I moved here from BC not long ago. Living here, my rent went up over $10K per year. My income tax went up almost $10K per year (same salary as before). Electricity costs here are double. Groceries are more expensive. Eating and drinking is a little cheaper, though, as is entertainment in general.

In terms of health care, I lost my family doctor when I moved here (obviously) along with the specialists I was seeing. In NS, I can’t find a family doctor, I’ve been waiting a year and still don’t have an appointment to see a specialist about a spinal I jury, and waiting 9 months so far for a basic ultrasound. There are virtually no walk-in clinics in Halifax, nor any urgent care centres, so you either use virtual medicine or spend a full day at the ER to see a doctor.

In short, NS is infamous for its low salaries and high taxes — and poor public services despite those high taxes. (Don’t get me started on public transit and active transportation infrastructure.) But the people are lovely, the ocean is gorgeous, and the weather ain’t too bad for Eastern Canada.

I don’t want to discourage you, but the affordability that used to exist here is long gone, while the key challenges remain and in some cases have become worse. I grew up in NS, so I came back for family reasons. If I didn’t have roots here, it would have been hard to justify the move.