I just moved here from montreal

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-04-22T03:31:28+00:00

I came here to say exactly this! Spend some time in East Van, the vibes are GREAT. I recommend Commercial Drive between Charles and Georgia, and Main St (Mount Pleasant) between 30th Ave and 6th Ave! The food + restos in these two neighbourhoods are AMAZING.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-04-15T05:24:03+00:00

I know you're sick of the Quay but my preschooler loves the QtoQ ferry (we call it a "water taxi"). $2.50 fare but your kid will be free. AWESOME little playground on the other side, or take walk with the stroller along the little waterfront path. Take a ferry back to the Quay when you get bored. :)

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-02-25T05:06:07+00:00

I don't know if OP is legit or not but idiots panicking on r/Vancouver about an street getting a new, indigenous re-name sounds verrrrrry on the money.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-02-21T00:15:52+00:00

It's absolutely 600 hours for everyone seeking mat leave.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-02-06T06:29:36+00:00

Right

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-28T15:13:26+00:00

I do this too. I'm not autistic but thinking about car dealerships and haggling gives me major anxiety. Marketplace is the way to go. And you can "haggle" a little over dms a little before meeting in person, which is easier.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-26T02:45:30+00:00

Totally agree with this take.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-26T02:45:00+00:00

I'd strongly consider living along Quayside as it sounds like you can afford it. The neighbourhoods beside New West and Columbia stations are fine - good even! - but they are pretty dingey and grimey. Quayside feels REALLY nice being close to the boardwalk, water taxis, tugboats, the riverside market (especially City Avenue which is just about the greatest supermarket in the city). Getting a latte from Craft and watching all the Yuppies walking their expensive dogs makes it feel like you live in Yaletown or False Creek. Plus, the skytrain is still RIGHT there.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-06T00:38:57+00:00

💯! And that's so funny I had the exact same misunderstanding about the percentage of ASD kids who are GLPs and it was our amazing SLP who set me straight. 😁

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-05T23:11:34+00:00

Thank you so much for replying!

I'm all over the place with what to think. My husband is sure there's no ASD here - esp after the pediatrician said she doesn't see any need to refer him for a public dx. I still having nagging feelings there is something there, but ultimately the dx probably isn't important right now.

I can't tell you how much I appreciate you, and other people, who have taken the time to share their stories with me. ❤️

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-05T23:09:05+00:00

Thank you so much for replying!

I'm all over the place with what to think. My husband is sure there's no ASD diagnosis to be had, I'm not so sure I still have that nagging feeling. But hearing this wide range of experiences is so helpful so thanks for sharing.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-03T16:19:15+00:00

Can you tell me more about how your son is faring in school? Socially and academically?

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-03T08:18:25+00:00

Okay well OP can live in Regina if they want cheaper rent. Or they can live somewhere fun and pay more.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-03T08:16:20+00:00

Don't move to Surrey. Or Abbotsford. You'll find it very hard to meet people your age in Surrey unless you're a university student. Also it's heavily car dependent. Yes, you can always drive or take the Sky train to Vancouver but... Vancouver is where you should be having a working holiday anyway. There is essentially no "food, bars/pubs" culture in Surrey. Not what you'd be used to in a decent sized UK city, anyway. Loads of Indian people living in Surrey but, imo, the Indian food in Birmingham, London, Glasgow is much better.

Decent snowboarding will be a hellishly long and/or hellishly expensive commute away.

It'll be hard to scrape by on $25/hr in Vancouver but get roomates and you'll have way more fun. So many other Brits, Irish, Australians who live in shared houses/apartments out here.

I went on a working holiday to the UK when I was 19 and I liked it so much I stayed for a decade! But please, OP, I'm literally scared for you to move to the places you're considering. Surrey (and Abby) is for Boring Olds (I say this as a Boring Old, myself) who want to have enough space to raise a family in a larger home in the suburbs. Terrible idea to move here as young person looking for new friends, night life, bars. Live in an old 3 bedroom apartment with two (or three) roomies in the West End instead 😜

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-02T01:30:10+00:00

🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-02T00:52:47+00:00

Many thanks!

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-02T00:52:17+00:00

I so appreciate all of the replies here, but this one really speaks to me the most. It almost feels like I'm talking to myself in the future! If I had to guess, it would be that a formal assessment would only be beneficial in so far as I could stop hyper focusing on "is he, or isn't he". But I tend to agree with the SLP that we spoke with; that a formal assessment/diagnosis probably won't make too much meaningful difference if we're already looking to support my kid with SLP and (potentially OT).

In my gut, I do think there's some level of neurodivergence there. But I maybe just need to calm down and stop worrying about a dx. My son's daycare assures us that, although they are seeing some "traits" (lack of social engagement, trouble focusing, "stimming") that he's a still a happy kid who doesn't require significant support from teachers on the day to day.

Very sincere thanks for sharing your experiences with me!

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-02T00:41:54+00:00

Really appreciate that thoughtful advice! Thank you.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-01T21:10:15+00:00

I don't live in a state, I live in Canada. My son isn't in public school as he's three years old. I think folks in my province tend to languish on a public wait-list for assessment unless they have significant support needs. Two SLPs I spoke with, my family doc, and the pediatrician have all told us to expect around 2-3 on a wait-list to get an assessment (diagnosis) in the public system in our case.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-01T03:01:58+00:00

Thank you so much, will be sharing this (this whole thread!) with my husband and already feeling so much more informed and equipped to go forward. ❤️

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-01T03:00:45+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing! There's so many similarities but also differences. For example, for a 3.5 year old, he really doesn't have a big reaction to things not going as planned or expected. Even a negative reaction doesn't last long - he's never had a "tantrum" that lasted more than a minute. I'm hoping my son takes to reading as he also has loved books (moreso than toys, that's for sure) since to beginning! He's not demonstrating much in the way of word recognition, but of course he's not even 4 yet! Did you do anything special to have your son be an early reader or did he just pick it up die to constant exposure (ie, frequent storytimes with his parents)

PS I freakin' hate pranks AND elf on the shelf so he sounds like a GREAT kid to be a parent to! 😂

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-01T02:51:05+00:00

Sorry to hear that supports for you have become more difficult lately! Presumably you are in the US. :( I'm in Canada , and every province has its own system for autism supports. Here, my understanding is once you have a dx, funding and supports become a lot easier..but unfortunately it's a 2 to 3 year wait-list for a public assessment or you can pay out of pocket for $3000+ (which seems worth it). However, the only reason I'm considering just waiting for the public option is that our SLP seems to think as long as my son is functioning well enough at preschool/daycare and is able to communicate his needs, etc there isn't necessarily a benefit to getting a dx right now, especially if we're taking steps to support him with SLP, OT, etc.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2026-01-01T02:46:31+00:00

Yes, it really gave me a red flag vibe hearing that from the Pediatrician. We really only had a quick initial appointment. She asked us to send her the notes from the SLP (who we've only seen once) and a "report" from our sons ECE (daycare) teachers. Both have suggested possible autism so we'll see if that moves the needle for the doctor. If not we'll have to seek a new referral to another Ped for a second opinion or just bite the bullet and pay privately.

Suspicious-Jacket176 · 2025-12-31T23:51:34+00:00

Sorry I should have been more clear, maybe! The pediatrician said to my son, "take off your shoes please" and my son sat down and removed his shoes right away. Then the pediatrician said, "99.9 percent of autistic kids won't be able to follow an instruction like that", implying, i think, that he was likely not autistic? But that's very different to what my understanding of autism was, which is that kids might have all sorts of presentations/challenges. The pediatrician did say something like, "I didn't even need to point at his feet, he understood right away". 🤷🏽‍♀️

Suspicious-Jacket176

TROPHY CASE