"Layoffs taking place on a large scale in the oil patch."

[Flames in 07]

Once drilling costs line up again with numbers are sane, activity will pick up. At these prices the only thing that could halt activity is a overheated cost structure.

[guzzy]

The main problem is we are quickly pricing ourselves out of our own province. When boiler makers and pipefitters are asking for 27% over 3 years and welders in GP just stopped welding until they were given $110 an hour instead of $85 it shows what type of shape the economy is in. The thing people like this don't realize is that pretty soon there will only be the oil sands and we will all be working in Fort Mac. Natural gas is on the decline. The oilsands are just starting off. The problem is that not everyone wants to work up in the mac but everyone wants to be paid like they are.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by guzzy

The main problem is we are quickly pricing ourselves out of our own province. When boiler makers and pipefitters are asking for 27% over 3 years and welders in GP just stopped welding until they were given $110 an hour instead of $85 it shows what type of shape the economy is in. The thing people like this don't realize is that pretty soon there will only be the oil sands and we will all be working in Fort Mac. Natural gas is on the decline. The oilsands are just starting off. The problem is that not everyone wants to work up in the mac but everyone wants to be paid like they are.

This is true, and a little bit scarier because the royalties that we (the province/people) receive on gas are about double what we get on oil. That being said, everything is cyclical....its not a reason to panic at this point.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Here's to a really, really, really cold winter on the East Coast...

[corporatejay]

Interesting works given the glut of condos scheduled to come online in the next 1-3 years. I think we should be hoping for nominal increases of 4% a year.... it's steady appreciation you want, not 40% annually.

and the boomers are going to retire and guess where they want to live??? CONDOS!!!

they say your first and last house will be a condo, the market will steadily increase but you won't see any more booms, the market can't support it, everyone will get priced out.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

and the boomers are going to retire and guess where they want to live??? CONDOS!!!

they say your first and last house will be a condo, the market will steadily increase but you won't see any more booms, the market can't support it, everyone will get priced out.

I don't know if I'd agree with that - if we're talking about highrise condos. My dad is a prime example of that - he's 60, crotchety and always gripes about the neighbors. He rather likes his 1800 sq ft for 2 people and would go banannas with neighbors in close proximity that didn't meet his expectations.

So maybe not highrises like Sasso. But I could definately see your point on something like a retirement villa, retirement specific lowrise, or a townhouse

[jamesteterenko]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

I don't know if I'd agree with that - if we're talking about highrise condos. My dad is a prime example of that - he's 60, crotchety and always gripes about the neighbors. He rather likes his 1800 sq ft for 2 people and would go banannas with neighbors in close proximity that didn't meet his expectations.

So maybe not highrises like Sasso. But I could definately see your point on something like a retirement villa, retirement specific lowrise, or a townhouse

High-rise condo living isn't for everyone. But not wanting to see your neighbours is probably the most ignorant reason. I live on the 10th floor of a condo. I might see a neighbour on my floor about once a month. I never hear them through the concrete walls and never have to look at anything of theirs. Most days I don't even see anyone in the elevator or lobby.

When I go to a friends place in the suburbs, I am amazed at the lack of privacy. You see everyone's yard, and they see yours. If they have any eyesores around, it is your eye that gets sore. If you are in your back yard, they can see you from their kitchen window.

If you actually want privacy, go live in a high-rise condo.

James.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by jamesteterenko

When I go to a friends place in the suburbs, I am amazed at the lack of privacy. You see everyone's yard, and they see yours. If they have any eyesores around, it is your eye that gets sore. If you are in your back yard, they can see you from their kitchen window.

If you actually want privacy, go live in a high-rise condo.

James.

So, the best way to make sure people don't see you in your yard is to not have a yard? Is your next bit of advice to avoid car accidents is to not own a car?

I don't go into my back yard to have privacy. I go out to be out in the neighbourhood- but still a little bit within my comfort zone. If I want privacy I stay inside the house; which is what you get with your condo. But I have a choice- the condo dweller doesn't.

Glad that you like it. But every time this comes up people in condos try and tell us that it's the best way of living. I happen to disagree.

[jamesteterenko]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So, the best way to make sure people don't see you in your yard is to not have a yard? Is your next bit of advice to avoid car accidents is to not own a car?

I don't go into my back yard to have privacy. I go out to be out in the neighbourhood- but still a little bit within my comfort zone. If I want privacy I stay inside the house; which is what you get with your condo. But I have a choice- the condo dweller doesn't.

Glad that you like it. But every time this comes up people in condos try and tell us that it's the best way of living. I happen to disagree.

You might want to reread my first paragraph and the post I quoted. My very first sentance was, "High-rise condo living isn't for everyone." Do what you want, I wasn't trying to convince you otherwise.

I was responding to I-Hate-Hulse speaking about condos being in too close proximity to the neighbours. There is more privacy in a condo than most people realize. No one sees you coming or going or generally has any clue if you are at home.

James.

[Burninator]

Both a house and a condo can have their lack of privacy. From my house I can see my neighbours across the alley making and eating dinner, and they can do the same to me. The frosted glass on their two bathroom windows probably isn't as private as they would like it to be when it's dark out. A friend of mine has an office tower across the street from his condo window. People could sit at their desks and see into his place. Every kind of residency has it's upsides and downsides.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by jamesteterenko

You might want to reread my first paragraph and the post I quoted. My very first sentance was, "High-rise condo living isn't for everyone." Do what you want, I wasn't trying to convince you otherwise.

Yes, but then you follwed it up with calling people with certain reasons ignorant. That's like saying "no offense, but you are a fat pig" to somebody, and then telling them "hey- I said no offense."

Sounds like you live in a nice quiet building; which is great. However by my experience with high rise living; that may be the exception and not the norm. Or it's possible that in the 6 or 7 different high-rises I've lived in I just had bad luck and had to deal with neighbours on a daily basis.

[Sylvanfan]

Well in terms of owning a condo vs. other type of residence, I think location on a condo is important. If your 500k condo is in downtown Airdrie, or St.Albert...I think you're asking to get burned.

Apparently the government is reviewing crude oil roytalties today which are substantially less than other oil and gas royalties. Some say they're short changing themselves....others say if they raise them the oil sands will slow down. Should be interesting to see what happens. I say they could increase it as right now those royalties are very low in terms of %.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Well in terms of owning a condo vs. other type of residence, I think location on a condo is important. If your 500k condo is in downtown Airdrie, or St.Albert...I think you're asking to get burned.

Apparently the government is reviewing crude oil roytalties today which are substantially less than other oil and gas royalties. Some say they're short changing themselves....others say if they raise them the oil sands will slow down. Should be interesting to see what happens. I say they could increase it as right now those royalties are very low in terms of %.

This is both true and extremely interesting. Oil is at an all time high, and the review is taking place right during an election speculatory phase...I am interested for many reasons on what they come back with!

[jonesy]

[quote=ken0042;995451]...That's like saying "no offense, but you are a fat pig" to somebody, and then telling them "hey- I said no offense."
quote]

Not related to this discussion specifically, but I've noticed that when a sentence starts off with 'no offense' it is usually followed by something offensive.
When a sentence begins with 'with all due respect' it is usually followed by something disrepectful.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by jamesteterenko

High-rise condo living isn't for everyone. But not wanting to see your neighbours is probably the most ignorant reason. I live on the 10th floor of a condo. I might see a neighbour on my floor about once a month. I never hear them through the concrete walls and never have to look at anything of theirs. Most days I don't even see anyone in the elevator or lobby.

When I go to a friends place in the suburbs, I am amazed at the lack of privacy. You see everyone's yard, and they see yours. If they have any eyesores around, it is your eye that gets sore. If you are in your back yard, they can see you from their kitchen window.

If you actually want privacy, go live in a high-rise condo.

James.

I lived in a beltline condo for 5 years and served as Board President for those years, so I'm quite familar with condo living and the inner workings. Highrise condo living can be a fantastic thing with the right proactive Board and good residents - just like any other suburb.

Agreed - once you shut your door you're in your own little world and may even get a little more privacy. It's not the issue of running to neighbors in the hallway that would get to my dad, it's the common area issues that would:

- idiot who litters/vomits/scrapes/moving damage/tracks mud/urinates in the hallways.
- idiot who doesn't stop and wait for the garage door to close before driving off, thereby letting thieves enter and wreak havoc in the parkade.
- idiot 3 floors above you who causes a water leak, which ends up running into your den wall. (this happened to me in my concrete building)
- idiot residents that trigger the firealarm repeatedly (the whole building alarm)

In my opinion all these gripes can be addressed in a building with a proactive condo board who will constantly monitor (full time building superintendant or secuirty is a must IMHO), crack down when needed and proactively do maintenance and renos. I wouldn't hesitate in a minute to get one of the high end established posh places in Eau Claire as those places spent whatever it takes to do it right. Most condos, unfortuantely cant, unless they've had a good Board in place.

My dad would lose it under the 4 'idiot' conditions above. He'd be the crazy old man yelling at the 18 yr old that dropped his Slurpee cup in the hallway.

[jamesteterenko]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Yes, but then you follwed it up with calling people with certain reasons ignorant. That's like saying "no offense, but you are a fat pig" to somebody, and then telling them "hey- I said no offense."

Sounds like you live in a nice quiet building; which is great. However by my experience with high rise living; that may be the exception and not the norm. Or it's possible that in the 6 or 7 different high-rises I've lived in I just had bad luck and had to deal with neighbours on a daily basis.

I've lived in two different high-rises, and have a similar experience in both. Actually, in one case, I remember meeting a neighbour on my floor in the elevator. We asked each other if we had just moved in. I had been there about three years and he had been there for a year. We shared a wall and that was the first time we met.

There are a number of things that make the condo I live in a good one. I can understand how some condos wouldn't be as good. I suspect that the fact that my floor only has four units and they are all over 1900 sq ft gives a better situation than a different building where you have 10 units under 800 sq ft on one floor. The condo board is also very proactive, and there are a lot of security measures in place; more than I have seen in other buildings. In terms of buidings that currently face our unit, there is a parking lot across the street to the east and a short building across the street to the north.

Given, I-Hate-Hulse's clarification, I see that he is not ignorant about the situation. I paraphrased him incorrectly. I understood his post as a high-rise condo would be bad because of a lack of privacy. He didn't say that directly and his response clarified that.

Some people would not want to live in a high rise for reasons that apply to high rises in general (e.g. desire for a yard that is not shared). Some people validly would not want to live in a specific condo due to issues with other occupants in the building and/or privacy. However, if someone says that they would never live in a high rise because of the lack of privacy, I will continue to say that they are "lacking knowledge or comprehension of the thing specified." There are clearly some condo buildings where this is not an issue.

James.

[jamesteterenko]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Agreed - once you shut your door you're in your own little world and may even get a little more privacy. It's not the issue of running to neighbors in the hallway that would get to my dad, it's the common area issues that would:

- idiot who litters/vomits/scrapes/moving damage/tracks mud/urinates in the hallways.
- idiot who doesn't stop and wait for the garage door to close before driving off, thereby letting thieves enter and wreak havoc in the parkade.
- idiot 3 floors above you who causes a water leak, which ends up running into your den wall. (this happened to me in my concrete building)
- idiot residents that trigger the firealarm repeatedly (the whole building alarm)

My dad would lose it under the 4 'idiot' conditions above. He'd be the crazy old man yelling at the 18 yr old that dropped his Slurpee cup in the hallway.

Your dad would fit right in if he lived in our condo building. I'd swear you were describing our live-in caretaker. He stops many of these idiot things from happening.

[BlackArcher101]

When did this discussion suddenly change to Condo versus Non-Condo living? Can we perhaps keep things about the topic on hand?

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

When did this discussion suddenly change to Condo versus Non-Condo living? Can we perhaps keep things about the topic on hand?

Agreed - I said this mid way down the page and I'll ask it again: I know a lot of service companies that are betting on a stronger Q4, and haven't cut staff in anticipation of this. Is anyone seeing evidence that Q4 is going to be a strong as they say?

[Sylvanfan]

Another odd thing...is that yesterday I get this thing from Direct Energy suggesting I lock in for 5 years to buy gas at $8.99 a gigajoule because thats the lowest price it's been in two years. Yet an artical posted earlier laments that the market is only paying $5 US for Natural gas right now and that they can't make money in Natural Gas right now. Which is it? Although Photons artical seemed to suggest that companies plan to spend the same in 08 that they spent in 07...so really not doing the mass layoff thing, more of not doing the mass hiring that some other industries are doing.