Moving to Nova Scotia

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Hi, I was wondering if anyone out there is able to help me.

I'm considering a move to Nova Scotia with my family - is Halifax a good area to raise children? What areas of Halifax are worth looking at, and have good schools?

Any help would be appreciated!

Many thanks

Bec

It is better to have heat & electricity included in the rent, especially for a family. In 2008 & 2009 thousands of tenants living in apartment buildings in Toronto, were switched from having electricity included in the rent to paying for it separately, the tenants did not save money, many paid significantly more. They protested the switch and a decision was made that existing tenants can resume paying for electricity with the rent, but new tenants pay separately. If the place you rent from insists you pay hydro separately, ask to see sample hydro bills, the bills will be artificially low but at least it will give you some idea what the bills start at, ask the landlord to reduce the rent to offsite the cost of hydro.

dishes

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I'd jump on anything that included heat and electric. Out west, electric is usually paid separately and heat included in apartment buildings. If you rent a house, then expect to pay the utility bills yourself. If it's natural gas heat expect to pay around $100/months, but I seem to recall hearing that a lot of houses in NS use oil for heat. Electric is always tricky because like natural gas the rate fluctuate.

Most utility companies have a "budget" plan. It's based on the usage over the previous 12 month period. The total is divided into monthly installments. Usually you have to have good credit rating to get it, so you might have to pay in full each month for a 3-6 month period to build up your rating. I just know that the people who owned our house before us must have kept it at tropical levels because after three months our "budget" payment dropped $30/month.

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Specializes in ER.
When you say violence are you talking organized drugs/gangs or little old ladies being randomly mugged in the mall parking lot?

I see on the news more reports of shootings, or swarmings, but it seems gangs are not a big part of the city life, and, as with every city, there are good areas and bad ones. Every year or so there are rumors of young girls narrowly escaping abduction into prostitution, but the news reports of actual disappearances remain the same. Probably just urban myths.

When I lived in the city I never had problems walking by myself as a young woman, and I walked at all hours. Just once had to tell someone to "!!@#$ off!" loudly- no other issues. It's a wonderful city for walking and exploring small shops and parks.

I'd move back there with no issues tomorrow, I loved being in the center of everything. Living downtown was more expensive, but there was no need for a car.

I worked at the IWK and liked it very much. My coworkers were super, management was...management...but we didn't see much of them, just paperwork.

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I'm from Nova Scotia and it has a lot lower crime rate then the rest of the country. You can look up the crime rate of provinces across canada on the internet. There is lots of work for nurses across Nova Scotia. Truro is opening a new hospital this summer. There is also lots of work in the beautiful annapolis valley which is about an hour from Halifax. Always lots of work for nurses in the Halifax area.

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Specializes in ICU, ER.

I am not sure what the cost of living is in Halifax compared to Ontario (I'm in the Ottawa Valley), but the RN pay is significantly higher in Ontario. Just something to consider...

I've never lived in Halifax so I can't say which is better, but the Ottawa Valley is a great place to live.

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Specializes in Obs.

Hi,

I was born, raised, and still live (and work) in the Halifax area! Can't imagine living anywhere else...except maybe the Caribbean after I win the lottery, LOL. It seems that jobs in some areas are a bit scarce, but if you work adult emerg, you're likely in luck. Good luck to you!

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How about the climate in Nova Scotia? How cold is the winter there? Do you also have summers? Are there different nationalities there like Filipinos?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
How about the climate in Nova Scotia? How cold is the winter there? Do you also have summers? Are there different nationalities there like Filipinos?

Winter can vary between 5 to -25, snow can vary from a dusting to several feet. Yes we have summers and can get as hot as 34. There are different nationalities but a lot will depend on where in ns you are looking. This week is nice and even been walking in Tshirt instead of thick coat, which will probably be required in a month or so. Since 2008 when I arrived here I have seen a different winter from the previous

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How about the climate in Nova Scotia? How cold is the winter there? Do you also have summers? Are there different nationalities there like Filipinos?

Nova Scotia has one of the oldest African-Canadian communities in Canada. It was one of the stops on the Underground Railroad. Even Oprah was amazed to discover there were "black people there". I'll never forget that episode of her show.:uhoh3:

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I love all of Nova Scotia. Honestly, I have never had a bad trip into Canada, and try to visit friends and family every year. However, I don't think I would use the States as a crime rate comparison in any way shape or form. Especially since she didn't mention an interest in moving here. All of Canada has just over 34 million, while we in the States have a smaller land mass with over 309 million people. New York City has 8.2 million of that in that small little island. Makes sense that we have such a high crime rate. Good luck with your job hunt! Canada is definitely a beautiful country.

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too sad my CRNE eligibility got expired last november...

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