Canada - British Expat Forum

Hi, not sure if this is location specific, but we are looking to buy in Fall River or surrounding areas of NS as my husband's job is in Halifax.

I am led to believe that most properties don't have a fence or any other sort of obvious boundary apart from trees - I can't help feeling a bit concerned about this with regards to the children. Ours are 6, 4, 2 and 2 weeks old, and our 4 year old in particular is what can only be described as "independent" - basically, you can tell him something a hundred times but if he thinks his way is better (and he usually does) he goes his own way! Although I will be a stay at home mum, I can't be with them every second and would like to be secure in the knowledge I can put them in the garden and know they are safe. On the other hand, I don't want to immediately erect a fence around the property if it's not the done thing.

How have other UK parents dealt with this on moving to Canada?

Another question on the same topic - we are not going to buy a house until we arrive, but have of course been looking online, and have a few we like. One in particular is at the end of a street and seems to have quite a bit of woods behind it, not sure how far to the next property. Is it likely that we will be bothered by the local wildlife (i.e. coyotes etc) in "the suburbs"? So sorry if this seems like a silly question, but I had to ask!

Nikki

Hi wildlife in Fall River does exist but it also exists everywhere for example in Montreal at my Husband's uncles house they had a black bear hanging out and he lives in the heart of montreal!!

Coyotes tend not to bother you if you have no livestock / chickens etc. They also are scared of loud playing children and they are the only sort of children I haved known.

As for no fences it can be a problem and we know many Canadians and Brits who for one reason or another have a fence.

I would have to ask how busy is the road where you are.

We have only lived on resident roads - that is the only reason you would go down there is cos you live there or are a school bus picking kids up.

If that was the case then as long as there are no ponds or loose dogs in your area I would not feel too concerned regarding the children. I was a stay at home mum and let the kids out but just made sure that I checked on them every 5 - 10 mins. I still do that now and we are on a farm.

We are putting up a yard fence around the house so our 14 month does not go too far. But then leaving the rest of the land / garden unfenced. That seems to be what most people do.

Only thing about no fences that annoys me is that people have a habit of letting their dogs roam.... and one never knows if they are vaccinated or friendly.

Hi Nikki,

We have no fence around our garden and have a 5 year old child, plus I childmind so have a few little ones running around.
It concerned me at first when we looked around and I was going to put up a fence because that is what we are use to. Now, nearly a year later, we still do not have a fence and we have no problems.
There are actually only about 3 houses that have a fence on our road, it is just not typical to have a fence here.

Thanks very much for your replies you two!

Lorry - you have posted answers to my questions in the past, and I also read your "mixed emotions" post of last year - pretty much how I am starting to feel with the move getting closer!

I wanted to ask you about Lower Sackville - we have pretty much been concentrating our house-hunt on Fall River up until now, but you have made me think twice and we have now expanded our search to include Lower Sackville.

Are there any obvious differences between the 2 areas? Our kids are only 7, 4, 2 and 4 weeks, so we need to be in a family friendly/safe location. I think in my head Fall River is a small community while Lower Sackville seems much bigger and therefore (in my head) a bit more impersonal, do you know what I mean?

Any advice, hints or tips would be great...

Anyway, hope you see this post, I did try to pm you but wasn't allowed as I'm not a "regular" member!

Thanks,
Nikki

Hi Nikki,

I am an expat board addict so I always read the posts LOL.

Lower Sackville and Fall River are totally different communities.

We looked at a few houses in Fall River and we totally fell in love with the area, it is very pretty and peaceful and the houses have quite alot of land.

The thing about it 'we' didn't like was that it felt 'further away' from the amenities we wanted and there is no bus route into Halifax where hubby works.
I know a few people that live there and are perfectly happy, but it just wasn't for us.

Lower Sackville is 30 minutes from both Dartmouth and Halifax and there is a direct bus route.
We live in the 'First Lake' area which is, I think, the prettiest area. We live close to all amenities for the kids - ice skating, sports stadium with pools, canoe club, gymmnasics, cinema, bowling, superstores, etc.
Our neighbours are fantasic and have been so welcoming and generous. They held a BBQ party for us when we arrived to welcome us.

I feel very safe here. My kids - age 13 and 5 years - play out with friends. My 13 year old is so much more active as she now walks everywhere and goes swimming 3 nights a weeks and gymmnastics 1 night. sports are much cheaper here!

My kids go to a great school on the next block, and they are definately alot happier here, as are we!

Speak to Annette Murphy from Remax. She is a Realtor based in Bedford. She was fantastic in finding us a great home in a great area. Also, Mike and Orla from UK2NovaScotia. Invaluble information from a family who did the move from the UK to here.

Good luck. The area you choose really comes down to personal opinion. Look at both and see how you feel.

Good luck

Thanks Lorry, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer - we have let Jerry know that we are expanding our search, and he has already sent us details for some lovely properties in Lower Sackville, can't wait to actually get there and see them properly! Mike and Orla have helped us a great deal with our preparations and have answered our endless questions...!

Nikki

That's great Nikki

Is that Jerry Murphy from Remax?
They are a great team, so helpful!

Mike and Orla were also invaluable to us. We were invited to their Xmas party last year too, which was great!

Millwood is also a nice place to live in Lower Sackville, but I still prefer First Lake area

Good luck in your search, and enjoy

Yeah, Jerry and Annette have been helping us look at properties, Dave saw a few with Jerry when he was over in March. Orla and Mike have been a huge help too, looking forward to meeting them all! Only 6 weeks to go, I am excited but scared, not least because we are bringing young kids and I desperately want them to settle in OK ( never mind the stressful journey that awaits...). I think we may be doing it a little differently to you, Dave has a 3 year working visa and we will apply for permanent residency after we've been there for the alloted time. He has spoken to the embassy in London and they think it would be better for him to get his visa at the port of entry - this makes it all the scarier, talk about last minute...!

xxx

Hi Nikki,

Good luck with the Visa!!!
We applied for a PR Visa as we had enough points to do it.

Your kids will be totally fine, the younger they are, the easier it is for them to adjust.
My 5 year old is totally into the Canadian lifestyle and doesn't really miss the UK at all!
She has loads of friends and is looking forward to starting 'big school' in September.
My 13 year old does struggle a bit though. She has loads of friends and a great life here - in the UK we hardly ever went swimming and she wasn't active at all! - but she misses old friends and family too.

The last few weeks are totally stressful and chaotic!
I just remember running around like a headless chicken. We had moved houses 3 times in 2 years as we rented and it was a nightmare!
Write a list of everything you have to cancel and start doing it now!
Tell people when you are moving and when you want things stopped, it saves time last minute.
Start packing now!

We were just totally physically and mentally exhausted by the time we got here - ready to restart our lives again!