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Category Archives: First Timers

Moving to Prince Edward Island

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PEI SeascapeYou may have decided to move to PEI because of the scenery. Perhaps you have moved to Prince Edward Island for the peace and quiet. Perhaps you moved to PEI for a job opportunity.  Regardless of the reasons, Prince Edward has a lot to offer.

I know that moving can be stressful. I have moved 9 times, lived in 6 municipalities in three provinces.  That is not a lot of moves by today’s standards but it does give me the opportunity to claim some experience.

Fortunately, there is a lot of help available to those who choose to move here. Let’s start with the Government Website.  There is a section for residents.

Medical

The first section is on medical services. The first link in that group is called Medicare where you will find out how to get a health card and the waiting list for family physicians.  Yes, we have a shortage of doctors here also.

Schools

Then there is a section on schools, including information on financial programs. In the wintertime, we can get several bus delays, late openings, or snow days.  Most radio stations will announce these in the morning or you can check online.  Here is one of my favourite storm watch pages. If you check this page during a snowstorm, you will see several announcements.

Basic Needs

Section 3 is on basic needs. It includes social programs and housing. The link to rental agreements is broken at the moment so I have included it here. Prince Edward Island is known to have several verbal leases.  I inquired about this and found out they are perfectly legal. They function the same way as month to month leases with the usual 30-day notice to terminate. However, you may run into minor issues if you require a copy of your lease for tax purposes – just ask the landlord for a letter stating verbal lease agreement.

Motor Vehicles

Section 4 deals with transportation: how to get your driver’s licence,vehicle registration, etc. If you do not have a vehicle, you can take the bus, but is seems the government website has forgotten to tell us about public transit – see below

Environment

The last section has a clump of information labelled environment. Don’t be fooled! There is considerable useful information here. Ooops, another broken link for waste management. Sorting your garbage can be tricky if you are not used to composting (organics) and extensive recycling. You will find a very good interactive guide. Electronics and batteries, for example have to be recycled responsibly at designated centres. Check out the address locator. Once you know where you will be living, you can find out your garbage collection day, including fall cleanup and Christmas Trees. It will also tell you your Fire and Police District, your member of parliament and riding, school district and much more.

Local Transportation

So you do not have a car. The city of Charlottetown has had municipal bus service for a few years.  You can find the full schedule on the internet, including an interactive Google map version for the main line. The web site also has links for bus routes to the neighbouring communities of Stratford and Cornwall. There is also a shuttle that runs morning and night between Charlottetown and Summerside with stops in Hunter River and Kensington.

Then there is a special section just on Moving to PEI.  It is hard to find but I found it after writing all the above.  Waste not what si already there, but please visit the official moving site  🙂 it features the following topics:

  • All about PEI+
  • Banks and Credit Unions+
  • Building on PEI+
  • Buying Land on PEI+
  • Child Care Facilities
  • Churches+
  • Currency and Banks
  • Driving on PEI+
  • Emergency+
  • Employment+
  • Health Care Services
  • Libraries
  • Public Schools+
  • Real Estate+
  • Reference+
  • Rental Housing+
  • Transportation+

putting the cart before the horse

Call it the cart before the horse, a catch 22 or a vicious circle, it all works out the same. You can’t get a driver’s licence or bank account without an address.  It is hard to register for a job without an address. You cannot buy a car or insure it without a driver’s licence or address. You probably cannot rent somewhere to get an address without proof of employment and a bank account for reference.  So if you move to PEI without a car and are looking for a job, things might be complicated for the first few weeks.  Be patient; things will eventually work out. If you have a car and are planning to dispose of it, consider doing so on the Island so you have a car for the first few critical days while house and job hunting. It is impossible to cover alll the possible permutations here – A man who has been warned is worth two – Literal translation of a French Proverb.

There are plenty of other forms of help for people moving to PEI:

  • The PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada has several resources; many of those are also applicable to moving from another province.
  • The Islanders by Choice Alliance has a website a  Facebook page, and a blog.
  • The PEI Government has its own “job bank” where you can search for public sector and private sector jobs.
  • The city of Summerside has just launched a site for skills matching
  • The Confederation Bridge has a useful website that includes Rates and current conditions.
  • The Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) regulates fuel and oil prices.  These are usually modified on the 1st and the 15th of the month.

I hope my list of references is useful. I have probably forgotten a dozen or more resources for newcomers or existing residents. If you have suggestions, please let me know and I will include in an update.  I am hoping to keep this page up to date for a permanent reference.

Cheers – Granny – ~00~

 

 

PEI Visitor’s Guide

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PEI visitor's Guide

First Time visitors to Prince Edward Island may not know about the visitor’s guide.  This is a great publication to help plan your trip. You will see a link picture similar to this one on several pages of the tourism website, telling you where to order a free guide. Furthermore, it is available online. You also have the choice of viewing it in a flash application or you can download the PDF for thew section that interests you. If you choose the latter, be sure to take the introductory pages that include the PACKAGES (see my other posts on packaging) and essentials.

Finding the packages on the government website is a bit tricky. From the main page you can select THINGS TO DO. There you will find events, beaches, authentic experiences, and many more choices. There is another page on Package offers. There you will find these choices:

Notice the packages designed around the visit of Will and Kate.  One that caught my eye was Royal Tea!

If you are looking for special events, you can search by date, community, and even key word.  See is a listing of the special events from now til the end of June.

Similarly, you can search tours.

No matter what, order a printed guide.  This will be useful when you try to remember the accommodation or the attraction you had selected.  But, remember to spend some time online where the power of the Internet allows you to search and refine your holiday plans.

So how do you get to the PEI tourism website?  My favourite shortcut is peiplay.com. You can also try gentleisland.com.

Plan a wonderful holiday

Granny ~oo~

PEI Questions and Answers

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More Q&A.  See the first set of Q&A in an earlier post.

How do I get to PEI?

Prince Edward Island is accessible by air: Flights usually route through Montreal or Halifax.  However, in the summertime, there are many more flights coming from other major centres in North America. You can also get here by Ferry from Caribou NS to Wood Islands PE.  Consult the schedule and verify.  In the off season, there are just a few trips per day and the ferry closes from Christmas to late spring.  In the summertime, the ferry is quite busy and reservations are recommended. You can also take the bridge from New Brunswick. This is truly a memorable experience and the bridge is a wonder feat of architecture.  Again you should check the bridge status during inclement weather.  High winds will cause travel restrictions. Note that you only pay when you leave PEI.  The bridge will cost a regular vehicle $43.25 and the ferry will cost you $65.

How big is Prince Edward Island?

The Island is 224 km (140 mi) long and from 6-64 km (4-40 mi) wide. The total area is 5,660 square Kilometres (2,184 sq. mi). The Population is about 140,000 which does not amount to much more than one medium city elsewhere.  This being said, PEI is the most densely populated province in Canada.  Thus you are unlikely to ever get lost in the middle of nowhere, and perhaps more important, you are not likely to ever get stuck in a half hour traffic jam.

What are the symbols of PEI?

On greenvaleacres.com, I found details the coat of arms, flag, etc for PEI.

It is another nice day on PEI and I’m off to the garden.  More about PEI tomorrow

Granny ~oo~

PEI Information

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info

It is wise to be informed before coming for your prince Edward Island Vacation.

Fortunately, the Internet is always ready to help. In case you forget the address for the PEI Tourism site, use my favourite equivalent: peiplay.com. They have been making many changes this year.  There may be occasions where one part or another may not work as advertised . . . be patient.

From the home page, you can do your accommodation search – this is probably the most important part of your planning.  This year, campgrounds have been added to the search criteria so you can find all accommodation types.  Remember to have cookies enabled in your browser or the search will not work.  You can refine your search criteria in many ways.  I asked for a B&B in Charlottetown under $100 with internet access available for July 1 for 2 people.  See the 21 search results. Note also that the search from the home page never seems to work.  You have to repeat the search criteria again on page 2.  I hope they will have that fixed soon.

Now that you have found a place to stay, click on THINGS TO DO at the top of the page.  The select Beaches for a list of beaches and tide times.  Or select Culinary, Sights, Outdoors, or whatever strikes your fancy.  There is lots from which to choose.

You can also search by type of activity on this page. Pick from tours, bird watching, agri tourism, seafood, or water sports.

Other sources

While the government website is a good source, you can also rely on other websites.

Trip Advisor has several reviews – mostly for accommodations. Beware of the quality of the reviews.  Overly exuberant reviews are sometimes written by the owners to beef up their popularity.  It is also rumoured that horrible reviews are posted by the competition for similar purposes. Look for reviews that seem to come from the heart and are written in plain language.

I found a site that offers campground reviews.

You can also visit one of many travel blogs to find information about PEI.

Lunch Online offers listings and reviews for restaurants.

The Tea Guide has reviews of tearooms.

But the most important reviews are from people like me (me is important) who give you first hand experience and advice.  For example, If you visit PEI outside PEAK SEASON, check to see what is open. Peak season is generally from June 15 to September 15. Some places are open year round, others start to open in mid May. The biggest mistake you can make is coming to PEI in May with your heart set on having a traditional Church 5-course lobster supper. Come in the early spring or late fall for the scenery and a get away from the hustle and bustle.  Prefer to stay at a B&B and ask your hosts for help in finding out who is open.  You will find some operators very helpful – even calling attractions to confirm if they might be open for you tomorrow.

Tomorrow, back to the animals with Llamas.

Granny ~oo~

 

Weather on PEI

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PEI First Timers usually have questions about the weather.  We have maritime weather which means we seldom have temperature extremes.  If you know the geography of the East coast of North America and you know about the gulf stream, you will see that warm water from the South comes up to Nova Scotia before turning into the deep Atlantic.  This helps bring warmer weather into the area.  PEI is nestled by New Brunswick and Nova Scotia which helps protect it from other harsh weather.

Temperature

Consult this chart on the Government website.  The average summer night time temperature is 14 degrees.  This means nights are almost always cool which makes it good for sleeping.  It also means that if you walk along the beach at night, you may need a sweater or windbreaker.  Daytime temperatures are usually in the mid 20’s. This means you will not too often be hunting for shade or air conditioning. As a matter of fact, most rural accommodations do not have AC because it is not needed.  Although we do get the occasional 30+ temperatures, the wind helps keep the temperature comfortable.

-Fall

Fall temperatures are very nice.  PEI is a popular destination for people who love to experience nature without the hustle and bustle. They can enjoy off-season rates while the weather is still warm.  There are also many special events int he fall such as fall flavours.

-Spring

Spring in PEI is unpredictable.  You can come to PEI in June and still see ice floes on the North Shore.  This year, all the snow and ice was gone well before Easter.  I gathered these pictures from Greenvale Acres.  Taken a year apart in the beginning of June, notice the difference in vegetation growth.

Hosta June 2005

Vegetation Growth June 5 2005

Hosta June 2006

Vegetation Growth, June 4 2006

Wind

Yes it gets windy in Prince Edward Island.  We have several wind farms here because of it.  Average wind speeds (not sure exactly what that means) are in excess of 16KPH almost everywhere on PEI.  And yes it gets windier.  It is not unusual to get winds at 30KPH and gusts to 40 or 50.  When the wind gusts exceed 70KPH the Confederation Bridge is closed to high sided vehicles.  At higher speeds the authorities close the bridge completely.  Taking winds into consideration and the cool evenings, again, remember to have appropriate outer wear.

Winter

The maritime weather patterns tend to isolate PEI from the cold harshness found in the Northern states, Southern Ontario and Quebec. Many winters feature light snow cover but we do get the occasional zingers.  In 2004, White Juan closed the Island down for a day or two.  it was several days before roads were re-opened across the province.

snowed in

Trying to find my car

house engulfed in snow

see the snow half way up the door of the house

road narrowed by snow

This is a three lane major highway just after the storm subsided

Hurricanes

Hurricane Juan of 2003 is perhaps the most memorable recent event.  PEI usually gets 1-2 Hurricane warnings per year.  Most hurricanes lose their intensity as they approach the Eastern Seaboard. Those that make it further North are often downgraded as they make land in Nova Scotia – They bear the brunt of most major storms that make it this far North.  So if you visit PEI in September or October, you should keep an ear out for weather forecasts.

 

Tomorrow, X marks the spot.

Granny ~oo~

Q&A on PEI

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PEI Flag

Today, some information for newcomers.  What do you know about PEI?  What would you like to know?  Well the island is just 224 km long and varies from 6 to 64 km wide.  This means that on PEI, you are never far form the Sea.  PEI has a population of about 140,000 in the wintertime.  In the summer, some people joke that it gets to a million.  It may feel that way sometimes when you go to the Cavendish area on a hot summer day.  Return to Cavendish in October and you will wonder where all the people weent.

What are the main industries?

The main products are Fishing Farming and Tourism.  As you can imagine these are also seasonal businesses.  This means that several people are not FULL TIME residents of PEI.  When you look at the visitor’s guide, you will often see different winter and summer addresses for shopkeepers and accommodations.

Despite its small size, PEI is the most densely populated province in Canada.  As you drive along, you will never be far away from a village or town.  This is good because it also means you are never far away from finding a bite to eat.

What is the Birthplace of Canada?

Prince Edward Island is the Birthplace of Canada or the Seat of Confederation.  Since Canada has its roots here, you will see people in period costume parading around the provincial parliament buildings in the summertime.  They act out little skits that help remind us what life was like from 1864 to 1867 when confederation was being debated.

If you know your North American History, you may remember Jacques Cartier discovered Canada in 1534.  He actually landed on PEI, then named Epekwitk by the Mi’kmaq which means resting on the waves.

Is it cold in PEI?

In July and August, the mean daytime temperature is around 23 Celsius.  Although PEI gets  the odd 30 degree weather, it very seldom encounters the 40 degree humidex reading common to southern Ontario and the New England States.  Therefore, it is common for accommodations to report “we do not need air conditioning.”  It may be uncomfortable for 2-3 consecutive days and if you are very unlucky, that will be the days you will visit. Especially on the outskirts of major cities and in the country, the night air is fresh and you can usually get your bedroom cooled down for a comfortable night sleepwith just a small fan.  The mean summer nighttime temperature is about 14 degrees.

Springs are cool (May 13, June 19) but nice fall weather can extend quite late (September 18 October 12).  Regardless of the time of year you come to PEI, bring a sweater or jacket because there is almost always a cooling breeze.

 

That’s it for today – it is a nice spring day and the garden is calling:  more Q&A later…tomorrow we Relax on PEI.

Granny ~oo~

 

 

Cavendish – Prince Edward Island

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Today I’m taking on a road well travelled in the summer months. This is the Granny Report coming to you live out of Prince Edward Island helping you with your (F) = Frugal, travel plans. The Cavendish area is a small rural community that is on the north shore. The area is a seasonal community that comes alive during the summer months and rolls up the sidewalks in the winter months.

Cavendish

Cavendish is truly magnificent… You will be awed for sure. 
A must see! Visit the white sand beaches against the red sandstone cliffs with white sandy dunes as a back drop. A trip to the beach is costly as the Gulf Shore Parkway charges admission between 10 am and 6 pm to visit.  You can take in a beautiful sunset by getting onto the Parkway after 6 pm (F). Take off for the beach before 10 am, take a lunch and spend the day and swim in the ocean blue waters (F). The visitor’s centre is on the corner of route 6 and 13 and has plenty of information to add to your vacation plans. There’s always something to do in the Cavendish area. From Green Gables, to golfing, the boardwalk for shopping,  to deep sea fishing, mini and black light golf, or try parasailing and sea kayaking along the coast.

The Cavendish area is surrounded by small farms and fishing villages.  Along the scenic route 6 is the home of Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery’s famous novel about a little red-haired girl who captures the hearts of many. Step back in time as you explore the many paths LMM traveled. Green Gables is set in the woods with two paths leading off called lover’s lane and the haunted woods. Follow a path to the homestead site where LMM grew up with her grandparents, today it is only an empty foundation of Island stone.  Continue on a well walked path to the Post Office where LMM once worked where you can mail yourself home a post card for a souvenir stamped Green Gables Post Office (F). The other corner is her grave site where plenty visit each year. Avonlea is a small village that doubles as Cavendish and is an attraction of many visitors who pay the admission to a day’s adventure of storefronts, a few farm animals, story school plays, church social with Anne and Diana dressed up and you can have snapshot pictures taken in period clothing.

During the summer months you can rent bicycles from a bike rental on the corner to explore the area.  A trolley leaves the visitor’s centre and ventures on a tour of the Cavendish area.  There are places to eat, however you might want to take a lunch (F) and picnic in any area or the beach.  Accommodations are not hard to find in the Cavendish area either and most places are good on the budget.

Map of PEI

Looking for other places to stay on PEI that are (F) frugal and fun?  I went to the map and asked Google where you might be interested in staying. First let me start by saying from tip to tip the Island is a 5 hour drive by car.  From the bridge to Cavendish area  is a 45 minute drive.  From Cavendish to Charlottetown the drive is 30 minutes. Cavendish is a must see for the cyclist enthusiast, have a look at my cycling blog for great locations to stay and venture. When cycling the Island, you may want to venture on Route 6 to Cavendish from Kensington then tour back Route 13 to meet up with the trail in Hunter River (trail marker 154.5).

This has been the Granny Report for C = Cavendish. Stay tuned for Granny’s next report on D

Granny ~00~

PEI – Pack your bags

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Summer is around the corner, and so is PEI so why not pack your bags?
An Island full of magic that comes alive during the summer months.

For my first peiblog Post I’d like to introduce you to the Tourism Visitor’s Guide. A Free 207 page publication full of adventure, history, sights, tours, places to stay and fun things to do mailed to your door ordered from a click of the mouse.
Take in one of PEI’s Authentic Experiences and come, be an Islander for a day.


PEI Beach

The Island may be small but there is room for us all, come and play PEI see what Island fun is all about.
~cindy