It's not always this glamorous

[mousme]

I'm flying to P.E.I. tomorrow for the day in one of the RCMP's planes. I am ridiculously excited. I also have to get up stupidly early, which is less exciting. Still... I get to go up in a nine-seater, and visit the military airstrip in St-Hubert, and that's pretty cool.

They're advertising postings for telecom people to go work in Nunavut for three years, and part of me is seriously tempted to apply sometime in the future. I wouldn't be able to go now, because I'm still very very untrained, and I have a bunch of stuff going on, but in a couple of years I suspect things will have changed. The idea is attractive for a few reasons: 1) I've always wanted to visit the Northern bits of Canada and spend some time there. 2) The postings are for a maximum of three years, so it's not like I'd be going there forever. 3) There's a substantial "isolation bonus." Because, y'know, it's way the hell gone up North. I could come back after three years and likely be able to put a sizeable down payment on a house.

More this weekend, I think. Right now, my bed calls.

Comments

[rowen26.livejournal.com]

Eeee! You'll only be a few hours away!

P.E.I, mean. Not the Far North. :P
Pity you can't stop by. I'll see you soon though!

Have a good flight!

[ladyiolanthe.livejournal.com]

Hey there, the opportunities in Nunavut sound very exciting! Having been doing the northern thing for three years now, may I provide a little bit of advice? You sure do get an isolated post bonus, and if you live frugally you can certainly bank some. But the cost of living up here is waaaaaaaaay more (eg. a 2-litre carton of milk can cost close to $8 in the northern communities I've been in, depending on the time of year/whether there is road access or not) so part of that allowance is to help alleviate the financial burden, and it may not be as easy to accumulate a vast sum as you think! Still, it IS possible so if it's something you're keen to try, you should do it.

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

Don't go up into Esqimaux land before I get to meet you in person, silly!

[luvenditti.livejournal.com]

how cool are you!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Good to know! Is it mainly the food that's expensive, or is rent and heating and so forth also very costly?

Mind you, the whole "extra money" thing would be essentially a bonus for me, rather than the main incentive. I think a few years up North would be a really great experience.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

You'll just have to hurry up and visit then, won't you? ;)

[ladyiolanthe.livejournal.com]

The cost of living is pretty high, too - heating can be quite expensive. It will vary considerably from community to community - based primarily on accessibility - vis. winter road only communities or those serviced annually by a barge will be VERY expensive for fuel and electricity because the generating stations are generally fossil-fuel based, and everything has to be shipped up and stored for an entire year's supply of electrical generation. Both Fort Chip and Paulatuk depend primarily on oil for heat and that has to be shipped up when the winter road is open for Fort Chip, or when the barge comes to Paulatuk. BUT, your isolated post allowance would have several constituents: one is the cost of living differential, one is the 'environmental' allowance (to make up for how isolated you are/reduced services in your community compared to down south) and a fuel and utilities allowance.

I don't get the fuel and utilities allowance because I rent from my employer, so they get it in my place and charge me a subsidized rent for my house instead. I can ask the RCMP members here if that is the case for them, too.

There are a few other benefits too, like medical trip assistance (only given for non-elective medical services that are required without delay and not available in the community you're based in) and vacation travel assistance. The vacation travel assistance helps you out with travel costs a set number of times per year (in very isolated posts, twice a year, in less isolated posts, once a year). You get the cost of round-trip airfare from your community to the nearest point of departure (basically, a big international airport - for me that's Edmonton but for Nunavut I think it's usually Toronto? Don't quote me on that).