Anyone here from New Brunswick?

[Vinca]

My husband is going up to the St. Stephen/St. Andrews area in a couple of weeks to look at houses. We noticed in the real estate ads that most houses have electric heat. Since that's an unthinkable thing where we live (New Hampshire) because of the cost, we wondered if electricity is more affordable north of the border. Is it regulated by the government?

[lostinacause]

1. I don't think that energy prices are any cheaper.

The biggest thing that you will save money on is housing. The prices are incredible. The Maritimes typically have very high unemployment and I believe New Brunswick is no exception. My sister is studying there, if you want more information you can ask.

[Vinca]

2. You're right about the price of houses. We're interested in a great

one close to the water that would shake out to about $80,000 US. The electric heat thing is bothering me, but it's not insurmountable. Does your sister like being in New Brunswick? We're not too concerned about the unemployment since we plan to generate income from across the border in Maine. Our major motivation, since we're self-employed, is the health care situation - impossible in this country, peace of mind in Canada. (My husband's a Canadian-American, so the immigration thing isn't a big hurdle.) Plus, after all these years of the Bush regime, we're both feeling more in tune with Canada and think it will be a pleasant change.

[HEyHEY]

4. Also, I paid about $130 a month to electricly heat my large apartment

[lostinacause]

11. Don't get your hopes up about the political situation.

Harper and friends have some agendas that they are not sharing with the rest of the nation. The turmoil brought out by the sponsorship scandal means uncertainty regarding the party in power.

Regarding New Brunswick, my sister likes it though I’m sure she would like anything that is not Alberta. She likes the freedom associated with being away from home.

[HEyHEY]

3. I lived there for college

Yes, electricty is cheaper there, I imagine it's government subsidized. I live in BC and remember being amazed at how cheap it was. Lots run on oil too. There is a big guffe in NB because they have no natural gas infrastructure, yet they're going to put in a pipeline pumping NG to the US that goes through NB and NB residents won't have access to it.

[Hand]

5. Electric heat can cost you a bundle...

Although the alternative in the Maritimes is oil, which is going through the roof, so the cost differential is plainly decreasing. Initial home prices are lower with electric heat, since it eliminates the capital costs of ductwork, furnace purchase and installation, etc., but you'll face some pretty impressive electric bills.

New Brunswick's a nice place, even if it is the Province of Swine. (Um, I'm from Nova Scotia, needless to say.)

:hi:

[HEyHEY]

6. It is though

Rural New Brunswick makes the Trailer Park Boys look like New England Debutantes.

[Vinca]

7. I almost hate to ask, but . . .

why Province of Swine? Is it the obvious . . . lots of pig farms? One alternative when faced with electric heat are the heating units made by a company called Hydro-Sil. I forget what they have in them that holds the heat, but they are fairly economical to run. We put them in a small addition in our current house and were pretty impressed with them. Plan B would be wood heat. A neighbor of ours has an outdoor wood furnace that looks like a little shed. He loads it once a day and forgets about it. Having personally caused a chimney fire, I'm reluctant to have anything in the house. It's a shame Canada doesn't have an island in the Caribbean.

[achtung_circus]

8. Well, why didn't you say so????

<http://www.canadiancontent.net/commtr/article_676.html>

[Vinca]

9. WOW! That would be a dream come true!

I had no idea Canada was interested in the Turks and Caicos. We will definitely keep this on the radar. It would be perfect!

[ninty]

10. It's not going to happen

Global news did that big report a year ago on it, but I haven't heard anything on it since. Canadians would love a getaway in the Carabian, and the Turks and Cacos would like to have more ties with a western country, but politics will get in the way and nothing will happen as per usual.

[Hand]

12. Oh, that's just this thing I say all the time...

With reference to New Brunswick--call it interprovincial animosity. If I were from there, I'd probably call Nova Scotia the Province of Swine. Fortunately, I'm from Nova Scotia and know better... :rofl:

Wood heat is actually a quite common option in the Maritimes; there's certainly plenty of fuel. Modern wood stoves sell pretty well and can readily heat a whole house.

[Vinca]

13. So pigs aren't taking over the province?? Actually,

my husband was born in Antigonish and spent his summers in Glace Bay with his grandparents. Nova Scotia is our first choice, but he has a professional license that is transferable to Maine and would be a pain to acquire in Canada, so the border of New Brunswick and Maine makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised to eventually find us in Nova Scotia though.

[Hand]

14. Cead mille failte...

(however the hell you pronounce it). Well, if you move here, you can lambast New Brunswick like all right-thinking folks! :evilgrin: