Tumbling_Dice

I can confirm that the cost of houses in Nova Scotia, especially for what they are, which is pretty much an insulated garden shed, is ridculous just now. However, there do seem to be signs that this is starting to correct itself but it has a long way to go to match the economic reality in NS.

The major issue you have, in the Halifax area at least, is the insane prices for rental property, if you can even find one. I think the vacancy rate is under 1% these days. Recently, we went to a hotel restaurant for lunch and there are students now living in the hotel because they can't find accommodation.

In terms of employment here, there are good jobs available but you really need to have contacts in order to access them. This was the biggest gap in understanding I had moving here. Once you get a network, you can pretyy much tap people up for leads on new jobs and they will help you.

I am not sure if that is any help, but good luck with the deliberations.

RichMitch

This is really helpful info, thank you so much I really appreciate it. Yes that concurs with what I had found out a few months back - that there is precious little rental properties and the properties available are seeking insane prices per month.

From what I understand, life in Nova Scotia is similar in ways to where I currently live in Ireland so that's one of the reasons we had initially considered moving to NS.

Right now it's a bit of a conundrum for us as to where we should focus on trying to move to! My work history for the last 20 years has been in various IT related jobs so I'd be keen to seek out areas where there is a good volume of vacancies in IT.

I don't want to "put the cart before the horse" - and start looking at housing until I've secured a job offer, however on the other hand there's no point seeking a job in an area where there's not much housing available

christmasoompa

Just playing devil's advocate, but if all you want is a fresh start and new scenery (i.e. not moving for the love of Canada), then would a move elsewhere within Ireland, or even to somewhere in the UK/Europe be an option? It would be a heck of a lot cheaper than moving a family over to Canada so thought I'd mention it just in case!

Do you need a job offer to get a visa, or do you qualify for one without one? If you do need a job offer then I wouldn't focus on any specific area just yet. Visit somewhere, and try and job hunt as much as possible whilst there, but don't limit yourself to that area as you may find a sponsoring employer in another province.

Tumbling_Dice

I am from Northern Ireland myself. There are, in my view, many similarities between NS and NI (and I mean that NI is still a bit on the backward side compared to the Republic - NS is quite backward as well) which I quite like. But this place really reminds me, in so many ways, of NI before the crash... it is a ticking timebomb for some people, I think.

I can't really help you with any insight on IT jobs here. I know that there are a few larger IT firms around Halifax, and I am told there is a good network of smaller IT startups / young firms, as well as the opportunity to work remotely.

You might just take the route of going where the work is initially and then exploring around the country to decide where you actually want to put down roots. No easy answers. Any questions you have about NS please ask, but I think you have the right general sense of the place.

RichMitch

Yes definitely, we feel that Canada is our first choice but if push comes to shove and it just doesn't work out, then we'd most likely move to Scotland or England. While we've never been to Canada, we have friends who are Canadian and we have friends who also want to emigrate there and to us it just feels "right" Our plan right now is to seek a move over for at least 2 or 3 years and then take it from there. A work colleague of mine used to live in BC and he recommends that we spend at least a couple of winters in Canada, he says that way we will definitely know if Canada is for us on a permanent basis!

Yes I would need a job offer. Due to our ages and lack of French language skills, I don't think we score anywhere near enough immigration points etc.

christmasoompa

Fair enough, just chucking it out there as an idea in case it saved you tens of thousands. You might love it when you visit anyway.

Sounds like Toronto will be a good place for you to find work, just be prepared to go backwards and forwards to visit in person to job hunt if needed, hopefully you'l find something there but I'd search other areas too just in case.

RichMitch

Hi, thanks very much for this info. I'm from Northern Ireland too! An old friend of mine who lives in Ontario told me that if we were to move to Canada just to tell people we are from Ireland and avoid confusion on constitutional matters!

Yes I agree, I'm beginning to think that "beggars can't be choosers" and we should initially just try to get a job, secure a visa and head across for a few years.

I think after a few years, more options and openings become available to move about the place, maybe move to somewhere more desirable etc!

RichMitch

I have a feeling that no matter where we move to it's going to cost big so we figure we may as well follow our gut instincts and try for Canada!

Yes Toronto makes the most sense to me, at least I can fly direct to Toronto from Dublin and not worry about connecting flights from London etc

Thanks so much again for your help and advice - hopefully I can get a job offer before too long and begin to turn the plans into reality

dbd33

In the local museum there is a shop which once stood nearby. It has one orange door and one green one. There are echoes of historical sectarianism all over Ontario if you look for them but you have to be looking. The population here is too diverse now for anyone's distant troubles in their home countries to have much effect. That may be a shock, everyone's from somewhere else and there are a lot of somewheres.

RichMitch

Wow - I didn't think there would have been much sectarianism in Ontario (or Canada in general).

That's good to hear about diversity, from what I've been told trouble between various religious groups is more or less unheard of across most parts of Canada.

I recently got chatting to a lady who has moved here to Northern Ireland from New Brunswick and she was absolutely baffled as to how bitterly divided the small population is based on religious differences!

Tumbling_Dice

Oh don't worry mate, there is more than enough bitter division in Canada to keep you going. Thankfully it is easily avoided if you couldn't be bothered with it.

RichMitch

Are divisions in Canada more down political lines as opposed to religion? I think there has been some advancement in Northern Ireland in recent times in terms of community relations which is a positive step, still tensions simmering beneath the surface at times though.

Across the Western World there does appear to be something that unites everyone right now though - this flipping cost of living crisis!

Moses2013

I'm in the Rep. of Ireland and have a cousin still in Canada. What we pay here is dirt cheap compared to him. The bigger problem today is the lack of housing everywhere. Luckily you can still buy a nice cottage with land for €150K in certain areas, but finding a rental is impossible.

RichMitch

That's insane, does your cousin live in Vancouver or towards the west of Canada? A former work colleague lives in BC and he told me his neighbour's house there recently sold for about $300,000 more than what they had initially bought it for.

Yes the rental situation in Northern Ireland is very similar to the Republic, very hard to find a decent rental property unless you're prepared to pay big for it. From what I understand, quite a big number of Ukrainian refugees are seeking housing here which probably goes some way to explain the shortage in rentals but there must be other factors at play as well I think.

There does seem to be plenty of homes about to buy here and for now it looks to me like prices are stabilising a bit thank God.

I read an article recently about calls for the Canadian Government to do more to prevent foreign investors purchasing properties in the country, although I'm not sure if that's become law yet.

Moses2013

Was near Halifax and moved on to Toronto for work. Of course every person lives a different life, but just from talks and experiences it seems to be a lot harder for any newcomer moving from a low cost country without a large chunk of money these days (be it Canada, Australia or here). It's the same everywhere and the main focus in every country is the cost of living and I wouldn't recommend anyone to come to the Rep. of Ireland either now unless they have accommodation sorted.

I would agree here