Reply #43: Wow, this thread can't be killed! [View All]

[NinetySix]

I haven't looked at Country: Canada since I posted on this thread last year, and I must say, I'm astonished at all of the responses you've received, not to mention your tenacious kicking.

I've just returned from a trip home to the States. I enjoyed it, but it really brought the differences between the US and Canada into sharp focus for me. GOD I'm glad I don't live there anymore! It's really amazing to note the sheer mass of the vehicles people drive just over the border, and with gas climbing toward $2.50, too! Around here, the Chevy Suburban is just comically huge, and typically finds itself surrounded by sensible Hondas.

I read in the thread that you've been leaning toward Kings County for your projected purchase. It's hard to go wrong there. Murray Harbour is lovely, if a bit small. Another lovely town in Kings, Montague, is a bit larger and might provide more of the amenities, but I've never lived in either, so I can't compare their residential aspects. Another suggestion I might make if you're thinking about the eastern end, though, is southeastern Queens County, near Belfast. It's small and very rural, formerly tobacco country, but right by the TransCanada highway and only about 20-25 minutes from Charlottetown (making it accessible for a quick jaunt, even in the winter).

Summer up here is brief, relatively mild (in the low 80s all this week, but that's warm with no air conditioning), and polluted with tourists. When you've been here long enough, the Americans are as easy to spot as the Japanese, only more plentiful. AVOID touristy areas until after the Gold Cup and Saucer Parade in mid-August when Summer officially ends. Just don't confuse 'touristy' with 'cultural' and you'll be doing well; the Highland Festival and the Rollo Bay Fiddle Festival (both weeks past now) are just some of the highlights of the Island Summer, when its culture is spread out like a banquet for all to enjoy. Oh, remember I said avoid all things touristy? I take it back with regard to one possible tourist destination: the Olde Dublin Pub on Sydney St. in Charlottetown. The food is only fair and I don't drink Guiness myself, but the entertainment is second to none among the bar venues in town. Look for Sons of Maxwell and Jar O' Comfort for a really worthwhile evening out.

Don't concern yourself over the prospect of coming after Thanksgiving. Indian Summer lingers mercifully into the Fall around these parts, and the show put on by the trees around that time will make it an ideal visit for you. The hiking is spectacular and thoroughly satisfying in the Fall, so if that's your thing, find a spot close to the Rails to Trails, formerly the railroad before all of the tracks were taken up.

If you want to know anything more specific (wasn't all that specific enough for ya?!?), feel free to PM me -- God knows when I'll check this forum again!