Landed Immigrants - Halifax

[DandJ]

Hi

Has anyone recently landed and settled in Halifax or surrounding area and willing to share their experience?

Thanks

 

[prof456]

Hi

Has anyone recently landed and settled in Halifax or surrounding area and willing to share their experience?

Thanks

What are your questions about Halifax? I might be able to help.

 

[DandJ]

Hi

Wow Canada is such a big place, but we have narrowed down our destination to NS, and we think Halifax - could you point me to some good web-sites for newcomers - housing, jobs, local transport, recreation etc etc - most of what I can find are tourist sites and I want to know more about the residential areas....what are the most popular housing areas.

We are going in September for a 2 week 'research' holiday and think perhaps we should look at a few other cities outwith Halifax......apparently the other larger ones are Cape Breton, New Glasgow and Truro, but I want to research the housing and job situation in these places too,

If you could suggest where to look / start I would be very grateful - it's a minefield!

Thanks

Diane

 

[prof456]

Hi

Wow Canada is such a big place, but we have narrowed down our destination to NS, and we think Halifax - could you point me to some good web-sites for newcomers - housing, jobs, local transport, recreation etc etc - most of what I can find are tourist sites and I want to know more about the residential areas....what are the most popular housing areas.

We are going in September for a 2 week 'research' holiday and think perhaps we should look at a few other cities outwith Halifax......apparently the other larger ones are Cape Breton, New Glasgow and Truro, but I want to research the housing and job situation in these places too,

If you could suggest where to look / start I would be very grateful - it's a minefield!

Thanks

Diane

What's your family composition like?
Are you planning to look for a job or you are semi-retired?
Do you like a small/slow paced city or you prefer a fairly moderate paced city?

The reason I ask is that Halifax differs alot from New Glasgow or Cape Breton. Halifax has better job prospects than the latter "cities". The latter cities are fairly slow paced and very few job prospects (I do not know your field). You can check out www.careerbeacon.com and www.workopolis.com for job postings in the Maritimes.

If you have a young kids, I'd think they'd enjoy Halifax alot better.It's not as big as Toronto or Vancouver but relatively safe, medium sized city.

If you have kids almost at university age, there are 3 universities in Halifax....so they do not have to go far if you want to keep them on a short leash. There's a university in Sydney (Cape Breton), Antigonish and Acadia (Kentville).

Housing is relatively expensive in Canada (when compared to major cities in the US) but Halifax is alot cheaper than Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver (obviously) and housing in New Glasgow, Truro or Cape Breton is definitely cheaper in those areas because land is cheaper there and there is alot less demand. If you are looking for an average 3 bedroom house in a good subdivision in Halifax, you can budget about $200k - $250k. Obviously housing close to downtown Halifax is alot more expensive than the Halifax "suburbs" or what they term HRM. You can check out www.mls.ca for prices and pictures. 90% of houses on the market are listed there. Recommended sub divisions are Clayton Park, Bedford, Beechville Estates, Hammonds Plain ( a little farther from DT Halifax). I think your "research" trip is a great idea. That's the ideal thing to do...at least you get a good idea of your neighbourhood before you jump in. Congrats and goodluck with your relocation!

 

[DandJ]

Thanks for this info - that's really helpful.

We are early thirties, married, no kids yet. One in IT, one in Facilities Management. We need to find decent paying jobs, but I don't want that to be the deciding factor on where we live - the whole reason for moving out is a better standard of living and better work-life balance, so to only go where the jobs are is against the ethos of our move - hopefully we won't be working 10-12 hour days in Canada!! We are not work shy and will do whatever we can get in the early days so long as the bills are covered!

We want fun, good recreation, near parks, lakes, the ocean, festivals and in a few years good schools and family orientated, safe neighbourhoods. The history in Halifax appeals to us - I want to live somewhere with some atmosphere and culture, not in a concrete, purpose built town....I think Halifax has all this?

I'll have a look at the sub-areas you listed,

Many Thanks Again

Diane

 

[prof456]

Thanks for this info - that's really helpful.

We are early thirties, married, no kids yet. One in IT, one in Facilities Management. We need to find decent paying jobs, but I don't want that to be the deciding factor on where we live - the whole reason for moving out is a better standard of living and better work-life balance, so to only go where the jobs are is against the ethos of our move - hopefully we won't be working 10-12 hour days in Canada!! We are not work shy and will do whatever we can get in the early days so long as the bills are covered!

We want fun, good recreation, near parks, lakes, the ocean, festivals and in a few years good schools and family orientated, safe neighbourhoods. The history in Halifax appeals to us - I want to live somewhere with some atmosphere and culture, not in a concrete, purpose built town....I think Halifax has all this?

I'll have a look at the sub-areas you listed,

Many Thanks Again

Diane

If you are looking at NS, then Halifax is it. Apart from the scenery and tourist spots in Cape Breton, you are better off career-wise in Halifax. And if both of you have decent jobs and lifestyles, you wount have to work 10-12hrs daily. Goodluck.

 

[DandJ]

Thanks - You have just confirmed what we think we already knew!

Diane