Lynsi

Hello BE friends, Husband has had an interview for a government job based in Halifax and although it early days I was hoping to get some insider information on the area. house prices look great! (we are renting in Vancouver) I was hoping for info on areas to stay away from? And as we have 2 young girls one almost school age any info on schools in that area?
Thanks in advance,
L

Lorry1

Are you looking at downtown Halifax to live or further out in the suburbs?
Stay away from Fairview and the North end of Halifax. Some areas of Dartmouth are dodgy but others really nice. The Citadel High school hasn't got a great reputation.
Bedford is really nice and good for a commute downtown.
If you're looking at a big house & land then Hammonds Plains is the place to be. Not much there but a short drive from downtown.

Joepottinger

Hi Lynsi,

I have lived in Halifax for a year or so now. The area I live in is a great neighbourhood but it is the more expensive end of the city. The North end some people dont think is very safe in places. Dartmouth is decent but right now the bridge is closed a lot of the time so makes it more difficult to get to Halifax.

The only two schools I know of near my are citadel high school and sacred heart on spring garden road.

Halifax itself is kinda split into areas with Downtown Halifax, South End, North End, West end and then dartmouth on the other side of the harbour. Hope that helps a little.

scilly

Citadel High School ha superb teachers, but some kids are not interested in school ..... but then you wouldn't be interested in that for at least 8 more years.


Joe ............ which bridge is often closed?? There are two!!

My daughter lives in Dartmouth and works in Halifax, but has never mentioned any problem getting to or from work.

Anyway ................. there's always the ferry

Joepottinger

The Macdonald bridge. Been closed more or less everyday at specific times of the day for the past year. I think it is to continue for another year yet while they complete the big lift job.

scilly

ah shoot .............. however we won't be driving when we come out this Christmas. We use the ferry whenever possible to get from Dartmouth to Halifax and back.


They did that same thing to Lions Gate Bridge some years ago.

Snowy560

Yes I believe it's the same people repairing the Halifax bridge. That's what the taxi driver who took us into Halifax from the airport told us.

S

scilly

We will probably only have to take that bridge twice, if we are savvy ...............

once from the train station to the hotel in Dartmouth, and then once from Dartmouth to the hotel next to the train station for the night before we leave

There is always the other bridge, time our trips over the Macdonald Bridge, or drive around the Bedford Basin if we go to Wolfville as we sometimes do, or as I said earlier ............. walk or take a taxi to the ferry terminal, and have a ferry across the harbour.

I'm sure that our other friends in the Halifax area will be well up on the situation!


We never fly into Halifax if we can possibly avoid it.

Lynsi

We are looking into a house in Martins point near Mahone Bay. Does anyone have a realtor they want to recommend? Anyone have any info on that area? It looks beautiful!

Lorry1

Mahone Bay is stunning, as is Lunenburg, and about an hour from Halifax (not in winter) but it really is a summer tourist area which pretty much shuts down over winter, I think.

cxx

It is a lovely area, but it'll be a long and painful commute for your husband.

scilly

You really don't want to be doing that commute in the winter ................ and it will also be hard in tourist season as he will have to negotiate through all those tourists gawkin'.

It is 85 km from Halifax to Mahone Bay ....... but I don't know where the start point is in Halifax, it it might be from the centre, or from some other point. The references say just over 1 hour, but it has usually taken us longer than that to do the journey.

I have seen only one small grocery store, and 1 small pharmacy, plus a building supplies firm and a footwear shop .......... and no others are listed on the Business Directory, but there are lots of tourist-y shops!

We love to go to Mahone Bay ........... but it really is aimed at the tourists, and I think houses are over-priced because of that. I think most people who live there a) depend on tourists for their living (B&Bs, shops, pubs, etc) and thus have to make their money in the summer, and b) have to make regular trips to bigger towns to get supplies.

Howefamily

Hi
That commute to Mahone Bay will be long and the 103 is well known for its accidents as its twinned in some places and not in others. For some reason, drivers cant seem to stay on their own side of the road.
If you want proximity to the ocean then check out Head of St Margarets Bay and Tantallon. Both pretty close to Halifax and very nice.
Its the MacDonald bridge that's closed at night from 7pm and at weekends as they replace the deck.
We have lived here for 5 years now and love it. I recommend Doug Glasser as a realtor, hes with Hants Realty but covers everywhere. I will PM you his details although you can find him on Hants realty website. He went above and beyond for us.

Lamin

Silly,

Why do you avoid Halifax airport, intrigued?

Where do you use?

scilly

we don't fly across Canada in winter, period!

We take the train

Why do we avoid Halifax airport if possible ................... a) fog, common throughout the year b) blizzards and fog often happen in winter.

Nothing like getting stuck in Ottawa (preferable) or Toronto airport not knowing when you are going to complete the second half of your trip

Why is Ottawa airport preferable to Toronto (before you ask)?

a) they can handle snow in winter better than Toronto b) it is a much more pleasant place to have to spend what can be hours.


As you may guess ................ I speak from many years of experience of travelling across Canada.