Hawk13

-27 when I was there just before Xmas - a dry cold though

Maybe at your corner of the Island, but in Victoria it's been quite nice and we just had two solid months of sun. And it's sunny out my window now.

Thumbs up for the Island for me.

dbd33

Now, yes. This morning, not so much.

Hawk13

That was just "dust control"

Almost Canadian

I'm not disputing it gets down to such temperatures (and lower), it's the "weeks at a time" that I dispute.

the undutchables

Okay, we are all getting a bit hung up on the weather, I guess that's part of being from the UK!

Weeks at a time may have been a bit of an exaggeration, but I have worked outside all year in Calgary for 5 winters now, so I am very aware of the temperature in winter.

I can gauge how bad the winter is by how much time I lose working, and 08, my first winter, we had a couple of weeks where it was below -30. 09 wasn't that cold, 2010 it didn't snow until the very end of November, but was brutally cold in Jan to March 11, as I hardly worked a full week in those months.The thermometer on our site was recording -30 to -38, when it was officially only -22!
Last winter wasn't as freezing, although very long, we had the week at Christmas that it wasn't above -25 and again at the end of Jan, ( when I was moving house!) When the weather forecast says its, say, -18, very often, depending on where you are, wind etc, it can be much, much colder.

The weather is what it is, we just have to dress accordingly.

So, how about some feedback of cost of living, rental and house prices, gas, food prices, what to do on your day off, driving, job market, especially construction.
Any one in the trades got any insight?
Thanks for everyone that has commented, it's just the point of my post got a little lost.

Hawk13

Well, I lived in Victoria as a family of four then moved to the Okanagan and am now back on the Island on my own (kids at Uni), next stop may be back to Scotland when they get their feet under them, but that’s another story. When I moved to the Okanagan I figured it would be cheaper and it wasn’t. A couple of things to think about – on the Island you don’t need winter clothes (maybe if you go away skiing), winter tires for your car, your heating (and cooling) bill is a lot less, I spend a lot less time driving – just to name a few. To hit your specific points:

Cost of living – That’s relative to location and lifestyle obviously, but for me, single or as a family, it is/was cheaper in Victoria than in the Okanagan.

Rental – Same. There’s always a place cheaper and a place more lavish. Lots of variables in that one.

House prices – Depends what your comparing; location, square footage, etc. Victoria ain’t cheap. I’d check out MLS for comparisons.

Your day off – There’s tons to do (just like most places). Depends on what you want to do on your days off. This was one of my big reasons to move back to the Island and in my opinion, one of the main reasons why you should move to wherever you end up. It’s what you do with your free time that really matters.

Driving – Not a big deal in Victoria if you compare it to Vancouver, Calgary or other big cities. The one big complaint is that you’re on an Island – not a big deal to me as it deters the Vancouverites from coming over.

Construction – I’m in engineering and we are always busy, so I’d say civil construction is steady, not screaming busy but steady. As everywhere else, house construction isn’t screaming busy either but it’s not dead, again, I’d say it’s steady. And you can work all year round.

My 2 cents

Lychee

Oh, the irony of British expats complaining about living on an island!

DandNHill

Nova Scotia has lots going for it...Obviously depends where you decide to live...

Here in Yarmouth housing is very cheap and there are some serious bargains to be had... HST is 15% and I know things such as milk prices which I believe are government controlled are high, yesterday I paid $7.21 for 4 liters!

There are up and coming things in NS. The ship building for one in Halifax.
Halifax, though, despite being a provincial capital is still a small town by UK standards. Comparable to Brighton if you know it...

The ferry is coming back to Yarmouth in May... things will pick up then and you would probably find work... it's all about networking too, where do you have the most contacts?

dbd33

I found Vancouver Island, at least as far up as Nanaimo, to be surprisingly densely populated. I expected it to be something like Cape Breton but it's actually more like Connecticut. If you want space and wilderness then I think NS would be better but, by the same token, if you want infrastructure then VI seems to have lots of schools and hospitals and whatnot.

Souvy

Is this the same Brighton that ranked No. 12 among the largest UK urban areas in 2011, ahead of such places as Cardiff, Stoke, Teesside and Coventry? That sleepy little Brighton?

Lychee

The Victoria-Nanaimo corridor is probably the most populated part of Vancouver Island. Once you head north of Nanaimo, the population is sparse, especially north of Campbell River. If space and wilderness is what you're seeking, northern Vancouver Island, or even the western coast (Tofino) would be better suited.

Population density map: http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recen...s/m1bc-eng.htm

Steve_

I thought you had to go through Montréal or Toronto, never get why people want to live in NS to be "closer" to Europe. Toronto is on eastern time and clearly there are more flights, even if there is one from NS. Can't see the point of moving to NS to be +1 hour from Ontario.

Not a big fan of Hwy 17. Especially on the way into the centre of town.

dbd33

The thread is about VI vs. NS. If Ontario is an option then, yes, that's better for getting to Europe but it's neither of the options.

Most of the roads were ill suited to overtaking and driven by people in no hurry. The cars were better there, we passed an Austin-Healey 100, a couple of 3000s, an MGC, numerous Bs, a TR4, a TR4A, countless Miatas, a Minor convertible, several Cobra replicas, a D Type replica and what seemed to be a special inspired by an AC, all of them driven by people with grey hair and seemingly all the time in the world. Here the cars are nearly all grey or beige and are of indistinguishable design, Kia, Hyundai, BMW, who knows, but at least they're going at 70mph, faster on the highway.

Toyland, innit?

Howefamily

I would say that Halifax is more comparable to Hove actually.
Its way smaller than Brighton

the undutchables

That is expensive for milk! Here in Calgary it is $3.37 and 32 cents for a recycle fee for 4 litres.
Are groceries on a whole more expensive? I know we only pay 5% GST but I have been told things here tend to be higher priced which evens things up.

I have lived in several european countries, and while I have, on par, higher earnings here, I find my outgoings a month are also higher. The main reason for looking to move is so we can purchase a house, we have been renting since leaving the UK, but here in Calgary, what we want to own, and what we would be able to afford are very different.

My thoughts are, by moving we would be able to buy sooner, even though we are having to start my business over again. Also, there is a lot of competition in construction in Calgary, so cheaper houses could give me the opportunity to buy and renovate property that I can sell for myself.
In Calgary, people spend $300,000 for a house that needs knocked down so they can get land to build on. And the bank won't give you a mortgage to do that!

While Calgary is a great city, I am working longer and harder here to try to get ahead. All I do is work, so to be able to spend my days off walking on the beach would be heaven. Hence the choice of Nova Scotia or Vancouver island