bimchick

Hi,

I live in NS and I would like to say 2 things:

1: A B&B in Halifax proper would do well. We only have a few B&B's in town, and I believe many people would like stay at a B&B in town.

2: There are definitely chef jobs in Halifax. We have a lot of restaurants, and there are always restaurants looking for chefs on the diffferent job boards.

bimchick

Oh and another thing

I don't think anybody here would treat "foreigners" from Britain as suspicious. We have a lot of Brits here. So if you look pretty Waspy and sound British you'll be fine :P

Partially discharged

My wife and I stayed at this place

http://www.perthmanor.com/

in the fall of 2008 and it was lovely. Soon after we found out that the owners (still the ones listed on the website) were trying to sell it. It was written up in the Globe and Mail etc...however, I think the asking price was $850 K or something like that. It has living quarters at the back and is in Perth, Ontario which is a beautiful town.

For the OP, have you considered a B and B in a place like Westport or Gananonque Ontario?..they seem like prime B and B land.

kate holt

and perth maonor looks gorgeous.

Our cottage is nearby and the area is fairly touristy (1000 islands and kingston etc). Westport seems fairly well served with Hotels and b&bs and is certainly a busy quaint little touristy town - worth a visit. But some store owners only open weekends during the quiet season - maybe for the weekenders staying in B&Bs! Gananoque is a nice town with a theatre and a new english pub! So worth a visit.

JSHalifax

HI there, i just discovered this thread, I have owned and operated a bed and breakfast here in Halifax Nova Scotia for over ten years. As some of the previous posts have suggested tourism has been on a decline but if it has its due to global factors such as when we had 911, Sars,Heathrow terror threats, and global recession, we also lost many tourists from the states as the dollar lost its value against the Canadian Dollar etc.
These things have been somewhat unpredictable, if you buy a bed and breakfast in a popular tourist area you will be busy from May to September and then you will have to work out what business you can do during the off season, I host recce trips for anyone relocating and also take in short term boarders during the winter months.
You need to due exercise due diligence in doing research and also making a business plan..I can certainly offer you as much help and advice that you need if visiting here and most likely you should visit Ontario as well..
Self catering units are always a good earner as are short term furnished rentals ina city like Halifax where there is always a shortage of available accommodation, not only do you have to look for the right geographical area you should look for something very versatile when tourism is not your main revenue stream. Hope that helps , by the way you have to have lots of stamia and really love people if you want to survive in this business.
There are quite a few Bed and Breakfast for sale here in NS, let us know if you are coming this way.
Good LUck

fledermaus

I wouldn't call Perth beautiful. It's OK but not beautiful.

JSHalifax

So now there's an ash cloud over UK Heathrow, see what I mean?
sometimes we have no control on whether our guests will make it to their destination!

anunlikelyunion

Hi all,

Thank you all again for your info.
Kate holt, JSHalifax, we will definately look into everything you suggested. The B&B in Perth does look just heavenly but...erm...I don´t exactly have 850K stashed away under my mattress! Gulp.
JSHalifax, we will definately be in touch for advice a bit further down the line, thank you very much for the offer!!!
We are hoping to buy a small B&B, maybe 4 or 5 rooms to rent out. We´ll see what we can find once we´re there. We have decided to go into rented accomodation for the first 6-12 months, just to get a feel for the area. Then we´ll start looking for a suitable property.
So, just wish us luck everyone, looks like we´re going to need it.

Gaby and Tony