Loraine 1

Thanks guys. I'm loving reading your comments.

Hubby has registered on just about every job site and he searches them daily. He's looks locally and further afield as although we'd rather stay together we're prepared to live apart (at least temporarily) if he were to get the right job in another province. He'd rather go into work than work from home as he's quite a sociable sort but he wouldn't say no if someone were prepared to just give him a chance you know.

NS is gorgeous. I wake up every day and still can't believe I have the ocean in front of our apartment. There's a lake behind us we swim in and we can see the lights of the city across the bay from our living room. It truly is amazing. Most of the people are super friendly and we've some fab friends. All this is great but if we struggle to buy groceries etc.. then the novelty of this province does start to fade.

Can I ask
- if you have moved provinces since moving to Canada (for whatever reason) do you think you made the right move or would you take it back if you could?
- what was it about the place you moved to that took you there?

BristolUK

Some 'growth' figures were announced for NB compared to other places recently with all three cities in the south making gains, one in particular. Ditto for building permits which always seem to increase in numbers or value.
Yep, I remember that and posted about it somewhere.

Loraine 1

Hi guys,

It's been a while since I started this thread and things have got better but we're still considering moving on. Our PR is due to come through in December (though I'm not holding my breadth) and from what I've read we'd then be free to move around if we wish. In April 2022 I'll have been in NS for 4 years and I've worked for the same company the whole time.

NS is a beautiful, relaxing place to be in and the people on the whole are super nice. The issue we have is that once you've visited most places a time or two it gets boring. The lakes and ocean being so close is amazing but after a while I find myself getting bored of that too. We are just not 'outdoorsy' people so we struggle. Making friends here is really hard. People from work don't socialize, even the ones you feel you've got a great working relationship with. I'm very grateful for the few friends I've made. I'm thinking I'd like to change jobs too so why not look further afield, I could always come back I suppose.

Is anyone else having or had the same feelings about a province?

Former Lancastrian

If I was a betting man I would bet a fiver that most Brits who moved to Nova Scotia have since left that Province for another or returned to the UK. There again you read umpteen threads on here and it's not just Nova Scotia they would like to move from. Home is where you make it and the grass isn't always greener. I am pretty sure that most Brits wouldn't even consider living where I live but I am OK with it and TBH I would never consider moving to the GTA, Vancouver and a couple of other places.
Believe me Canada gets somewhat boring no matter where you live and even less attractive if no job. Scenery and things to do don't pay the bills.

Tumbling_Dice

We have been here coming up on 5 years now. I think the only thing that has stopped me getting completely bored is the fact that, for almost two of them, you couldn't do much no matter where you were. We have managed to see nearly everythinng there is to see in NS and, whilst it is very nice, I can't see how we will be here in another 5 years. But you never know... many worse places to be.

Hope your deliberations go well.

Siouxie

Do check that your nomination for PR isn't invalidated by moving to another Province soon after obtaining PR.

christmasoompa

Depends on how you are applying for PR. If it's a Federal program, then no problem at all to move. If it is the PNP, then it would be very risky to move straight after PR was granted.

Howefamily

I know quite a few that moved and then moved back. I know one family that have returned to the UK. The others are all still here, pretty happy bar maybe one or two.
For us we are super settled, we have good jobs, we love each season (except March and April and half of May :-) )
I have the best horse I have ever had and ride almost every day. I feel like I live everything I ever wanted. My only complaint is the long Covid we have which I cant stand to get started on because I am so SAVAGE we even got it but needless to say hubby picked it up at work, as an essential worker.
I feel I am grateful every day that I live here. Maybe its because I am so outdoorsy, I dont know.

Tommyboy17

Hello,

I rarely post on here these days, but I was looking for information on something unrelated and saw your post and thought I'd chime in.

I've been in NS since 2008, moved to BC for a year and came back again. I think that all of us that made the move from the UK have a nomadic spirit otherwise we'd all still be back there, and we've debated moving on from time to time but overall feel lucky to live where we do. Its definitely not for everyone, there are some aspects of NS living that I don't enjoy " Howefamily we love each season (except March and April and half of May " I know what you mean.....

When people (could) visit from the UK, they were always struck by how empty the beautiful parts of the province are, outside of summer months you can go for a walk on Martinique beach and see no one, Keji has world class backcountry camping with star gazing to rival anywhere else on the planet, I went for kayak camp trip round the wild islands this summer and its only an hours drive from my house. I love all these things, but if its not the type of things you're in to then it doesn't matter how good other people say they are.

I miss a decent sized city, low crime etc is great, but if I'm honest Halifax has never felt more than a big town. Mooseheads games are great fun, but its not a big stadium sports experience, many shops or trends are slow to be adopted here. In previous years (pre kid) we'd bite the bullet on cost and visit Toronto, Boston, New York for the city vibe and come home again, but haven't done it in a while. Outside of covid times they're easy flights, but they're not cheap.

Hope your other half finds work and feels settled, or you find what you're looking for out west both are great outcomes

GermanytoCanada

We last posted here in January when we had just agreed to leave NS for the Calgary area. With the Covid related property market being as crazy as it was, we sold up in NS fast and were in Alberta by mid-March - not bad considering we only decided to look at moving after Christmas.

For us, the move has worked out very well so far and I feel more settled here than I ever did in NS. We bought an acreage west of Calgary with a view of the Rockies and the mountain sunsets are amazing.

Positives:
- being near the mountains is fantastic in all four seasons. We can’t wait for the ski season to begin now (no more Wentworth/Martock)!

- having a proper city nearby is great - when I want something, I can usually get it pretty quickly and have choices on sourcing it.

- no black fly at all, and hardly a mosquito to be found. Mosquitoes are more prevalent in the mountains in the summer, but at least I can sit on the deck in the evening knowing I’m not going to get eaten alive as we did in NS.

- a decent airport nearby with a good choice of destinations.

- Higher salaries. NS legal salaries were pretty insulting with most Lawyers practicing in NS because that’s where they are from. Why do the same job for 50% of the money of Toronto/Calgary.

- lots of interesting well travelled people.

- a great Spring. March - early June was terrible in NS with the prolonged winter and then immediate black fly season. It was great to have a Spring again this year.

- the elementary school funding is a different world to NS. The day our Grade 1 daughter came home from her NS school with a paper keyboard was a real eye opener, as the class shared two ageing computers. In her AB school, the class of 25 have 25 new Apple PCs to use. The music room is stocked full of instruments. They take field trips once or twice a month, compared to once a year in NS. The schooling has been a different world entirely.

- we found a great family doctor very quickly. It took a year to find a family doctor in NS.

Negatives
- people here are generally less friendly than in NS. Not unfriendly, but different.

- house price in AB are higher, but I think the gap has narrowed with Covid. Unless you are happy living on an estate (similar to living in the UK), you need decent salaries and a decent deposit (houses $1m and upwards). If you are happy living on an estate then you can get a perfectly good house for $500-600k. With salaries being much higher than in NS (generally), I’d argue that houses are in some ways more affordable here.

- it’s a long way from the ocean, but caveated by being a direct and reasonably priced flight to Hawaii, and a short go to California.

- too many people who seem to believe very strongly that a cowboy hat is more than adequate protection from Covid.

Of course, it’s horses for courses. I can understand why some people moving to NS from the UK would love it and it undoubtedly has its positives, but ultimately, it wasn’t the right place for us and certainly was not the place I wanted our children to grow up. As I think someone else alluded to, people who have what it takes to take the risk and move abroad will often find NS limiting, and ultimately they will move on.

I wish you the best of luck with decision making and opportunities for your husband over the next few months, while your PR comes through.

BristolUK

I get that impression sometimes.

Loraine 1

So the good news is hubby finally found a job that he loves. A friend put his resume forward and they liked him. It's just such a shame that if you don't have a network here or at least a couple of people to speak out for you that you don't get a look in. Still he's working and he's enjoying it.

PR is still in process and we're concerned it's going to take a while. It's supposed to be complete in Dec but seeing as they've not asked us for anything yet I fear that it'll take a lot longer than it already has.

We're still seriously considering moving though not until we have PR and know for sure what we can and can't do. Hopefully, we'll get to take a trip or two next year to check out some other provinces and see what we think

Former Lancastrian

Check out Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba in February. Check out the Northwest Territories and Yukon in January. Check out the GTA and Montreal areas in July. If after a week you don't like them because of the cold, limited daylight hours or oppressive heat in summer then that's half of the country covered.

Siouxie

Congrats on the job for the other half The 'not what you know but who you know' is a common theme in Canada.. so well done him! When does your temporary work permit expire (and his SOWP) - you mentioned in 2019 that it was a 2 year work permit?

On the subject of moving - as previously mentioned, If you are gaining PR status due to being nominated by the Province (Provincial PNP) you shouldn't leave once you have PR status until you have been there a year or two - to do so could leave you open to the possibility of having your PR status revoked on the grounds of misrepresentation.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...migration.html
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...-province.html