Deva

Where in NS do you live? Maybe you said and I missed it.

scrubbedexpat091

True yes. The work environment is really triggering my symptoms which is when I land myself in the hospital and that worries me a lot since I managed to go over a year without a hospitalization but now I am collapsing from the the poor work environment.

The owners are very cheap, and they don't invest into their business, they just want to make money without spending the money. We have minimal staff and they don't increase it when we are busy which isn't often, but we do get busy days, but we have the same staff but 3 times the work.

They show no appreciation, nothing, they use the camera's to spy and complain about everything, but wont provide the tools we need to do what they want.

I should have never gotten back onto a graveyard job, they are always my down fall, but where to work during the day? Nobody has an interest in hiring me so I am stuck, I have very limited options where I am job wise as really nobody is hiring.

Piff Poff

We've done the museums, not into galleries. There are few roads, few places of interest to wander around and explore, a lack of tree variety, visual stimulation I think is important. We have done all the touristy things we are interested in, we have taken advice from locals and discovered that they talk out of their arses for the most part, we have done things the local have never even heard of. I would love to be able to drive 2 or even three hours to see something new or even previously visited and enjoyed. Even a sunday drive for two or three hours just to get out and about would be nice if it wasn't just going along a straight road seeing field after field of the same crop getting excited when you see a elk or bison farm, just to turn round and come back along the same road.

Don't get me wrong, its beautiful, the sky is always stunning the landscape in its barreness is stunning, the glimpses of mountains as you drive on a winters day is awe inspiring, and there are many days I am so thankful we were able to move here, which is why I think we will end up staying in Canada rather than returning to the UK, we will just go somewhere where there is more choice.

BristolUK

So you know where the bodies are buried......

MarylandNed

Yeah, I agree with what you're saying. I grew up in a working class family and we had to entertain ourselves. If my kids tell me they are bored, I tell them it's their own fault. They have much more to keep themselves entertained than I ever had.

I enjoy the outdoors but I think I'd probably go stir crazy somewhere that didn't also have easy access to a major city. I like some of the things that a major city provides (museums, art galleries, concerts, sporting events, nightlife, etc).

Siouxie

Agree.

For all that Hamilton and area is besmirched, there is a lot to do here. We have great trails, paths and parks; waterfall areas, picnic spots and beaches; restaurants, pubs, clubs, cafe's and coffee shops (other than TH's or SB's); museums, theatres, sports venues, concert halls and galleries. Hamilton even has some half decent architecture and interesting buildings.

The only things I really miss are country pubs and castles.

Steve_

That was just an example I gave of doing research, first thing I typed into Google came up with a page of links to stuff indicating how bad the economy is in Nova Scotia. Like I said, it's not exactly a secret.

Here is a chart for household income: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tabl...il108a-eng.htm

Only New Brunswick and Nunavut are lower than Nova Scotia.

dbd33

And a serious botanical garden.

confused_uk

It's hardly drastically lower though is it? It's still within $1000 or 2 of most of the other places

Howefamily

does it include information about our minimum wage being amongst the highest?... I cant be bothered to look.

Where I lived before in the UK sucked the life out of me, nothing to do with the kids on the constant wet and overcast weekends all winter except hang out in a tiny house or go to a overwhelmingly loud indoor play centre with sticky carpets and obnoxious children, or go swimming - again loads of people shouting, this time in water. Here we can ski or play outside in the snow, or walk the trails. Its cold but we dont get soaked to the skin.

Back in the UK we could go to theatres once we found a sitter but it was too expensive. Or Legoland, but at GBP135 a shot for our family, I would rather not bother, its not good enough for the money. This is just an example or two of the commercial choices available.

Overall we did similiar things there all summer that we do here - spend time outside.

confused_uk

No, it does show that NS average wages had a higher growth rate from 2007-2011 than Ontario & BC though

tee1

You live in Squamish right? Have you thought about spending more time in Whistler or even a move there? I know plenty of people who live in Squamish but most work and spend time in Whistler.
Its very outdoors ordinated too but theres much more to do than Squamish. There's a cinema, plenty of shops and restaurants, the lakes are lovely for a BBQ or just relaxing and if you wished to continue working in hospitality then your set as tourism is the main industry. The graveyard shift is even the most envious of jobs as it gives you the time to enjoy all the activities Whistler has too offer. No one wants the dreaded day job here and most people work shifts so you might find it easier to meet people working a similar pattern. You would be much more busy at work and probably meet more people too.
It is very very competitive for jobs in Winter but not so in Summer. Now would coming up to the perfect time for a change if you fancied it.
Just a suggestion :-)

the undutchables

Interesting thread.

As we are currently planning our move to NS, I am always interested in peoples personal experiences of the place, why they were drawn there, and ultimately, what drives them away.

A few of the OP's points are the very same reasons we are leaving Alberta, and as it seems from some of the replies, how a lot of the expats feel about where they currently live.
So, is the problem us expats, who are looking for something that doesn't exist? Or is it just Canada that is boring?

A couple of replies mentioned New Zealand being the same. So it must be the British attitude that's the problem? We do have a long history of traveling to foreign lands and trying to make them as much like Britain as possible. Perhaps we are just never content. We are well known as a race of complainers who love to have something to moan about. How else can so many, living is very different parts of a country so large and diverse, have the same feelings of boredom and complain of having nothing to do.

We are still planning to give NS a go, but my wife and I have decided to give it 2 years, and if either of us have issues or haven't settled, then we move on. That is part of the problem for us here in Calgary, after 6 years, we've been here too long. The first 4 years were great, then we got in a rut and are now bored sh*tless.

Who knows, maybe we will find our paradise in Nova Scotia, we shall just have to find out for ourselves.

Or, perhaps, we have just all got the travel bug, and after making the move from the UK, we just need to keep moving? After all, for us anyway, this is the 5th country we have lived in!

scrubbedexpat091

We have thought of it, and we tried to get jobs up there last fall, but didn't work out in our favor. Its difficult as my partner works in Squamish and we only have 1 car, plus housing is pricey in Whistler which is an issue as well, we found apartments to be out of price range based on what we found.

But maybe we just were not looking in the right place...lol.. Our upper limit is about 750 a month tops for rent, so not sure if its doable in Whistler.

My girlfriends sister lives up there with her husband and family and they seem to like it, he works for the town but not sure what his role is, but he's been with them since he left college.

It's mostly housing that is the issue, and lack of a car, if I did get a job up there, we would need to save money to save up the deposit and necessary moving expenses.

Howefamily

I have often wondered this too. I also think that we are so used to the UK way of life that its hard to adjust to whats different and sometimes we become irritated by it because its "wrong" or at best "irritating" to us.