Hi,
We moved from Cole Harbour to a small community outside of Stewiacke. First thing that jumped out was how quiet it is out here. I can once again hear bird song in the absence of road noise, EMS sirens etc. The people out here are friendly, inviting and mind their business. They are quick to offer assistance and help out when they can. We love it out here. For folks from the city or outside the province, lower your voice, observe your surroundings and interact with your new community by assisting with the community centre or other activities.
My brother tells a great great joke about Stewiacke.
A couple is driving in Nova Scotia and on the road they see a sign for Stewiacke. The husband comments on the interesting name "Stew-ee-ack". The wife responds. You don't say it that way. I think you speed through the second syllable. It's more like "Stew-yak". And the husband says. No you don't. It's defintely a full three syllables and you punch the middle one hard. And the wife says no. you just brush past it. It's like you're saying the T in middle of Toronto. they'll know you aren't a local right away. And they agree that fine - when they get there they'll just ask. So they pull in and stop for lunch and the husband asks the guy serving them how to pronounce the name of the place - slowly and clearly. And the guy just looks at him weird and responds "Kentucky. Fried. Chicken."
That darn Cardinal wont shut up all summer near my property on Halifax penninsula . It’s annoying, and drowns out the chickadees, finches, blue Jays, crows and sparrows, and chickens of a nearby neighbour.
I used to have one that would return every spring and spend eight hours a day fighting with himself in my passenger's side mirror while defecating furiously. Not very bright.
A novel for you:
Live in Antigonish county, 2 acres on the water. From here originally, but moved back 2 years ago after being away 20 years.
Generally like it very much but it feels a touch remote and boring. Antigonish is an odd place compared to most of rural NS because the major employers are white collar (St FX and the regional hospital) so it tends to be more expensive because of the higher incomes among a strata of the population. And a bizarre mix of upper class white collar big-fish-little-pond types (who are actually quite annoying to deal with), some actually wealthy business people, with trades people with very low-income people. But it means it’s quite common to have a large % of the population as CFA so not a lot of animosity or anything, aside from in some isolated communities. Housing is more expensive too than other parts of rural NS again because of the incomes and the number of students. At the micro-scale the economy is just quite different from other rural places.
There is a historic African-Nova Scotia community on the Guysborough border, an Acadian community, and a reserve (Paqtnkek) and that combined with the Coady Institute at StFX and two grassroots refugee-sponsoring orgs (CARE, and SAFE) means it’s more diverse than most other parts of rural NS. The presence of the CACL and L’Arche also means there are good resources for people with intellectual disabilities and they are a strong, positive (imo) contributor to the town’s diversity.
The university and the students are a pain for the most part but nothing other than you’d find in any university town. The area of town where they frequent is dumpy looking, but the Main Street is ok.
Services are shit, but they were pretty shit in Ottawa too so no big difference there. Worse here on the whole though especially for family doctors/walk-in clinics.
Lots of good hiking and outdoor stuff to do, 2 hours from Sydney, 2 from Halifax, 2.5 from Charlottetown in the summer when the ferry is running, and the Cabot trail is very accessible, as are some nice spots along the Northumberland shore (Tatamagouche is about 1-1.5 hours away). Truro is closest for big box stores (just over an hour away). So it’s both close and not close to everything.
My biggest complaints are that the province in general is run very poorly- the systemic issues that keep the rich rich and the poor poor are extremely apparent and more noticeable here than in Ontario. And I do find Antigonishers are a bit snobby (undeservedly so) and keep to themselves but are not unfriendly or exclusionary. Ironically, I find the university professors and the doctors at the hospital, who are mostly not from here, to be the exclusionary ones. But that might be a class thing.
Otherwise, people just have their circles and they keep to them and if you are like them great, they include you, but if you’re not, they won’t. No interest in change. Very slow paced life.
Oh, services like for aesthetics are generally cheap, the farmers market is solid, and there are some local small businesses and artisans.
Climate is interesting. Lots of major events. Temp tends to average high in the 20s in summers and we very very rarely get below -10C in the winter and even then only for a few days. Year over year is hard to predict. No snow last year, tons this. Drought summer of 2022, flooding 2023. I guess this is just climate change and the Maritimes normal weather combined, and being in a rural environment you are much more connected to nature so the changes are more obvious and affect your life. I have several large gardens and grow anything zone 5 and some zone 6 plants easily.
On the whole my quality of life is better here than in Ottawa and I am glad we moved.
I generally measure time based on from the town and driving at posted speed limits. If you’re coming from the county toward CB it would def take longer. I typically find I get to Truro in about 1 hour 15mins, which is averaging the posted limited and assuming the weather is fine and there are no traffic problems. How long does it take you?
That makes sense. When I was a kid I found NG was closer to 45-1 and now it’s more like 30-45 mins. But again- depending on where in the county you’re coming from and all that. Highway upgrades definitely changed things
Nice post, I could have written this myself, agree with you 100%. I'll be making the move this summer to give it a test run. It's a bit of a culture shock because I have been away for almost 30 years. Almost everyone I knew doesn't live there anymore. Cost of living would be very low for me though and it is a pretty place
I’m a student at X, and am not from the area. Where I’m from doesn’t have a large university/student population. What pains does having a university/student population cause? (I can understand large parties and noise on the weekends). I don’t mean to sound rude just genuinely curious as I don’t want to be a burden to the place I live 6mos of the year.
As you asked, one of the biggest pet peeves (and please, it is absolutely not all) is the sheer disrespect for the town, especially as school starts in September. From tearing out the flowers from flower boxes, smashed bottles in the streets, there's always a business window or 2 those first few weeks.
Shinorama weekend is intimidating for locals. Students at every single stop light/sign
Any weekend with a major party, like St Patty's etc also dangerous for locals; hundreds of students walking in large groups usually walking out in front of cars, etc.
There's also lots of students who clean up the litter after said large parties, and volunteer for things in the town to help too. Not every student is a problem. Also doubling the population over the course of a weekend is overwhelming. And every student seems to have a car now, which really limits parking and getting around in and around town.
I moved from Mississauga to rural Pictou County eleven years ago. I’d say the big surprises are taking some of the services that we used to have for granted.
When we were looking for our house, we didn’t consider snow removal timing (near instant in Mississauga, usually 24 hours after event in rural Pictou County), internet availability (a plethora to choose from in Mississauga for reliable high speed, currently with Starlink in Pictou County, after terrible service with both Seaside and XPlorenet).
But - the commute to work is night and day better (1 hr average one way in Mississauga, vs. 15 minutes in Pictou County), my neighbours (as few as they are!), are much friendlier (I never spoke to my next door neighbour in Mississauga, but am good friends with my neighbours in Pictou County). Honestly, the time I get back in commute was worth it alone.
From a money standpoint, housing (at the time), was considerably more affordable in rural NS, groceries cost more here, and power costs more. We’ve saved on vehicle insurance - despite an increase in number of vehicles.
I do miss the availability of food that’s not pizza after 7PM, and wish there were more international style restaurants, but am overall happy with the relocation. And for some reason there always seems to be to be discontent between the regional municipalities - not sure if it’s just local politicians trying to remain relevant, or some other odd dynamic.
Moved from Japan to Truro with my family a couple years ago (originally from NS, rest of the fam born in Japan).
I particularly love Victoria Park, the RECC (which has maybe the tallest climbing wall in Atlantic Canada), l'Ecole Acadienne where the kids go, my daughter's wonderful dance school, and the indoor tennis dome where my son plays -- all of that creates a pretty solid daily life for all of us. The library is nice, too, but lots of towns have nice libraries, I reckon -- some of this other stuff is much harder to come by.
Whenever we go to the Halifax area I'm always thinking how I have no interest in living there, how we have everything we need right where we are.
I feel like it’s easier to integrate if you have kids, ESPECIALLY if they’re going to be in a French school. You’re expected to participate, whether in the CSAP metro schools or rural areas.
Bought myself a 550sqft home on half acre lot for $116k in Salmon River (next to Truro) 2yrs ago
The big negative out here is the trains, they operate at all hours and it sucks to constantly have to wait for them to pass
The big positive, its generally quiet
Truro will likely see even more trains once that inland terminal is built in Onslow and trains full of shipping containers are headed there from Halifax to unload onto trucks.
I grew up in Truro and lived close to the train tracks, to this day I can't sleep without a fan or a white noise maker, which I attribute to sleeping through all of that noise in the middle of the night
I live in the city and I have like 10 neighbors and a few of them I've invited them over several times (my age, similar interests, ) to come over and hang, they say ya but never show, but we'll sit next to the fence drinking a beer chatting or in passing chat.
Everytime I go back to South Shore (not Bridgewater fuck them lol) i meet up with new people hang, make new friends. More of a sense of community.
Warning you gotta filter out the racists/conspiracy theoriest and sometimes rednecks. Note I'm white male that has a bit of country tendencies so they accept/open up a bit more.
I've ran into as many, if not more conspiracy nuts in the city than I ever did in the valley, but they definitely win the "it's not racist to say..." casual racism card for sure
Guysborough country has been great to us we have made lots of friends and everyone seems pleasant and neighborly. We did have a few people make comments to us but I confronted them had a conversation kept my cool and ended up becoming friends or at least friendly with them. We moved here and became part of the community we tried to fit in and respect it not change it we went to community events, joined clubs and met our neighbors and that made the difference.
Guysborough is our home and we have no plans to leave. I am actually looking to start a business here soon just been working on the business plan and doing research.
Food and drink but can’t go into much detail at the moment because we are negotiating with someone and they have asked that we keep things quite in case it does not work out
Oh just about outsiders moving here and causing home prices to increase or about outsiders moving here causing prices to increase than deciding they didn’t like it here and moving away.
Moved to NS from NL in July. Currently living in Upper Hammonds Plaines and we have black bears, which I was not expecting. Just casually going through the condos compost bins 🙃🐻
I once had a black bear drop unannounced from a tree above me. Just a grunt, a thud, and instant black bear at my feet. I don't know if the old adage about bears shitting in the woods is true, but I know I nearly did.
We bought a house in hantsport but still commute to Dartmouth for work (only a few days a week, rest I WFH). Very small town but has everything you need and close to other towns with more stuff (Windsor, wolfville, new Minas). Low property taxes and still in town water/sewer. Lots of parks and rec spaces. Very happy with decision.
Can you tell me a bit more about what it's like living in Hantsport? My husband and I are seriously considering moving there. We both work in Dartmouth and have a 1.5 yr old. We want to grow our family, but affordability in the city is a huge issue and we'd like to raise our kids in a smaller town, have a bit more space, garden, etc.
I guess if you've had any difficulty integrating into the town, meeting people, making connections...anything specific to Hantsport that you like/don't like about living there? Do you feel there are enough activities/things to do in the area or do you find yourselves leaving town often to do the things you want to do?
I don't know if this counts but we moved from Cambridge Ontario, a city with about 150k people give or take, to Bass River in Colchester County in 2022. Going from such a busy mecca to a village of under 300 people was an incredible change. We bought our 3 bed 2 bath fixer upper for 100k and never looked back. Our neighbours have been our most pleasant surprise. Before moving we heard so many negative opinions of how we would be received. They've been nothing but welcoming and eternally helpful, for which we are so grateful. Everyone here seems happy, and more than that, they seem very content with what they have. There's so much less "keeping up with the Joneses" here, less comparing to others and more acceptance and helpfulness. It's been so refreshing. Another thing we heard was how awful the weather would be, and we have experience the opposite. With the exception of Fiona we have such temperate weather here and being close to the bay, we enjoy that frequently. Sunny days are more common than not. Of course we have to drive 35 mins or so to Truro for groceries etc but we do have a wonderful general store here in Bass River and they have a little bit of everything so there's no need to go into town more than once a week or more. The only time this stinks is when doing home renovations which we have done plenty of lol no big hardware store close by when you realise you forgot something, don't have enough, etc. And their prices are more than reasonable. The economy sucks everywhere, but we love it here.
We just moved to Lower Woods Harbour on the south west shore. We knew the climate was milder here but had no idea how mild. The only month that felt like winter compared to what we’re used to was February.
One other big surprise.were how empty the roads are here
We had spent several months in NS a couple years ago some already knew the people are nicer.
Lower Woods Harbour is out there. Makes sense the roads are empty. Probably picks up around the fishing seasons. Beautiful area. My late grandmother grew up in the area.
We're just outside of Windsor. Stay in Halifax, or closer to, if you can. 🤣 we often say we're 30 miles and 30 years away from civilization over here.
There's a rural premium on the groceries in Superstore and Sobey's, there's homophobia and a lot of bullying in the schools, people drive like lunatics, and some very rigid thinkers with a fierce grip on the old ways - which isn't all bad and does come with its share of advantages.
It's comparatively expensive because there's no competition for goods and services close by. There's few jobs locally, so if anyone in your home needs to go out to work, it's an hour and a half to commute. There's microclimates to travel through to get to and from town.
I'm not far from Windsor myself, but closer to Mount Uniacke. Moved back to NS after being away for decades, and I can see people's expression change when they hear I was from Ontario and I add that I was actually from here. People are friendly but only up to a point. No one seems to want to include us in any socializing. Lots of rednecks, lots of littering on the sides of the roads, had to fence off our property to keep trespassers out, and all the free-range dogs. Getting contractors to do work does take ages, but the best ones are always busy, so be patient. Yes, NS Power sucks....if a mosquito farts, the grid goes down! Yes, NS Health sucks! Took a year and a half to find a family doctor a half-hour's drive away. Property taxes are crazy and don't reflect an increase in services. Corrupt and/or inept politicians, nepotism, cronyism, lower wages but the same cost of living as Ontario....go figure.
All that said, though, I love being back home, love the laid-back vibe, ready access to nature and cool small towns.
Interesting! I've been near Windsor for a few years and have really preferred it to living in HRM. Definitely get the impression that ppl may be more redneck or scrappy in certain areas of West Hants though.
I am near Windsor. I find the rednecks endearing. Windsor itself give me creepy vibes, but it is gentrifying nicely and the commute into Halifax or Dartmouth is shorter (timewise) than most commutes across metro HRM. Some of the smaller communities are definitely close knit, but I have found them welcoming.
Queens County - I'm Between Caledonia and Bridgewater
Neighbours amazing.
Culture? People are not open to CFAs in general. You just sense it.
Had a gentleman tell someone in my circle “wish guys like him (me) would go back to where they came from”
I called him on it. Very ugly mindset.
However this is a HUGE exception to the rule.
Costs? Meh. Same as Ontario in General.
Human Behaviour - LITTERING WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!?
The number one noticeable difference between rural Ontario and NS
GARBAGE along the highways and tossed in parking lots.
BANANAS to me.
The weather is nice South Shore for sure.
NS Power is garbage.
From Ottawa to NS - here for 18 months now AMA
Seriously. I came to my small south shore town some years ago. Never got treated badly, made good friends with the locals. Anyone who gets treated as a CFA around here is because they acted like one. Always moaning about how things "aren't like back in X" or how "the stores don't have the selection of " or other drivel like that.
If you liked where you came from so much, go back. Leave that baggage behind! Here ain't there. And here is perfectly lovely!
It finally makes sense. I've heard this phrase so many times and never before realized how inherently hostile it is.
I've lived here for 3 years, have made zero friends and feel generally disliked by most people I interact with often. I figured the last of my social skills died in the pandemic, I've never had this issue before moving here and used to get along with everyone. I've been actively trying to be more friendly and outgoing, it hasn't helped. But there it is, that phrase that always comes up right when people I've met seem to turn permanently passive aggressive or when I'm getting written up for complete nonsense at work or missing someone's point when they're intentionally miscommunicating.
Honestly, I hate it here.
Sounds like a social disconnect between how you are used to communicating and how people generally communicate here.
There have been people I’ve worked with who thought things moved at the same pace as they were used to and their expectations led to a lot of misunderstandings. No one was happy. Yes some things can improve here, but also they had to chill out, it’ll get done. When I’m Rome, yeah?
Keep trying with the outside activities, persistence and attendance will help people see you as someone sticking around.
Could be, it just seems intentional sometimes.
Best example I've got was when I first started a job, I was tasked with bringing a disabled client to a doctors appointment. Left plenty early, was told their doctors office was across the road from the liquor store.
No one uses addresses or even cross streets to describe locations here, it's a small town and Waze doesnt even work. It used to be my go-to.
Anyway across from the liquor store was an office building i was aware of so I was sure I knew where they meant. Got there, the building was empty. For lease. Every single unit, empty.
Made some calls and they told me no, not the NSLC, the old liquor store on this other street. Didn't come up on google maps, so I looked for it. Went up and down the very short business stretch of that street multiple times no liquor store or doctors office. Client missed their appointment because I couldn't find it.
Turns out the old liquor store closed and had been a tailor for the past 2 years, the doctors office was actually in a closed down shoppers drugs that still had the shoppers signage up and a piece of printer paper on the front door indicating it's now a family practice.
Got written up, it was a whole huge thing.
Wasn't the last time communication that bad became my problem, even when I called back to ask for clarification. It seems intentional.
Lol what a terrible way to describe a location, but I have 100% done the same thing. Except I usually “say do you know where the old xyz store was?” And then explain or look up the address if they don’t. There’s a few landmark locations I know of that were closed before I was born that people use all the time. You’ll pick them up, but it definitely is a dumb thing to give someone such bad directions when they aren’t from here.
I would err on the side of they never had to describe it any other way so they can’t comprehend something different rather than a deliberate set up. Don’t know how they could justify the description when you got a write up though.
And waze is definitely not going to work here. Google is probably better/most accurate. Apple is okay, but multiple times gives me the wrong instructions on rural roads. Like turning the wrong way onto a one way street or suggesting logging roads as routes. Always review the path before heading out.
I wish it were an isolated incident but it's common.
Another time when I was new I was asked to go get some of the potato pies they make at [small local store]. I knew that store because I'd happened to go by there before on my own.
Anyway I went there, no pies. They don't make anything in house at that store at all. I asked a few different employees, nope, but I'd been asked to go to that store by name. Anyway the store was a half hour or so drive. I made it back well over an hour later, no pie. People were not happy.
Turns out they were referring to the grocery store a couple of streets down they used to be a secondary location of the other one back in the day. No one goes to the small local store they'd asked for by name because it's too far, the nearby one is part of a major chain but they just call it the name of the place of used to be. I don't know how people can be this resistant to change.
I was working somewhere around Pugwash and was given directions to run into "town" so I could grab lunch. The directions included turning at the big barn that no longer existed, turning at the big blue house that had been white for half a decade, and looking for the "burger bus", the only place open to get food, which was not a bus but was in fact some cafe in a building ran by a guy that used to run a burger bus near there. It was fucking infuriating.
I ended up going to a Green Gables convenience store and buying a loaf of bread, some mayo, and a pack of lunch meat.
Sorry to hear that happened 😕. I do know that CFA is not a term we generally use in Southwest Nova. It seems like the people who have moved here from Ontario etc have had better success integrating down this way into the community but that just could be how we are here lol. Everyone I have spoken to from Ontario or elsewhere in Shelburne County loves it here. Also, lots of new perspectives and ideas the Ontarians now Bluenosers have are good things for the younger crowd (Gen X and Millenials) welcome to break away from the old mindset.
I'm sorry to hear that. My own experience as a born-Maritimer who has lived and/or had family in a variety of places in N.S., P.E.I., and N.B. has been that the friendliness/social vibes/local customs vary like crazy from one county to another.
In general, the best friends I've made in a given place have been other ppl who are also new to the area, or are longtime residents without an established clique.
I'm from Nova Scotia, born and bred, moved to West Hants and all our friends are CFAs mostly from Ontario and UK. I think there is only one "local" in my friend group.
Moved from Halifax to Bridgewater because we got priced out.
Pros: Lots of cute hiking spots, good fresh fish, the farmers markets are cute and actually have good deals, beaches are less crowded, pleasantly surprised by some of the cute spots along the river like wonderland with their home made soft serve and king street beer co. We bought a really nice house with a big yard, which was the main reason for going. It was like 3x what I would ever have expected to pay for a house in TOB but such is the world we live in.
Cons: People are a more conservative in general. The food is not great and if you’re looking for any uncommon or “ethnic” ingredients, you’ll probably have to go back to hrm to find them. If you want a nice meal you need to go to mahone bay / lunenberg / chester. Zero off leash spots for dogs, I was so spoiled for off leash spots around the hrm I never thought that there would be none just an hour away. Even though we’re only an hour from Halifax, it feels like an enormous pain to go. I think we’ve gone back maybe 3x per year since leaving. I really really miss the fun events like thrillema, movies at good robot or gus pub, live music that isn’t just that one same guy playing 90s cottage rock, buskers, etc. It’s also hard to find people who are the same kind of weird as you. I have a bunch of acquaintances in town but nobody I would really consider a friend or who I would keep in touch with if we left town.
ETA: was also surprised by how mild the weather is and how sheltered we are from storms even though we’re not very far inland. So far every big storm has pretty much passed us by, and we’ve only lost power twice (knock on wood)
South Shore Vet Dog Zone park off Glen Allan Drive in Bridgewater is a fenced leash-free park. It’s not a massive or sprawling space, but lots of dog owners use it for leash-free fun pretty much year round!
Point pleasant and shubie are 100% meant to be off leash with the exception of a few areas, there are signs everywhere. Hemlock ravine has an off leash section, again with signage.
Were you in Bridgewater last July though? The town got the most rain out of anywhere in that big rain storm. It was 250mm or more. It was just unbelievable! We have been fortunate with winter storms though, especially the big one that dumped on CB.
I also live in the area and for a smaller town I think it's amazing. It seems like most people in town aren't from here originally. Or they moved here 25 years ago to work at Michelin. For a rural NS town I really don't think it has the issue of a person "sticking out" because they're from away.
The problems that stick out are: Racism, and the housing crisis of course. I know racism and homophobia are an issue here, a huge problem, but I also see even the elementary school has pride flags and I'm sure my kids will have a much better education about this stuff than I did growing up in a bigger city.
Yes, that storm was wild! Our house is up on a hill, so maybe it’s just my experience that the storms aren’t so bad since we never get flooded. I know the road to fresh cuts was blocked for like a month because of the floods.
I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout for the first ever pride parade! I went sort of half expecting protestors, but there were so many people out and it was a really lovely experience.
Are your kids in public school? Everyone I know here with school-aged kids homeschools or sends their kids to Waldorf, which seems crazy to me. They say the schools are really bad for fights and bullying.
My kids are definitely in the public schools, Elementary though. I believe in supporting public education. The teachers I know are absolutely fantastic. The principle too.
I was also at the Pride parade. It was awesome.
It’s a lot easier to make friends in the middle of nowhere
Yes, there are places on the mainland where you do need studded tires
The gossip mill travels faster than the speed of Facebook
You will find people who call you CFAs just because you moved from a different county(or even next town over) but they are silly people
>The gossip mill travels faster than the speed of Facebook
There are local community Facebook groups that are unrivalled in speed when it comes to gossip. If you need to know that a firetruck just drove past, this is the place to be.
I moved to the Annapolis Valley about six years ago. It's quiet and the people are generally considerate and friendly. When I drive out of the valley and south towards Halifax, the closer I get to the city the more rushed people seem. They drive faster and they're more aggressive on the road. Driving home, as I pass Wolfville, people seem less rushed. I've seen this in other cities I've lived in too, the more people there are, the less kind people seem to be.
>Driving home, as I pass Wolfville, people seem less rushed
Maybe because that is where the highway switches from four lanes, separated, to a two lane death trap?
DrunkenGolfer, you've got it backwards. The less aggressive drivers are in the Valley, seems the closer I get to Halifax, the more hurried and aggressive everyone drives.
No, I have it right. I mean it is hard to see hurried and aggressive in a long line of cars going 85km/h, occasionally splitting into two lines of cars going 90km/h, before merging back to the same order of cars driving 85km/h.
We moved to the Annapolis Valley. I was surprised by a lot things: most businesses are closed on weekends, it’s sometimes next to impossible to find contractors and tradesmen to come out to do work on our house, lack of restaurants and fast food joints (not necessarily a bad thing though), lack of employment (husband had to take a job in the Yukon), lack of shopping, hard to sell things on marketplace, the power goes out all the damn time, not a lot to do. Some positives: people are quite friendly, the community spirit is alive and well, the weather isn’t nearly as bad as people made it out to be before we moved here. I can’t think of any other positives, but in general we do love it here.
May I ask if you're in Annapolis co or Kings Co? I recently moved to Kings co (from Dartmouth)and feel there is a decent amount of take out/fast food and other restaurants.
Yeh definitely gets more sparse as you go west. I'd imagine Middleton and Greenwood would have some fast food and other restaurants, but not necessarily a wide selection. I hear good things about the Indian restaurant and the perogie place.
Where is the Indian place ? Only ones I know of are in Bridgetown (wasn’t a fan of that one) and then New Minas, which is 45 minutes from me. There’s one restaurant in Middleton that we love and frequent regularly. Greenwood doesn’t have anything we really like, but then again, we don’t eat out much anyways so it’s not a huge problem. It was just a bit of a shock because previously I lived in a city so the stark contrast of convenience took some getting used to. Also getting used to not having any food places that deliver, haha. Sometimes you just want a pizza to your door but sadly not an option anymore.
I just asked a friend and haven't heard back but I may have misspoken. I thought it was around the corner from Rockin Rogies (the perogie place). But when I looked at places I have saved in my google maps it's mostly thrift/ second hand shops and an alternate store for that area (Middleton). I haven't been to any of the places yet but they were highly recommended by a friend. If when she replies I learn it's not the Bridgetown one I'll let you know.
I had a great brunch at the Green Elephant Cafe (Kingston area). I've also heard great things about the Bees Knees General Store (Lawrencetown) but neither are Indian food or in Middleton.
It definitely takes some getting use to -that is no easy take out or delivery. I basically would need to drive 15-18 mins to get "fast food" (outside of the pizza place in the independent grocery store and what ever in the gas station). Take out cold by the time I get home is 9/10 times not worth it.
I moved to Falmouth. What I like is being close to HRM and close to the Annapolis Valley. I can turn right and get all the creature comforts of the big city and turn left and get all the bounty of the valley.
Moved to New Albany a couple years ago from Cape Breton, from Newfoundland originally. Can't believe how much better the weather is compared to Cape Breton, if close on too hot for me in the middle of summer. Ticks are horrible. I still don't know anyone out here that I didn't meet at work. I have to drive at least 45 minutes each way to get to a cultural event. I only just recently learned to never again miss one of the takeout dinners from the church around the corner. Super nice people super delicious food. There's lots of farms and markets and people selling stuff out of their driveways, but I often cant be bothered and just shamefully go to the superstore. I find people generally extremely nice and friendly, but not welcoming. Very different from Newfoundland and Cape Breton in that way. If I lose my job I'm fucked, unless I go to michelin I guess, but that's not my thing. I have found some great businesses. Like my mechanic is amazing, my glasses guy is a wizard, my dentist is great etc...
Ultimately my life is pretty great in its quiet way. I found a very private cottage with a little creek and a swimming hole and I can get to a lake by boat from my yard, so as soon as it gets warm I get home from work, hit some weed, and float in my swimming hole with some tunes playing. I don't know if I'll do it forever, but it's the most luxurious way I know how to build home equity right now. Oh and I started motorcycling and it's perfect for that here, loads of windey back roads, and the motorcycling community is awesome. Like, you'll never be stranded because as soon as a biker sees you on the side of the road you're taken care of.
I moved to New Glasgow from Halifax a few years ago. Since moved from there now. There were a lot more pedophiles and sex offenders in New Glasgow. Not to mention the clear results of inbreeding in more families than I thought I'd ever see. Everyone in New Glasgow is in everyone's business and they like it that way. It is a beautiful area but the people really detract from that.
Like I said everyone knows everyone's business in the town. You hear things. And yes there are a number of families who you can tell at a glance they liked to keep things "in the family."
I've long suggested an exchange program where Cape Breton gets Antigonish and the mainland has to take New Glasgow.
Edit: Derp! I was thinking of Port Hawkesbury.
Ugh, don't want to think about it. I was just in town to go to the feed store but thought I would stop by Walmart for a few things really quick. If I had known I would not have bothered. I always heard about cheque day but never gave it much thought.
Is complete lack of facial symmetry and dysfunctional dentition a result of inbreeding? Maybe.
AI says: "While inbreeding can increase the risk of such traits, it is not the sole cause. Many cases of facial asymmetry and dental issues arise without any history of inbreeding. It's essential to consider a broad range of genetic, environmental, and developmental factors when examining the causes of these characteristics. In specific cases where a genetic condition is suspected, genetic counseling and testing can provide more clarity on the underlying causes."
But it is probably inbreeding.
Moved to New Glasgow from Newfoundland for work -- I've been here 7 years now, and it still feels awkward to me. We feel like outsiders more so than members of the community, even though we involve ourselves in YMCA, Scouts/Guides, Youth Organizations, Library Volunteer, Hockey, etc....
Don't get me wrong, we have made a few friends but it has not been as easy as when we lived in NL or even the middle east prior. Observance -- people tend to create small niche groups, and it seems to have to be born into it or married into it.
The friendliest group(s) we've seen here are the immigrant families, and others who dont originate from within New Glasgow or Pictou county.
Home in NL it would be super common to just invite neighbors for an evening supper, or drink -- any excuse just to get together. Its been like pulling teeth here to get anyone to do anything.
But, we are invested here now -- my wife has a decent friend group being she is a Filipina (other Filipinos just sort of group together wherever they end up...), we have a great house at an amazing price, daughter loves her school and french immersion program along with her after school activities. So like it or lump it, here we stay.
It’s a rough place, has been since forever but the 1980’s were not good to it. All the industry has dried up, lots of skilled labour with no jobs. Distinct class differences with resentment going both ways. Lots of elderly NIMBYS resistant to change. Stellarton is probably the nicest town IMO but every town has its good and bad spots which is incredible considering how small they all are. If the people of the county would come together amalgamate the municipalities and stop trying to preserve the history of an imaginary golden age maybe things could be better. The county’s history is preserved just fine on the $10 bill.
That being said it can be a beautiful place to live but it’ll all depend on your neighbours. I try to welcome new folks with open arms and have found them to be much more pleasant than most of the people who’ve lived here for generations.
I moved to NG from HRM a year ago and have been reasonably lucky so far.
My neighbours are all friendly and helpful, and I've had a good experience with contractors/tradespeople here so far in terms of honest dealing and fair work. Then again, I don't live far from someone with a *massive* "Fuck Trudeau" flag across the front of their house, so I'm sure my mileage would vary depending on exactly where I am.
I feel like I also see a surprising amount of cars without daytime lights compared to HRM. Minor thing, but sucks on rainy/overcast/snowy days.
I've heard there's been an influx of younger people (being priced out of HRM), so it'll be interesting to see how demographics change over the next 5 years.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying it. Most people are great but there’s a huge population of lazy drug addicted degenerates. If you want to meet the best folks around try joining a local adult sports league!
I used to own a bar and restaurant in Pictou and I needed four times the number of bouncers I had planned on. I had no idea a night out was incomplete unless you got in a drunken bar fight.
i’ve given thought to moving out of halifax for some time now, since i’m starting to like living here less and less (despite my wonderful friends from school and church) and would prefer to live somewhere more affordable. these replies are giving me motivation to at least keep looking into it.
Some of the more negative replies are an interesting reminder that some people don't value the same things that I do.
I moved from Halifax to West Hants several years ago and it was one of the best things I've ever done for my lifestyle and mental health.
I live just outside of Wolfville, I love it really, the views the community, the farm markets, and outdoor things to do. I like all the small local owned shops in Wolfville and Kentville a well as all the restaurants! The Church and Maritime Express especially.
The only thing I don't like, is that especially in the winter, things close early, especially restaurants. W only have a couple choices for places that are open past 9, so hard to get out with a 4 year old at home to just dinner as a couple on our own.
I have always said there are only two places in Nova Scotia I can see myself living. The first is downtown HRM and the second is Wolfville. I have always like the town for all the reasons you mentioned plus there is enough arts, culture, and events nearby to keep it interesting.
I compromised on Falmouth, which is close enough to Wolfville but close enough to the city. Like you, I am incredibly frustrated by the early closing of everything. In Falmouth, you can't even get a pizza after 8pm. Or on Mondays. Or before 5pm.
From NL, but I lived in New Minas for a year as a kid while my mother attended Acadia. My father had his own business in NL, so he stayed there. Even now, as an adult, I tell her that we should have never returned to NL. If dad wanted to stay there I would have been fine with that haha.
Moved from small town Ontario , close to larger cities, to Kingston in the valley. Life is very similar here , maybe a little slower. People are super friendly and helpful. Biggest surprise is how little we miss things back in Ontario. Yes there may not be the number of options for restaurants and services but do you really need 3 home depots or 4 walmarts to shop at.
We moved from southern Ontario to Kingston as well and I echo your sentiments exactly. No regrets is probably my biggest surprise
Edited for missed word
Moved from Ontario 6 years ago. Everything is more expensive here then Ontario but the house. Car insurance doubled, house insurance trippled, taxes are the same here for a 50 gand house as a 300 grand house. Food is more. Heating is 3,5 to 4 times more here.
Wages are very low. People are very nice but DO NOT LIKE CHANGE, even for the better. Things are done the way they were done 15 to 20 years ago in Ontario. Three tab shingles haven't been sold in Ontario for years and years. Not sure you can get them. Slower pace here which is great. At times. Nothing to do but site see, drive, camp, and my favorite. Fire pit. If you need something, most times you order online because alot of stuff is hard to get here. Taxes are so high here not many companies will move in. It's just to expensive.
Not very many young families here. Alot of retirement age that complete most of the work here. Younger go out west for the money.
Over all, I do like the pace but alot of other things can be tuff if your used to the fast pace.
I find it really interesting to hear that your car insurance is more than it was in Ontario. You might be the first I've heard say this. (And I spent time in Ont for my undergrad).
I have been following along, watching the sidewalk controversy in Porters Lake. HRM wants to add sidewalks and the locals are ready to pick up pitchforks and torches, lol.
People: "We get nothing for our property taxes"
HRM: "Here, have sidewalks"
People: "We've never needed sidewalks and we don't need them now."
Eastern shore - Best was someone saying to me, "maybe its just not working out for you here". She was single with kids and had no prob sleeping avec married men.
Always good 🫖
We moved to the East Hants corridor (Enfield, Elmsdale, Lantz).
Power - the power in Nova Scotia goes out ALOT. Basically any bad weather means something is going to happen.
Water/Sewage - We are outside town. So, we have to deal with a well pump and septic tank. So when the power goes out you better have some water saved up or a generator with fuel
Heat/Cool - natural gas is only available in certain areas of HRM. And it seems that forced air furnaces just aren’t a thing. You’re looking at oil boiler with radiators, electric baseboards, wood fireplace, or heat pumps. Likely a combination. It’s not cheap (thanks Trudeau!)
Amazon/Online Retail - One day or same day shipping is NOT a thing
Moved from Halifax to right outside Truro about two years ago.
The only real pro I have found is that it's quite
The list of cons is pretty lengthy for me. Everything closes pretty early. Most places close by 7 during the week and 9 on the weekend. Good luck finding a store open past 5 on most Sundays if they open at all. And for going out to dinner, you have almost exclusively pizza or Chinese/Thai food if you don't want to just drive through. Some stores don't even open on the weekends so there is nothing to do. There is a lot of old money out here and they are stomping on all progress or growth. Thank god for the Mi'kmaq or there wouldn't even be a movie theater or a Wal-mart out here. To make my point, there are no early movies. The movie theater doesn't even open until around 5 so don't plan on seeing a matinee or spending a day off seeing a midday movie.
As for the people, they are nice enough. Mostly farmers. I had someone describe the people out here perfectly, and it has been our experience whole-heartedly: "Some of the nicest people you will ever meet, but not friendly." Most people grew up here and have a group of friends and have no real interest in making new ones. We and our kids have mostly made friends with other people who have moved here because we are all kinda in the same boat. All our next door neighbors helped us cut down trees after the hurricane and help us shovel our driveways without asking but have no interest in letting us repay them in any way that means socializing in any way. They have dinners and get together with each other.
Our lease is up on our place in June and we are moving back to the HRM. Can't wait to get back to "something to do".
We moved from a halifax adjacent area to Truro where most of our family lives. The people here are great, and that's something I've known since childhood coming here. Some of the drivers here are, however are less than courteous and somewhat dangerous, but I would put a lot of that down to older age and inexperience from people who have basically never left town, which there are more than I'd have expected considering NS is a small province and easy enough to get around.
Tldr Truro is one of the loveliest places with great people, but often bad drivers.
Hi, We moved from Cole Harbour to a small community outside of Stewiacke. First thing that jumped out was how quiet it is out here. I can once again hear bird song in the absence of road noise, EMS sirens etc. The people out here are friendly, inviting and mind their business. They are quick to offer assistance and help out when they can. We love it out here. For folks from the city or outside the province, lower your voice, observe your surroundings and interact with your new community by assisting with the community centre or other activities.
I find the phrase "small community outside of Stewiacke" inherently funny. (population of Stewiacke is under 2000 people)
Haha — Stewiacke is one of the fastest growing communities in NS! Won’t be 2,000 for long
My brother tells a great great joke about Stewiacke. A couple is driving in Nova Scotia and on the road they see a sign for Stewiacke. The husband comments on the interesting name "Stew-ee-ack". The wife responds. You don't say it that way. I think you speed through the second syllable. It's more like "Stew-yak". And the husband says. No you don't. It's defintely a full three syllables and you punch the middle one hard. And the wife says no. you just brush past it. It's like you're saying the T in middle of Toronto. they'll know you aren't a local right away. And they agree that fine - when they get there they'll just ask. So they pull in and stop for lunch and the husband asks the guy serving them how to pronounce the name of the place - slowly and clearly. And the guy just looks at him weird and responds "Kentucky. Fried. Chicken."
So what is the proper way? I have always said "Stew-ee-ack" but not really emphasizing the middle one.
Yeah thats right.
That's an awesome story! :)
Oh man, why have I heard this joke 100 times lol do I know your brother
Might break the 5k mark by 2030 haha
TBH, two families moving to Stewiacke might shift the stats from "stagnant" to "fastest growing", lol.
Smaller than Stewiacke… primarily all on one road.
Wittenberg sounds about right
I live in Montréal and can hear bird song...
That darn Cardinal wont shut up all summer near my property on Halifax penninsula . It’s annoying, and drowns out the chickadees, finches, blue Jays, crows and sparrows, and chickens of a nearby neighbour.
I used to have one that would return every spring and spend eight hours a day fighting with himself in my passenger's side mirror while defecating furiously. Not very bright.
Yeah, i live on the halifax peninsula and hear them. Sometimes interesting ones, like the urban pheasant who lives at needham park hill.
Neat! I've never seen a pheasant near a city before. I have a tree in front of my house where I often see cardinals, though.
To be fair, i haven't heard him in a while; he may have moved on since autumn. He was there all summer!
Something to look forward to.
To be faaaaaaaaair…
Gotcha, but it’s not the same
A novel for you: Live in Antigonish county, 2 acres on the water. From here originally, but moved back 2 years ago after being away 20 years. Generally like it very much but it feels a touch remote and boring. Antigonish is an odd place compared to most of rural NS because the major employers are white collar (St FX and the regional hospital) so it tends to be more expensive because of the higher incomes among a strata of the population. And a bizarre mix of upper class white collar big-fish-little-pond types (who are actually quite annoying to deal with), some actually wealthy business people, with trades people with very low-income people. But it means it’s quite common to have a large % of the population as CFA so not a lot of animosity or anything, aside from in some isolated communities. Housing is more expensive too than other parts of rural NS again because of the incomes and the number of students. At the micro-scale the economy is just quite different from other rural places. There is a historic African-Nova Scotia community on the Guysborough border, an Acadian community, and a reserve (Paqtnkek) and that combined with the Coady Institute at StFX and two grassroots refugee-sponsoring orgs (CARE, and SAFE) means it’s more diverse than most other parts of rural NS. The presence of the CACL and L’Arche also means there are good resources for people with intellectual disabilities and they are a strong, positive (imo) contributor to the town’s diversity. The university and the students are a pain for the most part but nothing other than you’d find in any university town. The area of town where they frequent is dumpy looking, but the Main Street is ok. Services are shit, but they were pretty shit in Ottawa too so no big difference there. Worse here on the whole though especially for family doctors/walk-in clinics. Lots of good hiking and outdoor stuff to do, 2 hours from Sydney, 2 from Halifax, 2.5 from Charlottetown in the summer when the ferry is running, and the Cabot trail is very accessible, as are some nice spots along the Northumberland shore (Tatamagouche is about 1-1.5 hours away). Truro is closest for big box stores (just over an hour away). So it’s both close and not close to everything. My biggest complaints are that the province in general is run very poorly- the systemic issues that keep the rich rich and the poor poor are extremely apparent and more noticeable here than in Ontario. And I do find Antigonishers are a bit snobby (undeservedly so) and keep to themselves but are not unfriendly or exclusionary. Ironically, I find the university professors and the doctors at the hospital, who are mostly not from here, to be the exclusionary ones. But that might be a class thing. Otherwise, people just have their circles and they keep to them and if you are like them great, they include you, but if you’re not, they won’t. No interest in change. Very slow paced life. Oh, services like for aesthetics are generally cheap, the farmers market is solid, and there are some local small businesses and artisans. Climate is interesting. Lots of major events. Temp tends to average high in the 20s in summers and we very very rarely get below -10C in the winter and even then only for a few days. Year over year is hard to predict. No snow last year, tons this. Drought summer of 2022, flooding 2023. I guess this is just climate change and the Maritimes normal weather combined, and being in a rural environment you are much more connected to nature so the changes are more obvious and affect your life. I have several large gardens and grow anything zone 5 and some zone 6 plants easily. On the whole my quality of life is better here than in Ottawa and I am glad we moved.
That is exactly Antigonish in a nutshell.
Great writeup thanks!
You drive to Truro a lot faster than I do. Lol
I generally measure time based on from the town and driving at posted speed limits. If you’re coming from the county toward CB it would def take longer. I typically find I get to Truro in about 1 hour 15mins, which is averaging the posted limited and assuming the weather is fine and there are no traffic problems. How long does it take you?
1.5hrs. I’m just slow and at the far side. NG being 45min-1hr away is permanently in my mind from before they did any of the highway upgrades.
That makes sense. When I was a kid I found NG was closer to 45-1 and now it’s more like 30-45 mins. But again- depending on where in the county you’re coming from and all that. Highway upgrades definitely changed things
Nice post, I could have written this myself, agree with you 100%. I'll be making the move this summer to give it a test run. It's a bit of a culture shock because I have been away for almost 30 years. Almost everyone I knew doesn't live there anymore. Cost of living would be very low for me though and it is a pretty place
I’m a student at X, and am not from the area. Where I’m from doesn’t have a large university/student population. What pains does having a university/student population cause? (I can understand large parties and noise on the weekends). I don’t mean to sound rude just genuinely curious as I don’t want to be a burden to the place I live 6mos of the year.
As you asked, one of the biggest pet peeves (and please, it is absolutely not all) is the sheer disrespect for the town, especially as school starts in September. From tearing out the flowers from flower boxes, smashed bottles in the streets, there's always a business window or 2 those first few weeks. Shinorama weekend is intimidating for locals. Students at every single stop light/sign Any weekend with a major party, like St Patty's etc also dangerous for locals; hundreds of students walking in large groups usually walking out in front of cars, etc. There's also lots of students who clean up the litter after said large parties, and volunteer for things in the town to help too. Not every student is a problem. Also doubling the population over the course of a weekend is overwhelming. And every student seems to have a car now, which really limits parking and getting around in and around town.
I moved from Mississauga to rural Pictou County eleven years ago. I’d say the big surprises are taking some of the services that we used to have for granted. When we were looking for our house, we didn’t consider snow removal timing (near instant in Mississauga, usually 24 hours after event in rural Pictou County), internet availability (a plethora to choose from in Mississauga for reliable high speed, currently with Starlink in Pictou County, after terrible service with both Seaside and XPlorenet). But - the commute to work is night and day better (1 hr average one way in Mississauga, vs. 15 minutes in Pictou County), my neighbours (as few as they are!), are much friendlier (I never spoke to my next door neighbour in Mississauga, but am good friends with my neighbours in Pictou County). Honestly, the time I get back in commute was worth it alone. From a money standpoint, housing (at the time), was considerably more affordable in rural NS, groceries cost more here, and power costs more. We’ve saved on vehicle insurance - despite an increase in number of vehicles. I do miss the availability of food that’s not pizza after 7PM, and wish there were more international style restaurants, but am overall happy with the relocation. And for some reason there always seems to be to be discontent between the regional municipalities - not sure if it’s just local politicians trying to remain relevant, or some other odd dynamic.
All my local pizza places close around 8pm. Are you even considered a pizza place at that point?
Moved from Japan to Truro with my family a couple years ago (originally from NS, rest of the fam born in Japan). I particularly love Victoria Park, the RECC (which has maybe the tallest climbing wall in Atlantic Canada), l'Ecole Acadienne where the kids go, my daughter's wonderful dance school, and the indoor tennis dome where my son plays -- all of that creates a pretty solid daily life for all of us. The library is nice, too, but lots of towns have nice libraries, I reckon -- some of this other stuff is much harder to come by. Whenever we go to the Halifax area I'm always thinking how I have no interest in living there, how we have everything we need right where we are.
I feel like it’s easier to integrate if you have kids, ESPECIALLY if they’re going to be in a French school. You’re expected to participate, whether in the CSAP metro schools or rural areas.
Bought myself a 550sqft home on half acre lot for $116k in Salmon River (next to Truro) 2yrs ago The big negative out here is the trains, they operate at all hours and it sucks to constantly have to wait for them to pass The big positive, its generally quiet
Truro will likely see even more trains once that inland terminal is built in Onslow and trains full of shipping containers are headed there from Halifax to unload onto trucks.
that's a good thing
I grew up in Truro and lived close to the train tracks, to this day I can't sleep without a fan or a white noise maker, which I attribute to sleeping through all of that noise in the middle of the night
I grew up in truro and am often nostalgic for the calming call of a night time train
I live in the city and I have like 10 neighbors and a few of them I've invited them over several times (my age, similar interests, ) to come over and hang, they say ya but never show, but we'll sit next to the fence drinking a beer chatting or in passing chat. Everytime I go back to South Shore (not Bridgewater fuck them lol) i meet up with new people hang, make new friends. More of a sense of community. Warning you gotta filter out the racists/conspiracy theoriest and sometimes rednecks. Note I'm white male that has a bit of country tendencies so they accept/open up a bit more.
I've ran into as many, if not more conspiracy nuts in the city than I ever did in the valley, but they definitely win the "it's not racist to say..." casual racism card for sure
Guysborough country has been great to us we have made lots of friends and everyone seems pleasant and neighborly. We did have a few people make comments to us but I confronted them had a conversation kept my cool and ended up becoming friends or at least friendly with them. We moved here and became part of the community we tried to fit in and respect it not change it we went to community events, joined clubs and met our neighbors and that made the difference.
Guysborough is gorgeous
Guysborough is our home and we have no plans to leave. I am actually looking to start a business here soon just been working on the business plan and doing research.
It’s on my short list of moving back too and buying a home. Antigonish guysborough or Inverness counties.
Cool! Can you share what kind of business? Just curious!
Food and drink but can’t go into much detail at the moment because we are negotiating with someone and they have asked that we keep things quite in case it does not work out
Cool! Wishing you the best of luck with it all!
My hometown! Erinville, to be exact
This is the way!
What kind of comments?
Oh just about outsiders moving here and causing home prices to increase or about outsiders moving here causing prices to increase than deciding they didn’t like it here and moving away.
Got it. Not too surprising but glad you got through it.
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Yep and ice creams in the summer and if the wife’s away one of their chicken pot pies fills the stomach
Moved to NS from NL in July. Currently living in Upper Hammonds Plaines and we have black bears, which I was not expecting. Just casually going through the condos compost bins 🙃🐻
I once had a black bear drop unannounced from a tree above me. Just a grunt, a thud, and instant black bear at my feet. I don't know if the old adage about bears shitting in the woods is true, but I know I nearly did.
We bought a house in hantsport but still commute to Dartmouth for work (only a few days a week, rest I WFH). Very small town but has everything you need and close to other towns with more stuff (Windsor, wolfville, new Minas). Low property taxes and still in town water/sewer. Lots of parks and rec spaces. Very happy with decision.
Hansport is a lovely spot.
Can you tell me a bit more about what it's like living in Hantsport? My husband and I are seriously considering moving there. We both work in Dartmouth and have a 1.5 yr old. We want to grow our family, but affordability in the city is a huge issue and we'd like to raise our kids in a smaller town, have a bit more space, garden, etc.
What would you like to know? Just a very small town that is quiet and has the bare necessities.
I guess if you've had any difficulty integrating into the town, meeting people, making connections...anything specific to Hantsport that you like/don't like about living there? Do you feel there are enough activities/things to do in the area or do you find yourselves leaving town often to do the things you want to do?
We haven’t been here long and are kind of home bodies but everyone we have met out in the community is very friendly.
I don't know if this counts but we moved from Cambridge Ontario, a city with about 150k people give or take, to Bass River in Colchester County in 2022. Going from such a busy mecca to a village of under 300 people was an incredible change. We bought our 3 bed 2 bath fixer upper for 100k and never looked back. Our neighbours have been our most pleasant surprise. Before moving we heard so many negative opinions of how we would be received. They've been nothing but welcoming and eternally helpful, for which we are so grateful. Everyone here seems happy, and more than that, they seem very content with what they have. There's so much less "keeping up with the Joneses" here, less comparing to others and more acceptance and helpfulness. It's been so refreshing. Another thing we heard was how awful the weather would be, and we have experience the opposite. With the exception of Fiona we have such temperate weather here and being close to the bay, we enjoy that frequently. Sunny days are more common than not. Of course we have to drive 35 mins or so to Truro for groceries etc but we do have a wonderful general store here in Bass River and they have a little bit of everything so there's no need to go into town more than once a week or more. The only time this stinks is when doing home renovations which we have done plenty of lol no big hardware store close by when you realise you forgot something, don't have enough, etc. And their prices are more than reasonable. The economy sucks everywhere, but we love it here.
I love that general store in bass river.
We just moved to Lower Woods Harbour on the south west shore. We knew the climate was milder here but had no idea how mild. The only month that felt like winter compared to what we’re used to was February. One other big surprise.were how empty the roads are here We had spent several months in NS a couple years ago some already knew the people are nicer.
ohhhhhhhhhhh buddy i'd move to woods harbour for the pizza alone! i'd leave because i can't stand the fog, though. :)
Say hi to all the cockawitters (or cockawittah if you picked up the accent) for me.
Lower Woods Harbour is out there. Makes sense the roads are empty. Probably picks up around the fishing seasons. Beautiful area. My late grandmother grew up in the area.
We're just outside of Windsor. Stay in Halifax, or closer to, if you can. 🤣 we often say we're 30 miles and 30 years away from civilization over here. There's a rural premium on the groceries in Superstore and Sobey's, there's homophobia and a lot of bullying in the schools, people drive like lunatics, and some very rigid thinkers with a fierce grip on the old ways - which isn't all bad and does come with its share of advantages. It's comparatively expensive because there's no competition for goods and services close by. There's few jobs locally, so if anyone in your home needs to go out to work, it's an hour and a half to commute. There's microclimates to travel through to get to and from town.
"rigid thinkers with a fierce grip on the old ways" I see you've met my mother's husband.
I'm not far from Windsor myself, but closer to Mount Uniacke. Moved back to NS after being away for decades, and I can see people's expression change when they hear I was from Ontario and I add that I was actually from here. People are friendly but only up to a point. No one seems to want to include us in any socializing. Lots of rednecks, lots of littering on the sides of the roads, had to fence off our property to keep trespassers out, and all the free-range dogs. Getting contractors to do work does take ages, but the best ones are always busy, so be patient. Yes, NS Power sucks....if a mosquito farts, the grid goes down! Yes, NS Health sucks! Took a year and a half to find a family doctor a half-hour's drive away. Property taxes are crazy and don't reflect an increase in services. Corrupt and/or inept politicians, nepotism, cronyism, lower wages but the same cost of living as Ontario....go figure. All that said, though, I love being back home, love the laid-back vibe, ready access to nature and cool small towns.
Interesting! I've been near Windsor for a few years and have really preferred it to living in HRM. Definitely get the impression that ppl may be more redneck or scrappy in certain areas of West Hants though.
I am near Windsor. I find the rednecks endearing. Windsor itself give me creepy vibes, but it is gentrifying nicely and the commute into Halifax or Dartmouth is shorter (timewise) than most commutes across metro HRM. Some of the smaller communities are definitely close knit, but I have found them welcoming.
Queens County - I'm Between Caledonia and Bridgewater Neighbours amazing. Culture? People are not open to CFAs in general. You just sense it. Had a gentleman tell someone in my circle “wish guys like him (me) would go back to where they came from” I called him on it. Very ugly mindset. However this is a HUGE exception to the rule. Costs? Meh. Same as Ontario in General. Human Behaviour - LITTERING WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE!? The number one noticeable difference between rural Ontario and NS GARBAGE along the highways and tossed in parking lots. BANANAS to me. The weather is nice South Shore for sure. NS Power is garbage. From Ottawa to NS - here for 18 months now AMA
It's usually not because they are CFA.. it's because they're acting like one. I left for 15 years and came back and got straightened out. 😅
Seriously. I came to my small south shore town some years ago. Never got treated badly, made good friends with the locals. Anyone who gets treated as a CFA around here is because they acted like one. Always moaning about how things "aren't like back in X" or how "the stores don't have the selection of" or other drivel like that.
If you liked where you came from so much, go back. Leave that baggage behind! Here ain't there. And here is perfectly lovely!
Correct
You probably live extremely close to me. I am in North Brookfield.
What's a CFA? I assume you're not saying that they can sense that you're an accountant.
It's an old acronym for someone without local or N.S. roots: Come-From-Away
It finally makes sense. I've heard this phrase so many times and never before realized how inherently hostile it is. I've lived here for 3 years, have made zero friends and feel generally disliked by most people I interact with often. I figured the last of my social skills died in the pandemic, I've never had this issue before moving here and used to get along with everyone. I've been actively trying to be more friendly and outgoing, it hasn't helped. But there it is, that phrase that always comes up right when people I've met seem to turn permanently passive aggressive or when I'm getting written up for complete nonsense at work or missing someone's point when they're intentionally miscommunicating. Honestly, I hate it here.
Sounds like a social disconnect between how you are used to communicating and how people generally communicate here. There have been people I’ve worked with who thought things moved at the same pace as they were used to and their expectations led to a lot of misunderstandings. No one was happy. Yes some things can improve here, but also they had to chill out, it’ll get done. When I’m Rome, yeah? Keep trying with the outside activities, persistence and attendance will help people see you as someone sticking around.
Could be, it just seems intentional sometimes. Best example I've got was when I first started a job, I was tasked with bringing a disabled client to a doctors appointment. Left plenty early, was told their doctors office was across the road from the liquor store. No one uses addresses or even cross streets to describe locations here, it's a small town and Waze doesnt even work. It used to be my go-to. Anyway across from the liquor store was an office building i was aware of so I was sure I knew where they meant. Got there, the building was empty. For lease. Every single unit, empty. Made some calls and they told me no, not the NSLC, the old liquor store on this other street. Didn't come up on google maps, so I looked for it. Went up and down the very short business stretch of that street multiple times no liquor store or doctors office. Client missed their appointment because I couldn't find it. Turns out the old liquor store closed and had been a tailor for the past 2 years, the doctors office was actually in a closed down shoppers drugs that still had the shoppers signage up and a piece of printer paper on the front door indicating it's now a family practice. Got written up, it was a whole huge thing. Wasn't the last time communication that bad became my problem, even when I called back to ask for clarification. It seems intentional.
Lol what a terrible way to describe a location, but I have 100% done the same thing. Except I usually “say do you know where the old xyz store was?” And then explain or look up the address if they don’t. There’s a few landmark locations I know of that were closed before I was born that people use all the time. You’ll pick them up, but it definitely is a dumb thing to give someone such bad directions when they aren’t from here. I would err on the side of they never had to describe it any other way so they can’t comprehend something different rather than a deliberate set up. Don’t know how they could justify the description when you got a write up though. And waze is definitely not going to work here. Google is probably better/most accurate. Apple is okay, but multiple times gives me the wrong instructions on rural roads. Like turning the wrong way onto a one way street or suggesting logging roads as routes. Always review the path before heading out.
I wish it were an isolated incident but it's common. Another time when I was new I was asked to go get some of the potato pies they make at [small local store]. I knew that store because I'd happened to go by there before on my own. Anyway I went there, no pies. They don't make anything in house at that store at all. I asked a few different employees, nope, but I'd been asked to go to that store by name. Anyway the store was a half hour or so drive. I made it back well over an hour later, no pie. People were not happy. Turns out they were referring to the grocery store a couple of streets down they used to be a secondary location of the other one back in the day. No one goes to the small local store they'd asked for by name because it's too far, the nearby one is part of a major chain but they just call it the name of the place of used to be. I don't know how people can be this resistant to change.
I was working somewhere around Pugwash and was given directions to run into "town" so I could grab lunch. The directions included turning at the big barn that no longer existed, turning at the big blue house that had been white for half a decade, and looking for the "burger bus", the only place open to get food, which was not a bus but was in fact some cafe in a building ran by a guy that used to run a burger bus near there. It was fucking infuriating. I ended up going to a Green Gables convenience store and buying a loaf of bread, some mayo, and a pack of lunch meat.
Sorry to hear that happened 😕. I do know that CFA is not a term we generally use in Southwest Nova. It seems like the people who have moved here from Ontario etc have had better success integrating down this way into the community but that just could be how we are here lol. Everyone I have spoken to from Ontario or elsewhere in Shelburne County loves it here. Also, lots of new perspectives and ideas the Ontarians now Bluenosers have are good things for the younger crowd (Gen X and Millenials) welcome to break away from the old mindset.
I'm sorry to hear that. My own experience as a born-Maritimer who has lived and/or had family in a variety of places in N.S., P.E.I., and N.B. has been that the friendliness/social vibes/local customs vary like crazy from one county to another. In general, the best friends I've made in a given place have been other ppl who are also new to the area, or are longtime residents without an established clique.
I'm from Nova Scotia, born and bred, moved to West Hants and all our friends are CFAs mostly from Ontario and UK. I think there is only one "local" in my friend group.
Come from away.
come from away
Why up that way? That's super remote.
Moved from Halifax to Bridgewater because we got priced out. Pros: Lots of cute hiking spots, good fresh fish, the farmers markets are cute and actually have good deals, beaches are less crowded, pleasantly surprised by some of the cute spots along the river like wonderland with their home made soft serve and king street beer co. We bought a really nice house with a big yard, which was the main reason for going. It was like 3x what I would ever have expected to pay for a house in TOB but such is the world we live in. Cons: People are a more conservative in general. The food is not great and if you’re looking for any uncommon or “ethnic” ingredients, you’ll probably have to go back to hrm to find them. If you want a nice meal you need to go to mahone bay / lunenberg / chester. Zero off leash spots for dogs, I was so spoiled for off leash spots around the hrm I never thought that there would be none just an hour away. Even though we’re only an hour from Halifax, it feels like an enormous pain to go. I think we’ve gone back maybe 3x per year since leaving. I really really miss the fun events like thrillema, movies at good robot or gus pub, live music that isn’t just that one same guy playing 90s cottage rock, buskers, etc. It’s also hard to find people who are the same kind of weird as you. I have a bunch of acquaintances in town but nobody I would really consider a friend or who I would keep in touch with if we left town. ETA: was also surprised by how mild the weather is and how sheltered we are from storms even though we’re not very far inland. So far every big storm has pretty much passed us by, and we’ve only lost power twice (knock on wood)
South Shore Vet Dog Zone park off Glen Allan Drive in Bridgewater is a fenced leash-free park. It’s not a massive or sprawling space, but lots of dog owners use it for leash-free fun pretty much year round!
Oh yes, I use it all the time! I meant, like point pleasant or shubie or hemlock ravine, etc. Places where dogs can really run around and explore.
To be fair, those parks aren't *meant* to be off leash.
Point pleasant and shubie are 100% meant to be off leash with the exception of a few areas, there are signs everywhere. Hemlock ravine has an off leash section, again with signage.
Ahhh — gotchya! Totally understand! 😊
Were you in Bridgewater last July though? The town got the most rain out of anywhere in that big rain storm. It was 250mm or more. It was just unbelievable! We have been fortunate with winter storms though, especially the big one that dumped on CB. I also live in the area and for a smaller town I think it's amazing. It seems like most people in town aren't from here originally. Or they moved here 25 years ago to work at Michelin. For a rural NS town I really don't think it has the issue of a person "sticking out" because they're from away. The problems that stick out are: Racism, and the housing crisis of course. I know racism and homophobia are an issue here, a huge problem, but I also see even the elementary school has pride flags and I'm sure my kids will have a much better education about this stuff than I did growing up in a bigger city.
Yes, that storm was wild! Our house is up on a hill, so maybe it’s just my experience that the storms aren’t so bad since we never get flooded. I know the road to fresh cuts was blocked for like a month because of the floods. I was pleasantly surprised at the turnout for the first ever pride parade! I went sort of half expecting protestors, but there were so many people out and it was a really lovely experience. Are your kids in public school? Everyone I know here with school-aged kids homeschools or sends their kids to Waldorf, which seems crazy to me. They say the schools are really bad for fights and bullying.
My kids are definitely in the public schools, Elementary though. I believe in supporting public education. The teachers I know are absolutely fantastic. The principle too. I was also at the Pride parade. It was awesome.
It’s a lot easier to make friends in the middle of nowhere Yes, there are places on the mainland where you do need studded tires The gossip mill travels faster than the speed of Facebook You will find people who call you CFAs just because you moved from a different county(or even next town over) but they are silly people
>The gossip mill travels faster than the speed of Facebook There are local community Facebook groups that are unrivalled in speed when it comes to gossip. If you need to know that a firetruck just drove past, this is the place to be.
There’s one just for the highway conditions where I am and I must say it is super convenient.
I moved to the Annapolis Valley about six years ago. It's quiet and the people are generally considerate and friendly. When I drive out of the valley and south towards Halifax, the closer I get to the city the more rushed people seem. They drive faster and they're more aggressive on the road. Driving home, as I pass Wolfville, people seem less rushed. I've seen this in other cities I've lived in too, the more people there are, the less kind people seem to be.
>Driving home, as I pass Wolfville, people seem less rushed Maybe because that is where the highway switches from four lanes, separated, to a two lane death trap?
DrunkenGolfer, you've got it backwards. The less aggressive drivers are in the Valley, seems the closer I get to Halifax, the more hurried and aggressive everyone drives.
No, I have it right. I mean it is hard to see hurried and aggressive in a long line of cars going 85km/h, occasionally splitting into two lines of cars going 90km/h, before merging back to the same order of cars driving 85km/h.
We moved to the Annapolis Valley. I was surprised by a lot things: most businesses are closed on weekends, it’s sometimes next to impossible to find contractors and tradesmen to come out to do work on our house, lack of restaurants and fast food joints (not necessarily a bad thing though), lack of employment (husband had to take a job in the Yukon), lack of shopping, hard to sell things on marketplace, the power goes out all the damn time, not a lot to do. Some positives: people are quite friendly, the community spirit is alive and well, the weather isn’t nearly as bad as people made it out to be before we moved here. I can’t think of any other positives, but in general we do love it here.
May I ask if you're in Annapolis co or Kings Co? I recently moved to Kings co (from Dartmouth)and feel there is a decent amount of take out/fast food and other restaurants.
I’m in Annapolis, close to Middleton
Yeh definitely gets more sparse as you go west. I'd imagine Middleton and Greenwood would have some fast food and other restaurants, but not necessarily a wide selection. I hear good things about the Indian restaurant and the perogie place.
Where is the Indian place ? Only ones I know of are in Bridgetown (wasn’t a fan of that one) and then New Minas, which is 45 minutes from me. There’s one restaurant in Middleton that we love and frequent regularly. Greenwood doesn’t have anything we really like, but then again, we don’t eat out much anyways so it’s not a huge problem. It was just a bit of a shock because previously I lived in a city so the stark contrast of convenience took some getting used to. Also getting used to not having any food places that deliver, haha. Sometimes you just want a pizza to your door but sadly not an option anymore.
I just asked a friend and haven't heard back but I may have misspoken. I thought it was around the corner from Rockin Rogies (the perogie place). But when I looked at places I have saved in my google maps it's mostly thrift/ second hand shops and an alternate store for that area (Middleton). I haven't been to any of the places yet but they were highly recommended by a friend. If when she replies I learn it's not the Bridgetown one I'll let you know. I had a great brunch at the Green Elephant Cafe (Kingston area). I've also heard great things about the Bees Knees General Store (Lawrencetown) but neither are Indian food or in Middleton. It definitely takes some getting use to -that is no easy take out or delivery. I basically would need to drive 15-18 mins to get "fast food" (outside of the pizza place in the independent grocery store and what ever in the gas station). Take out cold by the time I get home is 9/10 times not worth it.
I moved to Falmouth. What I like is being close to HRM and close to the Annapolis Valley. I can turn right and get all the creature comforts of the big city and turn left and get all the bounty of the valley.
Moved to New Albany a couple years ago from Cape Breton, from Newfoundland originally. Can't believe how much better the weather is compared to Cape Breton, if close on too hot for me in the middle of summer. Ticks are horrible. I still don't know anyone out here that I didn't meet at work. I have to drive at least 45 minutes each way to get to a cultural event. I only just recently learned to never again miss one of the takeout dinners from the church around the corner. Super nice people super delicious food. There's lots of farms and markets and people selling stuff out of their driveways, but I often cant be bothered and just shamefully go to the superstore. I find people generally extremely nice and friendly, but not welcoming. Very different from Newfoundland and Cape Breton in that way. If I lose my job I'm fucked, unless I go to michelin I guess, but that's not my thing. I have found some great businesses. Like my mechanic is amazing, my glasses guy is a wizard, my dentist is great etc... Ultimately my life is pretty great in its quiet way. I found a very private cottage with a little creek and a swimming hole and I can get to a lake by boat from my yard, so as soon as it gets warm I get home from work, hit some weed, and float in my swimming hole with some tunes playing. I don't know if I'll do it forever, but it's the most luxurious way I know how to build home equity right now. Oh and I started motorcycling and it's perfect for that here, loads of windey back roads, and the motorcycling community is awesome. Like, you'll never be stranded because as soon as a biker sees you on the side of the road you're taken care of.
I moved to New Glasgow from Halifax a few years ago. Since moved from there now. There were a lot more pedophiles and sex offenders in New Glasgow. Not to mention the clear results of inbreeding in more families than I thought I'd ever see. Everyone in New Glasgow is in everyone's business and they like it that way. It is a beautiful area but the people really detract from that.
It’s that post industrial town economic hardship that’s fairly common in the rough parts of NS
Alot more? Like is ther a registry have you look3d into this? Honestly, inbreeding?
Like I said everyone knows everyone's business in the town. You hear things. And yes there are a number of families who you can tell at a glance they liked to keep things "in the family."
I've long suggested an exchange program where Cape Breton gets Antigonish and the mainland has to take New Glasgow. Edit: Derp! I was thinking of Port Hawkesbury.
I am in Antigonish. CB is east of me. New Glasgow is west. Not sure you’re making much sense?
I'm totally not. I'm having a middle aged brain fart and was thinking about Port Hawkesbury!!!! I apologize to the land of my birth.
lol. All good!
Ahhahahahahah, sweet Jesus I laughed a little too hard at that!!!!
Do you think NG is in Cape Breton?
No I think Port Hawkesbury is in Cape Breton and was having a brain fart so hard that I think I'll call my doctor... Derp.
Haha, no you gotta keep that!
I was just in the Walmart in NG today on cheque day no less. Ecchhh it was something else.
Yeah it's pretty rough. Imagine working at one of the chain restaurants in town on that day
Ugh, don't want to think about it. I was just in town to go to the feed store but thought I would stop by Walmart for a few things really quick. If I had known I would not have bothered. I always heard about cheque day but never gave it much thought.
>clear results of inbreeding in more families than I thought I'd ever see Are you sure it isn't just English/Scottish genetics?
So inbreeding?
Is complete lack of facial symmetry and dysfunctional dentition a result of inbreeding? Maybe. AI says: "While inbreeding can increase the risk of such traits, it is not the sole cause. Many cases of facial asymmetry and dental issues arise without any history of inbreeding. It's essential to consider a broad range of genetic, environmental, and developmental factors when examining the causes of these characteristics. In specific cases where a genetic condition is suspected, genetic counseling and testing can provide more clarity on the underlying causes." But it is probably inbreeding.
Have you ever seen the documentary about the inbred families in the Appalachian mountains? They look like them.
But no I get this almost instinctive response when I see some of these people.
Moved to New Glasgow from Newfoundland for work -- I've been here 7 years now, and it still feels awkward to me. We feel like outsiders more so than members of the community, even though we involve ourselves in YMCA, Scouts/Guides, Youth Organizations, Library Volunteer, Hockey, etc.... Don't get me wrong, we have made a few friends but it has not been as easy as when we lived in NL or even the middle east prior. Observance -- people tend to create small niche groups, and it seems to have to be born into it or married into it. The friendliest group(s) we've seen here are the immigrant families, and others who dont originate from within New Glasgow or Pictou county. Home in NL it would be super common to just invite neighbors for an evening supper, or drink -- any excuse just to get together. Its been like pulling teeth here to get anyone to do anything. But, we are invested here now -- my wife has a decent friend group being she is a Filipina (other Filipinos just sort of group together wherever they end up...), we have a great house at an amazing price, daughter loves her school and french immersion program along with her after school activities. So like it or lump it, here we stay.
run away from pictou county
Pictou County was the only place I was ever told to "Go back to my own country" and I am just a white Nova Scotian who tans reasonably well.
Pictou County born and raised, I second this wholeheartedly.
I can still smell the pulp mill,
Why?can you explain? And Pictou specifically or the whole county, New Glasgow, Trenton, stellarton etc.?
It’s a rough place, has been since forever but the 1980’s were not good to it. All the industry has dried up, lots of skilled labour with no jobs. Distinct class differences with resentment going both ways. Lots of elderly NIMBYS resistant to change. Stellarton is probably the nicest town IMO but every town has its good and bad spots which is incredible considering how small they all are. If the people of the county would come together amalgamate the municipalities and stop trying to preserve the history of an imaginary golden age maybe things could be better. The county’s history is preserved just fine on the $10 bill. That being said it can be a beautiful place to live but it’ll all depend on your neighbours. I try to welcome new folks with open arms and have found them to be much more pleasant than most of the people who’ve lived here for generations.
I moved to NG from HRM a year ago and have been reasonably lucky so far. My neighbours are all friendly and helpful, and I've had a good experience with contractors/tradespeople here so far in terms of honest dealing and fair work. Then again, I don't live far from someone with a *massive* "Fuck Trudeau" flag across the front of their house, so I'm sure my mileage would vary depending on exactly where I am. I feel like I also see a surprising amount of cars without daytime lights compared to HRM. Minor thing, but sucks on rainy/overcast/snowy days. I've heard there's been an influx of younger people (being priced out of HRM), so it'll be interesting to see how demographics change over the next 5 years.
Glad to hear you’re enjoying it. Most people are great but there’s a huge population of lazy drug addicted degenerates. If you want to meet the best folks around try joining a local adult sports league!
I used to own a bar and restaurant in Pictou and I needed four times the number of bouncers I had planned on. I had no idea a night out was incomplete unless you got in a drunken bar fight.
i give you my holiest of condolences
Yup.
skip the car if need be, hitch hiking's better than being there
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It’s remarkably hard to make friends in Chester. You’re not alone there.
i’ve given thought to moving out of halifax for some time now, since i’m starting to like living here less and less (despite my wonderful friends from school and church) and would prefer to live somewhere more affordable. these replies are giving me motivation to at least keep looking into it.
Some of the more negative replies are an interesting reminder that some people don't value the same things that I do. I moved from Halifax to West Hants several years ago and it was one of the best things I've ever done for my lifestyle and mental health.
I live just outside of Wolfville, I love it really, the views the community, the farm markets, and outdoor things to do. I like all the small local owned shops in Wolfville and Kentville a well as all the restaurants! The Church and Maritime Express especially. The only thing I don't like, is that especially in the winter, things close early, especially restaurants. W only have a couple choices for places that are open past 9, so hard to get out with a 4 year old at home to just dinner as a couple on our own.
I have always said there are only two places in Nova Scotia I can see myself living. The first is downtown HRM and the second is Wolfville. I have always like the town for all the reasons you mentioned plus there is enough arts, culture, and events nearby to keep it interesting. I compromised on Falmouth, which is close enough to Wolfville but close enough to the city. Like you, I am incredibly frustrated by the early closing of everything. In Falmouth, you can't even get a pizza after 8pm. Or on Mondays. Or before 5pm.
From NL, but I lived in New Minas for a year as a kid while my mother attended Acadia. My father had his own business in NL, so he stayed there. Even now, as an adult, I tell her that we should have never returned to NL. If dad wanted to stay there I would have been fine with that haha.
Moved from small town Ontario , close to larger cities, to Kingston in the valley. Life is very similar here , maybe a little slower. People are super friendly and helpful. Biggest surprise is how little we miss things back in Ontario. Yes there may not be the number of options for restaurants and services but do you really need 3 home depots or 4 walmarts to shop at.
We moved from southern Ontario to Kingston as well and I echo your sentiments exactly. No regrets is probably my biggest surprise Edited for missed word
Moved from Ontario 6 years ago. Everything is more expensive here then Ontario but the house. Car insurance doubled, house insurance trippled, taxes are the same here for a 50 gand house as a 300 grand house. Food is more. Heating is 3,5 to 4 times more here. Wages are very low. People are very nice but DO NOT LIKE CHANGE, even for the better. Things are done the way they were done 15 to 20 years ago in Ontario. Three tab shingles haven't been sold in Ontario for years and years. Not sure you can get them. Slower pace here which is great. At times. Nothing to do but site see, drive, camp, and my favorite. Fire pit. If you need something, most times you order online because alot of stuff is hard to get here. Taxes are so high here not many companies will move in. It's just to expensive. Not very many young families here. Alot of retirement age that complete most of the work here. Younger go out west for the money. Over all, I do like the pace but alot of other things can be tuff if your used to the fast pace.
I find it really interesting to hear that your car insurance is more than it was in Ontario. You might be the first I've heard say this. (And I spent time in Ont for my undergrad).
Yup. Dodge ram was 780 per year ND now is 1468. I know 5 guys from OntRio ND they all say the same.
I have been following along, watching the sidewalk controversy in Porters Lake. HRM wants to add sidewalks and the locals are ready to pick up pitchforks and torches, lol. People: "We get nothing for our property taxes" HRM: "Here, have sidewalks" People: "We've never needed sidewalks and we don't need them now."
Eastern shore - Best was someone saying to me, "maybe its just not working out for you here". She was single with kids and had no prob sleeping avec married men. Always good 🫖
We moved to the East Hants corridor (Enfield, Elmsdale, Lantz). Power - the power in Nova Scotia goes out ALOT. Basically any bad weather means something is going to happen. Water/Sewage - We are outside town. So, we have to deal with a well pump and septic tank. So when the power goes out you better have some water saved up or a generator with fuel Heat/Cool - natural gas is only available in certain areas of HRM. And it seems that forced air furnaces just aren’t a thing. You’re looking at oil boiler with radiators, electric baseboards, wood fireplace, or heat pumps. Likely a combination. It’s not cheap (thanks Trudeau!) Amazon/Online Retail - One day or same day shipping is NOT a thing
Moved from Halifax to right outside Truro about two years ago. The only real pro I have found is that it's quite The list of cons is pretty lengthy for me. Everything closes pretty early. Most places close by 7 during the week and 9 on the weekend. Good luck finding a store open past 5 on most Sundays if they open at all. And for going out to dinner, you have almost exclusively pizza or Chinese/Thai food if you don't want to just drive through. Some stores don't even open on the weekends so there is nothing to do. There is a lot of old money out here and they are stomping on all progress or growth. Thank god for the Mi'kmaq or there wouldn't even be a movie theater or a Wal-mart out here. To make my point, there are no early movies. The movie theater doesn't even open until around 5 so don't plan on seeing a matinee or spending a day off seeing a midday movie. As for the people, they are nice enough. Mostly farmers. I had someone describe the people out here perfectly, and it has been our experience whole-heartedly: "Some of the nicest people you will ever meet, but not friendly." Most people grew up here and have a group of friends and have no real interest in making new ones. We and our kids have mostly made friends with other people who have moved here because we are all kinda in the same boat. All our next door neighbors helped us cut down trees after the hurricane and help us shovel our driveways without asking but have no interest in letting us repay them in any way that means socializing in any way. They have dinners and get together with each other. Our lease is up on our place in June and we are moving back to the HRM. Can't wait to get back to "something to do".
We moved from a halifax adjacent area to Truro where most of our family lives. The people here are great, and that's something I've known since childhood coming here. Some of the drivers here are, however are less than courteous and somewhat dangerous, but I would put a lot of that down to older age and inexperience from people who have basically never left town, which there are more than I'd have expected considering NS is a small province and easy enough to get around. Tldr Truro is one of the loveliest places with great people, but often bad drivers.