PDF A chat with a U.K. family who are delighted with their purchase of Nova Scotia real estate
A few days after Christmas, 2008, I met Robert & Nicki D. at the modern Chester area bungalow that they purchased one year ago. Robert is a retired London (England) “Bobby” and Nicki is employed as an Accounts Department Manager for a large independent travel company in central London. They were in the Chester area for a one week vacation (their third visit this year) and they’ve invited me to their home for coffee
An aerial view of the area around the Village of Chester, NS
and a chat about their recent Nova Scotia real estate experience. Avid world travellers for many years, I asked them what had initially attracted them to Nova Scotia.
Nicki replied that “My grandfather was born here in 1898. His father was a Sergeant in the Royal Artillery based at the Halifax Citadel. They obviously traveled all over the world, so he was here only for a very short time. So, we’ve always had a connection with Nova Scotia, if you like. I’ve always wanted to come here.” Robert added, “We also were fairly frequent visitors to Maine and New England where we had friends, and fell in love with that sort of area … the coastline and the environment. We always liked New England, but we had friends move here and when we saw their photographs, it looked exactly like New England. So, we thought that we’d give Nova Scotia’s South Shore a look.”
They came, and were conquered. “It was the coastline that attracted us to the South Shore more than anything else. The reason we ended up in the Chester area was we have friends who have retired nearby. Equally important though, is that the Chester area for us is accessible year round. It’s only a forty-five minute drive from the Halifax airport. Plus, there seems to be a lot going on here out of season. It’s a short drive to Martock ski resort. There’s more happening, if you like. Theatre, restaurants. It’s got all the facilities that you’d want. We like coming here at all times of the year. Nicki is coming back in April with some girlfriends for a long weekend.”
Asked how long they spent on the ground in the Chester area before buying a property, they agreed that, “First, we spent a lot of time on Internet research prior to coming – property values, property types and information about the South Shore generally. Then, another English friend of ours who had bought a house in the Chester Village area told us about Tradewinds Realty. She’d worked with (Tradewinds Realtor) Bill Hadskis to purchase her residence, and she recommended him highly. We made two trips here for a combined total of ten days.”
“We offered on a beautifully renovated heritage house in Riverport, and then the inspection report was done on it and there were problems. We loved the house but, at the end of the day, it was difficult. We learned that the heritage property needed a lot more work, and constant attention. Not being here permanently, we felt that it was too much to take on, though we did love the house. We’ve always lived in “period” properties. We’d have had no trouble doing the work if we were here full time. By this time we were looking closer to Chester. We also fell in love with this bungalow as soon as we viewed it. It ticked all our boxes, so to speak, of things we wanted.”
Asked to compare the experience of buying real estate in Nova Scotia with that in the U.K., they both agreed that “It’s one thousand percent better here. Agents are so much more professional. They worked for us instead of themselves. Everything was explained very well to us.
Also, when you make an offer on a property here and it’s accepted, it’s binding. In England, it’s not binding, and you go through months worrying that something’s going to change, you know? You sit on a knife’s edge and you sit there until almost the last month, before you find out if the sale is going to go through (i.e. close). The whole transaction here was handled very professionally by all involved. The system here is ten times better than in England. We were lucky; we sold our house in the UK before we bought here. We were so lucky. The timing was perfect. We couldn’t have wished for better.”
Next, I asked, “Is there anything you’d do differently if you were doing it again?” Robert quickly chuckled and noted that, “I would have exchanged my money when we first made the decision to buy a house here, because I’d be about £10,000 up now. Paul, I think that we were
very well guided by Bill Hadskis.” Nicki added, “When we arrived, we had a meeting at the Tradewinds Realty office in Chester and reviewed the properties we had found on the Internet. Bill and (assisting Realtor) Lynn Stewart had previewed the properties before our arrival, and we eliminated several of them because the research done by the agents turned up information that was not obvious to Robert and I from the internet listings. Their research was extremely helpful, and exactly what we needed.” Robert summed up by saying, “If people do the same research we did and get a good agent, then their work’s done. I’m convinced of it, and it’s an enjoyable experience finding a place. Quite exciting, actually. Most pleasing was to find the best property for us in the best location and to be blessed with really good neighbours as well. Our neighbours have been excellent. We found them very understanding – that we’re not living here all the time at the moment. They keep an eye on the house for us. They also have been very good for local advice, and they’ve become friends. That’s a bonus to finding the right property.”
As for their young children, “They love it here. It’s the outdoor life that they like – being able to play outside. Also, the wildlife – humming birds, deer, the biggest red fox I’ve ever seen, squirrels and chipmunks. They also like to play with the neighbours’ dogs. Their favourite thing though, is jumping around on the huge rocks at Peggy’s Cove.”
Now that they have had some time to explore the area, one of their most pleasant surprises has been the ocean beaches and the national parks. “They are even better than we were expecting. They are unspoiled. We’ve been to Hirtles Beach (near Kingsburg), Bayswater Beach (near Blandford) a couple of times and Crescent Beach (at the mouth of the LaHave River). We often go to the Tradewinds web cams at home when we’re missing the South Shore just to see what’s happening in Chester and down at Lunenburg.”
Finally, I asked if they had any advice for other residents of the U.K. who are thinking of investing in Nova Scotia real estate, and I was not disappointed. “The equivalent to the Chester area in England would be Cornwall, but here it’s a lot quieter and not as touristy. To get this property (with over one-half an acre of land and a distant ocean view) in a comparable location in Cornwall would be around £600,000. We paid one-quarter of that here. The coastline is the major similarity. We feel the climate here is also much better overall than in the U.K. People at home say, ‘Nova Scotia – it must be really cold there.’ I look at the temperatures day by day on the Internet (Weather Network), and it’s generally nicer here than it is in the U.K. Sure, you can get some extremes of weather, but that makes life more interesting than living under almost constant grey skies at home.”
One of the major attractions for Robert and Nicki when they travel abroad are beaches. “We’ve traveled around the world many, may times, and I would say that the beaches here are better. Apart from the ocean here being cold, the beaches are unspoiled, quiet and the backdrop to the beaches is just stunning, isn’t it? I think that there are very few good beaches that you can go to in the world that are as unoccupied, as vacant as they are here. If you find a good beach anywhere else in the world, including the Caribbean, there are only a certain number of beaches on those islands that are any good. I wouldn’t say those are as accessible as our beaches here are. The beaches on the South Shore are great for children. They’re not plagued with shops and amusements and people charging you to rent deck chairs; everywhere else you go in the world, you have to pay just to go on the beach. The beaches are free here. No vendors. A very big point for us is that people here seem to take their rubbish away.”
“Another thing”, Robert added, “It’s very much a safe environment here. Road safety and personal safety here compared to the U.K. is a big plus for us as well. Our children would never play outside on the street at home. People here drive closer to the speed limit. They respect children’s school zones. There’s a lot more respect for the rules here. The general feeling of well-being here – the fresh air, the fresh food, the personal safety, lack of pressure when you’re driving – all those things make for a really relaxing place to live. It almost sounds too idyllic, but we can’t speak highly enough of the place. Those are the simple facts of it.”
”Any further advice?”, I asked. Robert: “Maybe, follow our lead, do all your initial research on the Internet through the various sites available, work within your budget, and come over and have a look, identify the areas you’d consider living in. Bear in mind, above all, their accessibility. We’ve done long weekend trips to Lake Placid (N.Y.), Boston, and lots of places in Europe, so we want it very accessible to the airport for a weekend. A 45 minute drive here for the weekend is no effort, but a 2 ½ or 3 hour drive to Cape Breton, you’d be looking at putting in a lot of extra driving time, and making extra work for yourself. It’s also only a six hour flight here from Heathrow – less than New York, less than Boston, and not a lot further from the U.K. than the Canary Islands. It’s not a massive journey.”
Other miscellaneous observations by Nicki and Robert … Nicki: “There’s very good shopping here and the staff are very helpful. The shop prices for groceries are pretty much the same as in the U.K. and here there is better quality, fresher seafood/vegetables and more variety. Also, the restaurants here are far better value, especially if you love seafood as we do. For example, you will not better our favourites – the Mediterranean fish soup at the Innlet Café in Mahone Bay, or the lobster and shrimp pizza at the Rope Loft in Chester.”
Robert: “The pace of life here is laid back. Even if you were working here, it would be a far easier pace of life. Great for children, too.”
Nicki: “The stunning scenery and coastlines are the big attractions. The ocean views are everywhere. It’s gorgeous, and so quiet, silent. It feels so natural.” Robert: “We’re both born and bred Londoners. We came home last night, got out of the car and looked at the stars filling the entire sky. You can never do that in London. The children saw their first shooting stars.”
While they are currently using their Chester area home for vacations and long weekend visits, they are seriously considering becoming more permanent residents. Robert is even thinking of a second storey addition for a master bedroom suite with a balcony for future enjoyment of their cherished ocean and offshore island views.
editor: Tim Harris
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