Halifax - Toronto - a comparison from a CFA

OK, so I am a "newbie" - a CFA. (That's comes from away for those you not in the Atlantic Provinces.) I have lived here for only 4 1/2 years. That is very new, in Nova Scotia. Nowhere else that I have lived (N.B., B.C., Ontario, Quebec and Sask.) do so many people have roots that go back 100's of years. That may suggest that I may be unreliable in some of my analysis of what's going on in Nova Scotia, but it also provides an opportunity to do some analysis from a position of both inside and outside - visitor and resident

I realized after the events of June27th/28th in Toronto, where I lived before moving to Nova Scotia, (and I have lived in 3 other provinces as well) that part of me still feels like a Torontonian and that it felt like "my city" and my friends were under siege and being arrested, at the G20.

. . . but this post is not about that (sighs of relief all round), but about what I see as the benefits and down-sides of living here, in Nova Scotia - what I am giving up and what I gain. I am not sitting back in Nova Scotia, I am very involved in party politics, in neighbourhood organizations, the labour movement and human rights support work. So I have met a lot of people, and not just a few. My job as an adult educator and my union involvement have brought me in touch with hundreds, possibly thousands, of Nova Scotians. Every year I am paid to drive (on major highways granted) from Sydney to Yarmouth and I consider myself privileged to do so.

First, the things I miss about Toronto (for all you who hate it, and think that it has no redeeming features!)

1) Movies - In Toronto, I could see a lot of Indie and Int'l (sub-titled) films that simply never make it here. On the UP side - the Film festival in Halifax each September is easy to attend, you don't need to be standing in line for hours to get tickets and there are lots of great films! I just have to wait until they come out on DVD to see those features that I will miss in the theatre. http://www.cinemaclock.com/toronto.html

2) Flights to there. . . As near as I can determine, in the winter, out of Halifax (Iceland, Paris and Frankfort seem to be added in the summer months) one can fly to southern destinations on charter flights and to London, and of course to other Canadian and some U.S. destinations - but in Toronto I could fly to many destinations in the world. See: Halifax Airport
Up side -- airport is small, well organized and since all the construction is over, easy to get in and out of! Also when it comes to summer vacations, you cannot go wrong staying in the province, attending festivals, daytripping, or going to the end of the earth, or just driving a back road to find some vista you have never before seen. See: Tourism Nova Scotia or Nova Scotia.com

3) Cheap and cheerful restaurants with interesting flavourful food. . . We used to eat out at least a couple of times a week - going for Japanese or Indian we could spend $30 for dinners including both of us having a beer - not true in Halifax-Dartmouth. Thai was more, but not as pricey as here and the "good' restaurants here, are all just too expensive - when we go out we seem to spend $80-100 with tax and tip - so we eat most nights at home. Upside - I have learned to cook! and Lobster at $4-8/lb, fresh scallops, mussels, clams and oysters all at an affordable price (OK the oysters, even here, are a luxury) makes up for it!

4) Diversity of the population, hearing a myriad of languages every day, and stories about and from many different countries. This is the reason most people here give me for hating Toronto - (too many people of different races and accents - if one more person tries to explain what is wrong with Toronto by describe their experience of being "the only white person on the subway car" I am going to scream out loud) but, I missed this especially during the World Cup. My last office in Toronto was downtown and during World Cup each country's contingent could be counted upon to be running and/or driving down the road waving the appropriate country flag and singing and chanting - what fun! Further downside. . . although I would not swear that Torontonians are less racist than Nova Scotians (or specifically Haligonians), they know that they should not speak racist statements aloud - or expect to catch hell for it, immediately. Here, I still hear people utter incredible racist stereotypes, and have no idea that they should apologize for saying that "the Chinese are bad drivers" or that "Paki's" (a term few people seem to realize is a slur - and which is applied to all South Asians and others - whether Indian, Nepali, Tibetan, Bangladeshi, or sometimes Afghani and even Fillipinos) are poor housekeepers, or most recently that Iranians are pigs (from a B&B operator who had one family of Iranians stay with her, and who I cannot convince do not represent the whole nation!)

Things that I love about Nova Scotia and that totally make up for the above. . .

1) The ocean. At my house the tide literally rises and falls in my backyard. One morning a deer swam across the inlet right in front of my house. I can drink my tea while the sun climbs in the sky and watch birds. In March and April there are ducks - many varieties, by July the cormorants and Great Blue Herons are back and in the summer we often see Osprey and eagles. I can kayak in the morning before work, or ride my bike on trails through woods, and/or along the ocean inlets, and in the evening, if there is a low tide, I can sit on the deck and watch the sunset while the whimbrels, and willets, and maybe godwits, go by fishing in the rocks and shallows. From the shore in front of my house I see fish jump, small white crabs and large red legged crabs along with shrimp and eels. Not to mention the clams, and mussels and and periwinkles. You can watch swifts and turns swoop, and you can watch cormorants dive and come up eating fish.

2) The beaches (but where is the signage, people?) The beaches are amazing and there is great variety. You can (and I live only a few km's from) go to Lawrencetown Beach which is rocky but has change rooms, lifeguards and a canteen in the summer months and where there is surfing all year long. In fact, in the winter the surfing they say is better - with more storms the surf is up and the water is "thicker". Rainbow Haven Beach is sandy and has the same amenities but is safer for kids. Just stay away from looks like a river but is where the tide goes in and out rushing quickly.


And Conrad Beach (left) is a long crescent of sand and a beach with sand bars - they say the "undertow" is strong, but with the kids in close to shore it feels pretty safe - and oh the sand castles we have built, and the kites we have flown.









3) Friendly, helpful, generous people. Never, anywhere in Canada have I met such generous helpful and friendly people. (OK - actually I think NFLD may get the prize, but I have never lived there so cannot compare!) Every one speaks to everyone. After a couple for years here, and lots of time spent on trails and beaches, I returned to Toronto, and walked the Mimico Linear Park - which had been promised all the time I lived in Mimico but never completed. . . I said hello to everyone on the trail until I realized I was scaring the Toronto natives, when one woman looked aghast at me and literally ran away (I am a middle aged woman and don't think anything about me looks scary!) It just seems to be true that speaking to strangers in most circumstances in Canada's biggest city makes people assume that you are mentally ill.

4) The Annapolis Valley in the summertime - farms and farm markets, Ross Creek Centre and a whole lot more. Now it is true that I could be in Niagara in an hour out of Toronto, but somehow the Annapolis valley seems so much more accessible - and there is no rush hour, getting out of town, no backlog of Friday evening drivers trying to get away. . .

5) Old stuff - there has been habitation here for a long time - friendly. helpful first nations and early European settlement (yeah I realize that it was colonialism but it is still interesting) like in Annapolis Royal. . . (Pictured below)

















6) The view from almost anywhere - Everyone knows about the Cabot Trail and the Southshore but the Eastern Shore and the mainland highlands - esp Cape George - Parrsboro, the Northumberland Shore, everywhere you look the natural Beauty is stunning. There is almost no drive you can take that does not result in some fabulous site.

So although there are things that I miss (my mother and sister, good friends and long time colleagues) there is lots to make me happy and keep me here. And I have not mentioned that N.S. also elected an NDP government (jury is still out but they are going gangbusters on the environment - except for the burning of wood for commercial power.) who I hope will make improvements in some of the social ills and poverty that still plague this province.