Living in Halifax

The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) was created on April 1, 1996, when the City of Halifax, the City of Dartmouth, the Town of Bedford and Halifax County merged into one municipality. Locally, people still say Halifax for the former city, while places like Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville keep their own community names. One council, one tax system and one set of city services cover all of it.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

The peninsula is the historic core, with downtown, the waterfront boardwalk, Citadel Hill, the North End and Point Pleasant Park at the southern tip. Mainland Halifax covers the communities off the peninsula, such as Clayton Park and Spryfield, with Bedford at the head of the Bedford Basin. The peninsula has more older homes and walkable streets, while the mainland has more newer subdivisions and bigger lots. I can walk you through which side fits the way you live.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

Halifax Transit runs both the buses and the harbour ferries. The Alderney Ferry crosses between downtown Halifax and downtown Dartmouth in about 12 minutes, every 15 minutes at weekday peak times and every 30 minutes otherwise, seven days a week. The Woodside Ferry runs weekdays only. You can pay with the HFXGO app, tickets or passes, or exact cash, and an HFXGO ticket is good for 150 minutes of transfers between buses and ferries, so check the current fares page before you ride.

Source: halifax.ca, halifax.ca

The QEII Health Sciences Centre is the main adult hospital, a teaching hospital affiliated with Dalhousie University, spread over two downtown sites: the Halifax Infirmary and the Victoria General. The emergency department is the Charles V. Keating Emergency and Trauma Centre at the Halifax Infirmary site. The IWK Health Centre on University Avenue provides care for children, youth, women and newborns across the Maritimes, and in an emergency you should always call 911.

Source: nshealth.ca, iwkhealth.ca

Sign up for Nova Scotia Health's Need a Family Practice Registry, either online or by calling 811 (weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). If you are new to Nova Scotia and don't have a health card yet, you register by phone and must give your health card number within four months. There is no set wait time, and services like VirtualCareNS and pharmacy primary care clinics need a Nova Scotia health card, so apply for your card as soon as you arrive.

Source: nshealth.ca

Six of Nova Scotia's ten universities are in HRM: Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent University, NSCAD University, the University of King's College and the Atlantic School of Theology. That student population shapes the rental market and the feel of the neighbourhoods around the campuses.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

The overnight winter parking ban runs every year from December 15 to March 31, from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m., but it is only enforced on nights when the municipality declares it for a storm or cleanup. Zone 1 covers the Halifax peninsula and downtown Dartmouth inside Highway 111, and Zone 2 is everywhere else, and the ban can be lifted in one zone and not the other. Cars left on the street can be ticketed or towed, so sign up for HRM's alerts and look for off-street parking when you buy.

Source: halifax.ca

HRM's standard is to clear main roads, transit routes and steep hills within 12 hours after the snow stops, and residential streets within 24 hours. The municipality also clears sidewalks, with residential sidewalks done within 36 hours. Provincial roads are handled by Nova Scotia Public Works (call 511), and HRM's online map shows who looks after your street.

Source: halifax.ca

Curbside collection alternates garbage and the green cart (food and yard waste) on different weeks, with recycling going out in blue bags. Everything has to be at the curb by 7 a.m. on collection day. The HFX Recycles app or the Waste Wizard at halifax.ca will give you your schedule and remind you, and it will tell you what goes where.

Source: halifax.ca, halifax.ca, dal.ca