When I decided "#### Ontario. I've had enough of this destroyed Hell Hole of traffic and stink" I was between Halifax and Calgary.
Halifax is in my home province, where every ounce of my family lives. I left there in 1999.
Calgary is where I have nobody and know nobody.
I chose Calgary. Moved here 9 months ago.
Nova Scotia's population is declining. Halifax proper is NOT cheap. Gas prices in Nova Scotia are among the highest in the country. $60-$70k a year won't go far out there in terms of saving money unless you have a spouse raking in the same income. To me, it's a great province to retire to. It's quiet. It's charming. Most young people move away, so when I'm a crotchety old man, I won't have to worry about shooting at young punks and claiming I thought they were deer.
If you want cheaper living (that's still kind of central to the rest of the province) you'd have to look for IT jobs (which are likely non-existent) in places like New Glasgow (biggest employers would be Sobeys, Michelin and Kimberly Clark) or Truro.
Unless you're looking at a map all the time, who cares how far you are from Iceland. If you can't drive there, a flight is a flight is a flight. And if you only get back once or twice a year a 3 hour flight vs. a 9 hour flight amounts for a dust speck of difference if you look at what an extra 6 hours is over the coarse of the nearly 8800 hours there are in a year.
I've lived more and done more in my spare time in the past 9 months than I have in the past 9 years (excluding 2005-2007 when I worked at a bar... I was living it up then). I owe it to the magnificence of Calgary's proximity to so much natural beauty. It's a massive incentive to enjoy a multitude of outdoor activities. Halifax will grow boring in short order unless you assume the lifestyle of an alcoholic and/or can afford a boat. Charming old bags and quiffs can only warm your heart so much before you feel like you're turning into them.
I've mentioned this in the past and I'll say it again... my wife was flat out NOT MOVING TO CALGARY. She's a mommy and daddy's girl. Lived at home until she was 30 and engaged. The thought of moving across the country to a place with no family or friends made her physically ill. Being in sales, I managed to sit her down in front of a stack of paper and had her sign her life away on buying a house out here. This was over a year ago.
Ask her now if she'd move back home to be closer to her family again... her response is "#### no! I love it here!". Her job out here is fun. She loves it. She loves her co-workers. It pays more. She has things to look forward to every weekend.
Choose life. Choose Calgary.
|