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Hi everyone, I'm hoping for some advice regarding my current job status. I'm currently employed in the southern part of Canada, working in a field semi-related to my chosen career. This company doesn't pay very well and isn't really somewhere that I can see myself staying in the long-term. I've been working there since graduating university almost four years ago. I'm wrapping up a post-graduate diploma and have a very strong lead (have applied/exchanged some emails) with a job in Northern Canada. This job pays about 60% more than my current salary, is directly related to my targeted career path, and also offers subsidized housing in addition to a very sizeable northern bonus. However, it is in an extremely remote northern community- we're talking 20 hours of darkness in the winter and no roads. Does anyone have experience relocating to any type of remote area for work? I feel like this would be a great move for my career, I love extremely cold weather, and I'm an adventurous person, but I'm not 100% sure that it'sthe right choice for me. x Some main questions that I have: Is the lack of daylight in winter/excess of daylight in summer a huge problem in terms of sleep/attitude? How much more expensive is it, on a month-to-month basis, than southern living? Do northern bonuses typically cover the difference? (I've been able to find a lot of information regarding grocery pricing and internet pricing- I'm mostly wondering about rent/heating charges after the subsidy) Is it an enjoyable experience? Do you feel like a part of the community? Any stories about experiences working in northern Canada/Alaska will definitely be appreciated! Otherwise, any tips on relocating to a strange environment or living in an absurdly expensive city are also welcome.
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| # ? Feb 14, 2013 01:46 |
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| # ? May 18, 2013 21:29 |
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You're pretty young. You should probably ask yourself what you value more - money or a social life.
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| # ? Feb 14, 2013 13:03 |
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I knew someone that did this work. From what I gathered, housing is pretty expensive (I think he paid something like $80 a day) but the income vastly outpaced it. Some part of the money was tax free for whatever reason. One thing to keep in mind is that, for him if he wanted to quit he had to wait for a certain part of the year just to leave. As in, he couldn't physically leave because of the conditions. Once you're there, you're there.
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| # ? Feb 14, 2013 13:40 |
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I live in Alaska, Fairbanks to be exact. So I can maybe help answer some stuff:quote:Is the lack of daylight in winter/excess of daylight in summer a huge problem in terms of sleep/attitude? It's really not that big of a deal as far sleeping goes. Just put some foil or a thick blanket over the windows and you'll be fine. We're just now getting daylight back and I'm so happy for it. If you're susceptible to seasonal effective disorder you might want to think about that though because it can be hard in the winter. quote:How much more expensive is it, on a month-to-month basis, than southern living? Do northern bonuses typically cover the difference? (I've been able to find a lot of information regarding grocery pricing and internet pricing- I'm mostly wondering about rent/heating charges after the subsidy) The cost of living is a lot higher but you also make a lot more (at least in my case). Yeah you pay a lot more for food and rent and heating but any student loans you have, car payments, credit cards, stuff like that is the same so you still come out with a lot more money. (in my case once again) My cabin is heated through oil and it's $4 a gallon so it's pretty expensive, but we've only had to fill it once this entire winter. Rent is super expensive, I pay a bunch for what would be considered a hovel back in Ohio where I'm from. (No running water, for one thing) quote:Is it an enjoyable experience? Do you feel like a part of the community? I love it here. In the summer the camping is so nice. Even in the winter it's nice because of the northern lights and skiiing. If you like the outdoors you will love it. We actually moved to Virginia for two years but decided to move back up because we missed it too much. I live in the second biggest city up here but it's super community-like, to a fault. Everyone knows everyone for better or for worse. Hope that helps, good luck if you make the move.
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| # ? Feb 14, 2013 20:27 |
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I hope you don't like to eat: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north...ood-prices.html
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| # ? Feb 14, 2013 22:55 |
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TheLizard posted:You're pretty young. You should probably ask yourself what you value more - money or a social life. On the other hand I would offer my own experience spending a good chunk of my 20s living in trailers and chasing drilling rigs. Yes it killed my social life but now I have sought after experience and a good career. You're young (and I presume have no kids or other stuff tying you down) so now is the time to go out and get some really good experience even if it is in the middle of buttfuck. It can pay off in spades down the road.
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| # ? Feb 14, 2013 23:30 |
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Living and working up north was a formative experience for me and I could not recommend it more highly to people. The darkness and cold is part of the fun, and if you can't get a social scene going with the other young professionals from down south who rotate in and out regularly and are in the same boat as you (looking for like-minded friends from the south) you probably can't succeed socially anywhere
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| # ? Feb 14, 2013 23:45 |
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The housing/North bonuses are so you don't become bankrupt up there. You will pay ~200 - 300% more for food, gas, water (sometimes up to ~$10/bottle). If you want to go, make sure your job pays for food/lodging or heavily subsidizes it (my friend got a $36,000 cheque to help with his first 2 years of mortgage payments) and gives you a decent rotation (2 weeks in, 2 weeks out kinda thing).
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| # ? Feb 15, 2013 01:35 |
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Thank you to everyone for your help and information so far!Harry posted:
That is definitely something that I'd have to consider- I could theoretically leave anytime in terms of getting transportation down south, but I'd have to pay my own relocation costs (thousands of dollars) if I stay for less than a year. yulia tymotebow posted:I live in Alaska, Fairbanks to be exact. Thank you for this advice! It's really helpful, and I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed it so much- did you find that it was difficult to transition when you first arrived? reflex posted:I hope you don't like to eat: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north...ood-prices.html If I end up taking the job, this has guaranteed that my luggage will consist mostly of cans of beans. Jesus. ch3cooh posted:On the other hand I would offer my own experience spending a good chunk of my 20s living in trailers and chasing drilling rigs. Yes it killed my social life but now I have sought after experience and a good career. You're young (and I presume have no kids or other stuff tying you down) so now is the time to go out and get some really good experience even if it is in the middle of buttfuck. It can pay off in spades down the road. I'm happy to hear that you feel like the sacrifice was worth it. This is a position that could theoretically end up transferring me back down south with tons of experience and an in with the organization, which is what makes it so tempting. terrorist ambulance posted:Living and working up north was a formative experience for me and I could not recommend it more highly to people. The darkness and cold is part of the fun, and if you can't get a social scene going with the other young professionals from down south who rotate in and out regularly and are in the same boat as you (looking for like-minded friends from the south) you probably can't succeed socially anywhere manpurse posted:The housing/North bonuses are so you don't become bankrupt up there. Food and lodging would both be very heavily subsidized (thankfully), but rotation would be nonexistent. If I take the job, I'm always there apart from vacation time.
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| # ? Feb 15, 2013 02:23 |
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Jazz Police posted:Thank you to everyone for your help and information so far! Unless you start with like 8 weeks vacation don't take it. Look elsewhere.
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| # ? Feb 15, 2013 04:34 |
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Jazz Police posted:
Nope, then again I was lucky the first time to find a relatively cheap place with all the usual commodities. If I had to live in a dry cabin the first time I'm sure I would've had a much more difficult time. Just make sure you do a lot of research of the town you're planning to go to so you know what to expect, where to live, stuff like that.
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| # ? Feb 15, 2013 16:01 |
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Also, ask yourself whether you have the discipline to bank a big chunk of your salary and not party every night out of boredom. Lots of guys go up planning to save crazy cash and end up drinking and snorting it all.
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| # ? Feb 18, 2013 02:47 |
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Like everyone has said already, costs will be sky-high for every type of expense. I recommend you create a budget with your salary and expenses in the north and decide based on that. You might be surprised at how little you would manage to save. On the plus side, some experience in your field of study is always a good idea. Needless to say, working conditions are difficult to say the least. The isolation and weather are enough to wear most non-northern people out fairly quickly. If you have any medical conditions that require specialized care, you might want to look at how that would work out. Deathreaper fucked around with this message at Feb 21, 2013 around 04:40 |
| # ? Feb 21, 2013 04:37 |
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| # ? May 18, 2013 21:29 |
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Jazz Police posted:I'm wrapping up a post-graduate diploma and have a very strong lead (have applied/exchanged some emails) with a job in Northern Canada. This job pays about 60% more than my current salary, is directly related to my targeted career path, and also offers subsidized housing in addition to a very sizeable northern bonus. However, it is in an extremely remote northern community- we're talking 20 hours of darkness in the winter and no roads. Jazz Police posted:Does anyone have experience relocating to any type of remote area for work? I feel like this would be a great move for my career, I love extremely cold weather, and I'm an adventurous person, but I'm not 100% sure that it'sthe right choice for me. Is the lack of daylight in winter/excess of daylight in summer a huge problem in terms of sleep/attitude? For some people, yes. Very much so yes. I am one of those people, but you learn to cope. There are tricks, but there isn't much to be done when you are stuck in a windowless classroom during the precious 30-45 minutes of sunlight. Is it an enjoyable experience? Do you feel like a part of the community? I am not sure if it is the same in northern Canada, but 'fitting in' with a native community in a rural village in alaska is drat hard if not impossible. I don't know what you're doing though; a rig worker is going to be surrounded by fellow workers and have support stuff in place, most likely. A K-12 teacher will have a few other teachers, at most, and otherwise be on their own. The dude asking about snorting and drinking away your paycheck isn't kidding. I don't know what it is about a hard life, but it really encourages people to live hard. I guess the question is, do you have an escape strategy? It sounds like a good first step for your career, even if you don't like the work. How long would you have to stay there to make a go of it? How quickly can you get out? What sort of conditions are there on leaving prematurely? If you can go, try it out for a year, and move on to other more traditional work in your field with that job under your belt, I would do it. It sounds like an adventure, something that not everyone has a chance to do even if it impedes on your 'social life' (whatever that means). Plus chicks dig stories about cold weather. Go read "To Build A Fire" and get jazzed about your new adventure. Delta-Wye fucked around with this message at Feb 21, 2013 around 21:52 |
| # ? Feb 21, 2013 21:50 |
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