SouthA thats great man. Where abouts in Ontario are you from? Do you know what you will be doing in the field? Please keep us updated.

(11-15-2014 01:53 AM)pairofgreenthumbs Wrote:  SouthA thats great man. Where abouts in Ontario are you from? Do you know what you will be doing in the field? Please keep us updated.

I'm from the GTA originally but I was in rural Ontario for the last few years.
I'll be doing wellhead servicing. Our company manufactures / re manufactures and services wellhead parts and valves. I'm aware of the extreme hours the service guys live with but it's all about that OT baby.

(11-15-2014 01:45 AM)Nima Wrote:  Fucking cunts give you a ticket for going 10 over!

Damn better watch my speed when I come out there. Its pretty much standard to be speeding 10-20km over in Ontario lol.

Yo, Atlantic. What kind of car do you drive?

I have a really generic pick up truck. I ironically wanted something that would blend in wherever I went.

(11-15-2014 01:16 AM)Atlantic Wrote:  ^Ive been pulled over three times since I got here. Twice Ive been accused of being on drugs/drunk lol
Once for driving a girls car with outstanding parking tickets to my own driving test, another for racing an undercover mustang in Saskatchewan, and just last week off for having the wrong plates.
No tickets so far though.

LOL, I once raced a Camaro and it turned out to be a ghost car (undercover). Tried to give me a reckless driving ticket. as if. I got it down to a small speeding with no demerit points taken off though, so not to bad.

(11-15-2014 04:43 AM)SouthA Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 01:53 AM)pairofgreenthumbs Wrote:  SouthA thats great man. Where abouts in Ontario are you from? Do you know what you will be doing in the field? Please keep us updated.

I'm from the GTA originally but I was in rural Ontario for the last few years.
I'll be doing wellhead servicing. Our company manufactures / re manufactures and services wellhead parts and valves. I'm aware of the extreme hours the service guys live with but it's all about that OT baby.

I too lived in Toronto for the last couple of years right on the lake but just recently moved up to Barrie. Snowing like a mad man here right now.

(11-15-2014 08:53 AM)Zauber Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 01:45 AM)Nima Wrote:  Fucking cunts give you a ticket for going 10 over!

Damn better watch my speed when I come out there. Its pretty much standard to be speeding 10-20km over in Ontario lol.

I always set the cruise 20km over on all the 400 series highway, pass cops almost everyday on the way to work and never get pulled over. Tickets for 10km over is such a money grab.

Wanted to ask the guys who have made it out there between Calgary and Edmonton which city is a better home base for hobbies such as hunting and fishing? Which is a better boating city? Are there many boaters in either? What are some prominent lakes people fish out of or is it mainly river/stream fishing?

Apart from curiosity I am trying to figure out where I should have my fiancée apply for jobs. We are avid anglers and eventually will get into the hunting also (mostly birds, maybe deer).

Thanks for any opinions.

(11-10-2014 12:57 PM)Nima Wrote:  My car was registered in BC and I had a BC license. I was stopped 3 times by cops in the first 3 months telling me that my car wasn't registered. I would show them my BC registration/BC drivers license and they would tell me that I must get it registered in Alberta and change my license, even though I was within my 90 day grace period. I finally said fuck it and got it registered so they'd stop pulling me over and wasting my time.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but isn't "failure to register a car in 3/6 months" a crime like any other? ie the onus is on the cop to prove? Aside from the day when you're pulled over, presumably they would not have any proof that the car was there even a day before? Unless you talk of course.

(11-15-2014 03:33 PM)Seadog Wrote:  

(11-10-2014 12:57 PM)Nima Wrote:  My car was registered in BC and I had a BC license. I was stopped 3 times by cops in the first 3 months telling me that my car wasn't registered. I would show them my BC registration/BC drivers license and they would tell me that I must get it registered in Alberta and change my license, even though I was within my 90 day grace period. I finally said fuck it and got it registered so they'd stop pulling me over and wasting my time.

I'm just thinking out loud here, but isn't "failure to register a car in 3/6 months" a crime like any other? ie the onus is on the cop to prove? Aside from the day when you're pulled over, presumably they would not have any proof that the car was there even a day before? Unless you talk of course.

That's true.

What they would do every time though was follow me for 5-6 mins before signalling. I'd see them in the mirror fucking around on their computer running my plate. I bought my car just in time for the Alberta move, so I'm guessing that every time they ran my plate they'd see that the car was bought and registered in BC just a short while before. That could be a sign of foul play in their eyes since it's coming from BC (drug trafficking??). Of course BC is known for its weed "export" so a young guy driving a car that was bought and registered in BC just a short while ago might raise a flag or two. They were always polite though. Just the usual questions and a look inside the car and that was it.

(11-15-2014 01:44 PM)pairofgreenthumbs Wrote:  Wanted to ask the guys who have made it out there between Calgary and Edmonton which city is a better home base for hobbies such as hunting and fishing? Which is a better boating city? Are there many boaters in either? What are some prominent lakes people fish out of or is it mainly river/stream fishing?

Apart from curiosity I am trying to figure out where I should have my fiancée apply for jobs. We are avid anglers and eventually will get into the hunting also (mostly birds, maybe deer).

Thanks for any opinions.

Up north you get more wildlife due to remoteness, and more lakes due to glaciers leaving more of an impact.

Not sure where everyones located but if any Alberta boys hit up Vancouver for vacation or a trip, hit me up with a PM and let's hangout. I'm heading up to Fort St. John B.C. in 2015 to start my power line technician apprenticeship so I'll be pretty close next year if y'all want to chill.

(11-15-2014 05:42 PM)oilbreh Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 01:44 PM)pairofgreenthumbs Wrote:  Wanted to ask the guys who have made it out there between Calgary and Edmonton which city is a better home base for hobbies such as hunting and fishing? Which is a better boating city? Are there many boaters in either? What are some prominent lakes people fish out of or is it mainly river/stream fishing?

Apart from curiosity I am trying to figure out where I should have my fiancée apply for jobs. We are avid anglers and eventually will get into the hunting also (mostly birds, maybe deer).

Thanks for any opinions.

Up north you get more wildlife due to remoteness, and more lakes due to glaciers leaving more of an impact.

But fly fishing unbeatable in Calgary and into the Rockies...

deleted

Cathedral is a good company, and quite busy from what I have heard.

I was listening to an interview today with the head of Alberta and he was saying that the US representatives voted 4 the Keystone pipeline apparently it will be voted on next week at the Senate. However the president says he will veto the decision to stop the pipeline project. I have heard come the new year it may get passed when the Republicans take over the house and attach the keystone project to a money bill that Obama wants passed

(11-15-2014 08:15 PM)komatiite Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 05:42 PM)oilbreh Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 01:44 PM)pairofgreenthumbs Wrote:  Wanted to ask the guys who have made it out there between Calgary and Edmonton which city is a better home base for hobbies such as hunting and fishing? Which is a better boating city? Are there many boaters in either? What are some prominent lakes people fish out of or is it mainly river/stream fishing?

Apart from curiosity I am trying to figure out where I should have my fiancée apply for jobs. We are avid anglers and eventually will get into the hunting also (mostly birds, maybe deer).

Thanks for any opinions.

Up north you get more wildlife due to remoteness, and more lakes due to glaciers leaving more of an impact.

But fly fishing unbeatable in Calgary and into the Rockies...

Hunting and fishing are two of my favourite pass times, especially hunting. One of the draws that lead me out here was the amount of big game in Alberta. Correct me if I'm wrong but Alberta has some of the biggest white tail deer in the world. I'm from a country where the only big game is deer and the amount of tags given out is limited. Hunting is mostly based around woodcock, duck and snipe.

If anyone is looking for company on a hunt or fishing drop me a pm I'd be very grateful. Does anyone practice archery? I'm considering buying a compound bow and taking it up it looks like a fun hobby that could lead to bow hunting which has to be one the most primal things a man could do. The thought of taking down a large animal with a fucking arrow has me salivating

(11-15-2014 11:58 AM)pairofgreenthumbs Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 08:53 AM)Zauber Wrote:  

(11-15-2014 01:45 AM)Nima Wrote:  Fucking cunts give you a ticket for going 10 over!

Damn better watch my speed when I come out there. Its pretty much standard to be speeding 10-20km over in Ontario lol.

I always set the cruise 20km over on all the 400 series highway, pass cops almost everyday on the way to work and never get pulled over. Tickets for 10km over is such a money grab.

One of the benefits of a having a truck that won't go above third gear is that I can't go fast enough to get a ticket. Although I probably would get one for knowingly leaking transmission fluid all over Edmonton. My truck It no longer goes into reverse so parking needs to be done strategically

(11-14-2014 03:00 PM)scotian Wrote:  

(11-14-2014 12:37 PM)jimbobjuicy Wrote:  do you guys know if a reckless driving offense(dui dropped to reckless in court) from 2 1/2 yrs ago will hurt my chances of getting a job as a Mwd? I know that companies usually check 3 yrs back. What do u guys think?

Why don't you tell us a little bit more about yourself, first of all, are you legally allowed to work in Canada and do you have any MWD experience? If you answer no to either question, then you have a snow ball's chance in hell of getting work as an MWD in Canada.

I'm a US citizen prob looking to work in Texas as an MWD, no experience, have a business degree from a top 30 school.

Glad to see some guys are into hunting and fishing. Its one of the things I'm really looking forward to doing in Alberta.

(11-15-2014 12:27 AM)SouthA Wrote:  I guess it's time I stop lurking and try to contribute. I discovered this thread about 3 months ago. I've been wanting to come out to Alberta from the wasteland that is Ontario for years. I guess I never had the balls to do it but this thread truly inspired me. This is nothing that hasn't been said a hundred times but Scotian: you're a fucking legend man. Atlantic: same to you. Seeing you move out here from across the pond is inspirational. Thanks to the many other contributors to this thread.

Now enough of that sappy shit. I packed up my stuff and drove across the country 3 weeks ago. As soon as I got here I scrambled to find a place to stay. The rental market is tough out here. Be prepared to pay a lot for a little. Managed to get a dingy basement just off Whyte ave. Location, location, location lol. I also worked on getting my safety tickets at Enform. Took about a week for the main ones. After that, I started applying everywhere. I didn't have a specific goal in mind, as I have no oilfield experience but I knew about Nisku so I went around and just talked to people. Personally I wanted to get into the service side of things but I'm not opposed to roughneck duty. I also worked a few temp jobs off Kijiji for subsistence like many others have suggested. There is work out here boys.

Anyways, this week I randomly sent out a bunch of resumes online and ended up getting a call back from a good service company. After a 5 minute interview, I was hired! Only starting field work next week so we'll see how it goes. I know I'll have no shortage of overtime which is awesome. Perhaps I got lucky but my point is, there are jobs out here if you're willing and able. Some people are going on about how the patch is dead right now but I think that's bullshit. It might not be like it was 10 years ago but just don't be picky and just put yourself out there.

I'm not sure I have any real practical advice for anyone as my journey is just beginning but I hope I can inspire some of the lurkers hesitating to make the leap!

Congrats on grabbing a job bro, I've been here for about two weeks and finished up getting my certs and tickets through the first ten days. I've hammered the online applications but haven't had any responses as of yet. I made some visits to offices but they politely told me to come back with copies of all my certs. I'm just waiting to get my hands on them through the mail this week but I'll be hitting the offices in Nisku and Leduc when I do. I've managed to get my hands on cash work for the last couple of weeks which has been a huge help. Work is not difficult to find out here, but getting onto the rigs seems to be a bit about timing. Get a job first, then you'll be able to bide your time until the opportunity arises. Well, that's what I hope anyways.

I'll keep you gents updated. Thanks for the update SouthA.

Sounds like you have the right plan and attitude maphone. Keep it up bud.

I arrived yesterday morning and I have to say Edmonton is full of friendly people. Starting with the receptionist at the hotel checking me in 5 hours early, the cabbie who gave me the lay of the land and nightlife tips, to the two landlords I met with. Makes me feel like I made the right choice in moving out here.

I'll be finishing up my safety certificates by Sunday. Just have to transfer over my Ontario licence and close on the apartment I want, pick up a 4x4, and I'll be ready to go.

I've revised my plan somewhat. I'm looking to hitch on with a drilling company until spring break-up, then look to get into a trade for the shut down season and work maintenance. I was a daily smoker (weed) for five years so I've ordered an at-home urine test so I don't end up getting flagged and blackballed off the bat. I won't apply until the results show up below the threshold to save myself some grief. In the meantime I'll be applying for landscaping jobs or whatever labour job I can get until I can pass the drug test.

Once again, I have to say a big thank you to scotian and everyone else who has contributed to this thread. After I get settled with everything I look forward to meeting up with you guys.

Good luck man, and welcome to Alberta. I doubt there will be many landscaping gigs right now but for sure tons of snow removal jobs!