Korean Job Discussion Forums

Octavius Hite

So things aren't so great in the oil patch after all.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2006/10/25/rental-edmonton.html

khyber · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Compunction Junction

Things ARE great in the oil patch. If course, if "great" means, make a lot of money, then there you go.

Octavius Hite · Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2006 5:53 pm Post subject:

Hey, I'm all for the oilpatch, many a times i've thought about going back and working there. What I'm concerned about is that people think you just go there and someone hands you a check for 100k and thats it, its not. Rent across Alberta is through the roof, so yes you are making lots of money but you are paying a lot out as well. Also I know plenty of guys living in 2 bedroom apartments with 8 or 9 guys sleeping on the floor and on the couch just so they can have a place to stay. And everything costs more, some mobile home sin Alberta are selling for 300k, for a trailer. Its all cost benefit analysis and people should just consider it all and not say geez they make a lot of money. There are two sides to everything.

thepeel · Joined: 08 Aug 2004

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

Wonderful for ambitious people who want to make some dough and get ahead. (Except me; I have never, over three decades, been able to find steady work in Edmonton; I have no explanation other than it is a curse.)

Less wonderful for those already in Edmonton, especially those on fixed incomes. My parents are pensioners and they've seen everything rocket upwards in price in the last few years. Tim Horton's? Popular restaurants? Don't bother; there's nobody working there, and if there are the service is horrible because you can get another job today.

I can sympathize with the mayor. What do you do? Do you put limits on who can come to the city? Do you accelerate building programs, or use rent controls, or other incentives that likely won't work? You do the best you can and hope the economy will cool to where the city can keep up its infrastructure.

Ken:>

thepeel · Joined: 08 Aug 2004

You eliminate ALL zoning, building and construction regulations that hinder the development of new housing units. You allow firms to construct what they want where they want.

Huston Texas runs on this system. Works very well.

A "housing shortage" is like every other shortage: The Governments Fault.

Instead we get zoning (economic planing) and thus a big time-gap between demand and supply while firms negotiate with the authorities as to how they are allowed to satisfy demand.