Hi all and apologies for yet another NS thread!

As per my timeline below, I have my PR visa and we're planning on moving to NS in 2011. We did a recce to NS in September and really liked Fall River and Bedford. However I would like to hear from others who've already made the move to NS and where they would recommend ... perhaps another recce is required in March when I intend to 'land' ...

As a family with two young children (aged 4 and almost 2), good schooling is important and here are some of the other important criteria on our 'ideal' location...

- Reasonable commute to Halifax (1hr 15 max)
- Not too 'in the sticks' - we're pretty sociable (!) so would like a bit of a community feel and shops/stores within 10-15 minutes
- Good sized property (min 4 bedrooms) and ideally a large plot (the wife enjoys gardening!!). We're looking around the $350-$450k price mark

That's about it really ... obviously we'd also love waterfront but think we'll be pushing it with our budget.

All sensible thoughts / suggestions appreciated and seasons greetings to all

Hi Chobert,

We came accross to NS in July 2007 with about the same criteria as you. We knew we wanted to be 30 minutes from Halifax and Dartmouth so looked at Fall River and Bedford.

Fall River is beautiful of course and the lakes are amazing. The houses are big and you get alot of land for your money.What put us off personally is there is no bus route from there and we are currently a 1 car family. OH buses to Halifax every day for work so we needed that. I think they are adding more facilities but currently there is not much choice for shopping etc and they only have a Sobeys supermarket which isn't great IMO.

Bedford is great and is where I work. There are plenty of facilities here for families and in the summer there is a great outside pool which is situated next to the ocean. The houses are expensive and you don't get alot for your money. There is a couple of malls and a couple of different supermarkets so more choice here.

In the end we chose Lower Sackville, mainly because we totally fell in love with the house we found. We live in the First Lake sub division which has lots of facilities like a sports stadium, canoe club and gymnastics club which is great. There is also local shopping with 2 supermarkets. We are 10 minutes from Bedford, 30 minutes from Halifax, and 10 minutes from Fall River if we fancy a drive and jumping in a different lake in summer.

Their are lakes everywhere which everyone can use for swimming in summer or ice skating in winter. Of course we are always close to the ocean too.

Good luck and I would say either area is great

Hi Lorry1,

Many thanks for your reply - really helpful. I think we'll have another look round when we come over in March and will certainly add Sackville to the list!

Happy New Year!

Thanks again,

Chobert

No problem Chobert
We have been here 3 and half years so happy to answer any questions.

Re: Lower Sackville. If you are looking at this area get a good Realtor to show you where to live. As I said I live in First Lake area which is totally gorgeous, quiet and very desirable. We have First Lake one end of our road and Second Lake the other end with plenty of woods and trails.
My kids go to Cavalier Drive school which is considered one of the best in Halifax.

Millwood sub division is quite nice but seems very cluttered and crowded IMO. Beaverbank is very nice also. In Middle and Upper Sackville their are bigger plots and you can get more for your money. It is more rural but no bus links from them and winter travel can be messy.

There are some small undesirable pockets in Sackville but they are a 15 minute drive from us and they are not that bad just council house type estates. We don't get any trouble from them. (I'm not knocking council houses, I grew up in one lol)

IMO there are less desirable areas in all towns, but you don't have to live near them.

Good luck and Happy New Year to you

some good advice there from Lorry1
one other thing to consider is taxes. We've been in Bedford 5 years now and seen the house tax almost double, to the extent we are now paying almost $4000 a year
Bedford South School is just down the road from us, It does not have a good reputation locally.
Depending on which part of Bedford you look at, traffic is also a problem. It takes my OH longer to get to Burnside from here than it does a friend in Stewiacke. If you don't time it right it can also take over an hour to get into Halifax during rush hour.
In Fall River also make sure you check if the house is on mains water/sewarage. Some properties out there were having problems with water from wells. If you do a search on here you will find some of the older posts that refer to this.

Hi

We live in Fall River Village. We have been here for 5 years and have loved being here.

Unfortunately my job and family is forcing a move back to the UK . But I would definately recommend Fall River for a family. Our home is on over 1 acre of land, close to lakes and parks and the kids swim at the nearby beach.

It takes my wife 20 minutes to commute to Dartmouth and approx 30 minutes to go downtown Halifax. It is 10-15 minutes from all major shops but nothing too built up in Fall River itself.

I agree about City Water. We insisted on it and have heard of a few problems in other parts of Fall River.

The schools are fantastic and its a wonderful place to bring up kids. We have met the most friendly people since we moved here.

As you can tell I am gushing a bit and will always recommend Fall River !!!

Any other questions please let me know, I would be happy to help.
Daznmitch

Hey there,

I moved to Nova Scotia 4 years ago and I absolutely adore it here. I live in the Annapolis Valley. Wolfville! Wolfville is the Home to Acadia University, is about an hours commute from Halifax and is such a wonderful place to live. I am 32 by the way. The town is vibrant, politically focused and has many cultures living in harmony. We have awesome schools here and the town it's self is lively, welcoming and friendly. Wolfville is worth checking out.

Good luck and welcome to Nova S'Go!

Roxy

Thanks to all for your input - much appreciated. I've heard wells can cause a few issues so we'll certainly consider that. I'll also check out Wolfville and intend to visit during our next recce.

We have a friend of a relative who's a Realtor and lives in Sackville so we'll be back in touch with her so she can narrow down our search!

Best wishes and good luck on your return to the UK DAZNMITCH.

Thanks for the best wishes Chobert, seriously, any questions about Fall River, let me know I am more than happy to help!

I've got to say that I swear by well water! So fresh, clean and amazing. I was born and raised in London so you can imagine why natural rock filtered water is amazing to me. LOL!