After a long year of working on the porch in Toronto, I moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia towards the end of 2020. I’d long intended to move to the Maritimes at some point, but given the Year of COVID meant that offices were significantly less important, and I could more or less work from anywhere, it seemed like a good time to bring the plan forward a few years.
So now, I live on the edge of Halifax, a couple of kilometers from the wilderness of Blue Mountain-Birch Cove Lakes, and close to Hemlock Ravine Park, with a small woodland in the back yard and views of Bedford Basin. I dearly love it here, both the land and the people are wonderful, and it is a true privilege to be part of this community.
Oh, and did I mention the deer? Yes, we have white-tailed deer visiting most days. The house is on their browsing trail, and they’re often passing through and eating everything they can. There are black-capped chickadees nesting in one of our trees, woodpeckers and nuthatches are around most days. And American red squirrels will chatter at you if you infringe on their little territories while they stuff nuts into their little mouths.
Some of our visiting white-tailed deer, seen from our back window
Moving house in COVID times was not without challenges, managing viewings, packing, and finding a whole new place to live. Nova Scotia has a good and strict quarantine system, so we have to isolate completely for two weeks on arrival, with daily check-ins.
All totally worth it, though. I don’t think I’ve felt as comfortable living somewhere for many, many years.