I understand what you are saying but i think you have mistaken us a little, we are willing to live in the city close to work if transport will be difficult with only one car. I'm looking to make things as easy as possible for the first year so not spending all our funds on 2 cars and just getting the one will allow us to have a safety net.

And believe me my aim is to forget the UK mentality!

we will have a car just maybe not 2 to begin with.

Yes i have read about Ikea coming to Dartmouth crossing along with a Bass Pro/Cabelas store apparently?
Il be honest I'm looking forward to the later more

I get that but if truth be told this isn't the first opportunity we have had for this move. This opportunity came about a few years back and for several reasons we had to let it go. To this day we regret that decision not to go, fortunately we have the chance again and whilst we can live with things not working and having to return home (we have a house here in the UK we will be renting out) were not sure we can live with never trying/never knowing if that makes sense?

We know it will be difficult and a lot of people would think I'm crazy i have a good job here earning more than i would be there (to begin with) and in a way i would be taking a demotion, but I'm happy to do that as we want to start a new chapter in our life that side of the pond and i feel being young i still have time to further my career there if i choose to.

Canada is a big place but at the same time there are places where you do not need a car. I am in Vancouver and you don't need a car for the most part as transit is sufficient in the metro area to get you around. Within a 15 minute walk I have a grocery store, a pharmacy, a liquor store, various coffee shops and restaurants and within a 10-20 minute bus ride malls, downtown and all it offers etc.

A need for a car simply depends on where one lives in Canada.

If I really wanted I could also walk to downtown which only takes about 30-40 mins to walk.

Only reason we have a car is because I work at 4:30am but for your typical worker or student, no need for a car in Vancouver and transit can be just as fast as driving and sometimes a bit quicker.

WOAH!!

I didn't know there were houses that cheap, let alone big ones!

Well done you!

Good luck

Thanks Siouxie, we were lucky in fairness,and getting rid of the grime wasn't a fun task. Big is probably an exaggeration too, its not a mansion but is spacious enough for us and big by local standards (6 bedrooms).
It was advertised for $39,000 but I haggled and our realtor haggled for us too, plus it had been abandoned for nearly five years, had rubbish listing photos as the realtor couldn't be bothered and used to be the local crack den which the RCMP had to stake out and I think the seller was just glad to be shot of it! The home inspector almost collapsed in shock when we told him how much we had agree for the price

We had it valued the other day and its now worth over ten times what we paid for it which is both amazing, and made me really executed and proud, and sad - I thought it was going to be my forever home and I absolutely love the house, but hey ho, onwards and upwards

Thanks

Should be okay then, subject to the bits Rich mentioned.

This is exceptionally exceptional but it does show what can be had in this part of the world and the lower housing costs can usually make up for lower pay, higher taxes, sometimes higher prices (not always) for other things. If one has a job/other income of course.

It was, we looked around about ten houses, all for less than $40K. Some were absolute dumps. There was one where the floor undulated in the kitchen so much that there was over two feet difference at some points, it was like a fun house
Then there was the one which the tenant didn't want to move out of and so had left rubbish absolutely everywhere, including, no joke, several used condoms leaking out over the hardwood floor. Both our realtor and my husband had to go outside and be sick because of the smells and sights. That house is why I always wear waterproof boots when viewing houses now

True on the cost of living savings, and there is something really nice about taking a house and turning it back into a home, and being mortgage free is a really nice situation to be in. You do have to look past the grime and horror and try and see if for what it really his, and get a good home inspector so that there are no nasty surprises.

Well that knocks spots of the unspeakable things thread.

If you wish to live in the Halifax Metro area, then having only one car is very feasible!

My daughter and her husband only have 1 car by choice, they live on the Dartmouth side of the harbour, both work on the Halifax side, and grandson goes to school in Dartmouth but attends a facility in Halifax during vacations.

Son-i-l is the main driver of the car during the week, daughter takes the bus and ferry, to work and back, and to pick up her son from after-school care.

Both daughter and s-i-l lead active lives, separately and together.

So not such a dire situation in Metro as raindrops suggests.

As OH and I have found out on our visits, the major problem might be connecting a ferry that goes at 15 or 30 minute intervals with a bus that leaves every 30 or 60 minutes without standing around for too long!

It would be a different situation if you were living and working outside Metro.

Try googling Halifax Transit or Metro Halifax Transit to get an idea of where buses and ferries run, how frequently and fares.

It is perfectly possible to live in communities on the other side of the harbour and take a ferry across to Halifax, as well as a bus over one or other of the bridges.

You do have a little more choice than living in downtown Halifax!