JandG

Both Nova Scotia and Cornwall are beautiful...but Cornwall is sadly losing much of the charm that it once had (for me at least). It may simply be a case of familiarity breeding contempt of course!

Al the Agent

Many above posts are correct, in rural areas Nova Scotians who rely on the tourist trade do hibernate to some degree, but the businesses that service the local population certainly remain open, especially pubs etc. The central urban area (Halifax Dartmouth and the like) are open for business year round. Mahone Bay and Lunenburg are both good selections but do lack winter tourists if you are looking at the B&B option. One area that may be worth a look might be the coastal area between Halifax and St. Margaret's Bay, near Peggy's Cove. Very active during the tourist season but still close enough to the Halifax area to enjoy its off season activities...

Sammypeeps

Taken me a while to get back on track with this post!! A lot has happened for us since I last wrote on here on Wednesday I think! What I have to say doesnt seem to relate to the original thread now, but thought I would put it in anyway!!!

After much deliberation over the last six months with regard to moving elsewhere in Canada to find our 'perfect' lifestyle, over the last two days we have realized that the one place we had not considered, maybe through stubborness - was the UK.

We moved from Southern England to Nova Scotia for reasons such as - less population, less stress, beautiful wilderness, cheap property prices, outdoor pursuits etc, we are agricultural people and love rural life. However........we have come to the realization that although Nova Scotia and many parts of Canada I am sure, offer those things, we dont need them as much as we thought as:

So the ball is now rolling and we intend to be back in the UK for August this year. Seems wild but feels right!!

Anyhow, getting back on track with the post, I would have to agree that there are many villages in and around the coast that are like Cornwall in many ways to look at, the culture however will of course be Nova Scotian!!

Neil & Sandie - obviously the house swap idea is pretty much out of the window now!! We intend to travel for a month before we return to the UK and do a road trip across the States/Canada and look around BC, so may well look you up - if your still there of course!

Neil and Sandie

Thanks for the info! We have looked at a map. You are close to Halifax! Someone else suggested that it might be a good idea to be close to Halifax as it can be quiet elsewhere in the Winter! We'll make sure we look at Porters Lake when we come to NS!

Neil and Sandie

I guess it has dropped off everywhere to some extent - but NS probably relied more on Americans than we do where we are in BC as we mostly get Europeans and are getting pretty fully booked for this Summer - which is great of course!
Thanks for the info!

Neil and Sandie

Thanks. We probably haven't really looked hard enough on the BC coast. We should. Our first attempt was to go to Vancouver Island and look and we didn't see anything that really fitted the bill - plus it was all rather pricey! We will look at the places you suggest in more detail

Atlantic Xpat

Sounds like you've proved the adage that one way of obtaining many of the lifestyle wants that bring people to Canada is to move from Southern England to Northern England or Scotland. It's certainly cheaper as I'm sure you can agree. Full marks for trying NS though and best of luck with your move back to UK.

Neil and Sandie

That first picture is so lovely! Looks totally idyllic! We'll definitely look into Herring Cove! We hadn't thought of looking that side of Halifax really.
So now you have moved to Nova Scotia and your wife is 'home' again. That's really nice of you Are you happy there too? I guess so!

Neil and Sandie

Interesting! I think we still need to see the places that first attracted our attention - Mahone Bay and Lunenburg - but now we are thinking of places nearer to Halifax - as you suggest! Someone also mentioned Herring Cove on the other side of Halifax and sent some pictures - it looks so lovely!!! So do you have anything in mind for us?

Neil and Sandie

As you say - if the things you moved here for are either not happening or are no longer important then I guess you are right to ask yourselves what you are doing here!
There have been days when Neil would have jumped on a plane back to England if he could! We have finally got our Permanent Residence status (last week) so hopefully that will make things feel a bit better!
However, there were probably a number of other things that prompted you to move away from England. It is always easier to look back with rose coloured spectacles and before you go back to England maybe think about whether the things you disliked have changed - or even got worse? Maybe there is somewhere else in the World you should look at?
Our first move away was to Menorca. After about a year we changed our minds and came back to England - then we remembered why we didn't like it and moved back to Menorca! Selling houses and moving all our stuff each time! Terribly expensive as well as disruptive!! Having said that I think we may fall into the catagory of 'serial movers' so we are trying to really think this one through!!! Hence joining this forum - it is really helpful!
Well good luck with your plans! We would be really interested to hear what you decide to do - and you are very welcome to stay with us if you travel this way on your journey through Canada!

Neil and Sandie

You also said in a previous quote that Nova Scotia was like the Cornwall of 20 years ago? When we visited Canada first we felt that it was more like the England we remembered growing up in. I am not sure I still feel that strongly that it is - but we know what you mean.
Although we also need to think hard about BC coast and uprooting ourselves again - we can't wait to visit NS! We are trying to plan for the end of March

Oink

I've been suggesting this as a possibility for ages on here, simply to have my ideas be subject to scorn and ridicule. Good luck in your endevour as I fear you'll be in for the same treatment after suggesting such heresy.

Sammypeeps

There have been days when Neil would have jumped on a plane back to England if he could! there were probably a number of other things that prompted you to move away from England. It is always easier to look back with rose coloured spectacles and before you go back to England maybe think about whether the things you disliked have changed - or even got worse? Maybe there is somewhere else in the World you should look at?

Well good luck with your plans! We would be really interested to hear what you decide to do - and you are very welcome to stay with us if you travel this way on your journey through Canada!

I appreciate your sentiments Neil and Sandi and you are quite right my spectacles may well be rose coloured!! But we have thought it through, I think most likely some of the things we moved to get away from have probably got worse, but I think we have wayed up the pros and cons. With regard to looking at other places in the world or indeed Canada, I think our biggest fear is to become 'ping pongers' as they call them always in search of something, bouncing around? I dont think I want to live my life 'searching', I am happy to accept (at least I think I am) that life in England, is what it is (good or bad) but that my husband and I can carve a path for ourselves there and be happy in the knowledge that we did try something different - and learnt alot from it, safe in the knowledge we are surrounded by familiarity, friends and family!


"Sounds like you've proved the adage that one way of obtaining many of the lifestyle wants that bring people to Canada is to move from Southern England to Northern England or Scotland. It's certainly cheaper as I'm sure you can agree. Full marks for trying NS though and best of luck with your move back to UK." If only for Hindsight Atlantic Expat!! And when we move back to England I am up for exploring the North of England that is for sure!!! But the grass would always have been greener so we had to give it a go!!!

Oink - its unfortunate that you have been scorned and ridiculed for your opinions, although I appreciate the feedback from adding to these forums and certainly from reading other peoples situations etc. in 6 months time I have no intention of having the time to be writing on here as I will be actively pursuing setting life back up in England, so I take all comments and responses with a pinch of salt whether my thoughts are considered heresy or not!!

davidsk

Has anyone lived in St. Margaret's bay?

I heard it is the most Hurricane hit area around Halifax. Is it true?

I also wonder during the winter how much more cost to heat a house close the ocean than inland.

JandG

The main drive behind my comment was that people you have never met would stop you in the street and say Hi in NS...people seemed warm, open and friendly and didn't seem scared to act as such...as opposed to much of the UK where many seem to be living in fear of each other.

There is one particular experience that springs to mind, which was in Lunenburg on a Sunday...we walked past a closed shop that had a cat sunning itself in the window - we stopped and commented on the cat and the shop owner immediately came out and said hello, then offered to open up the shop if we would like to look around. The sceptic in you might think they were simply desperate for trade, but it didn't come across that way...it was heart-warming.