eli

Hi

We are due to move to Halifax, Nova Scotia by the beginning of August 2006.

We were hoping to rent for the initial 3 months (but it seems impossible to find anywhere to rent for less than a year). What is your experience and do you have any advice?

Also, would you be able to recommend some picturesque areas around Halifax (up to 30 - 40 minuted drive) for living?

Thanks.


Eli

or4ngecrush

I'm glad you've started this post as I am interested too, I also have a friend who lives in NS I might ask him of any nice areas for you if no one replies as he is originally from Halifax

dkvl

We looked at a few areas around Halifax, in a recce trip before we actually moved. It will really depend on what you're looking for and what area feels "right" for you. Fall River is a great area (we are in Fletchers Lake, next to Fall River) - good sense of community, local amenities, a bit further out from the traffic of Halifax, but easily accessible to everything.
Porter's lake/Echo Lake is nice, on the Dartmouth side, a bit further out.
Hammonds Plains is a bit closer to Halifax - beautiful houses.

Do you know where you are likely to be working? Would you prefer to be more rural, or have easy access to amenities? Do you have children, and need to take schools into consideration?

We knew we wanted to be in this area and that finding a house to rent would have been difficult. Fortunately we managed to make a trip out before we moved and found our house so didn't have to rent. I have heard of houses to rent, since then, in this area but it has been very much local contacts and word of mouth.

Have you visited any areas around Halifax in the past? What did you think of them?

HTH. I am willing to answer any other questions if I can be of any further help.

Deborah

eli

Thank you for your reply.

eli

Thank you Deborah. No, we haven't been to Nova Scotia before. We did a lot of research and we liked what we've found out.

We would like to live on the outskirts of Halifax (maximum 30 to 40 minutes travel). Ideally we would like to be part of the community, but we don't mind living in a rural surroundings.

It seems that the demand for our professions is the biggest in Halifax (Financial Services and Insurance).

We don't have any children, so we are very flexible in that aspect. Initially, we would like to rent for 3 to 6 months, so that we can find jobs and area that we like, before buying house.

Your advice is very appreciated and I would welcome anything else that you feel that it might be helpful.

Eli

Tom Masters

Hi Eli

I can't stress enough the importance of visiting first to make sure you really want to live in the Halifax area (or anywhere for that matter). We visited Halifax a couple of years ago and found that while house prices were cheaper than many places in Canada, renting was much more expensive. You are right about finding a place to rent for less than a year - almost impossible to find. There are a couple of property rental agencies there. We used one but I can't remember the name now. I'm sure that will be easy to find through Google.

One area we quite liked was Tantallon. It is about 30 mins from Halifax. It is close to the coast and much quieter than Halifax itself but within very easy reach. Many of the houses are in forrested areas and they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes - very picturesque.

Hope that helps a little.

Chris

Beaverquest

peggys cove is very picturesque if you like twee nautical postcards

Butch Cassidy

Welcome Back BQ.
I'll just duck the Arrows and Bullets. :scared:

Gray C

Are you aware that you will need to retrain to become a financial planner. The international qualification (seems to be the minimum required in Canada) is to be a Certified Financial Planner, which is above AFPC. A lot of re-learning involved!

torticat

http://www.homework-guide.com/Millennium/index.html
http://www.tivertons.ca/properties.html
http://www.herald.ns.ca/classifieds/rentals.html

Hi Eli

Above are links to good rental sites here in Halifax. The top 2 are agencies and although they have a good selection of properties they charge a premium. The herald would be your best bet, many ads will be direct for Landlords and I'm sure you will find plenty who would take a shorter lease.

When we first arrived we rented a lovely home on the Northwest Arm direct with the landlord and saved close to $400 per month on the price that an agency had it up for. A shorter lease may cost a little more though.

Another alternative is http://www.premieresuites.com/halifax/halifax.asp although nice it will eat away at your budget (if you have one)

Areas are a personal choice and it really depends on what you are looking for. Of course there are some areas to avoid (PM me and I'll pass them on) The best move we made when we landed in Halifax was to rent close to town, it's where everything happens, your close to it all, the lack of commute is a blessing and living in or close to town here is nothing like living in a city in the UK!!

PM for further info

Ian

eli

Thank you Chris. We'll definitely have a look. Eli

eli

Thanks.

eli

I am aware that I will have to do retraining - but I am very flexible. It's just one of those things that needs to be done. I don't expect an easy ride.

Thanks for that.

eli

Thank you Ian. The websites are extremely useful. Eli