Is it permissable to offer a word of caution about Halifax? It's a small town. It's nice in a way but it's not as cosmopolitan as, say, Belfast. You'd have to like the idea of living in, say, Cambridge, in the fifties. Most British people would, I think, miss Indian food, kebabs, variety.

Where in van were you?

We were up off Lonsdale on North Shore.

We were there from '98 to '04. Still got a few english mates still there but they being priced out.

How are u finding NS, is it completely different from BC?

Best of luck to you.

When were you last in Halifax? There is certainly no shortage of different places to eat and plenty of variety - thai, indian, kebabs, japanese, sushi, etc etc. Yes, Halifax is smaller than some cities, but there is plenty going on.

Deborah

Of course it is permissible to have an opinion. Here is mine.
Having lived in 3 major cities in Canada I would say that having problems with only 3/4 Indian restaurants is a little strange though- history and character is more important to me; learn how to make Indian food - easy or get the Patak or PC sauces
Halifax is a small city - 120,000 residents but part of a regional municipality of over 300,000. It is historical but not as impressive from that aspect as Quebec City which is European wow factor in North America.
Halifax was established in 1749 on the second largest harbour in the world and still has a beautiful accessible downtown area with its Georgian Legislature and Lieutenant Governors mansion. Walk from the downtown to the 75 hectare Point Pleasant Park and you can visit the Martello towers built in the Napoleonic war or go back to downtown and visit the 300 year old Citadel with its famous Clock presented to Halifax as a gift from the Duke of Kent when he was based here- that was Queen Victoria's father BTW. The city is unique in North America with its history and landscape-cross over the harbour to Dartmouth and you will see a city with the most lakes in North America. Canoe and kayak world championships are held there and the area produces a fine number of athletes in those events. And of course the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht club + many others give all residents the opportunities for other water sports.The waterfront and downtown has many restaurants- seafood being very important but there are sufficient ethnic restaurants for those interested.
Halifax is beautiful but that does not include the suburbs- boring 60s houses and even more boring vinyl clad bi-levels form the 70s to present day. Get beyond the suburbs to the rest of the municipality, to the South Shore- or for a cheaper area go east up through Shubenacadie - quite a British farming appearance, to Musquodoboit and beyond on the Eastern Shore, with its to die for beaches. Just don't expect warm sea temps- Labrador current brings down the cold water and contributes to pushing the Gulf Stream across to Northern Europe. Halifax is at 44 degrees latitude- don't look at CTV's or The Weather Network's Canadian image.
Cape Breton is beautiful, one of the top 4 islands in the world to visit apparently, but not sure about the residents there- I think that living rurally is a hard task with little money and they have tried to take advantage of visitors in our experience. But try the beautiful rural Annapolis Valley full of orchards and leading to Annapolis Royal and Port Royal - the French established that in 1605. But remember if you want to live on the shore down on the Bay of Fundy the tides are the highest in the world, so you may not be able to access your boat when you want to go and sightsee the Northern Right whales- only approx 300 still living.
Unless you want to live on the waterfront in Chester, Canada's Nantucket, with many rich Americans as neighbours then most housing is affordable. A house that would cost 7 figures in Vancouver/Calgary/ Toronto/Montreal would set you back half the price, which is the price for a modest terrace/semi in the UK. Taxes are amongst the highest in Canada but that is effectively because people can afford it because they are not paying huge mortgages; Nova Scotia has the highest number of loan free properties in Canada I believe.
Finally it is becoming more globally cosmopolitan. No huge suburbs with only one group of immigrants living there, as in Vancouver for example. But having 4 universities with post grad schools of Med, Law and Dentistry in town, that means there are many professors and students from all over the world.There are substantial Greek and Lebanese communities there- many are second and third generation. But Nova Scotia, and its citizens, is still bound to both its Scottish and Acadian ancestry so perhaps that is the comparison with the ethnicity that Toronto has with its 52% third world first generation immigrants population. That is what maybe Canada will be, Nova Scotia is from whence it came and those historical ethnic groups are still truly admired today.

Thats a pet peeve of Mrs AX .... To fit Newfoundland on the map they push it way up North, yet St John's is on the same latitude as Paris. Confuses the bejasus out of friends in the UK!

Please use paragraphs - My eyes are shot to pieces after reading that

You mean you actually read it all?

What impolite responses there are on this board. Not just to me, but all the way through many threads. Is this a fine example of Brits? I thought we were known for our friendliness and manners
There were 6 paragraphs and if one doesn't want want to read a post then just do that without making derogatory comments. My response was to the first post really; what do people expect, "I moved" or "Don't move"? I thought I was giving some personal insight to someone and how could two words or even two sentences be deemed to be a substantial response, which is the route I chose to take

Hello Peeps, I`m back - after an absence from this "site!"

Mosquito Magnet - a must purchase for your yard in the summer!!!

Only the females bite/sting, they need mammal based blood meal too reproduce, in the smallest puddle of water will do.
They are drawn to the exhaled carbon-dioxide of mammals mostly, secondly by heat and bright light.
Active in damp/humid air only, as they easily dehydrate in dry air, hence their absence on hot dry days.
They are territorial by nature, so action to reduce their numbers, will over time, be very effective in your yard.

1) Clear your yard and roof gutters of all H2O, I mean all!!!
2) Keep all grass cut extremely short, try to create a barrier of cut grass around the house, so as the main population of Mosquitoes remains in shaded, damp wooded areas.
3) Buy yourselves a "Magnet", to stand in the yard and have fun watching it work straight away, from day one!
The best are the type, where by one has a 20lb propane tank plus small fan drawing the Mosquitoes into an inverted funnel over a small attractant tablet (fan is electric, either mains or charging the supplied battery).
The Mosquitoes accumulate in a basket/mesh bag, they die from dehydration.
The whole process is designed to replicate the presence of a mammal.

We purchased one too do 2 acres, it has been running for 5 days and has cleared the yard!!!
We have a cleared area around our house of very short cut grass aswell, the nearest wooded shaded area is 50+ feet away.

GO ON - RECLAIM YOUR YARD!

I wasn't meaning to be derogatory - I read your post.

I would dispute whether there were any "real" paragraphs in your post. I can see some sentences that stop before the end of the page but being faced with as much text as you tend to write without any gaps such as this

is hard going on the eyes - that was all I was trying to say and I tried to say it politely hence the

Didn't mean to be rude and am sorry that you took it that way

I am sorry that I did not put the extra line between the paragraphs-here goes:
1.Of course../2. Halifax is a.../ 3.Halifax is beautiful../ 4.Cape Breton../5.Unless../ 6.Finally..
And finally, this time, a truce, but you are not in Canada yet so perhaps my information about Nova Scotia will either entice you or put you off - oops didn't put the extra line in again. Sorry, 2 paragraphs this time.

Good to have you back Steve but this is relevant to this thread how???

I agree - we are all reading this on VDU and particularly with dodgy eyesight as I have, it's much easier to read with distinct gaps between paragraphs.

Judy in Calgary who writes informative but fairly long posts sets them out in very accessible way, making them a pleasure to read, as well as providing useful information.

I don't think the universities make Halifax cosmopolitan. When my daughter was at King's we calculated that the non-white proportion of the student body was .03% and that figure was reached by counting a visiting student from Egypt. We had to send her parcels of foods considered exotic in Halifax, foods we purchased at Loblaws.

Kings College is a very good, but small, college and it certainly does not take on board many of the foreign students- very popular for the foundation year and the journalism degrees with local students. But the two main universities do have many foreign students and faculty members and they are part of the community. And if you have been to Halifax surely you would have seen Loblaws everywhere- called Atlantic Superstore, and the products there are exactly the same as Zehrs in Ontario. That was kind of you to do your daughter's shopping