Hello guys,
Anyone from Fort mc murray? how is the life there? please tell me abt fortmc murray.my hubby has got a job there and we shd be going by the end of this year.
Please do share yr thoughts and tell me abt the life there.Good points and bad points.

Expensive, Remote, Brutal Winter, High "Testosterone" factor..lots of boys on there own there for the Money. It is good Money though.

My bosses kid is out there. He tries to get back to civilisation as much as possible,

ohh...I am worried now.Is it this bad?

Fort McMoney has the highest average income in Canada. People go there to make lots of money. Simple.

thanks sovenir for the reply.Seems like fortmc murray is only abt money

There is no other reason to go there but to make money, other than that its an armpit, the number of people coming in to the oilsands has outstripped the towns infrastructure. Housing is allegedly in short supply, so rents are high, and the result is a building boom is occuring, which is ironically dragging more people there in search of hardship inflated wages.

I'll ask Char what Tyler makes of it now hes been there for a few months. Cant be that bad as hes sticking it out there, but then its not winter right now which helps, and hes there with a bunch of his friends which probably helps pass the time, even if it doesnt help swell his bank balance.

Yes. It's all about the money.

Isn't it rather like the gold rush, where the people who made the big money were the ones who sold stuff to the miners, not the miners themselves? I was reading an article a while back claiming that people were paying hundreds of dollars a month just to rent a sofa to sleep on.

Tylers words according to his mum "Its the most godamnawful town you can imagine, but the moneys great"

He just signed on as an apprentice millright or something for $25-30/hr, plus all his education is paid for. He and 5 buddies pay $3600 a month for a house, and the line up at the one tim hortens in town has to be seen to be believed (no one wants to work for that sort of money), but there are lots of bars, However stuff like beer and gas is expensive as its so remote. He gets bussed into work about an hour from town.

Winter was brutal, a lot of snow, but hes looking at a 5 year contract with a signing bonus, a good training apprenticeship, and hes young enough to roll with the blows.

Its all about the money and a bit of adventure.

Certainly those in at the ground floor will do very well, but those getting jobs out there are going to do OK if they dont blow it all out of boredom and can minimise living expenses where possible.

Friend of ours just put an offer of 780,000 on a 5 bed bungalow (3000 sq ft) in Fort Mac. (3 beds main floor, 2 in basement).

Saw pictures of it and I think something like that would be in the high 400 in Red Deer.

My OH lived in Fort Mac from 88-90. Back then they lived in a trailer as there was insufficient housing. NOt sure he found it that wonderful, but then he was a teenager then so I suppose everything sucked!!!!!

Hi - I don't know if you've got kids, but there are a lot of families here with kids who do not want to live in Fort Mac even if the dad works there. Not supposed to be a great place for families (beer and brothel reputation!) - as well as expensive housing. The families tend to live in and around Edmonton (attend schools here) with the husbands going up on a monthly basis or more (depending on your shifts/contracts I guess). We have at least 2 families in our subdivision who do this. I haven't been there though - so really am only repeating what I've been told.

I would like to tahnk each and everyone who replied in this thread.I have at least a fair idea abt fortmcmurray.Yes,I do have a 16 year old son.
Well,I am from singapore.Public transport is good here,so do not know driving.That rules out my staying alone with my son in edmonton

You can learn to drive, its not that hard In Ft Mac I suspect you will have to anyway. There is very little the way of public transport, certainly not at the level you are used too. Taxis will be the main option, and who wants to drive a taxi when you can make $26 an hour as a level 6 apprentice.

Really outside of the really major centers like TO, Van, Calgary etc public transport is pretty poor in Canada, its a car culture for sure.

You're moving from Singapore to Fort McMurray with a 16 year old son and you can't drive? Look, I don't care how many zillions the OH will be earning. Just don't do it.