Halifax vs Vancouver

Ted.  We have just about wrapped up our month in Halifax, Nova Scotia and I’ve been comparing this stay with our experience last year in Vancouver, British Columbia. These two cities have much in common but there are also some distinct differences.

Downtown Halifax

Both cities are on an ocean and see a steady stream of cruise ships. Both exemplify that general Canadian niceness. For example, cars yield to pedestrians and people stand patiently at cross walks until the sign says to “walk.” The climate in summer is similar, i.e. much cooler than most of the US. The cost of things we buy seems roughly the same but the sales tax is 15% here and only 12% in BC.

We prefer the wine in BC but both cities have lots of great beers. In fact, Nova Scotia has 10 times the number of craft breweries per capita as Georgia (and Clark - twice as many per capita as Minnesota!)

The biggest difference is that Halifax is a whole lot smaller. There are about 400,000 folks in the metro area versus 2.5 million in greater Vancouver. Halifax is also much less diverse. About 85% of the Haligonians (yep, that’s what they’re called) are of European descent, whereas nearly 50% of the people in Vancouver are of Asian descent. This is apparent in the restaurants as well. Halifax focuses on traditional east coast seafood like chowder, lobster, scallops and fish & chips whereas Vancouver has hundreds of great Asian places.

Since it is so small, it is easy to get anywhere on "the Peninsula" (central Halifax) by foot or bus very quickly. We have rented cars for day trips on two occasions and in 15 minutes we are out in the country.

Nova Scotia has rolling hills, not snow-capped mountains. The rocky coast is gentler but nice, and I’m told the water is warmer.

It may be because of the size of the community but folks seem generally more open and chatty here. Now, we did spend a good bit of time in suburban North Vancouver and we found folks there to be friendlier than those across the harbor. Again, a smaller community often means more open citizens. Interestingly, we have only seen a handful of homeless people and no panhandlers in Halifax whereas they are omnipresent and occasionally irritating in Vancouver.

The history of Europeans in Nova Scotia is richer and far older than that in British Columbia but more of the First Nations traditions have survived in BC. There are good museums and galleries in both cities.

Halifax is sort of a mini-Boston whereas Vancouver is a Canadian Seattle. Each is great but I have to say that I feel a bit more relaxed in Halifax, largely because of the smaller scale. Southerners might relate to the difference between the similarly sized North Carolina cities of Asheville and Charlotte. 

We have enjoyed each city for what it has to offer and hope to return to both. But first, we have more of Canada to explore. It’s a big dadgum country!