Anyone working in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia?

ltvixen · Feb 11, 2007

Hi! i'm from cp but currently finishing my nsg degree in halifax on the mainland. feel free to pm me with questions and i'll help you out if i can.

cicada · Feb 12, 2007

We think about relocating to Nova Scotia. Cape Breton looks like a nice, quiet place to live. But as you never were in NC, we never were in Nova Scotia. I was contacted by Cape Breton Health saying that they're in need of nurses. We looked on the internet an found out that CB is so beautiful and houses are relatively cheap. Do you have storms and hurricanes there? I was in NC, but never lived there. One of my classmates from nursing school works at Duke. If you're interested, I probably could find her and talk to her about nursing job/living in NC specifics. A good friend of mine lives near Raleigh and absolutely loves there. He says that there no hurricanes. I think the worst place re:hurricanes is Florida. Good luck and tell me as much as you can about living and working in CB. thanks a lot.

ltvixen · Feb 16, 2007

ok, let's see. Cape Breton is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been (lived in europe for a couple years and that was amazing, but cb is spectacular for natural beauty)

houses are relatively cheap, mostly due to a long history of low employment rates. also, it is historically a economy based on coal mining and steel production but in the last few decades these industries have almost completely shut down on the island which has led to poverty and unemployment.

nova scotia has only had one official hurricane (hurricane juan) which happened about 3 years ago. generally we have snow storms and/or rain storms. the summer season really sort of begins in july and ends at the beginning of sept. the average temp would be about 26-31 degrees celcius (plus humidity sometimes of course). in winter, which typically lasts from late nov/early dec to late feb/mid-march (we don't have a great spring season here), the temp can run anything from plus 1-5 to minus 30, plus windchill factors which can bring temps down even more. in recent years the winters are becoming shorter and milder, although that's not to say it doesn't get cold and we don't get snow, we sure do! lol.

the people are mostly descended from irish and scottish immigrants. there is a very strong celtic culture still alive and well in cb. lots of music and festivals, theatre, dance, etc. I grew up there and as a child it was wonderful. as an adolescent it wasn't quite so great, mostly because there was not a lot of things for teens to do (not including sports/outdoor activities). it's small community living though, which a lot of people really enjoy. and the good news it it really isn't that far from anything important in the province. it is about a 4-6 hour drive from the capital of ns (halifax) to sydney (biggest city on the island) and it's a fairly nice drive as well. there is a small airport in sydney but it is atrociously expensive to fly in and out of it usually. usually cheaper to drive/bus to hfx and fly from there. umm that's all i can think of for the moment. let me know if you have any more questions!

cicada · Feb 17, 2007

Many thanks for a such detailed info about CB. I seriously think about accepting CB offer to work there. They offer me pretty decent salaries. I believe that I will have much more questions when it get closer to relocation there.

Have a nice weekend!

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Feb 17, 2007

Itvixen, I'm not planning on moving to Cape Breton, but later this year we will be visiting PEI and Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton is also on the list.

I've ordered the travel books for each area, but do you have any suggestions for visitors? Even places to stay or eat? You could even PM me.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Feb 17, 2007

I'm from CB, but not there now. Hello to the fellow Capers!

Smitty's in Port Hood has the best breakfasts, and the Fair Isle Motel in Whycocomagh has the quiet and scenery of Baddeck without the inflated prices. About five miles north on the trans Canada the Aberdeen Motel is situated across from the beach.