# Fort McMurry



## kate79 (Aug 24, 2009)

Hi, I'm just after some information on Fort McMurry my partner has been offered a job here, we have 2 young children 2 & 5 and are from the north west of England. We wondered what it is like for family's, much to do?, cost of living etc......any information will be appreciated to help us make the biggest decision of our lives!!


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

kate79 said:


> Hi, I'm just after some information on Fort McMurry my partner has been offered a job here, we have 2 young children 2 & 5 and are from the north west of England. We wondered what it is like for family's, much to do?, cost of living etc......any information will be appreciated to help us make the biggest decision of our lives!!


It is an unattractive place in Canada's far north, not IMO a place to raise a family. Many workers have their homes in Edmonton and Calgary and fly in and out to the Fort.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

I've never been there myself, but I didn't hear positive things about that place, with high crime, lots of alcohol and drug abuse. 
Canada?s most dangerous cities - Canada - Macleans.ca


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

I worked and lived (during the weekdays) in Fort McMurray a few years back. Some points from the top of my head that I remember:

- Fort Mac is not really a friendly/family oriented city as it's mainly populated by oil workers (and some with their families).

- A person can earn a very high wage working in Fort Mac, but the cost of living there is extremely expensive. For example, when I worked there, I stayed in a house with 3 other guys so each of us got our own bedroom but shared a common kitchen/living room area. We each paid $800 per person to stay in the house which means the landlord was taking in a total of $3200 per month in rent from us... and that was a few years back, so I'm sure that cost has even gone up even more. I talked to someone who recently got a job in Fort Mac and moved his family up there, but was able to negotiate his monthly rental costs into his job offer.

- Many people (including myself) lived in Edmonton or other communities, and commuted back and forth to Fort Mac on a weekly basis. Most of the oil companies in Fort Mac offer free bus transports back and forth between Fort Mac and Edmonton neighborhoods for those that don't want to live in Fort Mac, and also to try and keep the volume of traffic down on the highways.


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## kate79 (Aug 24, 2009)

Thanks for taking the time to reply...Looks like we will be getting a family home in Edmonton & my partner coming home every 2 weeks for 2 weeks!
Any suggestions on areas would be great!!! 
What sort of income do u feel is needed for a family of 4 to live comfortably???????


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

What is your desired lifestyle? Do you want to live in an apartment, with one car, eating out once every month, buy your clothes and furniture in a thrift store, etc?
Or do you want a detached house on a big plot, with 2 brand new big SUV’s, eating out at least 4 days a week and buy the rest in an organic store like Whole Foods, travel 2 times a year with the entire family to exotic locations?
(2 extremes, but it would be handy if you could give some indication of what you want)


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## kate79 (Aug 24, 2009)

EVHB said:


> What is your desired lifestyle? Do you want to live in an apartment, with one car, eating out once every month, buy your clothes and furniture in a thrift store, etc?
> Or do you want a detached house on a big plot, with 2 brand new big SUV&#146;s, eating out at least 4 days a week and buy the rest in an organic store like Whole Foods, travel 2 times a year with the entire family to exotic locations?
> (2 extremes, but it would be handy if you could give some indication of what you want)


The latter is what I want!!! What we can afford is a different matter 😊
Ideally we would like 3/4 bed house in a decent area, 1 vehicle to begin with not brand new but half decent. Maybe 1 holiday nothing exotic. Basically I don't want to be penny pinching!!!!!
Doing some rough figures would $135k before tax be enough for a family of 4 to live off????

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## zoe2119 (Mar 13, 2013)

*fort mcmurry*

hi my husband has just been offered a job in fort mcmurry with wajax and we was thinking of going to live in Edmonton , we have a boy of 16 years and one whos 11 years and twin girls of 4 years , do you know about the kids and school because I worry for my 16 year old would he have to go to school there or college? and do you have a house to sell?


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## kate79 (Aug 24, 2009)

Hi, no sorry not got as far as looking at schools or anything yet. Really don't know where to start????? Is your husband with Global recruitment????? 
We are going to rent our house out to begin with, as a back up if things don't work out!
How u feeling about the move?? Have u been to Canada before???
KATE

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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

zoe2119 said:


> hi my husband has just been offered a job in fort mcmurry with wajax and we was thinking of going to live in Edmonton , we have a boy of 16 years and one whos 11 years and twin girls of 4 years , do you know about the kids and school because I worry for my 16 year old would he have to go to school there or college? and do you have a house to sell?


Your 16 year old would go to high school. Just take the immigration documentation for your kids to the local schools and they will be quickly enrolled. It is very easy. The schools will need to determine if your 11 year old should be in elementary or high school.


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## zoe2119 (Mar 13, 2013)

hi thanks for the quick reply , the information was very useful as I was really worried about what he would have to do when we get there,would the 2 younger children go to kindergarten they have just turned 4?


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## zoe2119 (Mar 13, 2013)

kate79 said:


> Hi, no sorry not got as far as looking at schools or anything yet. Really don't know where to start????? Is your husband with Global recruitment?????
> We are going to rent our house out to begin with, as a back up if things don't work out!
> How u feeling about the move?? Have u been to Canada before???
> KATE
> ...


hi kate , he is with global force so yes probably the same , we gonnor try and sell our house see how that goes ,I haven't been to Canada before but Jamie has with the army years ago , I am excited and nervous about moving but I want to do it ,I have to try it, so looks like they will be working in the same area , its nice to actually talk to someone who is doing the same thing nearly, have you been to Canada before ?I have been worried about schools as my eldest is 16 and didn't know if he would have to go to school ,college or what so its important he gets on over there as my 11 year old too, we have been looking at houses to rent in Edmonton looks a lot cheaper than fort mcmurry , thanks for replying 
zoe


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## kate79 (Aug 24, 2009)

Hi Zoe Like you it's good to talk to someone in the same position! I have also been messaging someone else on here who's husband also has been offered a position in Wajax! I keep having ups & downs about moving only natural I suppose? But I feel we need to do it, rob works away in Abu Dhabi so we only see him every 6-8 weeks for 2-3 weeks!!! Not ideal. Where do you live now??? I need to start looking at schools for my 5 year old, am I right in thinking children in canada start school later then here??? Will you be working over in Canada?? Kate

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## bellamcc (Jan 23, 2013)

Hi girls its nice to see other people that are taking the plunge, my husband has been offered calgary and we have never been before to Canada, we should start a Wajax page lol


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## zoe2119 (Mar 13, 2013)

hi yes its nice to hear other people doing the same thing , its very daunting moving to Canada but its exciting aswel , my husband said Calgary is brilliant ,he's been there with the army many times he said its a lovely place to be, have you got a house to sell here ?
zoe x


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

zoe2119 said:


> hi yes its nice to hear other people doing the same thing , its very daunting moving to Canada but its exciting aswel , my husband said Calgary is brilliant ,he's been there with the army many times he said its a lovely place to be, have you got a house to sell here ?
> zoe x


Lots of ways to look for houses for sale in Edmonton/Calgary. Go to either REALTOR.ca -Welcome or www.comfree.ca. These sites will show you pictures of the houses inside and out, along with how big they are... number of bedrooms, etc., and the prices.


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## Brum006 (Mar 22, 2013)

My husband has just got a job in Fort Mac and I'm glad now that we've decided to live in BC, we did do a bit of research about FM and came to the decision it was quite an un-natural community, we've certainly made the right decision


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