Halifax or Victoria? Who's Been to both?

[Cory13]

Hi guys I'll be going to BMQ in a few months and I would like to know if anyone serving in the Navy has been to both bases (CFB Halifax and CFB Esquimalt) When the time comes I would like to know where I would prefer to go I've never been to either so any information would help (Cost of living, weather, the town itself, people, size, nightlife etc) I've looked up what I can but google and wikipedia can only do so much 

Thanks for all your answers!!
 

 

[SeanNewman]

Very jealous that those are your two choices.

 

[Luke O]

I'm hoping I'll be posted to Halifax, mainly because it's only 3 hours from home, but it's also a nice place.

Cost of living would be greater in Esquimalt compared to Halifax.

Nightlife in Halifax is pretty good aswell, as there is 3 universities in the city.  So there will be lots of university girls, depending on your age.  But since you asked about nightlife I'm going to assume you are in that range.

 

[northernboy_24]

What do you like to do? Where is your family and do you want to be near them?  Where is your trade training?  PLD is meant to somewhat take the difference in cost of living out of the picture.

I love Victoria and everything that CFB Esquimalt has to offer.  That being said I am tired of winter and snow.  Hailing from Thunder Bay, I can say I am ready to have winters where I can run along the harbour in shorts.  In January I left Thunder Bay and it was -18, I arrived in Victoria and was running in shorts with cherry blossoms starting to bloom along the harbour.  Halifax has a winter.  I have not lived in either city however, having visited I would say Victoria is where I am going to request to stay after trades training.  I know my trades training is in Victoria and I am not upset about that.

That being said, I know lots of people that love Halifax and want to return after trades training to the east coast. So what do YOU want?

 

[Sub_Guy]

If you plan on renting, it would be cheaper in Esq, real estate is the only thing that is more expensive in Esq.  Everything else is cheaper, it all comes down to what you want.  You will probably get to experience Esq before you get posted, because nearly all the 3s courses are run out west.

 

[Cory13]

Thanks for the responses so far Luke O I'm 23 and single so yeah nightlife would be something to consider. Northernboy_24 That must have been so nice to run in the winter like that! I looked up the temp there and I saw that it's pretty warm year round. As for my trade it's a Marine Electrician and I will be in BC for 9 weeks, my parents are in Alberta but I'm a newfie so i have family on both sides both have pro's and con's I can't get an upper hand on one AHH!! lol

 

[roame]

I have never been to Halifax but I'm from Victoria the night life isn't bad but its not a jumbo city with a huge bar street. There is a few clubs downtown and since they built the new arena theres pretty good concerts now. Vancouver is just a 2 hour boat ride away and there is tons of night life there. the weather is amazing if u don't mind the rain and there is many Beach's nice  running trails parks etc.

 

[FSTO]

Lived in Halifax from 91-94 and Victoria from 99-08. Halifax was great for a young person and bought our first home there. Weather wise Victoria won out hands down. Now that the fleet is balanced out there is no real advantage career wise being on the east or west coast. Victoria is close to two very large urban areas although you have to go by sea ( 2 hours to Vancouver via BC Ferries where you have the Lions, Canucks and Whitecaps for sports; Seattle is an 1 1/2 via the Victoria Clipper where you have the Mariners and Seahawks).

 

[jollyjacktar]

Each coast has it's advantages and disadvantages.  But the two coasts are like two different Navies as well, each has it's own style and ways.  You might, dependent upon your trade get exposure to both sides during the training cycle which might help you to make up your mind.  Of course, the needs of the Navy come first and you will be put where you are needed.  For my trade, we were asked at the completion of our QL5 which coast we wanted to nominate as our Home Port Division.  Mine is the East Coast, I don't want the West, and that selection helps to keep me here.  If you get the choice, choose wisely as it may be hard to move to the other coast later on.  Good luck, and welcome to the Navy.

 

[EpicBeardedMan]

I'm assuming you don't get to pick where you go after your ql3? Even though my recruiter told me and a friend that was interested in the Navy that you do

 

[aesop081]

I'm assuming you don't get to pick where you go after your ql3?

Once again :

While you can state your preference .....the decision is not yours.

 

[Pusser]

Once again :

While you can state your preference .....the decision is not yours.

However, requesting a Home Port Division (HPD) is not the same as putting in choices for a posting.  Yes, the exigencies of the service take priority, but HPD choices are considered more carefully because they're virtually permanent.  Hard sea trades don't move as much as other trades, so you will spend most of your career on one coast or the other.  Then, even if you are posted to Ottawa or as regular support staff at a Reserve unit, chances are you will be returned to your HPD afterwards.  Be prepared and put some thought into your choice.  It is also worth noting that not all Navy trades have HPDs.  The smaller ones do not and that means you can still be posted from coast to coast periodically.  Coast to coast postings for trades with HPDs are rare.  Furthermore, officers do not have HPDs.

Having said all that, I have been posted both ashore and afloat on both coasts and will state this without hesitation:  Canada has two navies.  We dress alike and we paint our ships the same colour, but after that, the differences start to emerge.  There are good thing and bad things about how the Navy works on each coast, but my preference is East.  I find I like the Navy better there.  In my view, the East Coasters seem to have a better sense of what's really important and the West Coast gets too wrapped around the axle about things that really aren't that big a deal.  I had a lot more fun on the East Coast then I did on the West.

I also enjoyed living in Halifax a lot better.  Halifax and Victoria are about the same size, but Halifax is a regional centre of many things, whereas on the West Coast, everything is in Vancouver, which can be a $200 round trip, depending on the size of your family.  I also find Maritimers a lot more friendly than the granola crowd out west.  We moved into a house in Halifax and knew all the neighbours within a week.  In Esquimalt, it took us almost five years to make any friends.  As an aside here, don't poo poo Esquimalt as a place to live - it has a bad reputation it does NOT deserve.  In fact, the "bad" part of Esquimalt is actually Vic West - part of Victoria.  The bar scene in Halifax is definitely superior and the natives are friendlier.

We live in Ottawa now and we really don't miss Victoria.  In fact, in our view we've found that Victoria makes Ottawa look like a warm friendly place.

PS:  The weather in Victoria is overrated.  Average annual rainfall in both Victoria and Halifax is about the same.  The only real difference is that you don't have to shovel rain.  We like seasons though.

 

[Lumber]

So far I've spent one summer in Hali and one summer in Vic. My experience is a little limited, but for someone younger my view point may be helpful.

Halifax

Pros:

• awesome night life
• bars open until 330am
• friendly people
• newfies!
• affordable housing
• St.John's and Savannah as port visits
• Mediterranean Tours
• lower cost of living

Cons:

• Hurricanes
• Snows, lots of snow
• OP Nanook

Esquimalt

Pros:

• Beautiful City
• Lots of outdoor activities
• Lots of clubs, bars
• long motorcycle riding season
• Portland Rose Festival

Cons:

• Ridiculous housing costs
• RIMPAC
• Terrible, TERRIBLE drivers
• Rain, lots of rain
• higher cost of living
• Suicidal bus drivers
• "Clicky" people
• "BC is the Best Place in the World" attitude (seriously, it's on their license plates)

Now, I'm from Ontario, and I can drive home from Hali in 15 hours (done it), but you can't do that from Victoria, so there is a little bias there.

When I say "clicky" people in BC, they may not be that bad; it may just be that people in Halifax just seem so friendly. Everyone is your friend in the Maritimes, or so it seemed when I was there. In BC, people just seem a lot less interested in getting to know you.

But hey, my experience is limited, so WTFDIK.

Cheers,

:2c:

 

[Sub_Guy]

It actually rains more in Halifax.  The winter months in Vic tend to be cloudy and damp, there have been times where the sun has disappeared for weeks.  Once spring arrives the clouds and dampness disappear, there is a reason why BC is a tinder box every summer.

As for the cost of living, sure Halifax might have houses which are a tad cheaper, but there is a reason why Hali gets PLD.  It is expensive to live in Nova Scotia, I am a big fan of the taxes here, 2nd highest in Canada.

 

[aesop081]

• Cons:
  

  • RIMPAC

  
  There is absolutely nothing wrong with RIMPAC.
  
  

  • higher cost of living

  
  My pay jumped up by $200 each pay when i left Nova Scotia. My car insurance droped by 50% and a 4L of milk costs half as much in BC as it does in NS. I can go on......
  

 

[Kat Stevens]

The license plates in Victoria say "Beautiful British Columbia", if you find that not to be true, you never got up to the Malahat or any of a zillion other places.  If a case can be made for a desireable posting by it's proximity to Ontario, I'd take Victoria any time, you can't get any farther away without your hat floating.

 

[Lumber]

The license plates in Victoria say "Beautiful British Columbia", if you find that not to be true, you never got up to the Malahat or any of a zillion other places.  If a case can be made for a desireable posting by it's proximity to Ontario, I'd take Victoria any time, you can't get any farther away without your hat floating.

I was referring to the other license plates that read "greatest place on earth."

I had as a pro the beautiful scenery, it was the attitude I was referring to.

A young woman on the bus one day said to her friend "BC is the greatest place in the world, it's the only place where people actually say thank you to the bus drivers."

I almost threw up in my mouth.

 

[Lumber]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with RIMPAC.

You're opinion, fly boy.

 

[dimsum]

If you want skiing, golfing, surfing, general outdoorsy stuff, go to BC.  Yeah, it's expensive, but there's a reason people generally move out there and don't really want to leave. 

On my last move from a few years of bouncing around Canada (I'm from ON, in case anyone was thinking I'm biased), I grinned like an idiot once I drove across the AB/BC border  ;D

 

[EpicBeardedMan]

I was referring to the other license plates that read "greatest place on earth."

I had as a pro the beautiful scenery, it was the attitude I was referring to.

A young woman on the bus one day said to her friend "BC is the greatest place in the world, it's the only place where people actually say thank you to the bus drivers."

I almost threw up in my mouth.

That's funny. I lived in BC for a year once and a girl was talking to her friend in the booth next to us at Kelsey's and was going on about how awesometacular BC was. I'm leaning more towards Halifax nowadays.