Corky

Torticat....you're in a mood eh! Pot holes in the Bedford Highway.......they have been there for years! But I still enjoy that drive!
I look at things this way...yes there are some on here who whinge about Nova Scotia but I figure if they went any where they would find something wrong and something to complain about...those are the type that shouldn't leave home! I think immigration is like a new beginning, an adventure of sorts! and you have to adapt to what ever country you go to. Don't moan and complain about the things you can't get, just get on with what you can get. I guess it is something like, When in rome, do as the Romans do. Get to know the Canadians. Nova Scotians are very friendly people and very easy to get to know.

Leg....Sounds like you made a good decision, so don't worry about it. Now is the time to look forward and start getting excited about immigrating and a new life. Things are never easy to start with but a postive attitude will do wonders and of course the ones on here that are already here are never far away! Go on have that drink you deserve it...I'll have one as well!

Ax....I think after this weekend and today Nova Scotia must be closer to Newfie..I think I felt the province move in that direction in all this wind! We have spindrift on the lake!!!!YIKES!

Leg

Thanks Saw, I guess im going through what a lot of people go through. It takes so damn long that your life changes, opportunities come and go and you have to stay focused and all the time Im thinking 'Oh Hell what if I should have done that? What if Canada falls through and I look back and regret not taking that opportunity'. We absolutely love NS, have friends in Halifax, stayed int heir cottage on Lake Paul and had the most amazing time ever, love the people etc etc. Its just seems so damn far away (timewise).

I shake my fist in frustration at the London processing office, grrrrr!

hello, whats this, a bottle of red, aaaaand relax, all is well with the world again

Southcote

We have been interested in moving to Canada, and have been focusing upon Vancouver. Following the property market, we are a little concerned about what we will be able to afford by the time our visas come through ! Our attention has drifted a little to Nova Scotia, but never having been there, it's difficult to make a comparison. It does seem to through up a great deal more opportunities with properties, which does take a certain amount of pressure off, but we do have a few concerns about the climate.

If we were to move to NS, we'd probably look at the Halifax area. I know the only real way of finding out is to go during the winter months, but can anyone give me an insight into a typical Halifax winter ?

welyn

When we first started on our emigration journey way back in the mists of 2004 we had thoughts of BC. We planned on Vancouver Island and did loads of research over there. Then for some reason we started to look into Nova Scotia and felt that offered us something. We had severe reservations that this was supposed to be the 'poor' part of Canada. We expected slum estates with trees, but were absolutely blown away when we saw the place in October 04. Halifax is a wonderful city. Big enough to have all the facilities but small enough to get to know and to avoid the worst of the city problems.

We actually compared VI and NS and felt they had a great deal in common. Broadly similar size and population, similar size main population centre, similar employment characteristics. Big differences: Halifax is the regional centre whereas Victoria is in Vancouver's shadow. House prices are halved in NS, as are flight times. VI is close to hardly anything else, whereas NS is good for the Eastern Seaboard of the US and the major Canadian cities.

As for weather, NS has the second mildest winters in Canada due to the moderating effect of the oceans. My reading is that the major snow comes in storms and once it is down, it is cleared and on you go. It may stay on the ground but it is not a problem to everyday life. BC on the other hand has your typical British winters of day after day of rain. Look to the summers also - NS has great beaches with a choice of Atlantic for waves or Northumberland Strait for warm waters and great beaches.

Craftybanshee

Oh sushhhhhhhhhh you lot! You're letting out the Maritimes best kept secret - NS! We went on a visit in the summer with an open mind and were very pleasantly surprised. We loved it.

I agree with one of the posters re. the very long fangled recruitment process

p.s. we have big pot holes in Somerset too

NessieOggy

I see this posted quite frequently and thought I'd mention that you might want to look about 300 miles inland from the coastal areas of BC.... you'll find the Okanagan Valley which is classified as semi-arrid (desert). We rather like when it rains as we see so little of it! So in other words, the entire province does not get the rain that the coastal areas of the BC do.


Cheers

Oggy

gvl

An excellent post - and spot on if I may say so. Yes there are challenges with any place you go - luckily I haven't had the need to sample the healthcare so can't comment! If someone pines after ridiculous things like marmite and HP Baked Beans, then really they need to get a life....is emigration really for them??
NS is great, however, as Craftybanshee said - keep it quiet!!!

Bleech

You're so right Oggy, It's great here in the Okanagan, a real spritual errection. Snow on the mountain tops now and a season of snowboarding just around the corner. Life does not get any better than this.
NS is on my list of places to visit as I've heard it's beautiful.
Keep the faith people and stay positive.

val50

Surely one of the reasons for this forum is to give other's still waiting to immigrate, a balanced view of what they can expect when moving to a new place? If you are spending so much time and money, don't you want to know the pitfalls as well as the good things about a place? Is it a good idea to intimidate and ridicule those who find the move difficult? I don't think so. I just wish a few people had felt confident enough to post a few facts instead of painting a rosy picture. If you are looking to retire, don't you want to know what the health care is going to be like? Cancer patients at QEII in Halifax are not able to wash or drink the water in the hospital as it is so pollluted. A couple have died as a result. The MRI machine is so old and out of date that patients have to go to the paediatric department for a scan. How many GP's are taking on new patients in the HRM area? I know ours isn't. Our GP phoned to make an urgent appointment for my wife to have a mammogram. She was told the earliest appointment was 6 months. The GP suggested my wife go overseas for treatment, which she has done. My daughter was also referred by the GP for treatment for a foot injury with a orthopaedic surgeon. The wait to see him is 15 months. Is this really any better than the NHS you are hoping to leave behind?
Wouldn't you want to know if you are buying a house there are certain areas in Halifax and Dartmouth to avoid? That Gottingen Street in Halifax has beautiful houses, but is a no-go area. Are estate agents going to tell you this? That there are houses along the coast from Sheet Harbour that are rotting and falling down because no-one wants to buy there. You may be seduced in getting a 4 bedroomed house there on 2 acres for C$40 000, but what happens if you want to sell and move closer to town. How many years have those houses been on the market. Look to buy in Halifax, south end, and you need at least C$400 000 to buy a semi-detached.
We also bought in Bedford, woke up one morning to find the forest behind our house being cut down. We now have condo's staring straight into our dining room. There is no regard for the environment. People are moving to the HRM as there are few jobs elsewhere, so houses are needed at any cost.
If you have teenagers, wouldn't you want to know that Nova Scotia probably has some of the best universities in Canada (check with Macleans magazine) but also has the highest fees in the country?
That if you work in Halifax but live outside in areas such as Bedford, Waverley etc. you are going to sit in traffic for up to 45 mins every morning and night. That if there is an accident on the Bedford Highway, you can sit for hours, unless you can get across to the 102.
We have been here a year now and in that time we know of 3 English couples that moved here and have moved back to UK. I work with Canadians, who have moved here from outside Nova Scotia, and find it hard living here.
It is easy to say do your homework, have a positive attitude etc. We have lived in 6 countries in the last 30 years. The last country we lived in, none of us even spoke the language when we arrived, but we knuckled down and got stuck in. Made friends, loved it. We have immigrated before and know what to expect. Even those working at the Nova Scotia Nominee Programme admit there is a problem. Go to one of their meetings and they will tell you that they have a job on their hands keeping people here.
UK is only 6 hours away but at what cost. If you were flying to anywhere else from UK, the price would be half that you pay with Air Canada. I also debate the 6 hours. I am flying across to UK every month at the moment and I have yet to leave or arrive on time. My last journey took 10 hours with a long wait at Halifax Airport, due, we were told, to the late arrival of the crew.
There are beautiful places to live in Nova Scotia, but the same can be said of any country, including UK. People are always saying do your homework before you move, but there are some things you only learn once you are there. Just because people haven't experienced difficulties, it doesn't mean they don't exist.
We were lucky, my company paid all our costs, arranged everything for us. However, if I had been spending so much time and money getting here, I wish someone had been honest and pointed out a few more things to me, not just how pretty the trees are in Autumn!
Alan

Tangram

Everyone including val50 should post without fear of being jumped on. Positives and negatives in all posts are very useful - like val says, not just 'aren't the mountains beautiful' or the flipside ' getting work is a sinch if you network' .... you get the idea.

Don't believe I have ever flamed someone for an opinion, everyone has their own perspective and should be allowed to be heard as long as that opinion does not infringe of someone else's liberty or well being ie racist, insulting etc.

Paul

SkiBunny

We may end up in Nova Scotia, and I like to read the positive and negative posts and find them all useful and interesting.
thanks everyone.

Leg

Sod it, its an adventure, nothing ventured nothing gained. I must have thought it was right 18 months ago and I was less senile then*.

*not clinically proven but probably true. Maybe.

h_henry

I agree too with the last few posts. There are pluses and minuses about most places but some days you just post about the bad things, and some days about the good. I think it'd be a shame to start getting into the mind-set that every time you post you must present a balanced opinion with advantages and disadvantages or else someone will criticise you for being too extreme and tell you to go back from whence you came if you're not happy ... . Ok if you are writing an academic paper then be balanced but this forum isn't that way inclined is it? We post on here because we feel like saying something or getting something off our chests or sharing something etc..let's not be restrictive or feel pressured into being balanced all the time, life is unbalanced as am I at this early time of day .

But if we are going down that route atm here is my unbalanced, in no logical order, highly subjective off the cuff at 07.30h thoughts so far on NS...

mostly nice people who seem to make time to care
some nice scenery - mostly around the coast, some really dull scenery - mostly interior
access to GP facilities dire
some areas and shops and attitutudes are stuck in the 1980s
mobile communication dire
slow pace of life sometimes nice but can be a pain in the butt when you want something done
attitudes to dogs are stuck in the dark ages - prepared to be aghast at some people and places
shorter and cheaper flights to the UK
milder winters bad if you are itching for snow as I am atm
lack of drinking holes
no vegetarian symbol on food and rubbery tasting meat substitutes

dbd33

Each airline has a standard excuse for late flights. Delta, for example, always blames "weather at destination" causing a flurry of phone calls and shouts of "what weather?". Air Canada's standard is "late arrival of crew". It's just something to tell the passengers, it doesn't mean anything.

SAW 04

Why the hell are you still here???