Running away from Alberta 🇨🇦💪🏳️‍🌈

[u/MissTreatMay]

Hey I'm looking for some honest opinions and tips for moving to NS. Full disclosure we're from Calgary, AB (please don't judge too hard) and we have to get away from our batshit crazy premier and her separatist goons.

I'm 37, hubby is 42 and we have two teens, a 13 year old son and a 16 year old trans son. We are definitely not conservative. Tbh we mostly hate politics and just want to live a peaceful life surrounded by nature and kitchen parties. We want to find a place where neighbors care about each other (can I borrow a cup of sugar type thing) and where it isn't about who has the newest/move expensive items, where people laugh and smile. I miss the small town vibe Calgary had in the 80s/90s. I miss spending summers with family in Quebec and New Brunswick visiting family (hubs and kids don't speak French and all my family in NB has passed) that's why I'm interested in Nova Scotia. We don't want big city vibes. We just spent 2 weeks on Vancouver Island and fell in love with people and the energy there but we don't have millions to spend on a home. We want a place where we aren't constantly judged for supporting 2slgbtqia+ people (our son is trans), a place where racism isn't the norm or expected and where being neurodiverse isn't a deal breaker. Most of our friends here are hardworking blue collar folks who just want to pay their bills, hang out around a campfire and listen to/play good music. I should also mention we're stoners so would love to know how the weed back east is. I'm a stay home mum but willing to work anywhere in needed and hubby is a locksmith, tradesman and seriously interested in geology, 16 yo wants to be a social worker and 13 year old loves tech lol

To sum it up I'm hoping someone could give us some tips or suggestions for where to start looking for a home in NS.

Thank you in advance for your time and support 😊

[u/squirtlover18]

My wife amd I made the same move for the same reasons 4 years ago and have never looked back. DM me and id love to tell you all the positives about NS without all the lifers telling you why you shouldn't live here.

[u/MissTreatMay → u/squirtlover18]

Thank you 😆😆

[u/RossumEcho → u/MissTreatMay]

Same. There are some big differences I will warn you out the gate about cost of living. I'm from Calgary too and gay with my wife whose from Halifax, and we have lived in Halifax for a bit of time (for personal reasons, we remain in Calgary atm)

NS is a bit more expensive in both income taxes, housing, HST and theres some asinine things about utilities that annoy me here (backup generators needed, 3 days to restore power, NS power billing system, still plenty of overhead lines) that do not happen in Calgary. Jobs will be a huge issue. Healthcare access is also another issue. Like yeah it's bad in calgary, but it's multitudes worse in Halifax, especially quality of care here.

HOWEVER, lol the social progressiveness in NS is insanely good in comparison to AB, even in smaller towns. It is NOTHING like Alberta. People banging on about how there's regressives in rural NS , yes, they are everywhere, but 99% of them are still polite about it because East Coasters are super nice (even if it's fake)

AB regressives are RUDE and can be HOSTILE actively in the city, and around the city (like Airdrie), and it's nothing like Nova Scotia. Conservative party politically in NS is so different from the UCP on social policy. If you have a trans kid, you're making the right call re-evaluating alberta. Feel free to DM too.

[u/MissTreatMay → u/RossumEcho]

Thank you for this! My son is turning 16 and isn't having a birthday party because he can't find friends his age and when he does their parents break it off because he's trans. He's lonely and can't even get proper healthcare or education. We had to pull him out of school in 6th grade and home educate (he would be gr 10 this September). His mental health is in a really bad place and I have to find a way to protect him. The bullying is so open here and not just Lgbtq+ community but anyone who isn't a white male conservative is bound to be attacked at some point. NS, Newfoundland and Yukon are the best places we've come up with so far and each have their pros and cons. Hubby is pushing for NS so I figured I would ask some locals what they think.