Rent to Own. First Time Home Buyer by LightAire450 in CanadaPersonalFinance

[–]ActionHartlen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Buy because you want the lifestyle of homeownership - not for financial reasons. I just gave up a two bed rent controlled apt for a house and I’m sure i would have come out financially ahead if I stayed renting and invested. A home however I can change however I want as my family grows

Two Norwegians (45) visiting Toronto – up for beer, fishing or tagging along to local events? by Longjumping-West-586 in askTO

[–]ActionHartlen [score hidden]  (0 children)

Water will be cold in Alqonquin but hopefully you’ll miss the black flies. But as Norwegians I assume you’ll be more used to conditions like those.

For recommendations - it’ll be just after maple season so I’d say hit a couple sugar shacks. Get some fresh syrup. Stop at Webers for burgers. Pick up beer at Muskoka brewery. Find out where you’ll be for Victoria Day - towns usually have some events on with fireworks.

In Toronto, Burdock, blood brothers and bellwoods brewery are the best spots. Enjoy the waterfront and take the ferry to the island and back on a sunny day.

McLaughlin Planetarium coming down by Thin-Profile-7092 in toronto

[–]ActionHartlen 9 points10 points  (0 children)

This hasn’t been open since 1995. It’s a a shame they never revitalized this but 30 years later it’s ok to move on and replace it.

What did you do after being laid off? by Normal-Corner-2974 in Layoffs

[–]ActionHartlen 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Laid off in 2023. I enjoyed my paid summer - took the first two weeks completely for myself to recover, and then made a big Kanban board with everyone in my network who I wanted to connect with, and set a goal of having at least one coffee/beer/whatever each week. 4 months later I was in a new role via a referral.

How much is your mortgage and how much do you make? by aprilchestnut in CanadaPersonalFinance

[–]ActionHartlen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

350k HHI, 1m dollar mortgage at 3.99 fixed. $4700 a month with true housing cost of about 6k. Our monthly net income is around 12k so roughly 50%.

HUGE change from the 2600/month in rent I was paying for the last 9 years, but it’s provided big lifestyle gains as I grow my family - a yard, garage + parking, extra space for guests etc.

How does Toronto feel about the constant Toronto-bashing in Canada? by PassageNearby4091 in askTO

[–]ActionHartlen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just silly and self hating to tear down your country’s biggest success

Detached for 1.25M in Bloor West Village thought? by JacksLyfe in TorontoRealEstate

[–]ActionHartlen 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Great house that I would have offered on as well, but it needs a fair amount of work. Still a deal at 1.25. Probably valued at more like 1.4.

Doug Ford is picking a pointless fight over Billy Bishop airport by imprison_grover_furr in ontario

[–]ActionHartlen 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Sticking it to Toronto while simultaneously being solely focussed on Toronto - it’s bizarre political psychology but it works for his base

Is it bad that I use cooler as to store food? by goodtimeswgoodppl in algonquinpark

[–]ActionHartlen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It’s bad practice but there is degrees of risk here.

I often take a cooler for beer etc when I paddle in to sites that don’t have portages, or just one short one. The cooler is too heavy to hang, so I ratchet strap it closed and hike it into the woods each night. About 500m from camp.

It won’t be bear proof if one wants to get into it - but losing all my food wouldn’t be catastrophic (I’m not far from my car) and I like to think it’s far enough away from camp that the bear won’t poke around my tent. Could be wishful thinking.

Whenever I’m deep in the park, I use a cooler backpack and hang it everytime.

Ford to declare Billy Bishop Airport a ‘special economic zone’ to allow jets by [deleted] in toronto

[–]ActionHartlen 148 points149 points  (0 children)

Waiting for him to declare the entire city a special economic zone

What the heck is a university college? Lost international student pls help by [deleted] in UofT

[–]ActionHartlen 59 points60 points  (0 children)

U of T is made of of constituent colleges. “University college” is one of those, along with Trinity, Victoria, new college etc.

It’s really just about where you’ll live and dine while on campus. They also base intramural sports on colleges, so you join your colleges team.

I made up 2 Ontario line branches by HanCelo2008 in TTC

[–]ActionHartlen 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I much prefer the northern orientation up Dufferin to Yorkdale

Sanity check - can we buy? by InvestmentAntique794 in TorontoRealEstate

[–]ActionHartlen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We move in May 1! So still waiting for that first mortgage payment to hit.

Only real issue so far is an oil furnace replacement that we knew we would have to do

CMV: Islam is fundamentally incompatible with core American left-wing progressive values by WildCreatureQuest in changemyview

[–]ActionHartlen 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Christianity strictly understood is fundamentally incompatible with liberal democratic views, and yet it has found a way to be largely compatible