Moving to Halifax
 

Hello Everyone,

So I am considering a move to Halifax. I won't get into all the reasons, but I am looking for some information on neighbourhoods and prices. Ideally, I would like a 3 bedroom house as I would be moving with my spouse and young daughter. Just looking for a nice neighbourhood either downtown or close to downtown (south, west or north areas). We will have one car for sure, maybe two (considering selling the 2nd if we move). What kind of prices am I looking at to rent or buy a place? I currently own my home in St. John's, so I'm thinking I would rent my place out here and start with a rental in Halifax. If things go well, I will buy a place there. I should add that we aren't interested in a condo/apartment building. As of now, I'm thinking I would be comfortable with paying around $1500/month. Obviously any less would be better.

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Blt.
 

Hi There.

if you looking for a fair price home in a good neighbour hood with a GREAT school system in the HRM area and somewhat close to all amenities of the city
and good bus routes I would recommend Beechville,Lakeside and Timberlea communities (known as BLT)

all the above plus a great rec center and parks and play grounds for kids along with lakes and multi-use nature trails that can be enjoyed by all ages.

also can offer you a country feeling just out side of the city with the local farmers market that is open all year round with doctors, dentist, pharmacy, tavern, salons, pizza take out restaurants and convenience stores and very convenient gas stations.

they say this community is 15 minutes from the down town core but I believe its less having to do it everyday besides traffic times but still one of the better places to commute to compared to prospect, Sackville, Bedford and other places as such and closer to the city core then those other communities.

take it from me if you will a recommendation ( do not move to Dartmouth the prices will make it look appealing) but I made that mistake and never again and its not even the bridge fair that gets be its how inconvenient everything in Dartmouth is and its layout its a very dysfunctional part of our two cites.

BLT is the better place to live and I'm sure based on the communities growth over the years that's shows how desirable it truly is.


it can quickly become home.


also maybe do your research on the following schools.

(BLT elementary, Ridgecliff middle school and sir john a MacDonald high school)



:yes::yes::yes:

The BLT area is nice, but be aware that it's staunchly suburban and not remotely within walking distance of anything. If that is the kind of environment that you want to live in then I would also recommend checking out Spryfield/Armdale, Clayton Park, Bedford, Dartmouth and Eastern Passage.

If you want something urban/walkable/bikable, the North/West/South Ends are your best bet, along with Downtown Dartmouth*. North and West tend to run a bit cheaper than South, but there are a wide range of price points in each. Something to be aware of is how student-heavy the Peninsula can be. If you want a quieter neighbourhood with minimal risks of being disrupted by loud, drunk 20-somethings late at night, you'll probably want to avoid the areas closest to Downtown and to Dal - if looking in the West End, go west of Oxford, in the South End go south of Morris, in the North End go north of Young St. (of course none of this really matters if you're not bothered by noise). Also be aware that there will be an abundance of places available for the next couple weeks, but as the students start moving back your options will become increasingly sparse, as September approaches. Just perusing Kijiji would give you a good sense of prices/availability. Be careful about utilities - try to get a place with at least heat included because many buildings here are not insulated very well so heating bills can be out of control over the winter. Also if you drive, make sure you arrange parking because on-street parking is often banned during winter storms (even parking streetside in front of your own house).

Honestly all of the public schools in Halifax are reasonably good and it wouldn't make sense to me to live in a specific area "because of the school system".

*Downtown Dartmouth is also a nice area, reasonably affordable (probably comparable to the North End, or better deals) and close to downtown (by ferry), unfortunately one of the main bridges to Dartmouth is undergoing maintenance for the next year or so and is closed all the time which really makes getting around quite difficult.

Fairview is another area you might want to consider, it's a bit further from downtown but still within easy busing/cycling distance. It's more of a streetcar suburb type place, reasonably affordable, and most of my local friends who have bought property have bought in Fairview.

It'll be hard to find a whole house to rent (although I've seen a few in the Hydrostone neighbourhood, for around 1,500).

You should be able to find an apartment or condo at that price though, either in a purpose-built building or one storey of a converted house, like this (which, I must add, looks really nice and unusually cheap--these are normally a few hundred more): http://www.padmapper.com/show.php?so...08709&src=main

If you're looking in the North End and West End, house prices might be between 350k to 450k for three-bedrooms in decent shape. If you consider downtown Dartmouth you're still pretty central and can knock 50k off that.

Thanks for the info everyone. As of now, I'm not considering Dartmouth. I have a friend in the North end so I am somewhat drawn to there. I've only been to Halifax twice, I think I need to take another trip there and have a drive around to see what areas I like and should focus on.

Next question, how is the current job market for engineers? I have 8 years experience in the civil/environmental field. I'm checking the usual sites but only started looking in the last week. Obviously this whole move depends on whether or not I can find a job.

Blt
 

I have to ask you hali87 which part of HRM do you live in if you would ever recommend Sackville/eastern passage as options in replacement for the BLT area in proximity to the down town core. both during slow and high traffic times and offers you the safeness of the smaller "suburb" community feeling one would want to bring child into.

if you live in Sackville or similar places sometimes depending on where your home is bayers lake is just as close as it to smaller commercial/businesses in the mentioned parts of Halifax.

as a person who has lived in the northend, eastern passage and lakeside I would stop any one who has yet to make the mistakes of moving to those places like Sackville, Hammond planes, Cole harbour, eastern passage and such

and as for the school systems you are so wrong.

as a younger more professional male who has been and seen several schools and what goes on with in the school systems and as well as the staff and students being on several meetings for the schools as a student body rep. for 6plus years while attending the school systems there's a few above and beyond reasons why the school systems out that way especially in the school/age rang of elementary and junior high.

I am all for living in the north end as being a great place to call home and maybe plant some roots for a while.

for having a child in the inner city school systems and neighbour hoods there are some real benefits in the matter of personal growth while at a age where a child is building life lessons and values in life.

your more exposed to diversity and different walks of life along with arts and cultures and are not raised what I call (under a rock) which is maybe what some people want for their kids but it does no good when those kids turn to young adults and don't know what this world is really all about.

the north end is really a great and strong place to start in our city of Halifax with all the main amenities I think a person could want and need :) (besides Costco) hahah

the only reason I think a person wouldn't move there is price of real-estate because its a very beautiful spot to call home.

depending on which part the north end is very tight knit and when the community's get together you can just feel all the love of home because they will just welcome you in.

as for Bedford I wouldn't want to live any past larry uteck or else its starting to become to high in price for what its really worth if your going to spend that kind of money more in town.


clayton park is honestly just as inconvenient because its all so n spread out. for me its great:) I am young and ill walk all day if need be but others and with a family you wants to need to walk kms to get some where's. and for your dollar what you get is also not truly worth it the homes have been made like milk cans and development for quick reseal and little to no detail on style/quality of materials and bones of the homes.


even when looking in the BLT aera I wouldn't by in beechville estates because same thing with quality of bulid.



its a big move and big choice. I hope you make the right move.


this is a city that is slowly moving in possible the right direction and the home market right now is a buyers market with all the condo/luxury apartments on the rise.

Have you tried Halifax Shipyards?

Downtown Dartmouth is cheaper and with more amenities than the Northend of Halifax and properties sell quickly. If you are fussy about your child going to school with poor kids, black kids and kids from single parent homes you can send junior off to French Immersion on a bus or pay more money for a home near the 'nice schools'.
Apartments for a family for $1500 a month are a fantasy. We are retired and cannot find a 2BR for that price in our area; if we could we would sell and move. I have Dartmouth Common 100 yards away and less than 10 minute walk to the ferry. A 7 minute walk and I can watch Olympians, one is a neighbour, racing on Lake Banook.
What we have is not available on peninsula Halifax.

Working quite a bit in Bayers Lake for the last dozen years I don't know how people who live in BLT put up with that commute to/from downtown every day. I would be going against their traffic each day in both directions and every day I would see backups at ridiculous levels and think "how can those people put up with that?". It is that bad.

Your choice of home base should in large part depend upon where your workplace is located. If you were to get a job at an engineering firm whose offices are in Burnside you would be a fool to live anywhere but on the Dartmouth side (or stretching a bit, Bedford, but even at that you would have to contend with the worst highway in the city, Magazine Hill, at rush hour). Find a job and then come back for recommendations.

Depends what you mean by amenities; I find there's more in the North End in terms of shops and access to services, but stuff like Lake Banook etc is great on the Dartmouth side. Good for kids.

I don't know about that. I live in a decent two-bedroom in the North End for 1,100. Apartments in the 1,500 range are a big step up and much larger. (Like I said, I've seen Hydrostone houses for 1,500, though that doesn't include all utilities.)

Uhhhh...

We looked at several places, new buildings, and the basic rent was circa 1,500+ and then there was parking, and utilities. Nothing close to where we are now, even looked at Kings Wharf. Greenvale would be fine but a little expensive. Cheaper to stay in our home until age and health changes the equation.
My last comment was aimed at those who move into this area but choose to avoid the nearby school because it has children from public housing and lower income homes. French Immersion in Dartmouth entails a bus ride and is often used as a child care option by two income parents to avoid the cost of child care at lunch and the kids are out the door at 7 or 7:30 and not back until 2:30 at the earliest. Our kids walked the 200 yards to a P-9 school and we believe that an early introduction to the real world is an important part of understanding the lives of other people. We all live in a very diverse world and the sooner children are aware of it the better, and by diversity I mean social and economic as well as racial and religious.

I live on Quinpool and I grew up in Armdale and have lived in various parts of the city over the course of my life. I guess I just figured that the number of minutes it takes to get from home to downtown might not be everyone's #1 concern, and when you take that out of the equation (and also consider that not all jobs/things are concentrated downtown) all of those places offer a similar "vibe" - suburban layout and density, mix of longtime locals and newer arrivals, close to wilderness, good civic/recreational infrastructure, etc. Commute times to downtown probably aren't even that different, all things considered, with the exception of EP, and EP has easy access to most of Dartmouth and area.

If you're looking for an engineering job you might want to check out Irving Shipyards, the Fundy Tidal Power experiments, the Navy (they tend to hire local civilians on contract if you have specialized training), and possibly the city/bridge commission for the Big Lift (bridge refurbishing) project, as well as local development/construction firms. Or you could try to convince the city into letting you engineer an LRT system for us ;)

Edit: also Dalhousie has a large engineering department and, if they're not looking for employees, could probably point you in the right direction. NSCC-Waterfront also has a lot of engineering-related programs. There are also a number of firms that specialize in that kind of thing: CBCL and Stantec come to mind.

Thanks for the info everyone. I'm going to put my resume out there and do some fishing. I think the best option is for me to take a trip up there and look around at each area. I would like to be close to downtown and I hate suburbs, but I also don't want a long commute to work. Certainly lots to think about.

If you want to live close to downtown (at least if you anticipate working downtown), I would certainly aim to live on the peninsula. There are really only four access points for traffic onto the peninsula (it's almost an island really), and commuting can be a headache.

Finding a decent house to rent on the peninsula without losing your shirt might be difficult. The south end will be pricey. Personally, I would look into the west end or the central peninsula. I used to live right off of Quinpool Road, not too far from Robie and I really liked it there. I wouldn't go too far north however, especially if you want to be walkable to the downtown or to shopping and amenities.

BLT or northend all the way
 

the traffic isn't bad at all coming from the BLT area that little bit of traffic that looks like a lot goes by quick and its from the prospect road that road is always backed up and once it clears out then you hit traffic I use to travel everyday from Barrington street to bayers lake as well and see what you seen then I had to go though is and its not bad at all and most days its not like that. its generally caused by some hold up somewhere on the highway or as I was saying prospect being stopped and backed up then its just the clearing out or that street because its mostly one lane both ways. coming from the BTL area you can either take the bay road or hop on the 103.


but I would say if you considering northend that's the best out of any place with in all of nova scotia.


northend = home:yes::yes:

Luckily I currently have a house in a great location in St. John's right between the university and downtown. I think I could rent that out for a nice amount of money, or sell it. Rent and house prices in St. John's are still pretty high.

OK then, given what your stated preferences are then, I would recommend the west end, the central peninsula or the south end. The further south you go, the more expensive it gets, so I would stay north of Inglis Street. Happily this section of town would correspond to your current situation in St. John's (close to the universities and to downtown).

I lived in Halifax for nine years, all in the not-too-deep south end or in the central peninsula. This is the happening area of town and I'm sure you would be happy there. :)

I wouldn't really care to be close to universities in Halifax and it just so happened I ended up close to MUN here in St. John's. It will be a great selling or renting feature for me though.

Right now in St. John's I can walk out my door and within 15 minutes of walking I can access walking trails, supermarkets, parks, restaurants/pubs and shopping. By car, I can be to malls, work and most other amenities within 10-15 minutes. I would like to keep things that way. I don't need a big or fancy house either.

So is your opinion that paying $1500/month for something decent on the peninsula is impossible? Ideally I would like 3 bedrooms but could make 2 work just to get started.

I have no opinion about rental costs. I haven't lived in Halifax since 1989. I'm sure things have changed. Somebody else will have to help you on that point. :)

All I can say is that I last lived in Halifax in 2007/2008, and I was renting a one room + den for... I think it was $725 a month. It was in the region a lot of St. Mary's students would have been renting in on the south end.

That's surely gone up since then and I don't know what a 1 bedroom would cost, but I'd think even on the peninsula it wouldn't be as much as $1500 yet. Not that I'd know. :shrug:

The bigger letdown of where I was at though, was that the lease was strictly year-to-year. No option of going month to month after 1 year. But I don't think that's normal for Halifax: usually it's month to month after a year passes.