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To the haligonians that know the area, I am pissed at you cause you have not been able to tell me where the good neighborhoods are. I don’t want to live in a slum, and I can’t afford to live next to doctors and politicians.
So where do I go? Don’t you know? —New Kid in Town
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2011.
41 Comments
Go to the DARKSIDE Luke……..
the slums of HRM are Spryfield, and Highfield park, North end Dartmouth, and North end Halifax. Fairview is on its way. There you go, everywhere else is not generally a slum, although if you go to Sackville you may think it is.
Don’t blame us because you can’t/are too lazy to do some fucking research.
hm. Away?
maybe that was a bit harsh. But who the fuck do you think you are? Because i’ll tell you who you ACTUALLY are. Someone who just came out of their parents’ house and is shocked that they can’t establish themselves straightaway with no money and no mortgage. Someone who doesn’t know the drill yet about the realities of how things work and how much it costs to rent.
Here’s the deal. If you can’t afford 750+ a month, then you’re living in a bad neighbourhood or you’re living with roommates. That is absolutely normal.
Deal with it.
“Fairview is on its way.”
holy understatement, batman…
Hydrostone is a decent mix with price and slum in decent equilibrium.
It really is tough to pick though when you don’t even mention in what areas you’ll be needing easy access to. If you need to go to bayers lake every day then I’m thinking Cole Harbor or even southern d-town are pretty stupid choices.
The Axis of Evil is Spryfield, Sackville and Cole Harbour, IMHO.
My apologies if you are unable to do a bit of reading to do your own work.
How many people/who did you ask? Specifically.
Please?
Wpaul
AFAIK, Cole Harbour isn’t a “bad” neighbourhood, it’s just kind of out of the way.
the places to avoid : anywhere in spryfield. Fairview, seawood (an AREA of sackville no bigger than 4 streets), pretty much anywhere in dartmouth except for waverly area.. You want to stay away from church hill area, north end dartmouth (highfield and surrounding areas pretty much all the way to the bridge(s), downtown dartmouth if ur scared of crackheads. and north end Halifax is bad UNTIL you reach hydrostone, then it becomes decent. You just want to avoid creighton st, uniack or any areas around uniack and brunswick near uniack square. But if you ask me, you’re safe anywhere if you dont look for shit or drive a really nice car with all your shit out there asking to be broken into (ie: stereos and etc)
Agreed, coastreviewer.
OB…move out to the country.
WIth more than 800 new homes in the Enfield ,Elmsdale, Lantz area in the last 5 years…it seems to be the thing to do.
thanks tommy 🙂
the pubs has been a shooting gallery lately too…
Most of North End is perfectly fine unless you’re a dbag (thug, loudmouth, and/or racist) looking for trouble. The same can probably be said of most neighbourhoods. The whole area from Agricola west to the Shopping Centre area is fine, even if you’re alone late at night. Parts of Bayers Rd closer to the highway and that set of ghetto rowhouses northeast of the Hydrostone (north end Barrington and surrounding streets) can be pretty sketchy though.
“Fairview is on its way”
We think that Fairview is improving rather than declining. There are still a couple of roads I avoid but overall it’s a well-priced, safe neighbourhood that’s very accessable to downtown Halifax or Dartmouth. Like everywhere, if you look for trouble then you’ll find it (or it’ll find you…). There are at least two (maybe three) large (multimillion dollar) construction projects underway that will continue this upward trend IMO.
However, stereotype/dated opinions sometimes prevail so it might take some time for the stigma to evaporate.
I’m not the OB, but I have a fantasy of buying a big old Victorian boarding house and renting rooms…What would be the best streets to look at?
Imo, Sackville is a million times better than Spryfield.
i’m not sure xeno but i’m in. big old houses are fun when they’re full of people, if empty, cool and creepy
I’ve moved several times in Halifax over the years and the West End (except near ‘The Well’) and the North End. Central Halifax is ideal but overpriced. Fairview is o.k. except for the by-crackies on Evans Ave. Further up the hill you go there, the better.
Don’t bother with Beechville, Lakeside and Timberlea, too many wannabee scumbags and druggy filth.
To TTFN:
What’s ‘The Well’??
It would be good to know your price range OP. I managed to find a place downtown for less than $700 with heat and hot water included. Most people would consider it a closet however, but I find you really get used to it. Some people require a lot of space I’ve noticed. The building is also kind of old. I also was able to get rid of my car because I live and work on the peninsula, so that’s a bunch of money I get to keep! I find the bus system is fine as long as you don’t want to leave the city. Getting from Halifax to Dartmouth by bus is the stupidest thing ever.
Head toward enfield, elmsdale out to Shubenacadie….if you like the country and want some peace and quiet…nice people, beautiful scenery and lots of wildlife…better than the city any day!
Princess Margaret Blvd. (Ocean Breeze) is a great place to live!
Woodlawn area, but it would be easier if the OB gave us a figure and whether a house or apartment.
OB, don’t move here. We don’t need anymore outsiders. We have enough of those claiming to be “international students.”
‘The Well’ is an area around the Romans Avenue public housing – that’s where the drug scene is and has been since the 70s.
1) check bedbug registry.
2) when viewing accommodations, look around at the neighborhood.
3) price in most case will dictate quality, except in the case of the south end (wayyyyyy overpriced).
4) stay away from Brunswick towers, highfield, spryfield, fairview.
where i live is fairly quiet and peaceful, in fairview. there are no drug gangs, no loud music noise. and the cops are here only when needed, which is very seldom.it is quiet, because i like it that way.you make too much noise in this building, then you will be asked to move out, that simple.
i have been here almost 7 years, and only 3 times, have someone been moved out for that reason. and this building, is like one big family. and the rent is very reasonable, at 600 bucks a month, for a 2 b.r. apartment.
Checking the bedbug registry, as SHITD pointed out, is a must in this burg. Here’s their site:
http://bedbugregistry.com/location/NS/hali…
It takes a while to load so be patient.
Hillbilly Hollow’s a great place to live provided you don’t mind wearing an asshole cork.
is that to deter the bears from raping you?
’cause you wouldn’t need the cork if you just kept your salmon in some other place.
some of the highfield places are nice.. and very affordable, even if they are on the bedbug registry. I just wouldn’t live on the ground floor.
It’s more primrose and pinecrest behind it that give it a bad name.
TT – is that because of stringent environmental bylaws or too many of these fellers running around the woods?
http://www.ybig.ie/forum/uploads/20101130_…
I meant to ask you on Sunday. How go the banjo lessons? I know you’re good; but are you ” this guy” good?
http://barelyawakeinfrogpajamas.files.word…
…also, any place where the locals don’t even bother to take down the crime scene tape is probably to be avoided. Unless you think “Gone to the store for a pack of smokes” counts as a suicide note with your insurance adjuster, and you like your pizzas delivered by ex-Blackwater contractors.
Take a look at our mayor:
http://us.acidcow.com/pics/20110425/distur…
You’d wear a cork too.
If you want to stay on the peninsula (Hfx):
North End (except the places coastreviewer mentioned) & West End (except by the PUBS/Romans Ave) are the most affordable and location’s great.
Then there’s Clayton Park – becoming more expensive but mixed old & new development there.
Then again, affordability also depends on whether you’re buying or renting.
Plunka-plunka-plunk, Ivaniski – all’s well in 5 string country. The canoe lessons come later.
You gotta bring it to a summit. We’ll tell the restaurant owners its a Nova Scotian Bouzouki and charge them with a hate crime if they don’t let you play. >: )
I don’t find north end Halifax dangerous, but there is a disturbing amount of hipsters. Don’t leave any big framed glasses or corduroy pants unattended and you should be safe. Also, their vision is based on movement like a T-Rex’s vision.
Spryfield’s a crap shoot; some areas are reasonably safe while in others, any cat with a tail is a tourist. Fairview’s getting a rough rep, primarily thanks to Evans Avenue and Dawn Street, but I’ve trod through those areas late at night without a hitch. The West End, where I currently live, is generally ok except, as mentioned, for the public housing along Romans north of Bayers Road; definitely not for newbies there. North End Dartmouth is the worst, especially around Pinecrest Avenue; you can’t put on a Spryfield rental application that you’ve lived on Pinecrest if you want the apartment. Of the North End on this side, I would avoid Uniacke Square, Mulgrave Park (though it’s gotten quieter there), and the Kencrest Avenue area near the MacKay bridge. Keep your head up in the area bounded by Cunard Street, Robie Street, and Young Street
Highfield, Lakecrest, Caledonia, North end Dartmouth, Windmill road, Jackson road, North End Halifax, Gottigen or “Got-a-gun” area up to agricola…basically beware of anywhere that’s really cheap rent.