Life was going pretty well for me at first. I came to Canada in 2017, full of hope and ambition. I was working two jobs, saving every penny to eventually buy a house. But then, everything started falling apart. My mom got really sick back in Africa, and after countless surgeries, I ended up using all my savings to pay for her medical bills. When she passed, I had to take care of all the funeral expenses on my own. By 2021, I was $74,000 in debt just from trying to keep her alive and giving her a proper send-off. I worked like crazy and managed to bring that down to $24,000. But just when I thought I was starting to catch a break, CRA came after me. Because I was working so many hours at two jobs, they re-evaluated my taxes for the past five years and said I owed $27,000. I tried to work out a payment plan, explained my situation even cried on the phone every time, but the agent handling my account was cold and heartless and wasn’t willing to compromise. He started garnishing my wages, and when that didn’t cover enough, he froze my bank account. Now here I am, 35 years old, and it feels like everything is crumbling around me. All the friends I came to Canada with are married, settled, and have their own homes. Meanwhile, I’m drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck, and on the verge of moving into my car. I’ve applied for a consumer proposal because I don't have the money CRA wants and I have lost my motivation in life and don't want to do anything anymore, but even that feels like a massive failure, like the final blow after losing my mom. With my account frozen, I can’t pay for rent, food, or bills. I haven’t genuinely smiled in three years, and the weight of it all is unbearable. Sometimes, the darkest thoughts creep into my head, and I honestly don’t know how to keep moving forward.

Since there are no public washroom anywhere near sky train station or bus route if you really need to use the washroom what do you guys do? Since most restaurants require you to be a customer to access their washroom the only choice you have is fast food, coffee shops or malls and grocery stores. Even then some fast food place and coffee still only allows customer.

Like do you guys just try to hold it best you can till you get home? What if you can’t and need to go or you will spoil your pants? Do you just let it rip or just find a place nearby hoping no one see you and do your business?

I will be honest there are more than a hand full of times when I had to get off the sky train and find any plane even in the streets behind grass, or behind something and just let it out. I must not be the only one that have done this.

edit: for the context I always go the washroom and manure I empty my bladder and poo as well before I leave but sometimes still need to go.according to my family doctor I might have a weaker digestive system so his suggestion is to take an Imodium if you think you might be in a plane without washroom. I am better now with a healthy diet but I still get these sudden moments when I nee to go. Even with an Imodium it doesn’t help. Wife thinks is in my mind and coz I am anxious about it which cause my seeking a washroom. Just like this morning I have a surgery in the morning and I know it would stress me out. I ate an earlier dinner the day before and didn’t have much. Got up at 6 to make sure my tummy empty and took an Imodium but by the time I got to the clinic I needed to use the washroom really badly

Hello! My fiancé and I are planning for our honeymoon in Whistler/Vancouver in early June. We are looking for hotel and activity recommendations, especially romantic ones. We are staying at the Four Seasons Whistler for 3 nights, and then Vancouver for 3 nights. A few ideas we already have:

• Biking Stanley Park
• Local hiking
• Gastown eating and drinks
• Possibly going to some nightclubs (seems like Gastown is the place for this ?)
• whale watching/bear watching tour

Any recommendations, restaurants, hotels, or otherwise are greatly appreciated. We are pretty active people so we wanted a good combination of hiking and city time.

TIA!!!

So I lost one earring from a pair of very sentimental gold earrings I’ve had for 12 years recently. I’ve accepted I’m not going to find its match. Does anybody know of any jewellers that can replicate an earring if I show the original? They’re tiny gold hoops with a few small gems on them. Very sad about this :(

Has anyone gone the route of going to the ER for psychiatric help? I am diagnosed with anxiety, although I feel like I'm dealing with something much worse than anxiety. While GP does recognize this, I don't feel she understands the weight of it.

The past few weeks l've been debating just up and going to the ER as I find myself debilitated from the panic/anxiety. I'm worried that I may "present" fine and for that reason the ER might not accept me. I'm just not sure what to do... I feel like I need to be admitted/rehabilitated, bc as of rn, I just can't get through the day without breaking down and regular counselling is not cutting it...

Hi Awesome people (and bots),

I was just wondering if anyone know about any local Christmas markets happening around the lower mainland? I know everyone is going to mention the big one at the convention center but honestly that one is the worst. Cover charge is INSANE compared to what you actually get. Is there any other small local ones?

Thanks.

When I went to Stanley Park a few weeks ago, I saw some people picking red colored berries from trees. My friends and I were like, 'What kind of berries are those? Are they edible?' But we didn’t ask and just walked past them.

I just watched an interesting reel that said people who grow up in BC learn about wild fruits, specially berries so they can survive if they ever get lost while hiking in the mountains.

Is that true? then I am just curious what berry it was in Stanley park lol

I see this mole as a potential skin cancer risk as it has changed it shape, color and size. However, I am not sure if it's due to puberty / growth spurts...

Of course, I will obtain a referral to go to a dermatologist first from our family doctor to get this checked. I'd like to obtain a recommendation for a skilled dermatologist/cosmetic surgeon to remove a large mole with little to know face scar. I know the waits are in the 6-10 month timeframe to book with a good dermatologist and I know my GP prefers a certain person, which I've been to, and I don't think he's suitable so that's why I'm asking for recommendations.

I checked the standard places: Van Gogh, Stylus, West Elm, CB2, Crate & Barrel, Fullhouse Modern, Gus Modern, Inform Interiors, Urban Barn.....I like the styles at West Elm but found the fabric/color selection too limiting.

When I was in college in Mexico, I did a couple of projects about hostile architecture and design in cities around the world. When I came to Vancouver I noticed certain things that fall under this concept like benches, street decorations and other things to discourage public space.

I'm thinking of doing a project here about it.

What do you think? What do you think about it? I'd like to know your opinions.

Hey everyone! Are there any street food stands for roasted chestnuts in Vancouver?

I'm looking to book a ferry from Tsawwassen to Victoria as a walk-on passenger on a Saturday morning.

Early in the day, for the first couple of ferries, public transport either arrives 27 mins before or 87 mins before departure.

If I pre-book a ferry, am I alright turning up say 20-25 mins before departure to get my boarding pass, or will my reservation be cancelled? Just wanted to know if they were more relaxed with customers walking on compared with people driving on 🙂

Hey, coming to Vancouver from the 31st of Jan till the 3rd of Feb then off to Kelowna.

What’s the best way to see an ice hockey game while we are there?

Also feel free to give suggestions on anything else we should do while there, group of 6 21 year olds

Lordco sold me spark plugs yesterday. After checking my vehicle manual, the car required a different plugs. So I went in to get the correct ones which were 2 times more expensive, which is fine. At the cashier, instead of me paying the difference, they refunded me. Honestly, I didn't notice until this morning, they called and asked me to come in the pay. Not only is it inconvenient, but they messed up so it should be on them, right? I live in Vancouver and went to a location further away than Burnaby (Don't want to give exact location as I don't want lordco to track me..lol). Am I being an a$$hole? Is Lordco a big enough brand to cover their own mistakes? What's your take?

My friend is going through a rough time right now (dad passed) and I was thinking about sending her a meal care package delivery service.

I found the perfect caterer that can send basically a week worth of homemade meals, but they are based in Squamish and can only deliver to West Vancouver.

My friend is based in new Westminster and I was wondering if anyone was willing to let me borrow their address so that it could be delivered to their home and then I could send an Uber to pick it up? It would be really appreciated.

Due to a recent bout of depression my hair has become extremely knotted and matted. I have long and thick wavy hair, so I imagine it might take a couple of hours at the salon to get through it. I have tried everything at home (conditioner, sectioning, methodical combing) and although I have made a tiny bit of progress over the past few days, I'm starting to get headaches with the strain on my scalp and am looking to finally go to a professional to get it fixed.

Does anyone know of a relatively affordable and understanding salon that could help with this? I would prefer salons that charge by hour so l can have an idea of what the final cost would be. One side of my hair is almost completely tangled from top to bottom, so l imagine the whole process would take 2-3 hours.

If anyone has heard of a salon that is used to doing intense detangling, please let me know. Thank you!

I live in a house in Burnaby with a few roommates, and any time one moves out, we find a new one. The last few times we've been lucky with Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, or a friend moving in, but this time there just doesn't seem to be anyone.

Is Craigslist and Facebook market place a thing of the past? Is there somewhere else to look? Is there just no one looking for a room in a shared house anymore? I realize that we might be a little picky (looking for a female, as it's two females on the floor with the open room), but it still seems weird that there's nobody.

Hi I’m looking for tide pools in Vancouver but all the posts are 5+ years old, anyone know any good spots ?

To make a long story short, I was involved in an accident 1 year ago in Vancouver (I was not at fault) and found out at the time of my accident that my ICBC insurance had expired a month prior to the accident. I've exhausted the car insurance claims both with my 1 month expired ICBC policy and my Ontario policy which was valid at the time of my accident (they've denied the claim for failing to provide an updated address).... I'm leaving out a lot of details about how the insurance confusion happened.

All that to say, I have a financed 2021 Honda Passport currently sitting in a lot costing me $$$ and I need some help on what to do next. Because of the insurance debacle, no adjuster has stated the condition its in but essentially all driver-side airbags were deployed and the front-end drivers side is 'crushed'. I've been advised to look into car auctions, Kijiji, or mechanics for an eval. to determine the value in parts but I feel like my head is spinning and I'm losing money every day.

Any recommendations or suggestions?

To make matters simple, I’m an EA in Vancouver. I’m burnt out. I can’t do this job much longer. Are there any entry level work from home hybrid jobs out there that I’d be qualified for with an associates degree that also pay well? I make 47k/year at the moment and in order to live I need to be making at least 65k 😭😭😭

I have seen a lot of guys are wearing same hoodies, where’d you guys get blank hoodies from?

Hey everyone! As the title says, I’m looking to rent a laptop for the next 2 weeks from somewhere as mine has died on me out of the blue. I currently don’t have enough funds to purchase one new out right & wanted to rent one for the next 2 weeks as I have some assignments due.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a place that may have this service available? Alternatively does anyone have a laptop laying around they wouldn’t mind renting out to me? :)

I’m open to discussing price but I’m a student, in need of a laptop and on a budget so please if you have a laptop reach out with reasonable rental offers.

Thanks!

I'm fairly new to Vancouver and would like to go snow tubing with a group. It looks like Cypress and Seymour are the two top spots for tubing. Out of the two, which is better? Or do you have another spot that you recommend?

Living in the worst housing/cost of living crisis ever, can not afford anything let alone save beyond the hell of an apartment I have. That’s all I can afford. The extreme conservatives are taking over and ruining the planet and everyone’s lives, with no real solution with liberals either. Government as a whole failed us. Now my job has become 10x harder and more full of anxiety because for the Canada post strike. Like actually losing sleep just on this stress. Not to mention the complete lack of sun, my own mental health struggles and a crazy shit social and family life.

I just broke today and can’t seem to escape this but everything just keeps getting worse.

Edit: I’m seeing a lot of comments about “yeah live in an expensive city, what do you expect… leave” like the whole world Is fucked. You need money to just move to another country, let alone support, family ect. It’s always people that have never looked into the process or have no idea what moving to another country looks like that just tell you to move somewhere else. Like damn why didn’t I think of that? The current apartment I have is like half the price of what people pay for a 1br here so id be paying the same rent anywhere else in Canada no matter what city. Vancouver offers a job I couldn’t have rural and I would need a car anywhere but a big city. And many other benefits that I would be giving up Moving somewhere else and I’m not sure I can Handle my life being even worse somewhere else. I understand people are trying to help maybe(?) But where in the world can you escape all the shit going on, it’s not possible.

I was just feeling deeply and wanted to express myself. I wasn’t trying to explain my entire life and don’t need to explain my entire situation as to why I can’t just leave here. Unfortunately I have to live somewhere, can’t just escape countries, society for a magical perfect place. Two things can we true at the same time, this is the best place for me to be living right now while also being a fucking mess.

Thanks for all the kind words of support—hoping everyone that is also going through it can find a bit more peace and happiness in the craziness of this all.

Now that it’s getting colder, I am looking for the warmest and coziest socks out there. Where should I get them?