worth a look for anyone who doesn't need to commute to Halifax.
So what have we decided?
Well it's going to be Truro for us so now it's time to get on with the paperwork!
Some costs & places to visit:
Meal for 4 in a pub Grill - $60 (a main course and a few drinks)
Sugar Moon maple syrup farm - $7.99 for as many pancakes as you can eat & kids $4.99. We also got a tour by the owner and if it hadn't been the wettest greyest day in history we may well have gone on the walk through the forest!
Really lovely atmosphere.
Shubencadie Wildlife Park - A must if you have kids! Only $20 for a family
Discovery Centre, Halifax - Fab if it's raining and even if it's not! $28 family ticket.
Bowling Truro/New Minas/New Glasgow - $20 for one hour & 4 pairs of shoes.
Food shopping - Some stuff dearer than UK/France & some stuff cheaper especially steak!
Feeding the family - as a cheap alternative to eating out or if like us just because it's less hassle - the supermarkets like Sobeys have a hot take out bar in addition to the usual deli & sandwich stuff. We bought 10 pieces of fried chicken and a large box of wedges for less than $20 and it was actually a bit too much for us all to eat. Of course that was followed with a healthy portion of fruit & yoghurt:rifle:
Our opinion of Nova Scotians is that the majority of people are fab, friendly and willing to help in any way the can. People and especially drivers are far more courteous than the Europeans (especially the French!).
Hope I haven't bored anyone!
Lind
We came back from NS on Tues night but I'm still recovering from a 2 day return journey with no sleep and to find we'd been burgled! We spent the time when we should've been sleeping talking to the gendarme and then little rascals were found and all the kids Playstation and games returned. Oh what a day!
Anyway here's a summary of the RDA's, where we stayed, what we thought, where we went and some costs for anyone who's interested based on a family of 4. Kids 12 & 9.
Kentville/Wolfville
Stayed at Beechbreeze motel (small apt) with seaview at Grand Pre. Value for money & great if you have children.
We loved Wolfville - very pretty & beautiful buildings. New Minas is just a shopping centre ( loved the Dollar shops!). Kentville was a lot nicer than I expected - lots of new subdivisions around.
Kings County RDA - Madonna
Very helpful, and she will make sure you have everything as she seems to represent all the other RDA's at any immigration meetings. Once happy that OH was employable and had a skill she would have nominated us.
Truro
Stayed at the Irwin Lake Chalets. WOW!
Only 8 mins from Truro and worth every extra minute. Again great value and great for families or just if you want a view!We didn't fall for Truro as it's not exactly the prettiest of towns though some of the properties are beautiful, however there are some very nice areas on the outskirts with larger plots. Schools & clubs appear to be excellent, the arts & cultural scene is huge and there are jobs if you look. Every job centre we visited confirmed that only 20% of jobs are advertised. I was told I may need to network through schools, clubs or volunteering to find my ideal job - a bit harder for me than OH as I'm in admin.
Truro is in a great location if you need to commute - OH may need to travel to Halifax, North Shore, Moncton for gigs.
Colchester RDA - the ever helpful and lovely Margot.
She was pro-active and had already arranged to take us meet the director of the Cultural centre as OH is a musician/teacher. She was clued up on who we were from previous emails and had excellent advice re contacts. Again she will nominate us no problem.
New Glasgow
We went to visit for the day and were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. There is also the benefit of the fab Melmerby beach just up the road. Visually we liked New Glasgow more than Truro and work wise it was better than Kentville. There are lots of business here - and we were told there were jobs to be had in IT & admin. They are also in desperate need of hospital staff.
Pictou RDA - Jana
We decided to meet with the RDA in case we were going to change our minds about location as we had never considered New Glasgow before. I think that's because they haven't put the same effort in to promoting the area as they've been concentrating on increasing business there. IMHO it's worth a look for anyone who doesn't need to commute to Halifax.
So what have we decided?
Well it's going to be Truro for us so now it's time to get on with the paperwork!
Some costs & places to visit:
Meal for 4 in a pub Grill - $60 (a main course and a few drinks)
Sugar Moon maple syrup farm - $7.99 for as many pancakes as you can eat & kids $4.99. We also got a tour by the owner and if it hadn't been the wettest greyest day in history we may well have gone on the walk through the forest!
Really lovely atmosphere.
Shubencadie Wildlife Park - A must if you have kids! Only $20 for a family
Discovery Centre, Halifax - Fab if it's raining and even if it's not! $28 family ticket.
Bowling Truro/New Minas/New Glasgow - $20 for one hour & 4 pairs of shoes.
Food shopping - Some stuff dearer than UK/France & some stuff cheaper especially steak!
Feeding the family - as a cheap alternative to eating out or if like us just because it's less hassle - the supermarkets like Sobeys have a hot take out bar in addition to the usual deli & sandwich stuff. We bought 10 pieces of fried chicken and a large box of wedges for less than $20 and it was actually a bit too much for us all to eat. Of course that was followed with a healthy portion of fruit & yoghurt:rifle:
Our opinion of Nova Scotians is that the majority of people are fab, friendly and willing to help in any way the can. People and especially drivers are far more courteous than the Europeans (especially the French!).
Hope I haven't bored anyone!
Lind
sorry to hear that the local raggamuffins broke into your house ,thats all you need after a exhausting trip.
Anyway thanks for posting your experiences on your reccie very helpful indeed,i cannot wait to come over in Oct and experience the whole NS lifestyle.
Cheers
Arty & Co
May 26th 2008, 6:11 pm
#18
Yorkshire Lass
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: Selby, in the Vale of York, North Yorkshire
Posts: 288
Re: Another NS report !
Hi yes i agree with everyone, i think any information is helpful. I am doing reccie in September and am very interested in other's opinions in this area. Like you, I am looking at NS and Truro too and am also in admin, so like you cannot get LMO or TWP and am currently looking at CI route, if i can make contacts in the community - also looking at Truro due to new hospital and possible job opportunities, hopefully (i am in medical admin - medical secretary), so this is a good chance. 
Sorry to hear about burglary, just what you needed!!! not
Emmjay
Sorry to hear about burglary, just what you needed!!! not
Emmjay
May 28th 2008, 10:56 am
#19
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: France
Posts: 107
Re: Another NS report !
Hi lynpy,
sorry to hear that the local raggamuffins broke into your house ,thats all you need after a exhausting trip.
Anyway thanks for posting your experiences on your reccie very helpful indeed,i cannot wait to come over in Oct and experience the whole NS lifestyle.
Cheers
Arty & Co
sorry to hear that the local raggamuffins broke into your house ,thats all you need after a exhausting trip.
Anyway thanks for posting your experiences on your reccie very helpful indeed,i cannot wait to come over in Oct and experience the whole NS lifestyle.
Cheers
Arty & Co
Good luck with your reccie!
May 28th 2008, 11:02 am
#20
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: France
Posts: 107
Re: Another NS report !
Hi yes i agree with everyone, i think any information is helpful. I am doing reccie in September and am very interested in other's opinions in this area. Like you, I am looking at NS and Truro too and am also in admin, so like you cannot get LMO or TWP and am currently looking at CI route, if i can make contacts in the community - also looking at Truro due to new hospital and possible job opportunities, hopefully (i am in medical admin - medical secretary), so this is a good chance.
Sorry to hear about burglary, just what you needed!!! not
Emmjay
Sorry to hear about burglary, just what you needed!!! not
Emmjay
Just a thought but it may be worth you looking at New Glasgow whilst you are over there. According to their RDA they are actively recruiting in the hospitals due to staff shortages (not sure about admin) and IMHO is more of a business centre than Truro. A well known supermarket chain has there head office there 'Sobeys' and there are also call centres that were actively recruiting whilst I was there. It may be worth having a chat with 'Career connections' in New Glasgow and they may be able to point you in the right direction.
BTW I'm not trying to direct you away from Truro but as an 'admin' person there was more in NG than Truro for me.
Good Luck
May 28th 2008, 11:27 am
#21
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: back in Cambs
Posts: 7,157
Re: Another NS report !
Great thread thanks for the run down on areas and costs,
sorry you were burgled back in France,Thats something you could have done without
We are looking to visit soon should have been last week but cancelled due to illness,
Good luck with all the paper work
sorry you were burgled back in France,Thats something you could have done without
We are looking to visit soon should have been last week but cancelled due to illness,
Good luck with all the paper work
May 28th 2008, 12:02 pm
#22
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 30
Re: Another NS report !
Hi Lynpy,
Glad to hear that your trip was a success and that you had such positive feedback from the RDA's. It was interesting to hear what you had to say about Admin jobs as this is what I do and whilst we wouldn't be dependent on my job (if other half gets intercompany transfer that we hope for in the future) it would be good to be located where the jobs are in greater demand. We are not doing our recce until next year but I will be sure to check out the areas you have suggested.
Sorry about the drama that you had to face when you returned. Hope you manage to get what sounds like a much needed rest.
Take care and please keep us updated with your progress.
Kelly
Glad to hear that your trip was a success and that you had such positive feedback from the RDA's. It was interesting to hear what you had to say about Admin jobs as this is what I do and whilst we wouldn't be dependent on my job (if other half gets intercompany transfer that we hope for in the future) it would be good to be located where the jobs are in greater demand. We are not doing our recce until next year but I will be sure to check out the areas you have suggested.
Sorry about the drama that you had to face when you returned. Hope you manage to get what sounds like a much needed rest.
Take care and please keep us updated with your progress.
Kelly
May 28th 2008, 1:27 pm
#23
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: France
Posts: 107
Re: Another NS report !
Thanks CoffeePot & Kelly
Good Luck on your visits!
Good Luck on your visits!
