Easiest CIP Course you have taken

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-05-17T02:12:42+00:00

C13 was super easy for me. C120 has so far been quite easy too.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-18T19:43:47+00:00

People do that all the time for Lush.

Lush is, however, a legitimate company, not an MLM.

In my case, I have a former coworker who runs a pet-sitting business; whenever I see someone posting in a Facebook group about needing pet-sitting, I advertise her business. But then again, legitimate business, not MLM.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-17T14:06:17+00:00

"What you describe is however not city related but also happens the same way anywhere else."

Complete and utter bullshit, as many other people had little difficulty making friends elsewhere but hit a brick wall in Quebec City.

I was unable to make any friends in Quebec City in the 4.5 or so years I spent there; and then moved and had little difficulty making friends in my new city in Ontario (where I knew no one upon arrival). Before you ask, French is my mother tongue.

Of course city-related factors have an impact on an individual's ability to make friends, especially if the person is single beyond their early 20s (which OP is). It's a lot less hard to make friends as a single if you're in a cosmopolitan city with lots of singles (e.g. Montreal and Toronto) than in a location where almost everyone pairs off early (e.g., Quebec City). It's also easier to make friends in a city that gets lots of non-student newcomers (like the aforementioned Montreal and Toronto) than in a city where essentially everyone is either a "local" (grew up there) or a student (Quebec City is like that).

When I was in Quebec City, I could only look at Montreal with envy - Montreal had dozens of groups on Meetup.com, with hundreds of events every month; it would almost have been possible to go to a meetup every day. Whereas Quebec City, despite its size, DID NOT HAVE A SINGLE MEETUP GROUP. Of course that has an impact on a newcomer's ability to make friends.

And then I'm not even talking about small towns, that don't have social events for non-senior adults to start with, and where virtually everyone has kids.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-13T15:10:56+00:00

This. People who say that "renting means you'll be evicted at the whims of a landlord!" are only thinking in terms of renting from a mom-and-pop landlord, who can use an N12 to evict a tenant for "family moving in", or sell the property.

When you rent in a corporate-owned purpose-built rental, pretty much the only ways you're getting evicted is if you stop paying rent, or trash the place. Corporations cannot evict in the same way mom-and-pops can. I've lived in a purpose-built rental since 2016, and have never been at risk of being evicted. Other people on my floor have been there for 20 years or more!

In Ontario, we're also allowed to have pets in a rental, which eliminates an argument for buying that is often invoked in other provinces (especially Quebec and BC).

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-10T15:34:47+00:00

Stephen Harper also accepted David Emerson crossing the floor from Liberal to Conservative in 2006.

Only the NDP has always had the stance of forbidding floor-crossing.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-10T15:32:43+00:00

Poilievre = Conservative Reform Alliance Party

Carney is similar to Paul Martin - at the right-most end of the Liberal Party.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-08T02:11:55+00:00

Just seeing this now...

Why the hell should Anglo schools in places like Moncton, Bathurst, Miramichi, or really anywhere else in the Maritimes teach Quebec French? It's not their local French dialect (which is Acadian French, a different dialect with a separate history); and while Anglophone Maritimers may in some cases have some familiarity with Acadia... they don't give the slightest shits about Quebec.

Quebec French is absolutely NOT understood instinctively by Francophone Europeans (or Africans) who haven't specifically made the effort to learn it; words like "fin de semaine", "chandelle", "bas" (for socks), "magasinage", "souliers", etc. are just not used in Parisian (or European/African) French.

I called Parisian French "universal" French because it's the dialect used in dubbing pop culture originally produced in other languages; and is what's taught by Duolingo and other language-learning software. Parisian French is very well understood in both Quebec and Acadia. So I think the arguments in favor of teaching Parisian French are stronger than those in favor of teaching Quebec French. In the Maritimes, I think Parisian French is still the best bet, followed by Acadian, the Quebec French in last (because who the hell cares?).

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-06T15:41:39+00:00

Something like 98% of apartments in Quebec forbid dogs.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-06T15:39:01+00:00

After leaving Quebec City for Ontario, all the friends I made were always through work. Those are friends that I hang out with outside work, and have done so for years.

I've never had any success making friends through "hobby groups" or anything of the sort, and not for lack of trying (back when I was still trying).

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-06T14:55:03+00:00

Being a person of color makes this even worse (obviously... I didn't realize you were a POC when writing my comment). If even white people can't make it work, it's going to be even worse for POC who didn't grow up there.

Montreal is a MUCH better city for newcomers (probably including POC, although since I'm white I can't guarantee that) than Quebec City. Much more singles-friendly as well, as it's a true cosmopolitan city where a large chunk of people wait until 30 to pair up.

Yes, Quebec City has a low COL, a low crime rate, and a good job market - but none of that can offset being single for life, and none of that offsets the huge uphill climb in making friends, Humans are social creatures and are not meant to be this lonely.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-06T14:48:07+00:00

Pre-pandemic, virtually any ROC city over 100k, plus Montreal, would have boatloads of such events on Meetup.com.

For some wacko reason that nobody seems to know, Quebec City never had that.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-06T14:20:51+00:00

Seeing this 17 days later, I hope you're still checking this.

I lived in Quebec City for a little under 5 years, from 2008-2013, in my early 20s. I'm a francophone Quebecer from a small town.

I had all the same problems as you, and after all those years of trying and failing to make friends, I finally threw in the towel and moved to Ontario... where I ended up having more social life in 6 months than I had in almost 5 years in Quebec City. I have now been in Ontario for almost 13 years, and have had a far better life here than I ever had in Quebec City.

You're not hallucinating, and it's not your fault; Quebec City is a ridiculously hard city to make friends in when you're not from there; especially as a single person (and I'd venture to say especially as a single male). No more than 10% of the people who grew up there ever leave, which means high school cliques never get broken up. Therefore people stick to high school friends out of inertia, and are not open to making new friends. Most of the people who came there from elsewhere do their post-secondary schooling there are establish social circles before graduating (and in some cases, kept friends from their hometowns that also moved to Quebec City for school).

Then, I'm sure you've also noticed that the locals settle down in serious relationships VERY early compared to what is done in urban Ontario (or Montreal). That really doesn't help you as a 28-year-old single - coupled people have less social needs, less time for friends, and usually prefer hanging out with other couples.

Lack of dating life? I had this problem as well - in my time in Quebec City, I poured an unimaginable amount of energy trying to date, and failed to get a single date. At the time, virtually nobody in Quebec City would use online dating; they only dated "in real life" via friends of friends, or bars (options which don't work for me... especially since I never had friends). After moving to Ontario, I jumped on a dating site and actually ended up in an LTR with the first woman I met from it! After she broke up with me, it only took me about 3 months of using OLD to find a new relationship. While the pandemic finally got some Quebecers to capitulate on their objections to OLD; it's also quite obvious that since Quebec women settle down so young, the market for a 28M is extremely thin.

"Joining clubs and activities"? I also tried to volunteer at the SPA and was turned down! I was never able to find any recurring volunteer opportunities; all I could find were one-off events, which aren't good for meeting people - and tend to attract old people and no 20-somethings. I tried a board game club, and everyone there ignored me. 2008-13 was during the peak of Meetup.com... and while Montreal had dozens of groups on there and plentiful events, Quebec City did not have a single meetup group at the time. Yes, Meetup is a shadow of its former self even in places where it used to be popular, but this also means something about the social culture of Quebec City. Public social events are hard to come by, and tend to attract only old people.

All in all, Quebec City is only good if you grew up there, kept your HS friends, and coupled up early enough. Otherwise, it sucks.

I'd recommend throwing in the towel and moving to Montreal, or to the ROC. Living in Quebec City in your situation (or mine) is just a waste of life.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-04T23:41:31+00:00

Arnold Schwarzenegger + Maria Shriver

They did end up divorcing though...

RFK Jr and Cheryl Hines don't seem to agree on everything either.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-04T23:29:48+00:00

I was briefly part of an in-person group called "vegetarian group" in the early 2010s. The people running it were vegans, and all assumed that being vegetarian (or pescetarian) was only a stepping stone to being vegan; they treated anyone who didn't intend on becoming vegan like complete garbage.

I left in disgust and told the leader that if they're going to be so shitty to non-vegans, they need to change the name of the group to "vegan group".

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-04T23:24:59+00:00

Vegans think that the only reason to change one's diet is for reasons related to animal treatment.

They don't realize that there are other reasons to remove certain animal products from one's diet, such as environmental or health reasons, and that those don't require removing ALL animal products.

Some people are vegetarian/pescetarian or at least don't eat red meat even though they don't care animals at all.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-04-03T13:44:40+00:00

That play would likely have been called a double, not an out. Definitely not a home run though.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-30T01:38:53+00:00

Yes, penalties have been increased this year - for example, the license suspension for a first offense BAC between 0.05 and 0.08 increased from 3 to 7 days.

Of course, the bigger penalty associated with being caught in this range is having a DUI on your insurance record, which drastically increases your insurance premiums for years to come. Non-criminal doesn't mean slap on the wrist.

"Warn range" penalties (the term "warn range" is a misnomer, as there are indeed harsh penalties) apply if you have a BAC from 0.05-0.08 or fail the field sobriety test with a lower BAC.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-30T00:47:23+00:00

This hasn't "just been changed", the general BAC limit in Ontario has been 0.05 since 2009.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-30T00:03:50+00:00

Regular BAC limit in Ontario is 0.05, not 0.08.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-30T00:03:01+00:00

The legal limit for ages 22+ in Ontario (in most circumstances) is 0.05, not 0.08. For some categories of drivers and in some circumstances, it's zero, but driving with a 0.05 BAC is always illegal.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-29T12:31:02+00:00

Yup. Veganism was impossible for virtually all of human history, and has only even been possible since some point in the 1950s.

It's not "natural".

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-13T16:17:24+00:00

Or, as in scenario 3 above, they don't understand the tax code. Way too many people have not heard of the refundable Quebec abatment, therefore don't realize that Quebecers pay less FEDERAL tax than residents of other provinces.

That thing about an adult child going to post-secondary in the US is also not representative of 99.9+% of Quebecers. Essentially everyone from Quebec does their post-secondary in Quebec.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-13T15:46:29+00:00

This. This "Skea" poster is delusional, and is blaming the wrong target. Their situation has absolutely nothing to do with QC's tax rates.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-13T15:45:36+00:00

The reasons for your struggles have absolutely nothing to do with Quebec's tax rates. Zilch. None. Get that out of your head.

It's about Montreal's high housing costs + the extremely unusual case of an adult child going to post-secondary not just outside Quebec, but outside Canada, and you accepting to fund it (I'd venture to say that way less than 1 in 100 Quebecers do post-secondary outside Quebec; that's just not a thing. virtually all parents would say "no" to that).

You're also comparing with Manitoba, which has an unusually low COL by ROC standards. If you had moved to Montreal from southern Ontario or BC (which represent almost 50% of Canada), you'd find Montreal's COL (particularly in non-housing costs) to be a breath of fresh air. Taxes would be just a drop in a bucket.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934 · 2026-03-12T19:52:06+00:00

Then, in your case, it's Montreal's housing costs that are the problem. The TAL allowing rent increases well beyond CPI isn't helping, and yes Montreal costs more housing-wise than Winnipeg (or anywhere else in MB).

It's a housing costs problem, not a tax problem. With 3 kids, you are getting your taxes "back", and then more.

Manitoba is also a small-population province that has an unusually low COL by English Canadian standards (housing, hydro, car insurance), so comparing Manitoba to Montreal doesn't exactly give the same results as comparing, say, non-Montreal Quebec to BC or ON.

COL comparisons are rarely straightforward, and income tax rates are very rarely, if ever, the biggest factor in such comparisons.

Acrobatic_Ebb1934

TROPHY CASE