# advice on nova scotia and immigration



## steve1977 (Nov 12, 2011)

Hi all myself and my family are looking at emigrating to canada and have decided that Nova Scotia looks the most promising, we are in the very early stages as yet and our minds are not fully made up as to wether we should take this step or not. any advice from people in the area who have allready made the move will be much appreciated. If it helps i am a construction equipment mechanic with 14 years experience and my wife is a home carer, I have so many questions it is untrue so i thought i would start with just asking how you find it over there.


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## chelsea666 (Nov 13, 2011)

Hi Steve,
I have been living in Nova Scotia for five years now, if you want a friendly, qiuet, low crime, rural slow paced life; this is the place for you! 

But there are a few downsides to life here; Getting work here is very hard, and often the work that is available goes to family, friends or someone that someone knows first, before an outsider gets the chance. House prices are stagnent at best, once you buy here; it can take years to sell. Many ER'S close due to lack of doctors. The winters are harsh, but the summer hot and long!

In all, the pro's are better than the con's, and certainly better than living in the UK. Just be wise with you're money here, as we used up all of our savings in the first two years.

We live in the Annapolis Valley, beautiful place to live, schools are great and friendly...Like living in Dorset!

If you need any info please let me know.

Peter


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## steve1977 (Nov 12, 2011)

Thanks for speedy reply peter, we are yet to begin application process so there is alot to learn. we dont have any savings as such but if we sell our house in uk we will have enough for a good deposit on a house and enough to put in the bank as savings if we need them. 
We live in norfolk at the moment so we are used to rural but there are no oppurtunities in the uk any more and it is getting worse not better. 
We would be looking at moving close to Halifax as we have two young children and being close to ammenities will be important.
There seem to be a few jobs in my field within the area but i am unsure wether my qualifications and experience will be enough. 
How does cost of living seem to you compared to the UK i have read car insurance is exceptionally high and we would probably both have to drive so that could be a problem.


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## BluenoseGirl (Nov 16, 2011)

*rural vs city*

Hi Steve,
Chelsea666 is right about the things that she is saying but that is when you are talking about the rural areas, you won't face such problems in Halifax which is where I'm from. You certainly won't face years to sell a house in the city.

Finding a doctor that is taking on new patients will be more likely the problem rather than clinic's shutting. The good news is there are after hours clinics you can go to that don't require you to be registered, so if you can use those in the meantime.

Halifax is a fantastic city, as in you have all the amenities of a city but a lot less hassle than that the comes with a big city. Commutes (if you aren't coming from Sackville or Bedford) into the downtown are easy. The people are friendly compared to other big cities in Canada as well so if you make a bit of effort hopefully you will have a new circle of friends.

I believe you will be treated as a new driver so your car insurance will be expensive, but gas is cheaper, and distances short. It is just a fact of life really as you really have to have a car in Nova Scotia unless you live and work in the downtown core. Public transport is pretty dire.

Food is cheaper, houses are cheaper, alcohol is more expensive, so are books. The quality of food in restaurants is very good in Nova Scotia, so you get good value for money. You will spend more on heating your home, and power is more expensive as well.

In the end it all depends on what you make and what your mortgage is, how you balance your bills basically. It is all relative! 


Hope that helps.
Michelle
@YHZgirl


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## Canuck_Sens (Nov 16, 2010)

Steve,

Cost of life in Canada differs quite a lot in provinces and trickles down to towns too. Quebec enjoys one of the most affordable places to live but it also features one of the lowest salaries in Canada. I would say that even if cost of life appears to be cheap it depends on your income. 

If you have decided to settle down in Nova Scotia, I guess you might already have an idea about salaries paid in your occupation. If not have a look at workopolis.com or monsters.ca. I believe they have an online tool for salaries.

The lack of doctors is an important factor to consider. For me it is a no no because I needed once and I did not have the service. This, believe it or not, made me move. I used to live in Gatineau- QC border to Ottawa - ON. Gatineau does not have enough doctors, services are poor. On the other hand, Gatineau was cheaper in many ways compared to Ottawa (house, food..but not provincial income tax). The healthcare in Ottawa was 100 X better. 

Perhaps living close to Halifax might ease that concern because in bigger cities you can find doctors and good doctors.


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## steve1977 (Nov 12, 2011)

thanks for your replies they are much appreciated as anything i can learn is a bonus and hearing things from people who live in canada is much better than reading stuff in books or on web pages. We really like the look of Nova Scotia and would need to be close to Halifax as we have young children and will probably need to be near to a city of some kind so we can keep them amused  . I am a construction equipment mechanic and wages look to be ok but i worry that my qualifications wont be recognised i have a vast amount of experience but again worry that employers wont be willing to employ me. We have no savings as such but we have a fair amount tied up in equity on our house and would be using that when and if we move. Any information on job situation in my field will be gratefully recieved as will any kind of info on the area. I have updated my resume and will be trying to send it out to companies in the area just to get a feel for how they respond so fingers crossed.


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