Seriously. If I have to hear one more person from the East Coast bitch about how there are no quality jobs for them…I’m gonna snap. I lived in Halifax for most of my life. Once I turned 22 I realized that the city DIDN’T have any great jobs. So I picked up my ass and moved somewhere that did. I’m now 29 and STILL living in Toronto. Working as a VP for an advertising firm.
If you don’t like the unemployment line or your current job, here’s a tip…MOVE. Do any of you even realize how many great cities across this country might have something to offer you? Gonna miss your family/friends/home too much? Grow up. There are many methods of transportation. And even…this might blow your mind maritimers, but they even have phones that you can bring with you. ANYWHERE.
Stop bitching, grab your panties, update the resume, and get on with life.
—Still A Maritimer, just not on the coast.
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2009.
I think this is in the wrong section…
I put it in the bitch section. I wonder what happened to this bitcher? What did one maritimer say that pushed he/she over the edge? I mean, I think OP already snapped.
Well, she DOES live in Toronto… j/k, I *heart* Toronto!
And I agree with the OP — in fact, I’m getting my ass outta here next May when I’m all done school and heading to Toronto, myself.
Got any job openings in your ad firm, OP? *wink*
If you’re young and talented, Nova Scotia is a sucky place to be employment wise – I wish I had blown this pop stand thirty years ago but family and guilt kept me here. To think of retiring in Nova Scotia makes me want to put a pistol to my head – what with the rotten, long waits for health care and this fucking stupid bunch of hillbillies in the legislature who will trough our tax money until they’re booted out – doesn’t matter who gets in – they’re all full of shit.
7 years living in toronto and you still take the time to post a bitch on a halifax website.
somebody misses home.
I’ll take a less paying job and stay on the beautiful east coast and see my family any damn time I want over moving to the Big Smoke, thank you very much. I’ve been to Toronto and I didn’t like it. Too big, too crowded, too polluted, too focused on a shitty hockey team.
Happiness > Money
“I’m VP at an advertising firm in Toronto,” “I’m VP at an advertising firm in Toronto”, “I’m VP at an advertising firm in Toronto”
Do you ever get sick of saying that? I’m sick of hearing it, no one gives a fuck. Get over yourself.
If you’re living in Toronto and you don’t like the bitches, get the hell out ‘thecoast’. Basically what trevor said.
Toronto may be a cesspool but it’s a well-paying cesspool. It’s all about choices and trade-offs – OP picked to be in Toronto and I’m sure it’s no bed of roses. Personally, I’d pick Charlottetown – I like the pace and the people. Nobody’s in a fucking rush to nowhere like they are in HRM. The Anne shit might drive me crazy though…
Yeah, you know what, I’d never trade anything for this city. Honestly. I was able to find a “professional” job, and even though my fiancee is still in school, I think I’ll be here after that. It’s all about what skills you have and how you market them. I didn’t have anyone on the inside, I didn’t get the job because of an advance notice, just nailed the interview and I work hard.
Let’s see, I have a great job in a field I love. I make great money and I’ve got amazing friends. All of which are available in Toronto, sure. I make a 30 minute commute to work everyday, which is technically available in Toronto too. But, here’s the kicker: could I have a 30 minute commute to work in Toronto, in an amazingly nice apartment, for $500 a month and live right on the ocean? Or hell, any body of water for that matter. No, I didn’t think so. While I don’t disagree with your reasoning of “get up and leave if you can’t get work” OP, but Toronto is not the be all to end all. You can have your 4 hour traffic jams, crowded sidewalks and smoggy summers. I love it here in Halifax and I’ll stay right here thank you very much.
It’s funny people say there are no “professional” jobs here. I see bankers and other financial people, doctors, nurses, professors, business people, various government professions, even *gasp* lawyers. Any job in Toronto or even Calgary are here. You might have to work and start at the bottom, but most people do.
I hate the current government, city’s pissing me off, my pay sucks since the economy nosedived. I cannot find a better job. I do however, love living in Nova Scotia. I love the geography, the ocean and the climate. You can bitch about not finding a good job and STILL like living somewhere OP.
Well, if OP’s in advertising, she/he pretty much HAD to gtfo of Halifax.
Some industries just don’t have a market here. Also, I don’t think the OP was advocating moving to Toronto: the suggestion WAS that there are many nice cities all across Canada with more opportunities (not just Toronto or Calgary — what about Vancouver or Victoria on the west coast? Clean, by the ocean, relaxed lifestyle, etc…)
There are all kinds of good jobs in Halifax…the only problem is they already have people working at them.
What a moron. I lived and worked in Toronto for two very LONGGGGGG years. The people suck, the smog almost chokes you, traffic is hell..I could go on and on but I will leave the rest to your imagination. To the OP, people want to stay and work in Halifax because of the quality of life. They do NOT want to live in smog ridden Toronto where they think they are the center of the universse and people will not even look at you when they pass you on the street. I have a BBA and an MBA and decided to take a lower paying job so I could stay in the Maritimes. To me that was a small price to pay to get out of Trawna.
My partner lives in Toronto, and works in advertising. I have a job that lets me work from anywheres at anytime, so technically I could move to Toronto to be with him, but I sincerely believe that it would break us up. It’s an ugly, flat city with unbelievably superficial people. Most of the goths I met in Toronto were either REALLY into drugs or REALLY crazy. I think being in a big city can do that to you. If you’re a sensitive-sort at all, then a big city vibe could potentially send you right over the edge.
I joke with my friends up there that the highrises are to compensate for the lack of hills. It does have some AMAZING vegetarian and vegan restos, though…
A lot of the reason we don’t have ‘big city’ jobs here is we don’t have the kind of culture that would support them. Many jobs that pay a lot of money are done so by stepping on the backs of others and/ or rarely seeing your kids. Most of us in the Atlantic Provinces just wouldn’t be interested in pursuing those goals if it meant harming strangers, work-mates or loved ones in the process. Having a relaxed lifestyle, means having a relaxed workpace, which you aren’t going to get by making over 100 grand a year.
Trades people!
Get them and work anywhere!
So far this year on a couple of different occasions Newfies have told me that it’s “booming” this year in St. John’s – due to offshore oil & Hydro-electric power. Great news for a former “have-not province”, but unfortunately rents & real estate have doubled in a very short time (a year according to my sources).
One of the things I like about Halifax is how little it’s changed over the years. I think if it were to change as St John’s we’d be trading one set of bitches for another.
I have to pull the bullshit card against Never Wrong, the tipoff being the line “amazingly nice apartment for $500 a month”. Amazingly nice? In Halifax? For $500 a month? GTFO of here… Any apartment that classifies as amazingly nice and is only $500 a month sure as hell is no 30 minute commute to Halifax unless you commute via F16 fighter jet.
I don’d think it’s so unbelievable that NW could have a good apartment for $500/mth within 30 minutes of the city. Bedford/Sackville’s only about 15-20 minutes away and there’s plenty of affordable apartments there. Fall River/Waverly’s about 30 minutes out. And what about Dartmouth? Lots of cheap rents there.
I don’t think it’s impossible to get a well paying job in Halifax. If you work really hard and focus on your goals, I think you can achieve anything. There’s no place, that I’ve been, like Halifax in this wonderful country of ours. I’m very well traveled btw. I think Halifax gets in your blood. HALIFAX ROCKS!!!!
NL’s greatest export: You can call bullshit all you want, but you’re wrong. I have 1000+ square feet, walk in closets, large deck with bench seating all around, a side yard with firepit and back yard with garden, all right on the ocean (from my back door to the water is less than 50 feet). I pay $500/mth which includes power and parking. I pay for heat/hw/stove (propane), so I guess you could say I pay about $550-560/mth. Obviously you don’t know the difference between the ocean and the Halifax Harbour, so I’ll clarify for you. I don’t live in Halifax, I said I love it here in Halifax. I live in Lawrencetown and work in Burnside, so I commute 18.6km a day, which takes about 30min. So just because you have the complete lack of ability to find a great apartment for a good price, it doesn’t mean that other people aren’t able to do so.
nevermind: you hit the nail right on the head there. Most of the people on here don’t understand that there are places to live other than right in Halifax. Bedford/Sackville/Fall River/Waverly/Dartmouth/Cole Harbour and all kinds of other areas have great places for good prices. You just need to be willing to look for them, instead of settling on some over priced, run down shit hole.
NW: I admit I was wrong about your apartment, sounds like a great spot. I was assuming as well that you meant 30 min commute to metro which very few people have. And no I wasn’t assuming Halifax is the only place to live. I have a very nice apartment in Dartmouth with a balcony that overlooks the harbour for just 650/mth. I live a 5 min walk from the ferry terminal, and work a 5 min walk from the other terminal, and still my commute takes 30min, and I can actually see my building from my apartment. There is also the fact that most people’s commute involve transit it some way, meaning if you don’t live in Halifax or select areas of Dartmouth, you aren’t making the commute in 30 min. In fact, although I’ve never lived anywhere other than my current apartment, with morning traffic I can’t imagine anyone commuting to metro in 30 minutes from Sackville or Cole Harbour, let alone Fall River! Congrats on your apartment though, Lawrencetown is nice.
Oh, and I’ve lived in Newfoundland all my life, don’t say I’m not familiar with the ocean.
I’m with you never wrong. I have absolutely no intention of living in city once I’m done school.
Downtown living is really for student’s, young professionals with no kids and retirees who want to be close to the action. Downtown is fun when you’re young and practical when you are old. No way I would want to spend my prime years (30-65) living in an apartment when I can afford a house and some property. I hate commuting, but that’s what makes Halifax such a good city in comparison to Toronto. A 20-30 minute commute to downtown can put you in some nice quiet country areas.
NL’sGE: The ocean comment was a sarcastic jab. 🙂
I grew up in the Annapolis Valley, and I mean waaaaay into the valley. I think the only place on the east coast with more breathtaking views of the ocean than where I grew up is in Newfoundland. Cape Spear is a place I’ve always wanted to visit. And thank you, my apartment is fantastic. It took a lot of searching and digging through far too many ads on kijiji and in the CH, but it was well worth it in the end. My method of apartment searching is so anal retentive and extensive that I usually end up with a nice place for a good price.
1FA1: I did the whole living right in the city thing for the first 9 years I was here in HRM. I’ll be 29 in a couple of weeks and I have no desire to live right in the city anymore. I don’t go to the bars often and when I do, I can stay with friends. So there’s really no reason for me to live in town. I really like the peace and quiet of my place, which is a nice change from hearing amabulances 5-10 times a day at my last place (off St Marg Bay Rd, just up from the rotary). Few of my friends have cars, so living so far out means I don’t get many visitors, which I like.
The problem with Halifax, and Nova Scotia in general is that we are a huge bunch of COMPLAINERS!! I’m from Halifax, and to be honest with you, though this city sucks ass sometimes, Im determined to stay here and try to contribute to it in some way. I’m a 29 year old professional, and yeah, Montreal or Toronto can be appealling sometimes, but I like to think (sometimes pretend) that Halifax is a city on the up and up, that we’re going somewhere. What really frustrates me is how people here complain and complain about everything. Here is a short list of the top complaints I’ve heard a million times throughout my life:
1. Its too cold. It’s too hot. It’s too cloudy. It’s too sunny. It’s too windy. It’s not windy enough!
2. There are no jobs. There are too many jobs, but not the right ones. There aren’t any jobs, for young people. There arent any jobs for old people. (from my experience, most of the people who are making this complaint have jobs.)
3. There is too much traffic. There isnt enough people. There are too many people. The roads are bad. The population is too young. The population is too old.
4. There is too much downtown development. There isnt enough downtown development. We have to keep the skyscrapers away since pirates might invade the harbour. We have to build skyscrapers to be like a mini-Toronto!
I’ve lived in other big cities in Europe, and their roads arent all that much better than ours. They have social problems, and job market issues. The people do complain, yes, but they have this tendency to complain and then try to do something about it. Here, we just complain and complain and complain, but its quite rare that someone tries to do something about it.
There are jobs here. THe only thing is you have to work to get one. I know lots of people who left Halifax because “there are no jobs!!!!” and move to Toronto. Well…after a few months, they email me telling me how lovely it is being in Toronto on pogey. THe problem isnt with the job market per se, its with this silly sense of entitlement that a lot of young people have today. They think they’ll get the 60 000$ a year job right after high school or university. The world doesnt work that way guys!
Does Halifax suck…well, I liken it to Paris. Paris would be the most lovely city out there if it werent for the Parisians! There are days I want to just take out “paris” and “parisian” and just stick in “Halifax” and “haligonian”. Rant done!
Never wrong, I have no idea where you live, but there’s no way you’re paying $500 a month for an apartment in HRM that’s on the waterfront. that doesn’t even exist in dartmouth!.. I looked, they were all $600+!!
Half hour commute, is that highway 1t 110 km/hr?
I can understand people trying to prove a point.. but to lie to prove it, that’s just pathetic!
Whoever you are, wherever you wanna live, that’s up to you, don’t put down other people and other cities because you hate them. The OP simply said that he/she is tired of hearing people complain about the lack of opportunities in the maritimes yet fail to do anything about, like moving for instance.
Clearly the OP tried his/her luck in this province and had better luck somewhere else.
you ranting against them doesn’t make Halifax a better city.
Apartment wise, I lived right on the sackville river in downtown edmonton for $650 a month. Go find me water frontage for that here in downtown halifax!.
For what, to smell the terrible harbour we have?! Is that what you’re proud of?!