Anybody living in Nova Scotia /Halifax?

[WinterMorn]

Hi - would be very interested to hear from any Mums-netters living in these areas. What’s life like? Weather, people, housing, costs, all the usual stuff 🙂

I'd be interested too, so….
bump.

My friend is from Halifax Nova Scotia. I can pass on any Qs you have to him. I'm sure he'll be happy to answer for you :)

I wondered how remote it is. Can you get everything ok in Halifax? Are the winters harsh? Thank you. xx

It’s a city of half a million people so no lack of neighbours. There are direct flights to Heathrow… It has shopping centres, sports facilities, school systems, theatres, cinemas, medical facilities including a university medical school. What is it that you are worried about getting?

The winters (and summers) are milder than other parts of Canada because of the ocean but it tends to be wetter and very occasionally gets the tail-end of hurricanes in the fall which can bring down trees and electricity poles. Canadian winters aren’t that bad once you have proper snow boots and clothing…

Yes i am from there and left several years ago, the cost of living is through the roof because there are so many immigrants being allowed into Canada, not enough housing, schools bursting, constant construction of soulless apartments / condos everywhere you go, there are a lot of road accidents now because of congestion and really poor urban planning, not that many jobs and the ones there are don’t pay that well given the skyrocketing cost of living, authoritarian idiotic government, high taxes, don’t recommend you move there, although if you are considering moving from the UK then maybe a lot of this would apply there too. But I think the weather in the southern part of the UK is better anyway because it never gets that cold there.
Flying places is a pain since it’s a spoke not a hub. Last time I checked there were few to no flights to Heathrow (Air Canada is also horrid) but that may have changed now.
On the positive side if you like Asian, Middle Eastern and Indian food there is plenty of it available there due to the changing demographics.

All the major Canadian airlines fly Halifax, NS to either Heathrow or Gatwick - Air Canada, WestJet and AirTransat.
Halifax is a regional hub for the Maritimes with direct flights all over the country, a bunch of major US cities and holiday destinations source: https://halifaxstanfield.ca/flights/non-stop/

Makes me wonder how accurate/ up to date the rest of the previous post is. I get the sense that Vegandiva didn’t like their time there…..

@UKsounding as i said, last time i checked Air Canada wasn’t doing the daily night flights to heathrow anymore, or maybe it was that they were stopping in NFLD so it was a really long flight, or both.
Good reading comprehension that you can tell i’m not a fan, i still have family there and they find it a hassle to try to get places from there and keep me in the loop that it’s still not a great place to live, in my opinion. Other opinions are available, so that’s great, OP is getting a balanced perspective 🙂

I was there recently for holiday and have friends from NS. The cost of living is insane. Unless you get very well compensated, I would not move there. The price tag you see in a restaurant is not what you pay. Add 15% tax on top, then 20% service. Convert the CAD to USD is about right. A casual dinner with a drink is $100pp+

If you are from a metropolitan city like London, Halifax is like a small town with little cultural events to offer. It suits some people. The population increase is unmanageable, the housing and infrastructure cannot be built quick enough. Lots of tension between the local and newcomers. The employment prospect is not great. Many graduates struggle to get a job. My friends from there left because they could not find a job after university.
Pay is very low versus the cost of living. For professional financial jobs, the pay is lower than London, taxes about the same, but housing and food cost way more.

I live in Vancouver but have spent some time in Nova Scotia. I would not move to Halifax. In some ways it reminds me of Inverness (I'm from the Highlands) - it's a small city that's wonderful to visit but I struggle to find a reason to live there. You'll get the same cost of living issues the rest of the world is facing without any of the benefits of a big city (culture, job opportunities, entertainment) nor any of the benefits of living in the country (peace, quiet, laid back lifestyle). Sort of a lose-lose situation.

@WinterMorn, what are you reasons for exploring Halifax specifically? Would you be open to different parts of Canada?

A very disappointing place.

Thank you everyone. I am qualified in a role that would allow me to come over as there is a shortage of staff in Halifax. Husband and I very keen to leave the UK and have felt this way for a number of years so it’s no rash decision. Interesting to hear the different perspectives!

If you watch the Katherine Ryan Who do you think you are? episode there is some of it set in Halifax. It looks bleak.

I wouldn't put too much stock into a TV show. They probably spent a day on the ground actually filming, and it was winter which makes most places look sad. Even Paris can look bleak on a rainy day!

@WinterMorn I hear you about wanting to leave the UK but I don’t think that Halifax is the answer. I saw an article this week saying even the Indian students are losing interest in coming to Canada now because it’s so bad 😂. I think it could be an out of the frying pan into the fire situation.

@HighlandsExpat makes some good points too. Any chance of moving to the USA instead?

For a counter point to the Who Do You Think You Are episode (i’ll have to see if i can find that, thanks @foreverbasil) there was a movie shot in Halifax with Chelsea Perreti called Spinster which shows more of the idyllic quaint side of Halifax which they are mostly tearing down to build soulless high rises now, but you could check it out if you’re interested 😁

@Vegandiva it would be a stepping stone rather than a long term aim 🙂

Regardless of your intentions, I'd consider looking for a job in Alberta if Canada is of interest. No sales tax in Alberta and the cost of housing in Calgary and Edmonton (two major cities) is actually on par or cheaper than Halifax.

@Vegandiva The federal government is limiting the number of Indian students who can come to Canada each year and are closing the ‘student visas as a shortcut to permanent residency’ loophole. Young men from the Punjab would still like to come and get permanent residency in Canada, and then bring their parents in as dependents, but that option is being removed.

Well, I have just got back from Halifax and absolutely loved it! Knocks spots off the UK in so many ways.

That is great that you enjoyed your visit :-) What was it about Halifax that you preferred to the UK?

At least five people who worked for me in the past have emigrated from Azerbaijan to Canada, one to Halifax. The thing about Canada is that no matter how good your CV, your experience is heavily discounted because you have no "Canadian experience".

So if you have an easy route into Canada through Halifax, you could use that for a couple of years to upgrade your CV to "with Canadian experience" and then look at moving on.

And if your life plan is to get that experience and move on, then it doesn't really matter what Halifax is like, because you aren't expecting to stay there. If the job is great and the lifestyle great, then fine - if not, nothing is lost.

Honestly? Everything! The ‘feel’ of the place, the scenery, the lack of litter and poor behaviour, the politeness of people as well as the pride and care they take in their environment……the whole thing. I just loved it.

Oh, how interesting, I did not realize litter was a big issue in the UK. That would bother me too. Do you find that the litter situation is worse there than in Europe as well?

Air Canada flies daily to Halifax from Heathrow

I work in the labour/immigration space and I'd caution that the issue of no Canadian work experience is generally not an issue for people from the western world. Someone from Australia or France isn't going to face the same issues finding work as someone from Azerbaijan or Ghana. Not right or fair but not surprising; it's like that in many countries.

These aren't exactly third world people - MBA from a US university, fluent English (and in one case, pretty good French too), experience as General Manager, experience as Commercial Manager, over a decade working in the oil & gas industry, international accounting qualification, international project management qualification....