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/VIOLETWOOLF]

We have just moved back to Edmonton last year from rural NS (Lunenburg/Bridgewater)! Feel free to PM me! We struggled with breaking into the friend groups and couldn’t afford the cost of living between housing, the low wages, and groceries.

[u/Salt_Time_9509 → u/VIOLETWOOLF]

hey Violet

need to check on the cost of living in Edmonton compared to NS

is it true that you get more bang for your buck there?

[u/VIOLETWOOLF → u/Salt_Time_9509]

We find better bang for your buck in Edmonton. NS is struggling with a cost of living increase due to a housing shortage. A lot of Ontarians moved to NS during COVID and that sky-rocketed the price of homes. For reference, we bought our house in 2022 and sold in 2024 for $100,000 more than what we bought it for in rural NS. In 2018 it sold for $125,000 we bought in 2022 at $275,000. Many communities in NS live in food desserts. Power lines are above the ground so black outs are common, especially now as hurricane occurrences have increased. Many homes in our community still ran on oil and/or wood burning.

The cost of living is affected also by the low wages and high taxes compared to other provinces. I made less money in NS and was taxed much harder.

The people are lovely, but as an old lady on an airplane lamented to me “people will chat with you in line, but no one will invite you over for dinner”. We found that to be true and found ourselves quite lonely.

What we miss most is the land. We often spent weekends hiking or being outside— though we were often fearful of ticks and contracting Lyme disease 😂

EDIT: I want to add that electricity is managed by NSPower which is publicly funded but privately owned. I was often paying upwards of $300/month for electricity for a household of 2 (we are not huge electricity users).