We decided that it would benefit us to customize our pre-arranged trip to Alberta rather than cancel it completely. We went ahead with the flight to Calgary and decided to stay with friends for a few days - cancelling the apartment that we had booked the year before (thankfully the deposit we lost was minimal). We kept our booking for a few days in the mountains too. We then booked an internal flight with West Jet (we would recommend them to anyone) from Calgary to Halifax. We would then spend four weeks researching Nova Scotia. This itinerary would allow us to compare the two provinces without having to rely on memories of a year ago. If I say so myself, this was a really smart move on our part - extra cost aside.
Through Mike's recommendation, we secured an apartment to rent, at a discounted rate, for the duration of our trip. The apartment was in a great location in Halifax. We were never more that 25 minutes away from the locations that we needed to visit.
Whilst customizing our trip, we kept in frequent contact with Mike and Orla & Annette and Jerry. For every e-mail loaded with numerous questions we sent them, a prompt reply with detailed answers and words of encouragement followed. Any necessary meetings were arranged before we left the UK, so to keep a tight rein on the reasons we were there.
First Impressions
We arrived in Halifax from Calgary at 8pm in the evening. After sorting out our hire-car (another pleasant and social experience), it was 9.30pm and all three of us were shattered. Unbelievably, the internal flight was as long as it would take on a flight from Halifax to London! This brought home to us, just how vast this country is. You really aren't short of locations to choose from, so if one place doesn't suit you, don't give up on Canada completely.
We travelled from Stanfield Airport to Halifax at dusk and if I'm going to be completely truthful, I can remember feeling a shiver of panic go through me. Compared to the drive from Calgary to Cochrane, our surroundings looked quite barren. I wouldn't say anything to Alan because I was afraid I would hear the same thing from him - if that happened, it would be like accepting defeat, all our hopes were on Halifax right now.
We promptly took the wrong exit and got hopelessly lost. By now it was dark and starting to rain. In desperation, we pulled up outside of a car sales showroom and Alan went in to get directions. Shannon and I waited in the car in complete silence. We had just spent a wonderful week in The Rockies; a place that was familiar to us and held friends, both Canadian and British, that 'were there for us'. We were now in a brand new place that was unfamiliar, we knew no-one and the first impression of our surroundings was 'cold' - for the first time in this whole process, I felt small and scared'.
I was working myself up to the point of no return when Alan jumped in beside me, grinning from ear to ear. 'Get your seatbelt on, Jim's going to lead us into town'. Bewildered and curious, I asked who Jim was. Apparently, Jim owned the showroom and was closing up. He told Alan that as he was on his way home he would lead us to where we needed to go! All of a sudden I became all warm and toasty inside!
The Future's Bright
As always, a new day brings a fresh light on the worries of the night before. Our balcony overlooked the city gardens and the view was wonderful. The warm May sunshine lit up the canopies of the tall trees that lined wrought iron fencing which, in turn, corralled an oasis of bright flower beds and manicured lawns. The surrounding city was made up of a mixture of historic buildings and modern architecture. If you think 'city' you automatically visualize the grimy, noisy, packed streets of London. London this was not. It was 'rush hour' but there were no traffic jams. The streets were filling up with people going to work, mums with strollers and gaggles of students on their way to college but it still didn't feel like we were in a city. It was quite surreal.
We made our way to a restaurant called Cora's which was just round the corner from our apartment. Frustratingly we got a little lost and had to ask for directions. In fact, we didn't have to ask. We obviously looked lost and a lady with a very 'smiley' face walked up to us and said, 'do you need any help?'. We told her that we were new here and were looking for Cora's. That was all it took for her and a few people who were walking by to exclaim, 'oooh Cora's! You'll just love it there..' and they continued to ask us where we came from. This prompted us to relay our story, in brief to our eclectic audience, this led to a collective outburst of, 'welcome to Nova Scotia! You're gonna love it here!"
We were both touched and taken aback. We had been on the streets of a city for less than 15 minutes and had been offered help by a passing group of complete strangers who had welcomed us to their country, like we were their friends. Unbelievable!
For the rest of the day and the many days that followed, this was the kind of reception we got. At the risk of sounding corny - we felt like we had come home.
Down to Business
Mike met up with us in Second Cup, Sunnyside Mall, Bedford.
Just as an aside, there are many places in Nova Scotia that share the same name of British towns and cities. However, none of these Nova Scotian places bear any resemblance to their British namesakes. Nova Scotia is peppered with beautiful lakes and dramatic coastlines that boast beaches resembling those of exotic islands. Our trip from the Airport to Halifax was a total red herring.
Back in Second Cup, we were armed with folders and notepads full of queries and questions. Mike was patient and forthcoming with everything that we needed to know at the time. His local knowledge and contacts were extremely helpful to us. He made sure that we made an appointment with Annette and Jerry, in order for us to see as many different properties that were within our price range - this would also help to explain some of the expressions and descriptions used on MLS that were alien to us.
Jerry couldn't have been more helpful. We told him that we had seen areas on the Internet that we were interested in and would like to take a look at properties. He spent the whole morning with us, showing us different locations and giving us an insight into the schools, amenities and up and coming developments that could have an impact on the communities of our choice.
Many of our days were spent travelling around Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and our evenings were spent pawing over relating literature.
We were drawn to Canada by the Canadians.
We were drawn to Alberta by the Mountains.
We were drawn to Nova Scotia by:
The people, the sense of community, the space, the beautiful lakes, the abundance of activities available to children, the spacious and stunning properties and the easy access to some of the most stunning coastlines in the world.
No contest; all our boxes were ticked; Nova Scotia was the place where our new life was going to be.
Previous client stories
The Witt's StoryThe Saunders' Story