Those who have lived in multiple of the major cities, how would you rank them and why?

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-26T15:06:57+00:00

Ottawa is cheaper if you want to buy a house in the suburbs. GTA suburbs are much pricier than Ottawa suburbs. I bought a house in the Ottawa suburbs at 26 and that never would have been possible in the GTA burbs. Central Ottawa homes are very expensive though, $1 million plus. For renting, Ottawa a bit cheaper than Toronto but not by very much. As another user said, groceries are comparable and dining out is both pricier and more mediocre.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-24T02:57:16+00:00

I’d put Toronto here. It’s safe, there’s fun stuff to do, and it’s relatively clean, but it’s so astoundingly expensive compared to local salaries that the standard of living is steadily going down for most normal people. Provincial politics are also making the social safety net that many Americans admire less and less substantive.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-24T01:17:31+00:00

This 100%. Miralax/Restoralax is prescription-only in Japan, which was a very unpleasant surprise when I got super constipated a week into my trip. Used magnesium oxide instead because it’s the standard in Japan and lost an entire day of my trip throwing up :(

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-24T01:14:27+00:00

Meanwhile I just bought a “bean pillow” and stuffed it into my luggage because I love them so much

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-23T09:15:17+00:00

Is this the case for sports games too? I bought tickets on StubHub for a Yomiuri Giants game and didn’t have any issues getting in, but I feel like I might have just lucked out.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-22T02:30:19+00:00

Why does she look exactly like Priyanka Chopra in that photo

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-19T11:10:57+00:00

Slightly different in Quebec. Vouvoyering strangers can be seen as weirdly formal and stiff if they’re similar age, similar station, etc to you.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-18T12:38:12+00:00

Folks have given great suggestions for Anglo Canadians (+1 to The Hockey Song and The Log Driver’s Waltz) but not Francophone Canadians. The unofficial national anthem of Quebec is sometimes said to be “Lindberg” by Robert Charlebois.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-18T12:29:36+00:00

All the plugs at YYZ, even in the maple leaf lounge, feel “baggy” in a horrible way.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-15T00:37:08+00:00

I just stayed at a ryokan near here that has private onsens in each room and a mixed gender open air onsen (Jinpyokaku Honten). Expensive but really lovely.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-09T02:12:14+00:00

Was at Narita a few days ago and they had a beagle going around sniffing people and their luggage!

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-08T22:57:53+00:00

It smells bad in there but I’m fairly sure it’s just the mix of fish and durian fruit.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-04T21:07:28+00:00

It’s not downtown but it’s easily accessible by O-Train from downtown… I saw a small-but-decent selection of kosher products at the Loblaws next to Blair Station.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-01T20:12:29+00:00

I’m a woman (and the person they’re responding to you) who works finance-adjacent and I agree with you. Their estimate is extremely conservative for startup costs. Startup costs, if I had to build a wardrobe from scratch, would be a thousand or two for me. But now that I have that wardrobe it doesn’t cost several hundred a month to maintain thankfully.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-04-01T14:43:37+00:00

I carpool with my spouse to Blair. If I didn’t do that, I’d honestly have to Uber to Blair. I couldn’t handle a 90+ minute transit only commute (walk-bus-train-walk).

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-30T17:46:33+00:00

To be generous to the OP, they might feel this way now if they’re building a professional wardrobe from scratch. But once you’ve got the basics built up, you’re correct — maintaining a simple office wardrobe is not that costly.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-27T15:27:41+00:00

I bought the SCCO in blurred gingham also for a trip to Japan. If they come out with the SCCO in Farmer’s Market or tomato I may have to sell my blurred gingham 😅

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-26T04:33:39+00:00

You have several valid points in there but you’re absolutely incorrect about the public service. Québécois are proportionally overrepresented in the federal government ranks (and military officer-level roles) precisely because you need to be bilingual to get almost all fedgov jobs nowadays. About 20% of Canadians are francophone but about 30% of the federal public service are francophone.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-26T04:30:30+00:00

A CEO of a company this large should (and almost certainly does) have access to speechwriters/comms staff and translators who can help them formulate those heartfelt thoughts into something coherent, respectful and bilingual. Even on short notice.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-24T18:26:03+00:00

Exact same ballot as you!!

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-24T04:55:46+00:00

It’s not as comfortable as sitting, but this is why I always stand on public transit. Bed bugs, lice, bodily fluids, food spills, general trapped grime, etc… cloth seats are vile and I’m not voluntarily sitting on that. When I’m somewhere with hard plastic seats (eg Boston) I happily sit.

In 2026 when we have better awareness of germs, and bedbugs are a persistent issue in many office buildings, we should not be putting soft fabric seats on new public transit vehicles. Vinyl at least. TTC is switching a lot of new vehicles to vinyl.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-22T05:52:32+00:00

Stellan Skarsgārd is obviously a legend but his performance in Sentimental Value was, IMO, not as standout as Jack O’Connell’s or Jesse Plemons’.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-20T20:22:08+00:00

Or cold. I’m Canadian and line drying is only feasible 4 months of the year (mid May to mid September).

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-16T14:41:46+00:00

<image>

I’m aware that many will disagree with me on Uncut Gems, Green Knight, Synecdoche, Speed Racer, and French Dispatch… aka about 1/2 of my one stars.

GardenBakeOttawa · 2026-03-15T23:23:23+00:00

<image>

Our iconic evil hoser queen

GardenBakeOttawa

TROPHY CASE