Life In Thompson, MB?

TopperHarley · Post by **TopperHarley** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:54 pm

Hey guys,

For anyone who is currently living, or used to live, up in YTH, could you please enlighten me as to what life is like up there? Housing, cost of living, transportation, etc?? I am considering a job offer up there, and I would like to know what life is like there.

I am wondering also if I should drive up there, or if it's best to fly there and simply take a cab to/from work. Right now I drive an old 1991 Ford Taurus, and I am not sure if my car can survive much longer, especially through the harsh winters that YTH experiences! My other option is to lease a car once I am there (is this even possible, or would i have to find a place in YWG?).

Thanks in advance,

Chris.

grimey · Post by **grimey** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 3:01 pm

A cab from town to the south apron and back will cost you about $25-30 a day. The north apron would be a bit more. Depending on the car, your insurance, etc, and how often you work it works out to be a bit cheaper than a car, but you won't have the convienence of being able to go out of town to the lake cheaply. You'll also have to endure constant ribbing from coworkers and others at the airport about not having a car. On the bright side, you don't have to worry about forgetting to plug your car in when it's 50 below.

DC6driver · Post by **DC6driver** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 3:19 pm

vive le Ghetto!

FREEFALL · Post by **FREEFALL** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 4:49 pm

Housing and apartments are hard to come by. Local landlords have a hard time renting out to pilots because they have had problems with them in the past. Noise levels of parties and no stability in how long they will rent for. But the average rent $450-$600. Utilities sometimes included. And there are more crappy places than nice places. It is an 8 hr drive to YTH from YWG doing the speed limit. I don't suggest driving up here in a lemon because the last 4 hrs of the drive consists of only 4 small communitties. (GYPSYMVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS, PONTON, WABOWDEN and a little cafe at PISEW FALLS) Cell phones don't work at all or that well from just north of Ashern to about 30 miles south of YTH. In my opinion, you will need a vehicle. As grimey stated, they make life easier and the cost of cabs could be more expensive if you work at the airport, because the airport is a 7-10 min drive from town.

FREEFALL · Post by **FREEFALL** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 4:52 pm

Hey grimey, how long have you been cabbing it to work for? And how much have you spent on it already?

grimey · Post by **grimey** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 5:06 pm

6 1/2 months, probably spent $4000 or so. I gotta be Thompson Cabs' best customer.

FREEFALL · Post by **FREEFALL** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 5:38 pm

Yearly New Car Payment: $5100
Yearly Car Insurance: $1300
Yearly Fuel Purchaces: $1500
Yearly Car Maintanance (oil): $400

HAVING A CAR: PRICELESS

SkyKing · Post by **SkyKing** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 5:47 pm

I drive an 80's 4Runner.
Paid $4000 for it cash up front.
After the initial cash, it costs about $13/day to drive it.
That includes maintenance, insurance and fuel.
I drive about 90km/day. Forget a cab.

full throttle · Post by **full throttle** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:45 pm

I lived in YTH for a couple of years. 500/Month everything included for an appartment. (ah the ghetto) Normal prices for food and stuff. Great breakfast a Zee's. You need a car. Most pilots have old cars, if it dies get another one. Just make sure you have a good block heater.

Go Guns · Post by **Go Guns** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:57 pm

Zee's doesn't exist anymore. The best breakfast is probably Chicken Chef.

I lived in Thompson for 3 1/2 years. Here's what I've got to say

-40 sucks, get a parka and an interior warmer for your car (and a block heater...duh)

It's cold from November till April. It sucks to be on the phone with your folks back home and hear about them golfing when you're still wearing the parka.

The dining isn't all that great, however, it's still there.

people going through your building's dumpster outside so they can afford to have a bottle of Wessy in front of the Post Office

It's a bit hard to get home, I missed out on a few occasions I would've liked to have been home for

Like was said before, housing is hard to come by. However, there lots of aviators in town who'll most likely be able to help you out.

On the upside

Great fishing (mmmm pickerel all summer long)

Gorgeous Northern Lights

Lot's of great people there in the same boat you're in. I met some of the greatest people in Thompson.

Great oppourtunities for flying.

Everything you need is there. Canadian Tire, Wal Mart, Safeway, DSL/Cable, year round indoor pool, 2 rinks, gym

Beer is cheaper then most other provinces and the beer store is open till 0230.

Depending on the flying you do, you'll have the chance to see some cool places such as Churchill, Nunavut, lodge strips.

I wouldn't worry to much about the car. Like was said before, drive it till it dies. Should you want to lease a car, Chevy, Ford, and Dodge have dealerships and there is a decent used car market.

All in all, It was a great experiance. If you think PAG is the place you want to be, I recommend you give it a try. If have any other questions about Northern Manitoba, send me a PM. You can also check out http://www.thompson.ca

Cheers

Busted · Post by **Busted** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 8:54 pm

Hey Freefall, u turning into a lifer eh.... lol steak at your place sat.....

Ludacris · Post by **Ludacris** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:18 am

Thompson, Manitoba...

I spent 3 years up there and if you've read my previous post at
http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=8444
you're already familiar with my situation.

The only positive thing I have to say about Thompson is all the other pilots I met up there who were also in the same situation.

Now for the negatives:

To me, Thompson was an absolute hell-hole. And now that I'm out of aviation I'm not going to sugar-coat things anymore. I absolutely hate Thompson. I've lived elsewhere up north before, but never in my life have I seen so much poverty, violence, and narrow-mindedness. Maybe it's just me, but driving by the post office and seeing 25 drunks out front is depressing. While working at Canadian Tire, I saw the only native guy on the payroll picking up garbage in the parking lot even though he was senior to me. That was a big wake-up call, and the gov't was even paying half his wage. When my g/f was the most educated person to ever work at pizza hut (she only had 1 degree) came home complaining every night about why they won't hire this one native guy who came in everyday looking for a job, it made me want to leave that place as soon as possible. I have absolutely no tolerance for balant racism. The first night the g/f came to stay some guy decided to beat up his g/f in the apartment across the hall and the police came, and I couldn't believe he actually started fighting the police....again I'd never seen that before and I started noticing women with black eyes on a regular basis around town. I'm orginally from a small town where fights were common, but where I'm from when one guy went down the fight was over, but in Thompson that's when the fight begins and everyone else decides to jump in. Want proof? Try the coat-check line at the local clubs when it's -40 outside.
Call me sheltered, but that's not normal where I come from.

And if you want to go the next 3 years of your life without a g/f move to Thompson. Some guys you meet will brag about how many girls they can pick up at The River with Hubba Bubba, and even put you down for your lack of desire to do the same.

In the other places I've lived up north I saw a lot of employment and investment in the community by the major employers in town. I didn't see the same in Thompson by Inco or even the major airlines.

One thing I did notice is the people who did enjoy Thompson were either blind to all the poverty and suffering that was constantly around them, or were either able to tune it out, pretend it didn't exist, or even go as far to justify it. Ask people who enjoy Thompson what they think of the extremely high crime rate (which can be confirmed by reading what they will publish in the local paper) and most of them will ask, "What high crime rate?" Again, blind to the situation...

You should still make your own decision. Drive to Thompson and stay for a few weeks and see if you can handle the 9 months of winter combined with all the other things you have to see on a daily basis then Thompson is for you.

yvr · Post by **yvr** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:19 am

Hey Ludacris,

weren't you " LIVING THE DREAM" in yth?

Donald · Post by **Donald** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 9:13 am

At first after reading Go Guns post I thought Thompson = Yellowknife.

After reading Ludacris' post, I am not sure.

But definitely there are alot of similarities.

Pachanga · Post by **Pachanga** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 10:31 am

I seem to recall meeting a few locals from Thompson awhile back....

short bus · Post by **short bus** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:40 am

I'd have to say Thompson is NOT a small town, there are MANY worse places to be up north than Thompson. Hell, there's a walmart there so that just proved my point. I'd say if Ludacris went and spent some time in a place like say La Loche, he'd be begging to go back to the paradise of Thompson.

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 11:52 am

I'd have to agree with shortbus. I don't think it's realistic to compare thompson with ft. mcmurray. Sort of like comparing Alberta with Manitoba as whole. It's pretty tough to avoid the poverty, domestic violence, crime etc in a small city that has a fairly large unemployment. But I would have to argue that there is just as much of that in any city (especially the bigger ones) it's just easier to avoid.

Skipper · Post by **Skipper** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 12:02 pm

Ludacris, Ludacris...

Where does all this bitterness come from? Every time you and I spoke, you seemed to be having "GOOD TIMES!!"

To the rest of you, don't worry, it's not such a bad place. I was scared out of my whits when I first saw the civilized world slip away from underneath me as I flew up there on Westjet, but those feelings slowly passed. I moved into a house, met some friends I'll have for life, and walked away with some pretty good memories. Hell, the only reason I left was because the company caved in!

That's all I have to say about that...

Go Guns · Post by **Go Guns** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:40 pm

Hell, the only reason I left was because the company caved in!

ditto, I would've stayed a couple more years. Now I'm forced to live and work on the West Coast....damn.

Ludicris does bring up a good point though. There is a whole lot of bad things going on in that town that the general population is either oblivious to or just doesn't care (I was a little from column A and a little from column B).

In the other places I've lived up north I saw a lot of employment and investment in the community by the major employers in town. I didn't see the same in Thompson by Inco or even the major airlines.

Inco is involved in pretty much everything about that town. Calm Air is huge community supporter as well. I'm not to sure where you get that idea from?

I guess it's all what you make of it. Thompson is definitly not paradise, but there are far worse places to start an aviation career.

FREEFALL · Post by **FREEFALL** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 2:59 pm

Don't ever forget about the beer!!!

And yes, that is YOU on the right.

North Shore · Post by **North Shore** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:37 pm

Chris,

Get in your car and get up here. If you don't like it after 6 months, then leave. How many job offers do you have down south?

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 4:55 pm

I'm not a Guy but here's my two penny's.

I think you should request the Northern allowance since Perimeter requests you to move up there. Perhaps, they are planning to keep you there for longer than a year. I could say alot more about Thompson but sounds like you're only interested in general information.

yvr · Post by **yvr** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:07 pm

I met a lot of great people in YTH. No regrets for spending 3 yrs there. I had a lot of great times, some I will never forget. The people in the aviation community in yth are awesome for the most part. Always willing to help you out....If you want to fly, Yth is a good spot to start. Its not that expensive and there are always pilots looking for roomies. I no longer live there.......left because K9 shut their doors. The Zed fares were awesome. Gave me a chance to ecscape every once in awhile to visit paradise. If you work on the ramp, more than likely ppl will be willing to do shift trades and such because they will want to get the hell out as well. I met my significant other, ppl who are now my best friends in yth.....so all in all.....yth was a bit of alright

Hope this helps.

Go Guns · Post by **Go Guns** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 6:41 pm

You automatically collect Northern Living Allowance if you live in Thompson. Only one person per residence can collect it for the residence, however you also collect some just for being there.

FREEFALL · Post by **FREEFALL** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:23 pm

Watching the drunks in YTH can be quite hilarious. One of my neighbors cracked one over the head with a driver. (hope he didn't wreck it) Only because another neighbor fuels the fire by letting drunks drink and sleep in his backyard and home. They are out there all hours. But I think that the owner of the house shud have "BIG BERTHA" imprinted on his head.