Mad Dog

Hello all,

We have been thinking about moving to Canada for some time and have finally decided to go for it! Our first choices were, rather sterotypically, Toronto or Vancouver (especially for it's close proximity to Whistler!)

We went to see an immigration consultant and they said that the best option for us was actually Nova Scotia and they could get us there in a matter of months. The route they suggested is using my wife as primary applicant as she is an 'early childhood educator' and they are, apparently, in demand. I'll be honest and say that I know very little about the province but I can see that a lot of people on here seem to go there and I would like some first-hand opinions of what it is like - where are some good places to settle?

I am also concerned about my job prospects - I work in IT as a software developer - would I be able to find work easily?

If it helps we also have 2 kids aged 5 and 7 so we would need to keep them occupied as well!

Thanks for your time.

dbd33

No. Think of moving to Nova Scotia as you would moving to northern Scotland; scenic, wet, not much of an economy.

Greenhill

Except there are no sheep here; just hundreds of Scottish people.

Greenhill

http://www.careerbeacon.com/search/en/1/-1/62/-1

Mad Dog

Thanks for the link but I was wondering if anyone had any real-world experience of finding a job in this field?

Has nobody got anything nice to say about NS?

tbontb

My experience of Nova Scotia for several years:

The GOOD
- Great summers when the sun is out, BUT it rains often (more rain days here than I remember in southern Blighty); check out a database of precipitation in the Valley and Halifax, compare against London or your chosen abode in the UK... I think only western Scotland and NW Wales are comparable in terms of precipitation... it rains more in Halifax in summer than in Vancouver, for all you hear them complain, and the overall yearly precipitation in Halifax is about 50% higher than Vancouver's; of the main Canadian cities, only St John's gets more rain the Halifax
- Friendly locals; they are a nice bunch, helpful when in dire need (stuck on the side of the road, etc.)
- Lots of room
- Lovely scenery
- Cheap housing (but see below )
- Big houses
- Real winters (but see below )

THE BAD
- #1 BAD: very, very few professional jobs (hence the cheap housing), although they do exist, specially at government level
- Quality of construction... variable... can be good, but never as good as your average european masonry house (outside a speculation area built in the 1980s or Milton Keynes, of course)
- non-professional jobs either pay very little, or expect you to be outside a lot of time, in the rain at 0C or in a blizzard at -20C (I don't mind working outside, just that sub-zero outside work for 6-7 months would get to me; yes, I do work outside in sub-zero at times)
- too many blackfly/horseflies/mosquitoes/no-see-'ums/ticks to make the yard or a walk in the woods enjoyable; I love the woods, I avoid them in summer because of the suckers (literally) unless I am covered in repellent; BTW, ticks are invading anywhere south and west of Halifax like something out of a biblic plague... they are terrible in some spots of the South Shore and the Valley
- frigid, absolutely frigid sea, both Fundy and Atlantic shore (some people claim Northumberland Strait is warm in summer, well, warm compared to Fundy, it is still freaking cold, and only for maybe 4 weeks); I remember swimming around Chichester and Bournemouth in the summer, the water was nowhere near as cold as in NS
- Very looooong winter (it is 2nd June today, the poplars in Halifax are still only just opening their buds, maybe 20-30% of trees are still only just putting out leaves, although cherries have been blossoming for a week or so)
- Very short, buggy summer (except in August, if you have no horseflies in your area); Halifax is the best spot I have found so far to be lacking suckers, followed by the East Shore (because it is so cold and foggy, I am guessing)
- No spring... they call it spring, but to me temperatures between -5C and 5C, with very short peaks of 10C (if you are lucky), with the odd snow shower until early May, qualifies as "still winter"; definitely no leaves on any trees until mid-May, and no daffodils until early May (no kidding), unless you have a very sheltered sunny spot (to avoid flaming from someone who has a sheltered sunny spot)
- Lovely locals... but hard to find good, meaningful and/or fun conversation (other posters may know what I mean); I have made good friends though, it is just that most of them have left to Ontario or Alberta for work (yes, even now, Alberta still ticks along fine if you have some education)

As you can tell, I am not exactly in love with NS... mainly for two reasons:
- #1 lack of professional or meaningful jobs
- #2 the weather is horrendous

I have researched moving to southern Ontario, for the jobs and the better weather (sunnier, warmer in summer and drier overall). I came to NS to escape SE England and crowding, but the job market is dire outside the government sector, and the weather is bad too often, although it is very nice when it is good weather (but then again, pretty much anywhere is nice with good weather).

I do love Canada and Canadians very much, just NS is not the place for me.

tbontb

Addendum:

Actually, I find NB is better than NS for professional jobs outside government... and they are also a better managed province (I work in NB often; in fact, I am going to F'ton tomorrow)... and it is sunnier and warmer than NS in the summer (except in St John)... but boy, do they get SNOW in NB, particularly Moncton and F'ton... amazing

Only problem with NB: it is well away from the beaten path, i.e. away from international flights, etc. It is very, very thinly populated too, which has all sorts of good and bad effects.

In fact, if NB was closer to anywhere, for example by being attached to southern Ontario instead of le Quebec Maritime (which is a pretty empty, harsh weather and hilly place) NB would be much more prominent in Canada, in business and in every day life. I have found the NB locals to be very nice, and the Acadians are phenomenal hosts.

Mad Dog

Thanks for your comments. If you don't mind I'd like to PM you once I have 3 approved posts?

Cookie

I have lived here for over 2 years and will compare New Glasgow weather to Aberdeen, Scotland:

Lots more sunny days (by far)
Less rain (by far)
Only around a dozen days of fog a year
Much less windy

Temps of course are different. We see in the 30C in the summer and as low as in the -30C in the winter (although typically it averages around -20C). 2 years ago we had little snow and this year we had quite a large amount. Still drive around though as the roads in our town (and highway) are kept cleared. All in all we have 3-4 very cold (but usually sunny) months before the temps start to warm up in mid April.

Spring is short and starts later than UK. Today, all our trees have leaves on and I am in fact opening up the pool this week although it's not warm enough to go in yet (unheated). We had weather in the 20Cs at the weekend and a couple of weeks ago we had 28C, although it fluctuates during springtime. The last couple of years the temps and humidity rose sharply around mid June and stayed that way for the summer. The summers are hot and humid til around Sept when the evenings get cooler. Oct can still see temps in the low 20Cs and the leaves change colour which is spectacular - forget New England in the fall - we have it here November tends to be wet and colder and often the first snowfall hits at the end of the month but doesn't lay. December temps are cooler again and there is usually more snow. Jan/Feb/Mar are our coldest months with temps never getting above 0C (typically -10C to -20C). The ground starts to defrost around mid April and May this year saw many lovely warm and even a few hot days too.

We get mozzies, blackfly and noseeums - all a pain (no pun intended). I have my first bite on the back of my neck. I will have many more to come

Dare I say it, but our beach is lovely and warm in the summer months with water temps upward of 16C (it's truuuuue - OTBO never made that up - see here).

My husband is in telecoms and really enjoys his job here (very busy), earning pretty good money too. I work in mental health (support worker) and also earn pretty good money too (hourly rate is the same as a friend who does the same type of work in Hamilton, Ontario). We have Sobeys headquarters here, Michelin, Neenah Paper, Aberdeen Hospital all of which employ a lot of people.

For all local and country-wide jobs see here: Job bank

Best of all is lovely scenery (Scotland is beautiful too though), friendly people who care about their local community, therefore we have abundant community spirit in our town which I think is like a breath of fresh air.

Simon Legree

A nice post. Thank you.

Mad Dog

/agree. Thank you.

tbontb

Well, in my personal observation, I have found the weather too wet and cold for too long in NS, particularly in Halifax.

Now, as for statistics, let's see yearly precipitation in mm:

London, UK: 622mm
Aberdeen, UK: 784 mm
Toronto, Canada: 791mm
Halifax, Canada: 1,473mm

I found a New Glasgow with statistics online, but it was in Ontario, so I have scrapped it... I can not find historical average precipitation or temperature for New Glasgow, NS.

I like talking weather

Tangram

Two sides of the same coin.

Ontheboatout

Nova Scotia is the best place I have ever been - this is our fourth year and we love every day. We have an 8 year old and 19 year old who both love it too.

Sure there are negatives but, in my area on the North Shore, not having to lock my house or car, no traffic, neighbours who care, no antisocial behaviour or road rage, fresh spring water, no crime in your face 24/7, no cameras watching your every move - these are more than compensation, they are priceless.

The sea is 77F on the Northumberland Strait and people swim in October. If you live near a coastal breeze there are less bugs - I saw less than 10 blackfly this spring. There is no fog on the North Shore.

Enjoy the Expats negativity - it is famous for it.

Tangram

Sure there are positives, I like NS as well as NB. But it is somewhat blinkered to ignore any negatives, I mean really. You have to take a balanced view, not just of your small bit, but I mean of anywhere.

To ignore any view is foolish, take everything on board and make your own decisions.

Nowhere is perfect, but it can be 'perfect' enough.