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What can you tell me about Halifax Nova Scotia?  

post #1 of 21
10/19/08 at 12:08am
Thread Starter 
We may be transferred there and I know NOTHING other than it's north of Maine (and I assume COLD). We live outside New York City now. We're being flown up in a couple of weeks to tour the area, but could anyone give me some insight so I know what to expect?
post #2 of 21
10/19/08 at 10:23am
What do you want to know?

It's probably not much colder than NY.

It's a small city, pretty area, lots of ammenities, friendly people.
post #3 of 21
10/19/08 at 12:32pm
Thread Starter 
Ms - if you're there, I"m up there in a heartbeat! You always have such great advice.

I don't even know what to expect. Not much colder than NY? Isn't it farther north? Or because of the ocean is it warmer? Do you have a long growing season? I"ve just gotten into growing veggies in a serious way (canning and such) and would hate to not be able to do that. Are there cardiologists? Good health centers that take private insurance? What are the schools like? What are the major industries?

I LITERALLY don't know anything - I feel like a foreigner coming to a foreign land, in the very literal sense.
post #4 of 21
10/20/08 at 7:21pm
I have lived in Halifax before so I will try and answer. Of course there are cardiologists- Halifax in the major medical centre for the Maritimes. I am sure that there are places that accept private insurance but usually you go to the hospital. The growing season is shorter in NS. It is shorter by about a couple of weeks on either side. My DH is from Halifax and he says that it is usually warmer in winter than NY because of the ocean. Let me know if you need any other info.
post #5 of 21
10/20/08 at 8:19pm
I currently live a few hours away from Halifax but lived there for 5 years and love love loved it. It is a fun, small, and vibrant city. There really aren't many private health services, I guess it depends what you are looking for. I'd be glad to help you answer any questions.
post #6 of 21
10/21/08 at 1:15am
I live in the maritimes and have been to halifax many times. I'll try to answer your questions. Halifax has some of the best cardiologists in the maritimes because it is the major medical center in Atlantic canada. They train most of the doctors that come from the maritimes there. And they train most of the doctor's that come from there at the dalhouise university hospital. You usually will not need private health insurance because we all have Medicare in which is public and doesn't need to be paid for in a monthly payment. It gets paid for with our tax dollars. But we do offer blue cross to cover some uninsured medical stuff. Its fairly warm in the winter due to the ocean currents and fairly mild. We have an ok growing period here. Long enough that you would be able to grow your veggies and can them for sure. Schools here are fairly good it depends on the area though but for the most part they offer great education. Our major industry is Fishing but they are also opening up an offshore drilling rig for natural gas and oil that is supposed to bring alot of work. I hope that helps you and answers some questions.
post #7 of 21
10/21/08 at 8:29am
Yup Halifax is where my cousin who has down syndrome had to go for open heart surgery as a baby. She lives in New Brunswick. My Grandfather went there too for some heart surgery.

Though I only went there myself as a tourist when I was 6 or 7 so I don't remember much.

And Halifax is really more east of Southern Maine than North.
http://www.silvio-co.com/pigeons/LE_...ritime_Map.jpg
post #8 of 21
10/27/08 at 10:31pm
I grew up in Halifax and miss it very much. You may find it a bit colder in the winters and I think more snow than NY but it depends on the year, sometimes there's a lot, last year it seemed they barely got any. The schools, as someone else said, vary from area to area but most are pretty good. There are a lot of Universities, 3 of them in the city, and tons of colleges which makes for a fairly young city a lot of the time. In the summer it's very touristy, lots of interesting stuff on the street, stuff happening all the time. I recommend going for fries at Bud the Spud on Spring Garden in front of the library. It's a harbour town with lots of beautiful parks and trees. (Can you tell I miss it a lot?) The bus system is pretty decent. They recently added a whole lot of new routes and are really putting some money into improving it and I noticed a great difference the last time I was visiting. Is there anything else in particular you want to know about? I hope you enjoy it
post #9 of 21
10/28/08 at 1:42pm
There are lots of wonderful things about Halifax and some of the others have done a good job explaining those. I'll try to explain some of the things I didn't like about it when I lived there:

1) If you're not from there, you'll never fully be accepted. They will be friendly, but people who are from there will be given priority for jobs and generally be more accepted.

2) The rain drove me nuts! Too much of it, too often.

3) There isn't as much in terms of recreation as there is in other major cities. Hard to find swimming pools, sports leagues, etc other than at the university. Not sure if that has changed in the last 10 years, but it was a big problem when I lived there.
post #10 of 21
10/28/08 at 2:39pm
I'm not from Halifax, I moved here in high school. I would say that I'm fully accepted. Halifax is too full of people from away. I certainly have never found people from Halifax to be given preference for jobs or be more accepted. Annie noah, were you here for university maybe? I will say that I do sometimes see a little bit of resentment towards university students.

There are a number of pools and rec facilities around, check out the rec department's website. In downtown halifax, facilities are mostly at the universities, but throughout the rest of the city you'll find the rec department does a decent job of supplying pools and activities.

The rain--okay, well, yes, it is raining today, and it did rain yesterday. But no, it's not that cold, really, compared to New York or Maine. You can find historical weather data for Halifax here.

Insurance totally works differently here than the US. Some of the others have tried to explain that already. All hospitals will take your private insurance, they can't not take it, but your private insurance isn't really meant to cover basic medical care--that sort of stuff is covered by the provincial health plan (MSI) so doesn't cost (well, except as taxes). If you're being transferred here, I assume you'd be eligible (more info on their website about eligibility etc. here). My private insurance, through my employer, includes a drug plan for prescriptions, dental care, vision, and extended medical (for example, it will cover visits to chiropractors, massage therapists, physio, things like that), but doctor's visits etc are all covered by MSI, the provincial plan. So, for example, a visit to emergency with my DS cost me nothing. My visit to the doctor last week cost me nothing, but the prescription she gave me is covered by my private insurance.

I know people who do lots of growing and canning, so I don't think that would be a problem for you!
post #11 of 21
10/28/08 at 4:51pm
Just keep talking, while I sit here and count down the days until our airplane lands....

28 to go!

Halifax here we come : and maybe a little : for the west coast kid
post #12 of 21
10/29/08 at 5:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hesperia View Post
Just keep talking, while I sit here and count down the days until our airplane lands....

28 to go!

Halifax here we come : and maybe a little : for the west coast kid
Hesperia, you're moving to Halifax too! Wow, that's great. I'm jealous! I hope you really enjoy it.:
post #13 of 21
11/3/08 at 4:16pm
Here’s a good website with info about many of the things you asked.

To follow up on what someone else said – while fishing is still an important part of the economy in rural parts of the province, Halifax’s major industries these days are the oil and gas sector, health care, and the knowledge economy. There’s also a very strong arts and cultural sector, with lots of TV and films shot here. Plus, there are seven universities here (I work at one), so there are a lot of students and academics around.
post #14 of 21
11/5/08 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by annie_noah View Post
1) If you're not from there, you'll never fully be accepted. They will be friendly, but people who are from there will be given priority for jobs and generally be more accepted.
This. It may be different if you move there in high school, but when you relocate as an adult, you will forever be a "come from away" and referred to as such as often as possible. I am originally from Ontario, went to university in NS outside of the city, and then moved to Halifax after graduation for a job. My boss continuously, without fail, introduced me to people (coworkers, clients, etc.) as "This is Angela, she is from Ontario." Or would say to people "our department is really great, everyone is from here. Except for Angela." And it wasn't just him, he is just the most extreme example.

I think Halifax is a great place to visit. It is fun a vibrant. But I have to say I didn't really enjoy living there. I lived and worked downtown, and I found it to be dirty and smelly a lot of the time (partially from the harbour, partially from the garbage in the streets). Traffic is a nightmare if you live a little further out. When I was living there (2004 - 2005) there was a major problem with swarmings so I didn't feel safe walking around my own neighbourhood.

But this is just my opinion. People seem to have a more love/hate relationship with Halifax than with any other Canadian city. I have friends that still live there and love it, and others who moved away as soon as they had the chance.

Personally, I would gladly move back to NS, just not to Halifax. It wasn't my cup of tea.
post #15 of 21
11/5/08 at 4:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by just_lily View Post
People seem to have a more love/hate relationship with Halifax than with any other Canadian city.
That and Toronto!!!
post #16 of 21
11/6/08 at 6:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by just_lily View Post
This. It may be different if you move there in high school, but when you relocate as an adult, you will forever be a "come from away" and referred to as such as often as possible. I am originally from Ontario, went to university in NS outside of the city, and then moved to Halifax after graduation for a job. My boss continuously, without fail, introduced me to people (coworkers, clients, etc.) as "This is Angela, she is from Ontario." Or would say to people "our department is really great, everyone is from here. Except for Angela." And it wasn't just him, he is just the most extreme example.

I think Halifax is a great place to visit. It is fun a vibrant. But I have to say I didn't really enjoy living there. I lived and worked downtown, and I found it to be dirty and smelly a lot of the time (partially from the harbour, partially from the garbage in the streets). Traffic is a nightmare if you live a little further out. When I was living there (2004 - 2005) there was a major problem with swarmings so I didn't feel safe walking around my own neighbourhood.

But this is just my opinion. People seem to have a more love/hate relationship with Halifax than with any other Canadian city. I have friends that still live there and love it, and others who moved away as soon as they had the chance.

Personally, I would gladly move back to NS, just not to Halifax. It wasn't my cup of tea.
About the Harbour--they've finally done something about cleaning it up. In fact, they even allowed swimming at Black Rock beach in Point Pleasant Park this summer. Not that I've tested the waters myself--the sewage treatment plant's not even been up and running for a year yet!
post #17 of 21
11/11/08 at 6:33pm
Welcome to Nova Scotia!
I am a transplanted West coaster (from BC), and I used to live in NYC. Halifax is a nice, small city, but I completely agree that if you're not from here, you'll never really fit in. Not that the people won't accept you, exactly, but that there are all sorts of Maritime attitudes, customs, beliefs, etc. that won't seem natural to you unless you're from here. Like, pregnant women smoking--heck, everyone smoking! And reverse snobbery--as in, beer drinkers looking down on wine drinkers, etc. There is a dearth of "high culture", and a lot of people here are really unhealthy--heavy, unfit, junk-eating, smoking, drinkers. Not a lot of support for public breastfeeding, either. Or cycling. Or very good restaurants.

In contrast to what previous posters have said, the main industry in Halifax is the Navy, not fishing.

Pros include the relatively low cost of housing, but everything else costs more. And there isn't a lot of public recreation access, IMHO.

Would I live here if not for DH's job? Probably not. But it's not bad for now. My neighbours are awesome, our neighborhood is fantastic, and we have a nice heritage house we could never have afforded out West.

Andrea in Halifax (well, Dartmouth technically,) with DDS I. (06) and A. (08)
post #18 of 21
11/11/08 at 6:47pm
It's interesting to read the different viewpoints on this thread. Because I've never felt "come from away", but maybe that's cause I moved here as a kid, not an adult. Maybe that was young enough to soak up the customs, beliefs, etc.

I love it here. I've lived in a variety of places, although not anywhere else in Canada, and this is where I would chose to stay. It's big enough for me, without being too big. I've got a group of like-minded friends here, fairly crunchy, breastfeeding, MDC types, and a great job (children's librarian at the public library--we have a great public library system here--if anyone has any questions, just ask me, I can go on for hours!).

Honestly, being transferred to Halifax wouldn't be that bad. I'm sure there are much worse places you could get transferred to. If you end up in Halifax, and you're looking for a fairly crunchy playgroup, I can put you in touch with one of those too!
post #19 of 21
11/12/08 at 4:51pm
I have never heard of the anti-breastfeeding in the maritimes ever, in fact till I moved back to the maritimes I had never heard so much pro breastfeeding in my life. As for the navy being one of the main industries in Halifax that may be true but fishing is also one of the main industries. There is more than one income making industries in Nova Scotia and Halifax, all though I can't speak for everything because I don't actually live in Halifax.
post #20 of 21
11/12/08 at 9:38pm
I think fishing is more a major industry in the rest of the province, rather than in Halifax. Big industries in Halifax also include call centres--there seem to be a ton of those throughout the maritimes, for some reason, and there's quite a bit of bioscience going on, although that's maybe not that stable (DH got laid off from a bioscience company a couple of years back, and they've laid off more since). Also, government--provincial and federal, quite a lot of people here working for government organisations. Oh, and universities--with so many of those, lots of people here work for universities.

Also, I would agree with Corbyn'smama, I certainly haven't found Halifax to be anti-breastfeeding. I suppose that could vary with neighbourhoods etc, but certainly where I am (South End), and anywhere I've been downtown, I've never seen/heard of anybody being told not to breastfeed etc--in fact, it was a human rights issue in Halifax a while ago, and if anyone makes you feel uncomfortable NIPing (let alone going so far as to ask you to hide or take it elsewhere), you can take it to the human rights commission. Here you go: http://www.infactcanada.ca/humanright.htm
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