Rising living costs have left Nova Scotians feeling priced out: ‘I struggle’

globalnews.ca:

Helen Babineau wants to return to her home province of Nova Scotia, but that just isn’t in the cards right now.Originally from the Cape Breton community of Chéticamp, Babineau moved to the Northwest Territories with her then-husband in 2019 for a work opportunity.When the marriage ended, she returned to Nova Scotia in June 2021 – but not for long. The following year, she found herself moving back up north as life had become unaffordable at home.“I can support myself here, whereas in Nova Scotia, I couldn’t,” Babineau, 53, said in a phone interview from her home in Yellowknife last week.“I would like to move back to Halifax, where my children are, but I can’t afford to.”Babineau is just one of many Nova Scotians who feel like they are being priced out of their home province due to the rising cost of housing, groceries, and other essentials.A big part of the issue, she said, is the province’s low wages.

Babineau, who works in the daycare industry, said while the cost of living in the Northwest Territories is similar to Nova Scotia, she makes much more money up north.In Yellowknife, she earns about $42 an hour. In Nova Scotia, she made about $18.Babineau is sad to have been priced out of the province she’s lived in her whole life, and hopes she can return someday.“It’s gut-wrenching.

I’m so far away from home,” she lamented.“I miss my family extremely, but I also don’t want to be a financial burden on my children when I get older, so I have to work and make some kind of a pension for myself so that maybe I’ll be able to live in a nursing home in Nova Scotia.”Historically, Nova Scotia has been seen as a more affordable place to live when compared with larger provinces like Ontario and B.C. – but due to low wages, life still