Natsufc

Hi I'm looking at immigrating with my 12 year old son and would like to live in Truro nova scotia. I just worried about rentals and whether I could afford a 2 bedroom on just my salary. I would prefer furnished with utilities included. Also to anyone who lives there is it vital to have a car as I wasn't going to buy one straight away. Any other tips would be great. Thank you

Lamin

I dont know much about rentals in Truro, I live in Halifax. Regarding the car, I couldn't imagine life without one and I would think it is a must in Truro.

Natsufc

Ok thanks, is it better to buy a car from a dealer or private sale

Grimnorth

Hi and welcome to BE.

We live about 30-40 minutes outside Truro, it is our local shopping town.

Truro is a nice town easy to get around. There are buses within the town and most major facilities, Schools all ages, hospital, leisure centers and a large swimming pool. There are all the major supermarkets Sobeys, Superstore, Walmart and some discount ones similar to Aldi in the UK. It has an amazing park "Victoria Park" within walking distance of the town center.

It is an old railway town so established in a colonial block system, so nothing is too far away in the down town core. However, some things like the hospital, some schools and Walmart are on the outer edge of the town.

I would suggest you will need a car. You will find it very difficult buying a car privately from the UK or at least not in the town. A dealer would be your best bet, there are all the major ones in Truro. Also remember it is not just the cost of the car, insurance is expensive here (compared to the UK) and you will need summer and winter tires.

We have friends in Truro working for the city and the police (one of the cops is married to a Realtor (Estate Agent) I will give them a shout with any questions you have, just PM me. I will start with apartment rental two bedroom with utilities and see how we get on from there.

If we can be of assistance just ask.

Natsufc

Hi, that's great info thanks. Im saving like crazy to have as much money as I can when I move. I'll start applying for jobs along with the visa application so hopefully I'll have something lined up. One. Delay I'm having is sitting my ielts language test. A lawyer said I don't need it as English is my first language but the immigration website said I still need to sit the exam. I live on the isle of man currently as can't sit the test here and the borders are closed to the UK because of covid so there's a delay in the whole process. I'll be happier knowing more about availability of furnished rentals so we have somewhere to go. I know Its still too early to start looking. I've been on kijiji to see what's about. Most of the furnished ones were only 1 bed but if I have to get a sofa bed and sleep on that I will.

Grimnorth

Hi

Now you have done it, prepare for the onslaught of people questioning if you are eligible for Canada.

IELTS is a requirement for most of the immigration programs of which there are many. If you dig deeper on here you will find whole sections devoted to them. Might be worth taking a look.

It makes sense to me, costing things up before you know if you have enough money to move.

Jobs wise, Truro is a service town not much industry or many tech companies. Depending on your skill base, you may have to look outside Truro for jobs, Halifax is about (an hour and a quarter away). As with the UK many industries/companies here have been affected by COVID, so new jobs are not plentyfull. Unless you are in a high skill, in demand area many employers will not recruit from away. You have to be sat in the office opposite them to get their attention.

It is the catch 22 of Visas, you need a job offer to meet the requirements and to get a job offer you need to be here. As you mentioned a lawyer I take it you are already speaking with someone in the UK.

Again PM me if you want anything else finding out.

scilly

Please be careful about consulting and paying for an immigration consultant.

They cannot get you a visa or a job if you do not qualify.

YOU do all the work re collecting all the necessary documents, such as certificates re education, proof that you can take your child out of the UK, sitting tests, etc etc. Then you pay the person thousands of £s over and above all the money you have paid out to obtain the documents, and all he or she will do is check through them to see if they are right.

You can do all that and send in all the applications yourself and save those extra thousands of pounds, especially with all the help from people on this site.

Note that your lawyer has already told you one untruth when saying that you do not need to do the IELTS. The fact that you are born, raised and speak English as a native means little. It does not mean that you know all the grammatical and linguistic abilities! You will almost certainly get a high score, but you do only have to read newspapers and listen to radio and TV to know that relatively few people speak or use perfect English!

The first step is to find out if you are even eligible to apply for a visa for yourself and your son. Better helpers than myself will tell you all about that,

But is a long process, and really you must find that out before even thinking about buying a car and finding accommodation.

I think that Truro is a lovely small town, with two campuses of Dalhousie University (the Agriculture Faculty and Bible School). Thus there are times of year when the town is full of students and times when it is not. There are lots of older houses around, and but I have no knowledge of the availability of furnished accommodation.

Why Truro specifically?

christmasoompa

The lawyer clearly doesn’t have a clue! You’re right, you need one regardless of your native language background. Both an IELTS result and an ECA are mandatory for a Federal Skilled Worker app and you can’t apply without both of those. So forget the lawyer, and do it yourself. If you’re sure you’re eligible (are scoring at least 460-470 on the CRS, have the required work experience, have the required amount of funds in your bank account etc), then no need to hire anybody to do it for you, it’s very straightforward.

Best of luck.

Grimnorth

Natsufc

A two bed apartment, furnished with utilities in Truro is averaging for between $1,200 and $1,500 a month.

There are not a huge number of them, but with COVID they are not moving very fast as there is a lot less students about. (Realtor married to Truro PD officer).

This will obviously change as COVID relaxes. Something also to bear in mind is properties for sale in NS are moving faster than they ever have, due to an influx of buyers from other Provinces, especially Ontario. This is leading to asking prices going up and people who have sold and are looking to buy being outbid at the last minute. My friend says at some point in the near future this will lead to sellers unable to buy having to rent. I am sure this will also settle down in future.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Hope this helps

scrubbedexpat091

Rent there is higher than I would have expected, Nova Scotia doesn't seem all that affordable rent wise.

Grimnorth

That was the average so there are cheaper ones about.

I agree but I suspect it is supply driven. Most apartments in Truro are one bed (Students) or unfurnished.

A young girl who works with my wife rents a two bed in a place called Enfield (population about 4,000). Her rent is $2,000 per month and I do not think it is furnished.

There are not the number of apartments in small towns here, most people have houses as prices were much cheaper than they are now.

scrubbedexpat091

Small towns do tend to not have many rentals, same in BC. Lot's of small towns but unless you can buy a house, not many rental options in small towns, or jobs, so there is that too, anyone who can work from home kind of needs to live where they can find a job.

Natsufc

Thanks for your help and advise everyone. Lots to look into. I ditched the lawyer as I realised he was a fake, 3500 pounds down I'm going to do it myself. I've found a ielts test centre I can fly too once covid has calmed down, but obviously no one knows when that will be so it might be a long wait. Plenty of time to revise though. I've been in touch with the Nova scotia immigration and they have emailed me lots of good advice, i also have someone im Truro who knows people who might be able to offer me employment im the future. Depending on the covid situation im going to try and come to Truro next year for a couple of weeks to check the place out for myself and see if my son would be happy living there. I have looked into Halifax/Dartmouth but I want somewhere a bit less populated with a real community spirit. Thanks again guys

Tumbling_Dice

It has all gone a bit nuts in and around the Halifax area - and I would put Truro in the catchment area. We live in a three bedroom, top floor apartment. My in-laws moved in with us for a while which is why we got the place. Now they don't live with us and we have discovered that we are paying way less than two or one bedroom places, even in the same building. And I mean sufficiently less for it to mean we are simply not going to move.

scrubbedexpat091

When we were looking at moving places earlier in the year, we had thought about Halifax, only place that far east that really appealed to us, but the rent was so high, really made no sense to move that far to essentially pay the same rent....and have a reduction in income.

Lots in BC are in the same boat, or they get forced out of their rental and now see their rent go up $500+ a month for a less desirable area....its a mess being a renter these days.