Fort Mcmurry
 

Hi all. Does anybody live in and work in Fort McMurry ? What do you find it like there ? Would you recommend it for a young family ?

My personal choice would be Vancouver, however Alberta seems to be the place where my skills and experience would give me a better chance in the oil/gas/chemical industry. However, from what I have read or heard so far, Edmonton and Calgary seem to be the places to aim for, however Fort McMurry has a lot of jobs and although it is much further north is not that much colder than Edmonton in the winter.

Would be interested in hearing any positive and negative feedback (along with the other Process Ops over in the UK)

Many Thanks

JET

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

My bosses son works there. Great money, but an absolute armpit of a place.

The last place to take a young family.


LOL, "not that much colder than Edmonton in the winter". Have you any idea how cold that really is!!!

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

Thanks, that's what I have heard. Can you expand anymore ?

-40C in Edmonton and I believe that this year McMurry got down to -55C for a few days. that about right ???

JET

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

My girlfriend (who is Canadian) has cousins (so they are Canadian) who have moved to Fort McMurray for work and have lived there for a few years now. They have been trying to encourage us to move there. They have a daughter who is about 11 and they absolutely love it out there. Very active, do cross-country ski racing and they think the place gets a bit of a bad rep.

Still not convincing us to move to FortMcM but everything is perspective I suppose and we are not going to write it off completely. I'm going to wait till we move out there in early August and look more closely at the areas before we commit completely to a particular town.

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

Well, in all fairness, there are a couple of forum members who live in Fort McMurray and who, in the last few months, have made favourable comments about it.

I've never been there, but have worked with people who have travelled there for their jobs and who hated it.

However, I've come to believe, from the fact that some people do like it, that there is a big difference between living in the town and living in the work camps / dormitories that are one, two, four or more hours' drive from Fort McMurray itself.

The other caution is that real estate is very expensive in Fort McMurray.

I don't know where you got that idea. Here are Environment Canada's temperature stats:


JANUARY

Fort McMurray

Average daytime high : -13.6 °C

Average night time low : -24 °C

Highest high on record : +13.1 °C

Lowest low on record : -50 °C

Edmonton

Average high : -7.3 °C

Average low : -16 °C

Highest high : +11.7 °C

Lowest low : -44.4 °C


APRIL

Fort McMurray

Average high : +10 °C

Average Low : -3.3 °C

Highest high : +30.2 °C

Lowest low : -34.4 °C


Edmonton

Average high : +11.3 °C

Average minimum : -0.3 °C

Highest high : +31.1 °C

Lowest low : -25.6 °C

Fort McMurray

Average high : +10 °C

Average Low : -3.3 °C

Highest high : +30.2 °C

Lowest low : -34.4 °C


If you think there is not much difference between Edmonton's average night time low of -16 °C in January and Fort McMurray's average night low of -24 °C, you are wrong. I've lived in Calgary for all but 4 of the last 31 years. This city has slightly milder average temperatures than Edmonton's, which in turn has milder average temperatures than Fort McMurray's. The lowest temperature I've experienced in Calgary has been -40 °C, and I can tell you that is brutal. And I can also tell you that there is a very noticeable difference between -16 °C and -24 °C.

The fact that you can casually ask, "That about right?" in connection with -55 °C means that you haven't got a clue. If you'd experienced even -40 °C, you would know it was no laughing matter.

But, just for the record, Fort McMurray has never experienced -55 °C, at least not since temperature records have been maintained. According to Environment Canada, the lowest temperature ever recorded in Fort McMurray was -50.6 °C, on February 1st, 1947.
x

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

Hi! I went there last week for work and whilst the town didn't look too bad in itself the thing that struck me was how far it was from anywhere.

Fort McMurray is about five hours driving (about 450 km) north of Edmonton and in winter that distance can be daunting (one road in and one road out!)

I imagine it's great if you love the outdoors and can entertain yourself with hunting/shooting/fishing/hiking/biking, etc but I still think I might go a little stir crazy if I had to stay there for much longer than a fortnight :)

J

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

I guess I was looking at the record lows, and also talking to people who may not have a full understanding.

I have been in -60C in 1994 Jan. in chicago, that is what the temperature was with the wind chill. The Lake was frozen over and helicopters flying out supplies to the ships stranded there. On the TV in the hotel they were stressing not to go out due to LIFE ENDANGERING WEATHER.

I am still doing a lot of fact finding through this forum inc. Wiki, books and whatever source I can find, therefore my facts can be a bit way out, my apology.

JET

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

Fort McMurray Airport got down to -43.5C this past winter a long way from -55C

Edmonton International Airport actually beat that with a -44.4C

I went back to 1957 and the coldest I could find was -45C at Fort McMurray Airport, yet the coldest at Edmonton International Airport was -48.3C in January 1972.

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

Hi Jet

I am currently working 60 miles north of McMurray, I can tell you it is cold here by anyone's standard.

The town is a bit of a hole only there primarily for the oil. There is a big drug problem and the town is like the wild west on a Saturday night.

As I don't actually live in town and visit once or twice a month I may only be seeing the worst of it.

Also the house prices are extremely high considering the remoteness of the town. The road from Edmonton has a large number of accidents due to the amount of traffic, everything comes up that road from small car to coker parts for the refinery's ( No railway).

On the flip side there are plenty of shops, bars and restaurants. There is a severe shortage of workers in all trades and professions, so you wont be out of work for long.

Hope I haven't put you off but I'm sure someone will add more plus points.

Dave

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

I need to know, does your job primarily involve research?

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

No I am a Process worker looking at options and potential placs to work. The remoteness and climate obviously is a factor when you have a small family. I never intended to spark any debate about how cold it is there, more what the town is like with respect to housing, facilities, schools, with the weather and other geographic items a consdieration.

Many thanks to those who have replied so far. All comments welcome.

JET

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

It is remote, boring, cold and has a horrible drug problem. Schools are not bad, (by Alberta standards). What else do you need to know?

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

You sum it up pretty well I guess. There may be others who do not share this view, this is their chance to stand up for it.

However, due to the above reasons that is why there are always jobs there, apart from the oil sands being there !!

When you are looking at moving over and into the Oil / Gas Industry, then Fort McMurry always has jobs. Edmonton and Calgary don't seem to have many in comparison. Difficult decision sometimes especially if its the only place you may find a job.

If it was a little closer to civilisation, (2 hr drive) and had a cleaner image I should imagine it would appeal more. I was talking to someone who lived there for 30 tears, now lives in Vancouver. He said that it was like the wild west esp. on a sat night.

JET

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

My sis brought four young children up in the fort, still there now, made great wages working at syncrude, all these kids are parents themselves now and 3 out of 4 of them are still there, but considering getting out, house prices are way over the top, the town has very little to offer a young family and many people choose to live in Edmonton and have hubby commuting with Jazz or westjet weekly. My sis moved to Edmonton for approx 10 years, but came back, (she also has a great job in fort). I have visited the fort plenty and there is nothing to write home about and the highway is such a drag. Shops are pretty useless even though there are a good few of them and anything decent required needs to be purchased in Edmonton. I have often contemplated emmigrating to Canada but would never go as far north as fort McMurray. I say commute, earn some decent money and then get out!

Re: Fort Mcmurry
 

Are there any people out there willing to stick up for it and offer some other view or is everyone think the same and there only for the money ????:confused: