In what seems to have become an annual tradition, MoneySense magazine has again ranked New Glasgow, N.S. as the worst place to live in Canada.
Since 2011, MoneySense has placed New Glasgow at or near the bottom of its annual list of the best places to live in Canada. The town is again last this year, at 209, and residents are less than impressed.
“I don’t really think too much of it I guess, I like it here,” says Sheila Cooper.
“I’ve been a lot of places. I wouldn’t call this last,” says Allan McGrath. “Why are we getting the bottom end of the stick? I don’t understand what they’re up to.”
But New Glasgow isn’t the only Maritime community failing to meet MoneySense’s expectations; Moncton is one of only four Maritime cities in the top 160, with the highest ranking at 28.
“Well, Moncton is a happening spot. I mean, it’s growing, it’s developing, it’s just incredible,” says Moncton resident Gilles Maillet.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are 10 Maritime communities in the bottom 50. Truro placed second last at 208, and Cape Breton came in at 205.
“I don’t think it’s right. I think Cape Breton should be up in the top 10 or 15 or whatever … because Cape Breton is a great place to live,” says New Waterford resident Buddy MacDonald.
New Glasgow resident Victor Lawrence says he feels MoneySense isn’t looking at the whole picture when ranking the communities, and favours other regions of Canada.
“I think MoneySense got that Upper Canada mentality. They just look down at us,” he says.
An editor with MoneySense Magazine says they recognize there are intangibles that can make a community a great place to live, but those are subjective. The editor says the list is created based on an objective survey that primarily looks at economic factors.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh
