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fort mcmurray, canada?

 
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mistermasan



Joined: 20 Sep 2007
Location: 10+ yrs on Dave's ESL cafe

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:01 am    Post subject: fort mcmurray, canada? Reply with quote

heard some canadians talking about this boomtown. anybody been there, done that?
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RACETRAITOR



Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thankfully, no. Better making peanuts in heaven than boulders in hell.
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frenchytml



Joined: 16 Jan 2008

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know some people that were up there and that are still up there now.....it's a good spot to be if you have some sort of trade...my buddy was operating an excavator for like 35$.hr, plus they paid for living costs, gave isolation pay, and a weekly living allowance....so, he made a lot of cash pretty fast.....some other guys i know had uni degrees in like psych, and history, and well, they couldnt find good work....but still, even mediocre jobs, have much higher wages because of the location of ft. mac......i wouldnt move up there for the life of me, but there is a lot of potential
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peppermint



Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Unless the employer offers accommodations, or you have a skilled trade related to the oil industry, I'd avoid the place. A former roommate moved there last summer. She's earning 3x what she did in St. John's but she is paying 5x what she did here for a place that's much smaller, and considered herself very lucky to find it. Trailer homes are going for upwards of 350K up there
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tractor



Joined: 26 Jan 2008

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.vbs.tv/toxic/alberta.php
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twg



Joined: 02 Nov 2006
Location: Getting some fresh air...

PostPosted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RACETRAITOR wrote:
Thankfully, no. Better making peanuts in heaven than boulders in hell.

Or... Better making peanuts in heaven than freezing your boulders off in hell.
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theatrelily



Joined: 03 Jun 2004
Location: Haeundae-gu, Busan

PostPosted: Sun Feb 24, 2008 4:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Really high salaries for tradespeople. Really, really high cost of living.

Rampant violence, crime, drugs and STDs.

And that's not even getting into how cold it is there....High Prairie was cold enough, can't even imagine what it would be like to spend a winter in Fort Mac.

Shocked
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KoreanAmbition



Joined: 03 Feb 2008

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mistermason,

My gf and I could go there right now and get business jobs that will provide us with housing for free and then pay us $50,000 CAD per year.

I prefer to go to Korea, since I think there is more excitement than a place like Fort MacNowhere. Smile


We have friends out there doing analyst positions, and I have friends that have been out there as engineers.

Previous posters were correct about housing scarcity and pricing, but if you have that offered to you then you have taken your biggest living cost out of the equation.

If you want to ask me anything else you can PM and possibly I can even find you a bit of specific details depending on the questions.

Cheers, and just know that Fort MacMurray isn't terrible for a year, or maybe 2. But it's boring. However, if you want to go and drink a lot with "the boys" I'm sure you'd find the time would pass by nicely.

Oh, and MOST salaries are very high out there, so I would say a lot of jobs can allow you to save money.

Good luck.
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uberscheisse



Joined: 02 Dec 2003
Location: japan is better than korea.

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isn't it also known as fort mcmurder due to the "crazy drunk dude killing other people because his life is shit because he lives in fort mcmurray" factor?
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The Archivist



Joined: 20 Dec 2007

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wow, the choice between ft mcmurray and korea.....dude.
i know 2 people who got quite rich there: one 'property developer' that flipped crappy small-town houses for ridiculous amounts, and a dentist who was kept very busy fixing busted-by-fists teeth day in day out.

that being said: korea will certainly not be a useful experience. will the ft m job look good on your resume? both places are only good for a few years, especially since you mention a girlfriend which means you won't marry a korean and become a lifer esl teacher.
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mindmetoo



Joined: 02 Feb 2004

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The Archivist wrote:
that being said: korea will certainly not be a useful experience. will the ft m job look good on your resume?


Really it depends on what job you're looking for. People flooding in need training on all kinds of things. People are needed to prepare the training materials and teach. Many may not be highly literate. Say, where do you get that kind of experience? Hrm. Hrm.

If you don't think you can learn skills here in Korea and sell them beyond "I can only teach english to asian children" your lack of creativity is most likely the factor keeping you back, not your choices.
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rD.NaTas



Joined: 06 Nov 2007
Location: changwon

PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ive known welders who make 100 bucks an hour , and burger flippers who make 16 bucks an hour
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Jarome_Turner



Joined: 10 Sep 2004

PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 12:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm headin there soon. With my Korean girlfriend.
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riverboy



Joined: 03 Jun 2003
Location: Incheon

PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've been there. 1997 I believe. It was booming back then and it has only gotten bigger. Real estate is through the roof. Money is big. If you have an engineering degree, or a trade, I reccommend it if you want to make some good money.

It's also full of Eastern Canadians. The best kinds!
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