A bit of a long read and hopefully some useful info for you guys.

Well we’re back and just finding our feet again. Where do I start! It was a rollercoaster of a week for varying reasons, mainly emotions running away with us then coming back down to earth.

After a great flight with AC we arrived in Halifax on Friday and checked into the Hotel, which was great (4 points by Sheraton). Went for a steak at The Cut and the food was described by magazines as pornography on a plate. Not the cheapest place by any means but the food was excellent and we got a real feel for the great service that the Canadians so effortlessly provide. – Highly recommended. Went to watch the Mooseheads – absolutely fantastic. Great family evening out and would definitely go again.

Went out Saturday doing some sight seeing stuff – we really liked Halifax as a city; nice, compact and such friendly people. Met with a fellow BE’er and his wife (you know who you are!) in the afternoon had some food and beers at Salty’s and the Lower Deck and just got the low down on life in NS. They have been there since September 08 love it.

Sunday we set off for Truro on a real high, the drive was easy, the scenery was ok but I think we saw NS at its worst. Not much snow on the ground, no greenery and looking very sparse and barren. Arrived in Truro – OMG what not what we expected. Others have said on here that it’s not the prettiest of towns but nevertheless we were not prepared!

We drove around for a little while, looking for the B&B and we felt as if our bubble had just burst. Horrible telegraph poles everywhere, roads in v. poor condition, ugly buildings, industry……and the list goes on.

Found the B&B (Royalty) and were welcomed with the friendliness that we were now beginning to expect! The B&B was lovely – If you want a B&B in Truro, this is the place to stay. Room was great, owners were fab, breakfast was soooo good and we even had dinner with them one evening where they also invited another couple of ex-pats to join us.

Sunday we met with one of the contacts on BE (not shy about sharing their Molson’s – cheers guys!). What a fab couple and they are loving Truro. Been there 5 weeks and already settling in very nicely. We were on a real downer on Sunday, didn’t like Truro and we spoke to our 3yr old son who we’d left at home to allow us to squeeze as much as possible into the recce – we were missing him and vice versa. OPut the phone down and we both just broke down. Needless to say that was the only time we spoke to him during our recce! The couple we met……..they really picked us up again. “Yes Truro is not the prettiest of towns but it’s a great place…..give it a few days to see”. They were right.

Monday we went to view some houses – a bit of a mixed bag and the houses weren’t great. Went to see another Realtor who’d been recommended and he was brilliant. He spent the afternoon driving us around Truro and its Subdivisions showing the schools, shopping and different types of houses and areas. We were now feeling more comfortable with the Truro.

Met with more BE’ers on Monday night (I’ll be responding to you soon guys) – really got on well and got the low down on life in Truro, the commute to Halifax and how easily the kids were settling into their new lives.

Tuesday, met with CoRDA – demonstrated everything we’d done to date, what interviews we had lined up, clarified our plans and intentions and tried to explain in as much detail why we were choosing Colchester, and why they should support our app. We were successful!!!!!

Opened a bank account. The branch we went into was like a hub of the community, a real buzz in the air with people chatting, laughing and carrying on with their normal daily routines. OH spoke to the bank manager and outlook for work in one of their branches seemed promising – got the impression that with her banking experience they would employ her at the drop of a hat – result.

Saw some more houses – didn’t like them. I think we’re still undecided whether we want rural or town. Also the styles of the houses take some getting used to. Split level just didn’t seem to do it for us and given we currently live in a v. large Victorian property so I suppose some of our dreams were broken – especially in the price bracket that we were looking at. Got a better feel for houses as the week went on but didn’t fall in love with anything which has really knocked us somewhat.

Anyway, went to Victoria Park – stunning. A 2 minute walk from the town centre and an outdoor pool, river, waterfalls, playing fields – really could imagine having a fair few picnics there in the summer.

Did some more formal stuff, CV dropping, interview with a large Canadian organisation that were really helpful, but it was clear that finding a job was not going to be easy. Out of 235 staff employed at this particular site , there was a turnover of 4 last year.

We were now enjoying Truro but were still not over enamoured with the looks of the place but we were beginning to see behind the face of the town. The people were very friendly, facilities were excellent but it was still not what we expected. However, we went to some of the villages on the outskirts, Bible Hill, Masstown, Great Village to name a few and they were lovely places and if we could find the right house I think making our decision would have been easier.

Before we went on our recce, as long as we got our nomination we thought it would be a done deal and we would almost certainly make the move. We could not make our minds up. UK, Canada – it was quite a close call.

The family and friends network would disappear, the houses didn’t come up to expectation and the beauty of Canada did not show itself. We have now however made our decision……..

Now as the week went on our plans were changed and we were not able to get up to the North Shore to meet some contacts and sight see. One of the employers said they could see me so we had to change our plans last minute.

Headed back to Halifax Thursday evening stayed at the same hotel. We were going to stay with some friends but again, plans were change at last minute. I think the lesson for anyone doing a recce is to be prepared to adapt and change your plans as you go. We needed to be so flexible but we also needed a planned week!

Went out for some food and drink in a place called ‘The shoe shop’. If you’re in Halifax it’s a must go to place. The inside is amazing – a cavern like setting with worn and chipped paintwork, trees, nooks and cranies and great staff. We asked about the history of the building as it was so interesting – there isn’t one! A film set maker owns the place and the whole setting is false – amazing. The Bouillabaisse was delicious as was the greek salad and spiced sausage and prawns….mmmmmm.

Some more sight seeing on Friday morning – Peggy’s cove. OMG what a beautiful place and fantastic drive. It was mighty cold but really worth the visit.

Friday afternoon another interview………job offer received but not willing to apply for LMO! Suits our timescales but if we get our CI nomination through but the summer there may be ways round this (discussed on BE previously)
What a way to round off the formal stuff for the week.

Shot over to see friends (fellow BE’ers) had a great spag bol and some very tasty home made wine (cheers again guys).

Flew home Friday eve……..landed in Heathrow and then a painful 4hr drive home. Couldn’t wait to see our little one and he was so pleased to see Mummy & Daddy again.

Now, what is our decision – Canada or UK?

Surprisingly it’s taken us a few days to decide. If I hadn’t of been made redundant a few weeks back I think the decision would have been even more difficult…….but how can we pass the opportunity of a move to Canada!

Phew, sorry for the length of the post but I thought I’d try and pass as much info as poss down.

Good luck to you all who are preparing for your recce’s. It’s not easy going by any means, it is a tough time, your emotions are all over the place, I was expecting utopia, didn’t get it, but one thing for sure, we’re determined to give it a go.

Hi

Sounds like you had a really successful recce, congratulations on the job offer and good luck with the move ahead.

Congrats, great informative post, there are a few people heading out to NS in the next couple of months, so I am sure they will find this really useful

I can hugely relate to the house issue. What got to me was how everything was the same with little or no individuality. If you wanted a box then that was fine. If you wanted a bigger bos then they just add some bits to the first box. It still looks the same but its just a bit bigger. The only way to get the individuality appeared to be by spending upards of 600K! The other option appeared to be getting one built for you to a style that you wouyld have liked. Unfortunately all the builders just wanted to build us another box. When we said coud we have it slightly different they scowled and then said "well we could put a turret on one end". Unfortunately this was just another of the off plan box designs.
Glad you had a great reccie. Oh and if anyone has a nice box in NS please don't have a dig at me cos i'm sure I haven't seen all of them yet.

Not a dig but, as you rightly say, you haven't seen all of them yet ! Why don't you sketch out your own ideas and have one custom built to suit ? They won't do that in a "cookie cutter subdivision" but you can get just about anything you want, and for a lot less than $600k, if you buy a lot and get your own built. OK, so it will take three or four months to completion but it can be done.

I totally agree. The difficulty was finding a builder that wanted to build outside his comfort zone, so to speak. It was easy to put up a standard house of standard construction with vinyl siding but as soon as you mentioned roof lines or bricks they didn't really want to know. Anyone who can recommend someone and it would be hugely appreciated. Sorry to the OP for moving off topic. What were your feelings re the houses?

Great read! Talk about networking- !! I am really glad you enjoyed NS- These recces are a bit of an emotional roller coaster but at least you have seen the place at its worst- the summer and snow scapes are really going to be something to look forward too!
Kim

Bricks are very expensive in N.S. Most houses in Canada are stick built (wood frame) vinyl sided ones, maybe with some brick trim, built to withstand the weather conditions. Brick houses are quite rare in most of the country. Roof lines, or elevations as they are often known, are not a problem as far as I know. We designed our house, had the plans drawn and "got 'er done". It was built for minimum exterior maintenance as we are away for several months of the year. There a lots of builders around who will custom build for you. It depends where you want to build.

We felt there wasn't enough individuality in the houses. Layouts internally were very similar and we just couldn't get used to the basement setup - split level, side split and so on. We did go to a couple of houses in the town and they were old victorian types, similar to ours in the UK. They had much more character and the main difference really was wood vs stone built.However, the wood constuction did surprise me - they felt really solid, I half expected them to be a bit flimsy or think they'd be blown away in a gust of wind!

There were lots of plots available for self build and we were told that c. $150 per sq foot of living space would give a really decent spec of a house. I felt this was on the expensive side. Again, on self build, there seemed to be limited plans available but if we were looking at this route I'm sure we could engage the services of a good architect and builder.

Still loved NS though and once we get there, I'm sure we'll find the property of our dreams - it'll just take more searching that we first anticipated.

Again, on self build, there seemed to be limited plans available

There are many plans available for purchase in the Internet.

I found that getting plans from the internet was going to be expensive. We, or rather the OH, looked at hundreds of plans in books and from these we modified one and sketched what we wanted. The floorplan and the elevations. I took the sketches to a draughtsman who also did house plans. He fine tuned them and did the drawings. When I took them to planning department they knew who had drawn them and were totally satisfied and the permit was issued immediately. The builder we chose also was happy with the drawings and had built using this person's work on previous occasions. I was given six copies plus one mylar edition, more than enough for all the trades. I acted as the general contractor and all went well. This was almost eight years ago. The drawing cost me the princely sum of $200 !!!! You do not need an architect. They don't come cheap !

Fab read soooo pleased it went well for you :0)
Dont give up on the houses I was GUtted when we looked as I couldnt cope with split level, think its a brit thing!!! lol
But we did find the dream on our last day:0) bedrooms upstairs! main floor and basement :0)
Its now for sale but hay ho!!!!

Dear goodness You certainly did fit in quite a lot!

That has definitely put things in perspective for me and my OH. We have our first recce planned for mid September and I was a little unsure about only going for a week but going by what you've managed you just need to focus and be super organised!

Something that you said has kind of confirmed a fear I've got and that's that you might get a job offer but the employer may not want to invest the time and trouble to get an LMO or wait for however many months until you get a work permit, etc. I have seen on many threads that people have received job offers and its been 6-9 months before they get their TWP and I just can't understand why an employer would wait that length of time? Unless you're a superstar in you're field!!!

Nevertheless, I'm still determined to put everything I can in to make this dream happen and if it can't i'll just need to accept it and focus on the next step.

Good Luck!!

Simon. I don't suppose you have any pictures of your house that you could share with us do you?

Sorry no, not down here. I will be back in N.S. before the end of April though and I'll try to remember to do one then. It's a bungalow and nothing too ornate. Low maintenance is the thing as we live here in Arizona from November until the end of March or so. We don't want to spend our days doing painting and so on. TTFN

Thanks Guccismith - fab read.

We're going on our recce in 7 weeks and can't wait. You packed loads in, though sounds like you went through the emotional mill a bit.

So pleased you got Corda's support.

Good luck with everything.

Rubie

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