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Whats living in Fort McMurray like?

neilmax

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Jul 16, 2013
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I would be migrating from the West Indies to live in Fort Mcmurray.Whats living in Fort Mcmurray like?are there recreational parks, shopping centers etc, and whats the cost of living like?
 

marsiangal

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I have friends that live in Fort Mac. They said Cost of living is extremely high. Because this is where all the rig people live.(Oil and Gas) And they make a lot of money thus everything else is expensive. For example in the City (Edmonton or Calgary) a person that works in a fast food chain makes 9-11.50 dollars for a normal employee, compared to same job in Fort Mac that makes 17-21 dollars. Just so they even have a chance to survive. Apparently 3000 dollars a month for a 3 bedroom house is the rental. I know Rig workers that actually make 80-100/hour. So Prices like these aren't a problem with them.

I don't know if these are actual truth or they were just bragging but these were just information passed on to me.

Goodluck!

Oh PS. A lot of accommodations or rentals are paid by employers who sent in workers from the City thus making the rental market higher than normal.
 

keesio

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I know a few people also. Marsiangal is correct about the high cost of living. It's basically just an industrial city with a high cost of living. Most people are there strictly for a good paying industrial job.
 

Pippin

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Many people work two weeks on/two weeks off and leave town on their days off. It is also good to be aware that drugs and alcohol can be an issue with the large volume of money flowing and the challenging environment up there.
 

neilmax

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ok thanks for the repsonse guys, by chance how different is fort mcmurray's weather from edmonton or is it almost the same?
 

marsiangal

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I'd say it's pretty similar. Maybe it can get a little colder cause it's more north.
 

Msafiri

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neilmax said:
I would be migrating from the West Indies to live in Fort Mcmurray.Whats living in Fort Mcmurray like?are there recreational parks, shopping centers etc, and whats the cost of living like?
FM has for all the above listed reasons considered the heart of the wild west. If you are moving to FM for employment you better have negotiated a solid relocation package. Most 'workers' try to get either a living allowance or preferably get the employer to pay for accommodations. Such accommodations can be quite basic. The oil markets are shaky at this time due to unrest in the Middle East - if prices spikes as expected the region will just get more expensive. On the plus side the Wood Buffalo region which FM is part of has some wonderful nature.
 

marsiangal

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Msafiri said:
FM has for all the above listed reasons considered the heart of the wild west. If you are moving to FM for employment you better have negotiated a solid relocation package. Most 'workers' try to get either a living allowance or preferably get the employer to pay for accommodations. Such accommodations can be quite basic. The oil markets are shaky at this time due to unrest in the Middle East - if prices spikes as expected the region will just get more expensive. On the plus side the Wood Buffalo region which FM is part of has some wonderful nature.
That's good advice. :)