Location advice
 

Hi Guys

This is my first post (in this section of the forum at least) and would appreciate any guidance you could give

I originally was Australia bound as it appeared to be booming and my trade (electrician) was in demand so for me it looked like a good bet

However

The vibe I`m getting now is very different and it seems that oz is in a nosedive so I`ve been reconsidering my options following a recent trip to a "working abroad" expo that I attended

I very much felt that Canada was the most promising and various companies that I spoke with regarding employment were very keen and positive, and this has since lead to two potential job opportunities (although these are still in the early stages)

My question is about the two locations as both I imagine are very different, one company would see me located in Labrador Newfoundland and the other could be a choice of locations in Alberta - can anyone give me any insight into either location? Cost of living, climate, etc etc

My research so far would lead me to believe that Alberta would be more appealing (Newfoundland looks bleak - is this accurate?) with beautiful lakes/mountains/forests etc and has a better, less extreme climate (good summers with cold snowy winters but not as cold/wet as Newfoundland)

I know various people who have lived in British Columbia and they are very positive about it however there doesnt seem to be the same opportunities there

Any help would be very much appreciated

Thanks in advance

Re: Location advice
 

Labrador is certainly bleak. However, Alberta is hardly a lush, tropical paradise. What locations in Alberta are offered?

Re: Location advice
 

Without doing a scientific poll of BE posters my guess that Alberta would win hands down over Labrador.

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Yes. But not perhaps over Newfoundland proper. I wonder what the OP actually meant.

Re: Location advice
 

Far north BC (Fort St John, Prince George) is crying out for workers.

Re: Location advice
 

Thanks for the reply

I'm currently at work but will update once I get home

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I suspected as much

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If it's anywhere half-way civilized, yes, if it's a camp out of Fort McMoney then maybe not.

Re: Location advice
 

One imagines that work in Labrador would be on one of the iron ore mines. Could be fly in fly out, or could be living in Wabush/Lab City. I believe they are favouring the latter these days. Anyway, cost of living very high, availability of accomodation poor, travel expensive, all the problems faced in a booming resource town. The same problems as one would encounter in Fort Mac I would imagine.

Labrador is starkly beautiful they tell me. So is Newfoundland (the Island portion of the province), but with more in the way of facilities and people, depending upon where you live.

Who is recruiting you?

Re: Location advice
 

Ok, heres the choice:

Fort Nelson
Rainbow lake
Fort ST John
Dawson Creek
Peace River
Fort McMurray
Grande Prairie
Valleyview
Athabasca
Barrhead
Bonnyville
Whitecourt
Edson
Edmonton
Nisku
Camrose
Hinton
Drayton Valley
Lloydminster
Stettler
Rocky MTN House
Red Deer
Provost
Drumheller
Kindersley
Calgary
Brooks
Medicine hat
Swift Current
Taber
Shaunavon
Estevan

Not sure if they`re all on offer but this is where the offices are located - the company is Tarpon energy

Re: Location advice
 

Ok, so are you suggesting that Newfoundland is a nice area in general but that Labrador is in one of the less desirable parts

Re: Location advice
 

Thanks for the heads up - I assume this includes Electricians?

When you mention "Far North" I instantly think cold/wet - I can deal with cold winters provided theres a good chance of some heat/sun in the summer - something the UK is very much lacking and a large part of the reason for the move

Re: Location advice
 

Aren't all of those places Canada's top holiday destinations?

I'd pick the place that pays the most amount of money, get there, work and then figure out where you would like to get transfered to.

Re: Location advice
 

My guess is that anyone recruiting from the UK is offering work in the more remote parts of the country, where accomodation is expensive and mod cons few and far between.


Most people put up with it for the money.


Go far enough north and wet is not an issue. All humidity tends to fall out of the frozen air. The bugs on the otherhand when its not totally freezing:eek:

Re: Location advice
 

So is Regina, especially for sparks

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Sorry, to clarify, are you saying that Alberta is pretty desirable except for Fort McMurray (I assume thats where you mean)

So is there decent cash to be had at McMurray? Is it Fly in Fly out?

Re: Location advice
 

I have to agree with those sentiments, step one is to find an opportunity to make some cash which will give me some options in the future, I`m at a point in my life where I can do that but in the future I expect my goals to shift as family (hopefully) comes along

Re: Location advice
 

Yep, Labrador is Iron Ore for Rio

It isnt fly in fly out (they seem to pride themselves on that point) which both myself and my wife are happy about even if it isnt the most desirable spot in the world

Hopefully I can put my head down and make some cash which will give us options in the future, it also cant hurt to be involved with a big player like Rio as they have operations all over

Can anyone quantify how expensive it is to live there? Obviously this needs to be factored in to any decision after all theres no point in earning extra cash just to have it eaten up by inflated cost of living

Re: Location advice
 

Labrador property rentals...

http://labrador.kijiji.ca/f-real-est...cationZ1700046

Ft McMoney rentals
http://fortmcmurray.kijiji.ca/f-real...l-W0QQCatIdZ43

Re: Location advice
 

I would guess you are correct, any ideas on where I can find out costs of property to rent or purchase, which leads me on to my next question - what is the current state of the housing market in Canada (in general)

Is it going up or down? Ive just witnessed the rapid rise and fall of the housing market in the UK (Australia seems to be shaping up the same way) and would like to ensure that I make an informed choice when I do move

So does the north get any summer/sun/heat?

Re: Location advice
 

Canada is VAST, there is no such thing as a Canadian anything, even within provinces (which are also vast) there are hot spots and not spots.

Mining/ natural resource towns are boom and bust, when they are booming prices are high and get higher, but when they bust you cant give a property away.

To put provinces in perspective, Ontario is larger than France and Spain combined.

There are several threads active about the housing bubble and how likely it is to burst, but generally they are wrt Vancouver or Toronto.

Re: Location advice
 

Do you happen to know what type of work is on offer? ie oil/mining/construction

My understanding is that Canada is crying out for industrial electricians so thats why Ive been focussing on mining and resources, generally those areas pay well so thats a good start

Re: Location advice
 

Not nearly as much as it has winter...

There is a reason the majority of residents are there for the money and nothing else.

In terms of somewhere you are likely to meet someone to settle down and start a family with goes, there are probably better places.

my bosses son works in FtMac, he flies home every two or three weeks to the house he bought in Ontario with cash earned in the last 4 or 5 years. She drives his new hemi truck around. I think he has another one out there too. I get the impression though that living independent of the work camps is hideously expensive. You put up with the camps in order to squirrel away some money.

The money is good, thats the bottom line.

Re: Location advice
 

Point taken, I guess living in the UK doesnt give you a good perspective of such vastness

So is Vancouver at risk of a housing crash? Am I correct in saying it doesnt have resources to prop it up like Alberta/Labrador etc? Strangely from what Ive heard Vancouver or somewhere in that area of BC would be my choice to live if I werent chasing the cash as it sounds nice and I imagine would have a good climate (hot summers for outdoors stuff and snowy winters for skiing etc)

Re: Location advice
 

Sorry if I was unclear, I`m already married and my wife will be making the move with me, thats why I would prefer to be based locally and be home every night

I`m determined to aim high - I`ve been living through the UK recession since 2007 and I`ve had enough

Thanks for the help BTW:thumbup:

Re: Location advice
 

Vancouvers natural resource is wealthy Chinese immigrants.... property prices there are something like 10 times the average working stiffs income:eek:

Re: Location advice
 

Ah, I get it.

There have been occasional posts from people living in Ft Mac that say its not that bad, but the majority opinion seems to be that the effect of lots of single men (or at least lots of men working away from home), plus lots of money, plus limited time off the camp makes for a wild west frontier feel, fueled by alcohol and other stimulants, so maybe not the most family friendly place in Canada.

I dont recall anyone posting about Labrador... it seems smaller scale?

Re: Location advice
 

Yikes - I was expecting them to be expensive and they didn`t disappoint!

How do these prices compare to the rest of Canada, particularly non mining/oil areas that are susceptible to the boom/bust phenomenon?

I still haven`t talked money with any of the potential employers but with rents so high the remuneration would need to be pretty good

Re: Location advice
 

here are my opinions based on what I know - any left blank are because I don't know the area

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Thats crazy, I cant see how that can work - when the relationship between income and property prices becomes so distorted a "correction" to some degree seems inevitable

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Sorry but all I can see is my original list with NO opinions - am I missing something or dont you know any of the areas?:huh:

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hahaha just edited it - for some reason I tabbed and it posted!!!!!

Re: Location advice
 

By way of comparison...
My area is pretty average, maybe on the cheap side for inhabited parts of Ontario
http://belleville.kijiji.ca/f-real-e...l-W0QQCatIdZ43

Average household income around here is maybe $70-75k

So people keep saying, but its not happened yet...

Re: Location advice
 

Stettler is a small town, the people who live in it are not well off (think "people of Walmart" website). The money people out here are the farmers or those that have acreages out of town. (The only reason I'm saying that is that I presume you don't want to move your family to what is in essence a big trailer park lol) so the families that aren't hooked on alcohol / drugs tend to be the ones that can buy land outside of town - but that is an issue for integrating because you will have no neighbours or community to hang out with!. Theres a very small new subdivision but I don't think it would offer a family what they would want.

I've said it before that if I had the absolute choice should I ever have to move to a town / city - then it would be Camrose absolutely hands down.

Clean city, great facilities, nice houses and within driving distance of Edmonton / The Rockies and everything you could ever want.

Re: Location advice
 

Luckily I dont drink (well as close as makes no difference) - by other stimulants I assume you mean drugs? (Not my bag at all I`m glad to say)

Rio lead me to believe that I would be living in Labrador and its a family orientated place with around 10,000 people - the guy I was speaking with actually grew up there and spoke very highly of it

If thats true then the only question mark is how expensive is it to live there and do the wages justify the expense

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:D

You had me confused there.....!:unsure:

I shall be consulting that list when making my decisions - thanks for that:thumbup:

Re: Location advice
 

That was a real eye opener - perhaps I`m reading it wrong but rents are around a third of the price - question is are wages three times higher in the resources rich areas?

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Good points, I lived in the country most of my life and would prefer that but would consider a small town

I`m gonna have a look at Camrose - thanks for the pointer

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I don't know if you will be able to see this but a few years back I took a drive into town and took photos along the way

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...1&l=9f9b916fc3

pictures 8 and 10 are where I presume the company is that you could be working for.

It will gove you a good idea of what 'small' town Alberta looks like :thumbsup:

Re: Location advice
 

From my limited experience... Kindersley approx rent for a 3 bed SMALL House is 2k per month, Estevan is not much better (and is pretty racey!!!). When the oil and gas moves in, prices to up! If you're going on your own ul be ok, but if not, ul find it VERY hard to find somewhere to live in these two!