Thinking of moving? Check out my top 10 reasons why you should live in Nova Scotia.
My husband and I found ourselves moving to Nova Scotia on a whim eight years ago. The plan was to stay for one year. We never left. Nova Scotia felt like home.
I have compiled a list of ten reasons why it’s amazing to live in Nova Scotia.
1. Housing prices
Housing prices in Nova Scotia are actually affordable, especially compared to Vancouver, which is where we moved from. According to the CREA website, the average price in Nova Scotia in 2019 was $248,059, whereas the average price in BC was $722,700 and Ontario was $631,844.
2. Accessibility to ocean & lakes
I grew up within walking distance to the ocean, and I’ve learned after living in Ontario for a year, that I need to live near the ocean. Nova Scotia is almost completely surrounded by water, with 7400 km of coastline, so if you live in Nova Scotia, you are never more than 67 km to the ocean. What really surprised me when I moved here though, was how many lakes there are! There are over 3000 lakes in the province.
3. Craft beer / wine scene
The craft beer scene in Nova Scotia is ‘hopping.’ (See what I did there?) We have more craft breweries per capita than any other province in Canada, and that is reason enough to move here. Check out this interactive map of breweries in NS here: nscraftbeer.ca
The wine scene here is also fantastic, and it has improved so much since we moved here eight years ago. The Annapolis Valley is the prime spot for wine tours. The wineries are gorgeous, probably the most well-recognized one is Luckett Vineyards with their iconic British phone booth plunked right in middle of the vineyard. Another one of my favorites is Lightfoot and Wolfville. They serve delicious fire-oven pizza, have fabulous decor, and bonus -they even have coloring books for the kids!
4. Four distinct seasons
Okay, maybe there are just three distinct seasons here. Fall is quite possibly my favorite time of year. The color change of the leaves can be pretty phenomenal around this time of year, best viewed along the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton. The air is cool, but usually the sun is still shining.
Winter really kicks in January through March, that’s when we’ve seen the most snowstorms. Nova Scotians prepare for predicted storms by lining up at the NSLC (liquor store) to grab enough beer and wine if they get snowed in. Also, there is a good chance the local Sobey’s will be sold out of chips as Nova Scotians can be frequently heard asking “you got your storm chips?”
I don’t find there is much of a Spring here. At least not a good one compared to B.C. Spring here is pretty much watching grey snow piles melt for what seems like forever. I consider Spring just a continuation of winter.
And then one day BOOM. It’s summer. You pretty much instantly switch from turning the heat on to turning the air conditioning on.
5. Day Trips
If you are an adventurous family like we are, you might also love doing day trips! Halifax is the perfect place for this as there are so many options. Some of our favorite places to go for the day are Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, Eastern Passage, and Wolfville. All of these destinations are by the water so they are fun to walk around and explore. There are cute local shops to check out and lots of great restaurants to choose from.
6. Places to explore nearby
One of my favorite things to do on a nice day is to go for a hike. In Halifax, you don’t have to drive far at all to feel like you are far away from the city. Some of my favorite places to explore are The Bluff Trails, Hemlock Ravine Park, Salt Marsh Trail, and Point Pleasant Park. The best part is they are all in the city or only a few minutes drive outside the city.
7. Freedom of Self Expression
In Nova Scotia, I feel like you have the freedom to be yourself, and that you do not feel the pressure to conform as you might in other cities. If you want to dress up, dress up. If you want to buy your clothes at a thrift shop, that is okay too. If you want to be an artist, that’s wonderful. If you work at Tim Hortons, cool, I love coffee. In Vancouver, I always felt the pressure to be an Aritzia wearing Lawyer (or something like that) in order to feel “good enough.”
8. Restaurants
The restaurant scene has improved immensely since we moved here eight years ago. You can go out in Halifax or Dartmouth now and have an exceptional culinary experience. You can now find more ethnic restaurants, restaurants that promote local ingredients, and restaurants that offer vegan dishes, including a few restaurants that are entirely vegan. One of my favorite restaurants in Halifax is The Bicycle Thief. They are located right on the Halifax Waterfront, serve delicious Italian food and has a great atmosphere. Enda, Brooklyn Warehouse, Envie, and Il Trullo are a few of my other favorites.
9. Two degrees of Separation
“It’s a small world” is an expression you can hear often in Nova Scotia. If you live in Nova Scotia, you are pretty much two degrees of separation from anyone, and it can make for some pretty interesting connections. It’s not a bad place if you like to network! You can read about my own crazy connection here.
10. The People
I saved the best for last. The people of Nova Scotia are some of the best people you will ever meet. When I first moved here I noticed so many quirks about the people here, but the thing I noticed most is how friendly they are. People here say “hi, how are you?” And they really mean it. They talk to you. Most times I leave the grocery store knowing the cashier’s life story, and the story of the person in the line up behind me too.
The very first day we arrived in Halifax, we were in a store on the waterfront and had mentioned to the girl working there that we had just moved here and it was our very first day. She wrote down her name and number and gave it to us since we didn’t know anyone here. We ended up going to her house for a BBQ the next week. I don’t believe you would find that too often in another city. The people are truly a huge reason why we have fallen in love with Halifax, and just might be the reason you do too.
Living in Nova Scotia? Check out this Amazon Best-Selling Journal I published last summer! Make 2021 the year to explore Nova Scotia and put money back into our own economy at a time when we need it the most. Click HERE for more information on the journal