GregnSam

Hi,

My wife and I are looking to move over to Nova Scotia (Halifax) she will be studying while I work.

We were originally planning on moving to Toronto but the cost of higher education is a little prohibitive, we have been to Toronto and loved it, especially the transport system since neither of us drive at the moment.

Just wanted to get peoples opinions on Halifax? Ideally from people who have actually lived there who can give us a real description of what life is like.

We currently live in London at the moment and are used to hyper inflated prices, I hope Halifax will give us more bang for our buck!

Thanks
Greg

jericho

Hi Greg
We moved to Edmonton AB in 2008, but moved over to Halifax last year.
We've got 12 months under our belts now, and can honestly say we love it. There are certain aspects of living in NS that drive me mental, but for us, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Now, if only we could find somewhere to get a decent curry......

Feel free to PM me if you like, and good luck!

Cheers

Silverdragon102

Thought there was a place up on Bayer's Lake?

GregnSam

Sounds good!

I have read online about some dodgy areas but I am from Dundee and the Mrs is from London so I am sure in comparison the crime isn't such a big deal?

One question we definitely have is how is the transport system? From what I can see it is mainly buses.

Thanks
Greg

jericho

Yeah, but I thought it was pretty poor to be honest. One of the least authentic Indian restaurants I've been to. Canadians rave about the place, but that's probably because they have nothing to compare it against.

Simon Legree

I agree. I wasn't very impressed.

woodworm

yes, Metro Transit uses buses and 2 ferries from Dartmouth to downtown Halifax
check here for route map and schedules and decide for yourself if there are enough connections to where you want to live.
http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/Schedules/index.asp

Canuck74

I hope you are moving to a job. The unemployment rate in Nova Scotia is 9.6%.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quoti...06a003-eng.htm

jericho

It's 7.7% in Ontario, the self proclaimed centre of the universe.
What's your point? Unemployment around HRM is much less than the provincial average.

Canuck74

Was just pointing out that Nova Scotia has a quite high unemployment rate. Not the best place to start out looking for work.

jericho

Sorry, but that's a comment coming from someone that's probably never been here. As I mentioned, there are plenty of jobs in and around the HRM.

If you want to go and live on the south shore, you'll find problems getting a job.
Likewise, if you want to move to northern Ontario, you'll also have problems.
But if you want to move to Halifax, there's plenty. There's a skills and labour shortage here.... not something your statistics will flag up.

nldfc

Mid Craigie makes the rough areas of Dartmouth look like Disneyland

Howefamily

Just out of interest where is your wife planning to study? I have heard that NS universities are some of the most expensive

Tuppence

I would be wary of 'more bang for your buck'. I didn't find that at all. Housing might be cheaper than London or the GTA but general cost of living I found worse. Income tax, groceries, property taxes, heating costs,etc, can all be pretty evil in NS.

wingwing

Hi Greg,

We live in Halifax and don't have a car. The public transport here is fine. It's not absolutely fantastic, however we manage perfectly well on it. I would recommend that you live either in or close to downtown Halifax or Dartmouth though, as otherwise you may find it difficult to get around. Be aware that service on a lot of routes can be drastically reduced or stop at the weekend and on public holidays. Also the ferry service on a Sunday stops after 6.00pm (ish), although you can still take the bus.

I have found public transport in the HRM to be good value for money compared to some other Canadian cities. It costs $2.25 per trip and it's only $70 for a monthly pass. There are some routes that go to outlying towns that cost slightly more, but those are the standard fares.

As long as you are careful about where you live and make sure you investigate public transport routes to and from work and places you are likely to go most often (i.e. the supermarket), you should have no problems.

The one drawback of not having a car (and the reason we are seriously thinking about getting one unfortunately) is that there are so many beautiful places to visit in NS and the other Maritime provinces that you can't get to without one!