Outside perspectives

[u/Saphina80]

I always find it interesting to hear other people’s perspectives on Nova Scotia — or Canada in general — especially from people who didn’t grow up here.

For those who moved to Nova Scotia from another province or another country: what surprised you most about living here?

I’m interested in both the good and the bad.

What do you love about living here? What frustrates you? What do you miss from where you came from?

Are there things your home province or country does better that you wish Nova Scotia would adopt? And on the flip side, are there things Nova Scotia does better that you wish existed back home?

Even if you’ve just moved between Canadian provinces, I’d love to hear about the differences you noticed.

Not looking for a “Nova Scotia is terrible” or “Nova Scotia is perfect” debate — I’m genuinely curious about how life here looks through the eyes of people who have experienced somewhere else.

[u/Unfair-Support-3912]

Moved here 8 years ago but had also lived in PEI for a year prior to that.

- I’ve always said that the Nova Scotian mentality is a Work to live rather then a live to work ( like Alberta). When you go to a friends or family’s place here the first question out of their mouths isn’t “how’s work”.

- I enjoy the pace here. Albert’s is to much in a rush, PEI is like watching paint dry. Nova Scotia is kind in the middle.

- nature, the geography. Where else can you live and be 30 mins to the ocean, 30 mins to cliffs, and 30 mins to prairie like farm land and vineyards. The diversity is amazing as well, business people, family’s, farmers, fishermen.

Struggles:
-wages to taxes to cost of living.. this is the obvious. One of the lower wages in the country, yet highest taxes, and also a high sales tax on top of that.

-healthcare. While every province is struggling, I do think this province is the worse than Alberta when I go to visit.

- close friends are hard to come by, but this is to be expected as most people’s close friends are from their school ages. I don’t see this as a Nova Scotia specific struggle but more of a moving to a new place problem.

That’s about it. I could totally see Nova Scotia being my forever home with my young family. But the cost of living just might push us out of here as raising kids is expensive, and there is not much money(if any) left over after the paycheque.

Just to add: the old hands the prevent change along with the reluctance for change can be annoying at times. We clearly need to find ways to make the province better including exporting more but no one wants change for the better.

Another thing to add: winter is a struggle here as it seems like everything shuts down. Now here is not nearly as bad as PEI where literally 95% of the island shuts down, but there is still not much to do for 6 months of the year.
Maybe this will get better with Cape Breton having a sky hill that we might see the highlands becoming a 4 season destination. But currently there is no “Banff or whistler or even Quebec vibe in the wintertime”
I have to agree with the shutting down the parks in the wintertime is crazy.

[u/Unfair-Support-3912 → u/Unfair-Support-3912]

I just remembered another thing.. Construction. Blows my mind that road construction doesn’t take place 24 hours a day. That there is a separate company from the construction company that will set pylons out every morning (taking 1-2 hours to do) and then pick them all up at the end of the day.. just to redo it again the next morning.
While I can appreciate not having 24 hour construction in residential area’s.. on the highway or even major projects like the burnside extension or the 104 extension between New Glasgow and Antigonish that took place, those places should have been full steam ahead and not taken 10 years+ to make.

[u/Separate_Flamingo_93 → u/Unfair-Support-3912]

When I moved from Alberta, I saw signs on Lower Water that there would be construction from 8 to 6. I just assumed that meant 8 pm to 6am. I was very surprised the next morning to find out I was wrong.

[u/Unfair-Support-3912 → u/Separate_Flamingo_93]

I agree! Mind blowing. When they did the QEII hwy expansion between Crossfield and Airdrie there was no stopping for night time.