One year in Canada on PR!!!

Hiya everyone - It is exactly one year since we landed in Canada! It has been an exciting journey in the past year.

Some of our key highlights 

• International travel has been hassle free. With PR card, travel to other countries has been easy. We were able to travel to US and India without having to worry about immigration. 
• We were able to create this blog and help out a lot of express entry aspirants with their application.
• We survived the winter in Halifax! This was not as bad as it was made out to be. It has milder winters than most parts of Canada.  The city is well connected even in winter. There is infrastructure to clean the snow, ice and sleet during winter. Obviously there are days when it is advisable to not venture outside but we have it better than most cities. We also have a lot of sunlight during winter.
• Public transportation is good. We use it to commute to work. It can save you $$.
• While taxes are high in Nova Scotia (15% sales tax), it forces you to optimize your expenses. If you were used to a lot of spending (whether it is restaurants/shopping etc.), then you would experience a huge impact. You would have to either cut down on spending or experience a decline in savings.
• We noticed that some of the services in Canada even with taxes seemed cheaper than in US. For example, dental services such as root canal or cavity filling were cheaper in Canada than in North Carolina, USA. Even beauty services such as laser treatment were cheaper and better than in US.
• House purchase process is easy but can get expensive soon. So you have to be careful and watch your expenses. It is all about your priorities and you can build your life accordingly.
• Home renovation too is a tedious process and requires research. But you have many resources for the same. More in a later post.
• Financial services websites and apps are little less matured as compared to the US. Some features like portfolio analysis which was automatically provided by US Fidelity Investments are not available on Questrade. But they are definitely catching up. Not a deal breaker!!!
• Nova Scotia is truly blessed with natural beauty. Proximity to the ocean has bought us a lot of peace. Running alongside Halifax harbor is truly relaxing! There are so many places that are not famous but truly worth your money. Several tourists visit Halifax every summer and fall for the same. We will also blog about our travels in future.

Overall, we have been happier and looking forward to sharing the same with you all!