The TRUTH About Living in Halifax, Nova Scotia | PROS & CONS
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- Опубликовано: 13 июн 2024
- In this video, local Halifax REALTOR®, Andrew Stephens of Team Stephens and EXIT Realty gives the pros and cons about living in Halfax, Nova Scotia
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#livinginhalifax #halifaxprosandcons #halifaxnovascotia
📧 Email - andrew@exitmetro.ca
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I help people buy and sell real estate in the Halifax / Dartmouth area in Nova Scotia, Canada. I specialize in listing homes, working with investors and helping first time home buyers.
If you’re looking for an open and transparent experience with regards to buying and selling real estate, then I am the perfect fit for you.
Our mandate at Team Stephens:
To provide our clients with the the best real estate service and advice in the industry. To combine our experience with the latest technology, tools and systems to drive client oriented results.
As of January, 1, 2023 - Team Stephens has completed over 743 transactions… And counting!
**The opinions expressed herein are solely that of Andrew Stephens, not EXIT Realty or the NSAR and should not be misconstrued as advice or the basis of an agency relationship whatsoever. Please consult your professional advisor prior to taking action on any decisions relating to the matters discussed in these videos. This communication is not intended to solicit buyers and sellers currently under an agency agreement. This is not financial advice.
Great video with great information. Keep up the good work.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed. I had some fun with this one 👍
such a great video, detailed and not biased :)
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed. I had fun with this one.
Simple but accurate and detailed. Top job, Andrew!
Thanks! 👍
clicked on this bc i was googling why NS had such a good reputation bc i’m from NS and I moved to ontario a few years ago. People in NS aren’t actually friendly, they’re fake friendly. There is no jobs and tent city is growing. No one can afford their house/apartments. At least in ontario there’s jobs, and honestly i’ve found the people here a lot easier to get along with too. The only thing I like about NS is the weather and the fact that my family is there. that’s about it. I’ll probably never live there again.
As someone born and raised in Halifax, to tell you the truth, ever since companies came in repeatedly, buying apartment buildings and jacking up rent, and the condo developers came in, there are really no pros left as to living in Halifax. Too bad it's only worse everywhere else in the country. We had a nice city full of beautiful historic buildings, low prices, decent rent rates, decent house costs. And now, we have high prices, extremely over priced rent , over priced houses and our beautiful historic architecture is being replaced with ugly condo buildings that nobody from this city asked anyone to build. Because of it, we have the highest homeless population we have ever had, and climbing daily. If this keeps going, the only people who will even be able to rent in this city are the rich.
Things have changed DRASTICALLY in the last 10 years, that's for sure!
agreed 100 percent sylver
wow. that's depressing. In 2006-7, I was paying 400.00 per month for a top floor, 1 bdrm apartment on queen street, just a couple blocks east of spring garden road. Units in that same building are now renting for 1600.00. So...a 400% rise in rents in 15 yrs.
@@darrinheaton2614 It is. Looking online for apartments yesterday felt awful. Everything is $1,000 to $4,000 per month or it's shared accommodations.
@@darrinheaton2614 You can't get a bachelor for less than $1200.
Super information thanks mate.
Thanks!
The income to housing price ratio in Halifax is absolutely insane.
If you look at the median income, an average hardworking person behaving in a financially responsible manner can only hope to afford a small, rundown house in some rural area like 90+ minutes outside of Halifax... and those areas have very few jobs available.
Something needs to change.
The city is surrounded by undeveloped woodlands, providing both ample space and ample timber for new home construction.
The government needs to aggressively slash regulations and allow people to build build build quickly, easily, and therefore inexpensively.
Tens of thousands of new, low cost homes must be built in the HRM over the next couple of years, otherwise the only people who will be able to live in Halifax will be people who are moving to the province from other places where higher wages have allowed them to save up enough money to do so.
Agreed.. I honestly don't think it's really possible to catch up anytime soon based on the supply we need vs the demand we are seeing. This is likely going to be an ongoing issue going forward
It's funny because this issue dates back to the founding of Halifax. Well detailed in Thomas Head Raddall's 'Halifax; Warden of the North'.
My neighbors in Georgia were born & raised near Halifax. Despite his position in tech consulting in the U.S.with a very good six-figure U.S. dollar income, they would never return except for visits. That goes for their adult children also. My adult son, there the last 18 months on a diplomatic passport with USCBP, has already applied for a transfer due to the cost of living despite the strength of the U.S. dollar.
Even with all the cons,i still believe living in Halifax novia Scotia has its own benefits,i will love to move there.
When I walk into the local grocery stories and convenience stores, anywhere between 45 to 60% of the people working there are now Indian. At the Barrington Superstore (South End Halifax) that percentage is probably about 80%. It really needs to be 100% in my opinion because I really love living in a place where overnight the entire feel of the place has changed.
And don't get me started about all the historic properties they the city has incentivized be torn down. It's a super exciting time to live in Halifax! I love the feel of walking down Spring Garden Street at certain times of day and only hearing Punjab or Cantonese. Halifax is what Canadian multiculturalism was meant to be. Canadians are not like those awful Trump loving Americans.
The glorious future in Halifax is to densify, densify, densify. Even as they build homes outside the city with walk-scores ranging from 2-16% (i.e., glorious urban sprawl on steroids). And again it's so cool that that Halifax destroys older buildings rather than incentivize preservation. Before the big change (i.e., prior to 2016) Halifax has 3x the density of Portland, ME, and 2x the density of Burlington, VT. Density levels were 82% of what they had in Philadelphia at the time.
Halifax politicians and developers are doing Haligonians a favor by bringing density levels up even further with ugly, alienating high-rise buildings that are super wonderful to live around because they scream "Canada has no culture! Canada is the 'first post-racial society' (to quote Trudeau).
A few months ago, I bumped in my friend John Lawen and he was walk through my neighborhood with my other friend and developer Steve Tsimiklis (who had recently destroyed 6 historic home a block from where we live) and they were stoked about the future. John had just returned from Dubai and is hoping the city changes the zoning in the area bounded by Robie, Jubilee, Oxford, and Coburg so that he can do what they're doing elsewhere in Halifax neighborhoods - which is to say consolidating lots, knocking down homes and building bigger.
So yea, Halifax is a fantastic place to life. The people here deeply respect their history and you really get a sense that you someplace special. Nova Scotia Premier TIm Houston has a strategic plan to double the population as fast as possible (google is your friend here), so please please come one, come all - especially if you're from India or China, or heck even if you're a cultural refugee from Toronto because the vibe here is so wonderful.
Ignore the fact that Nova Scotia's per capita GDP is lower than Mississippi and that traffic congestion is now the third worst in the country. If you come to Halifax, you'll want to ignore alot of things. But hey, every place has their problems right?
Our firstborn graduated from university and will not return to Halifax. "Dad, why the f*ck would I want to live in a place dedicated to flooding the labor market each year with thousands from South Asia and China. You leave Canada (as he did) and you realize that not every place does this crap. It's bizarre." Our second son is studying engineering in Montreal and will not come back either. Our daughter (at Citadel) plans to follow her brothers. So where does that leave my wife and I? We'll eventually, we'll sell our home to a Chinese buyer flush with cash (Indians are not as cash rich in Canada).
Most talented, ambitious people will not tolerate living in a place so poorly governed when there are so many better places to live in Europe and the United States (despite the US's many problems there are many more places to live that offer a great deal more than Halifax.)
Canada is the only country I know that defines itself by what it's not. (i.e. not American). It's not a country, so much as a mediocre business based on 2 things: Extracting things out of the ground selling it to the Chinese and Americans. And mass immigration. (Google is your friend here my dear woke compatriots).
Based
Why do you post such AI drivel? And I quote..."So yea, Halifax is a great place to life". ??? So yeah...AI bull shit.
Spring Garden Street? Any one who lives here, knows the difference. So yeah...piss off.
Don't get my wrong, there are things to complain about.
Hello, could you help me about one topic? Nay be there os some resourse Where I can compare places ans schools education level before rent apparent . Thank you in advance
Excellent video, very well explained, 100% agreed with everything he said.
Glad you enjoyed it!
me encata Halifax, espero ir agun dia!
The more I learn about Canada, it is evidently clear, Canada is not worth all the high cost of living.
I'm sure a lot of people feel that way right now based on the cost of living primarily. To me, the pros outweigh the cons. But I grew up here so I may be a little biased haha
exactly Nate..
I’m a dual citizen, I thought moving to Canada would be a good idea. Socialized healthcare, better social systems, supposedly nicer people, less crime etc.
As for healthcare, it was terrible. I lived in BC and Nova Scotia. They were both pathetic. I much prefer paying for my insurance in the states because I receive way faster and better care. As for social services, we received some help during covid, but now we are forced to pay that back. Meanwhile in the US they provided us about 10k worth of assistance and we don’t have to pay that back at all. It blows my mind that Canada which is supposedly more socialist expects middle and lower class families to pay back covid money when the government shut everything down and didn’t even give us an option to work.
And the cost of living is just insane. A city like Toronto or Vancouver it’s worth it. A city like Halifax paying 650k for a tiny and crappy home is absurd.
And lastly people were not the friendliest, most people I met were miserable and I don’t blame them. With the high cost of living, high taxes, horrible healthcare , bad weather, covid lockdowns, struggling economy etc I don’t blame them at all.
I eventually moved back to the states. The US isn’t exactly the best either, but for my family it beats Canada.
@@aaronkamakaze2967i think the same. I regret moving here from Europe. Big mistake :(
Totally agree
Good video. Been following you for awhile now. I moved back here last August. And I must say it's extremely difficult in this province, when it shouldn't be.
When you say extremely difficult, do you mean to get an accepted offer/rental unit? Or tough to get housing information in general?
@Andrew Stephens More so cost of living. As well as accepting offers. We had a hard time trying to find place here. Low wages certainly do not help. But yet somehow I still love this place and see the potential.
@@benjaminproperties I agree completely! It's tough for me to wrap my head around it to be honest. Only 4 or 5 years ago it was a very different situation. Times have changed very quickly! Exciting time to be living here but it is coming with A LOT of growing pains as well..
@Andrew Stephens We want to buy another rental property in 2024. Beside the HRM. What other areas in Nova Scotia are developing with growth?
@@benjaminproperties Some areas I would suggest outside of HRM would be Truro, Windsor, Wolfville and Bridgewater (in no particular order). Those would be my top 4 personally. Could certainly make arguments for other areas but those would be the locations I would consider.
Lived there for 2years between 14 and 16 loved it nice we city but heared very expensive got im Irish back in Ireland same here has changed alot expensive and so on
We use to barter the cover charge while out bar hopping, the bars are so close together , give us a deal or we’re going next door, good old summer of 84.
Make sense to move from BC? Seems like situation is not really good
Well done! Hello from Prince Edward Island! 😀
Pei is my favorite province to visit right now, along with new brunswick.
@@britishbrotherschannel7884 All great places! Enjoy!
This was a good video. I grew up here too, and its nice to see a realtor who actually points out the real cons to living in Haliwood. I've seen so many realtors lately market this city to people from other provinces as a way to get "Cheap" real estate without considering the people who actually live here and are trying to survive, so, people move here and pay out the nose for a house, realize that living here doesn't have the same perks as somewhere like T.O. or Vancouver, then get stuck trying to sell their houses and recoup some profit, except that means trying to sell a 2 bedroom/1 bath bungalow for $860,000 which continues to inflate the prices.
Just to throw in there, Ocean Towers (Its not called that anymore, but if you know, you know) is now renting a 3 bedroom apartment for $3100......That's straight up lunacy.
no doctors, busy traffic, groceries higher than New Brunswuck, too many cranes for new buildings. apartments not cheap Love the history
There is only just over 1 million citizens in the entire Province to pay for all the services .........it’s an amazing beautiful Province with lots of stunning beaches and places to visit......
I'm surprised you were able to get Leon Edwards to make a guest appearance in this video
How about schooling. Is it suitable for students?
We have 3 universities (Dalhousie, St. Mary’s and Mount Saint Vincent). Plus community colleges as well like NSCC!
Super vidéo,Thank U)
I want to buy a proprety in Canada, but I know that QC, BC, ONT are so expensive. In my focus are NS, NB, SK. Maybe you could share the best sites for my reseaching)))
Best sites to view houses in NS would probably be viewpoint or realtor.ca. Realtor.ca is canada wide so that may be your best bet!
sask is better then halifax
Why is QC expensive? Tax about the same, income tax may even be lower. Public service is better, at least public transit and higher education cost. The house price was cheap. I think the rent may be similar or cheaper
Ya and our kindness is our weakness and why we are paying out the arse for it now
hello everyone
I’m coming from Iraq to Canada as an immigrant I want to stay forever in Canada, but please which state better for new comers Halifax, Nova
Scotia or Calgary, Alberta
Thanks 🙏🏻 for all of you are
Great video! What about ticks?
Lots of those all around NS!
@@AndrewStephens is Lyme disease something you have to worry about? Same risk in the city as out in the woods? We have ticks here in Bc, but nobody cares cause Lyme disease is very rare.
@@sylon7717 it’s not really a concern to be honest, a lot less in the city as well.
@@AndrewStephens cool,thanks! We are thinking of moving from the okanagan, bc out there. We have some family out there. Probably more than 5 yrs from now tho.
With all the growth, do you have politicians in the pockets of real estate developers, or is there real care to grow sustainably, maintaining the traditional vibe and putting people (aside from developers) and environment first?
Is it cheaper than Toronto or Ontario in terms of tax?
Tax rate is higher in NS
actually, love the video...very professionally noted cons
Haha mise well start with the bad before we get to the good part! Thanks for watching
How is getting a job here like?
So half of the entire Province lives in Halifax and Dartmouth.....so welcome to no traffic outside of Halifax and Dartmouth.....
it so pretty but it looks dead. With the weather, hows depression looking in there?
Grew up here and currently live her but it just isnt what it used to be.. couldn't have asked for a better place to grow up but I feel bad for everyone present day..
Wages have always been low here but we used to have cheap housing. Not the case anymore at all. People always said Alberta was so expensive but you can get twice the house in Edmonton or Calgary compared to whats out there now here in Halifax.
100k a year salary here has about the same buying power as a 30k a year salary 3-5 years ago its an absolute joke. Wouldnt recommend living here at all unless you got a bunch of money.
My parents built there first house here the way they wanted 30 years here for 60k. That same house sold last year for 10x what they paid for it 30 years ago ! My Dads Salary alone back than was probably more than 80% of the city makes now.
Health cares also a joke. Wait times to see specialist can be years! Highly advise against moving here.
I also grew up in Halifax & totally agree. I moved away & have no regrets ;)
👍👍
How is the homeless situation there? also how safe is it?
Homeless population has doubled over the last couple years I believe, give or take. Safe, yes!
no its not safe, highest crime rate
@@joelcollins5586 Here's a link you may find interesting. Sask about double the crime rate compared to NS in 2021. Also, there's 9 provinces with a higher crime rate than NS as per the 2021 stats...
www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220802/t002a-eng.htm
@@AndrewStephens incorrect your video is halifax nova scotia. Not nova scotia as a whole. Crime rate is highest. Especially petty and theft
@@joelcollins5586 Here's by city.. We are just over the National avg for violent crimes and better than the National avg for non-violent crimes and overall crime. 2022 numbers won't be out until September.
canadacrimeindex.com/crime-severity-index?sort=population&min_population=100000&province=
Hey you might get sick and die from waiting for healthcare but at least people are super friendly.
Didn't mention the worst provincial income tax in the country next to Quebec.
Nova Scotia is an expensive place to live. Rents are sky high
My goodness...I am going to Halifax next year with my daughter and husband...after watching this video I m scared...
it isn’t as bad as the video made it seem. I’ve lived in Halifax for 7 years now and it really isn’t that bad. Mostly just some homeless ppl. But anywhere you go there will be homeless people. Hope this helped!!
It's a very safe city. It's just too expensive for most of the people living here. If you make $150,000 or more, you're okay. As for vacationing, have no fear!
The most happy hours per capita in the Country
Cost of living/housing is as expensive as major cities like Calgary/Ottawa/Montreal/Quebec/Edmonton yet offer so much less (activities and economic opportunities). IMO as a fellow maritimer I find halifax has lost all its east coats charm.
I'm originally from Halifax as well and would have to agree...Once the beach novelty wears off (and it will) you start to realize there is not a lot to do out there...Great place, don't get me wrong, but it's the hard truth. When you live somewhere like central Canada where there are tons of things to do, that's when you realize it even more.
Add the high taxes, poor healthcare, cost of living relative to opportunities....meh
I like to go back for family visits, but that is about it.
Incredibly fun place to live as a student going to university though, that's for sure.
Those are some pretty big cons, its expensive as heck! 😢
Yes it is and I'm 23 turing 24 in july and still living with my parents .
Yeah, and the mayor is the highest paid in all of Canada.
Tooo xpensive..dont move here!!
Um Have you been to Vancouver? Halifax is no where near as expensive as Van, give me a break.
@@orlandoweichistocool groceries are on par...and wages are higher and a million more things to do hali not a real bargain over van. All things concidered
what about Vets?
Plenty of dog and cat doctors here.
Con #6 Lack of sport events. Halifax doesn’t have a hockey team in NHL. Even Winnipeg has. Not to mention basketball and football
In short: all cons are solved with money.
If your going to pay toronto or vancouver rents you mays well move thier! ...halifax is imploding because of the rent....
0/10 video - didn't mention 'Splodey, or the beautiful native wildlife like the Dreadhawk.
Halifax needs more car yards, and many, many more immigrants or preferably refugees from North Africa and the middle east to get with the times! A much higher carbon tax will wean you off all that evil fossil fuel!
When I walk into the local grocery stories and convenience stores, anywhere between 45 to 60% of the people working there are now Indian. At the Barrington Superstore (South End Halifax) that percentage is probably about 80%. It really needs to be 100% in my opinion because I really love living in a place where overnight the entire feel of the place has changed.
And don't get me started about all the historic properties they the city has incentivized be torn down. It's a super exciting time to live in Halifax! I love the feel of walking down Spring Garden Street at certain times of day and only hearing Punjab or Cantonese. Halifax is what Canadian multiculturalism was meant to be. Canadians are not like those awful Trump loving Americans.
The glorious future in Halifax is to densify, densify, densify. Even as they build homes outside the city with walk-scores ranging from 2-16% (i.e., glorious urban sprawl on steroids). And again it's so cool that that Halifax destroys older buildings rather than incentivize preservation. Before the big change (i.e., prior to 2016) Halifax has 3x the density of Portland, ME, and 2x the density of Burlington, VT. Density levels were 82% of what they had in Philadelphia at the time.
Halifax politicians and developers are doing Haligonians a favor by bringing density levels up even further with ugly, alienating high-rise buildings that are super wonderful to live around because they scream "Canada has no culture! Canada is the 'first post-racial society' (to quote Trudeau).
A few months ago, I bumped in my friend John Lawen and he was walk through my neighborhood with my other friend and developer Steve Tsimiklis (who had recently destroyed 6 historic home a block from where we live) and they were stoked about the future. John had just returned from Dubai and is hoping the city changes the zoning in the area bounded by Robie, Jubilee, Oxford, and Coburg so that he can do what they're doing elsewhere in Halifax neighborhoods - which is to say consolidating lots, knocking down homes and building bigger.
So yea, Halifax is a fantastic place to life. The people here deeply respect their history and you really get a sense that you someplace special. Nova Scotia Premier TIm Houston has a strategic plan to double the population as fast as possible (google is your friend here), so please please come one, come all - especially if you're from India or China, or heck even if you're a cultural refugee from Toronto because the vibe here is so wonderful.
Ignore the fact that Nova Scotia's per capita GDP is lower than Mississippi and that traffic congestion is now the third worst in the country. If you come to Halifax, you'll want to ignore alot of things. But hey, every place has their problems right?
Our firstborn graduated from university and will not return to Halifax. "Dad, why the f*ck would I want to live in a place dedicated to flooding the labor market each year with thousands from India and China. You leave Canada (as he did) and you realize that not every place does this crap. It's bizarre." Our second son is studying engineering in Montreal and will not come back either. Our daughter (at Citadel) plans to follow her brothers. So where does that leave my wife and I? We'll eventually, we'll sell our home to a Chinese buyer flush with cash (Indians are not as cash rich in Canada).
Most talented, ambitious people will not tolerate living in a place so poorly governed when there are so many better places to live in Europe and the United States (despite the US's many problems there are many more places to live that offer a great deal more than Halifax.
Many people do not care about the cost of living, they would much prefer Canada for the Peaceful life... Nova Scotia is the most expensive province in all of Canada, and the least cared for by the federal government. Power is 0.16 cents per kilowatt hour (the most expensive province for electricity), and the price charged is increasing over this coming summer. Harmonized Sales Tax is 15%, the highest in all the provinces. Property costs are catching up with the rest of Canada. People who have immigrated to Canada over the last 10 years are starting to leave, maybe not to go back to where they immigrated from, but to leave to a more sustainable country / lifestyle for their children.
Once we have a conservative government, the big oil companies will start to finally finish their projects. Canada piggy backs on its Oil and Liquid natural gas, which due to a liberal government, those projects are on hold until we have a government that actually cares about its economy. Canadians are suffering, barely able to feed their families of 4. Canadians are losing their homes. The homeless numbers in Halifax and Dartmouth grow exponentially everyday.
From all you listed, I didnt hear any "tangible" economic advantage of living in Halifax. No new companies moving in, No Housing means fewer people are coming in. Ough🤮
Lots of people going there with high dollar work from home salaries. That's part of the problem. It's killing the lower income avg person living there.
wow, 10 cons right from the outset. )))) No, thank you, Halifax ))))
you forgot the German cockroach problem here in nova Scotia oh what thats not a german cockroach its the liberal party
Canada is finished. If anyone has to leave their province only Alberta is “worth” it and not from a weather perspective
why
Lol... over priced, high utilities, low salaries, rats, cold, no affordable housing, crowded...
Gee can't wait for the pros.
Lol he said first pro is affordable housing at 6 to 8 hundred k... gtfo
Your cons are the same as on the West Coast but only more expensive. Lived in BC all my life but thinking of moving to NS as the people are friendly.
For the negative people who dont like Canada. i will help you pack and good riddance
I live in B.C too, did you manage to move to NS? If so can you please share your experience.. I’m sick of west coast people/ cost of living in Van, tkx
dump city
That's so far from the truth. Not looking to move back there any time soon, if ever, but this is a ridiculous statement.
dump comment!
Dartmouth is better bro. Quit talking about the peninsula.
Made a video about Dartmouth as well 👌
👍👍
Even with all the cons,i still believe living in Halifax novia Scotia has its own benefits,i will love to move there.
I still choose to live here! Pros outweigh the cons 🔥nothing like the East Coast
@AndrewStephens better than Vancouver ? I might become a doctor in Hallifax I'd love more info
@@davidalvarez118 feel free to reach out to book a call with me in the calendly link if you’d like to chat more