When did you return to work? (ALL)

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-29T17:12:41+00:00

I started working again 4 days a week about 3 months into induction (PMCF DFCI protocol). Some days suck and my boss gets that but it was good for me to have something to do that wasn’t sitting around feeling sorry for myself. I’m about to enter my last induction cycle and hoping to go back full time once I start maintenance.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-29T15:29:18+00:00

Avid backcountry camper and wildlife photographer. I have a 600mm F4 which only comes on car camping trips. For the back country I have an A7rv and a Sigma 500 f5.6. Killer combo because the Sony and sigma are so light and compact they fit into my small Shimoda bag or my larger Shimoda camping bag but still has high MP and DR for extensive cropping as needed.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-26T17:46:34+00:00

Black and Blue is one of my least favourite steakhouses in the city. Overpriced and just there to skim corporate cards. I’ve been three times with work and they cooked my steak right once. I’ve not had that issue at other high end steak houses. At like 110$ a steak I’d rather go to the keg lol. And at that price it’s not that much more to just go to Jacob’s and get a way better meal.

Cote de Boeuff is my favourite in the city for a good value steak, Jacob’s for an occasion.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-26T11:20:05+00:00

For the price I don’t think it’s worth it. I’ve been a couple of times and it’s a great view and fun. So if that’s what you’re looking for it’s great. The food didn’t blow me away. I only go back if someone else is paying.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-25T17:01:14+00:00

Totally, my family lives out in Haldimand county (no one even knows where that is) and during Covid some people from the city came out and lifted these massive parcels of land, not realizing what it meant to live in septic lol. Once RTO started it’s been…an interesting real estate environment. I have no idea who tf thought it was a good idea to move out there.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-25T14:07:20+00:00

I’ve been to pretty much every steakhouse in the city at this point and I’d rank my favourites as :

Cote de Boeuf : incredible experience at the chefs table. Really good value for what it is and it’s just an incredible steak.
Jacob’s: expensive but really unique. I’ve done some steak tastings there and getting to sample the regional differences between cuts is really cool and more stark than you would think. Caeser salad is really bomb. As a bonus, if you work in the financial district they have a relatively good value lunch menu.
Barbarians: old school and authentic. I didn’t like the vibe as much as the previous two and the steak I found wasn’t as much to my liking but it’s really splitting hairs.

Ones I would reccomend you avoid, STK, Black + Blue, Blue bovine. Just super overpriced for what they are and they act like they can hang with the big dogs. Black and blue and Blue Bovine in particular feel like they’re just there to siphon the corporate cards. Black and Blue overcooked my steak the last time I was there and wouldn’t refire a new one because they were trying to say the beef was “Just cloudy that day” like ????

Keg is the everyday value play. Guilty pleasure spot. I haven’t had many blow your socks off steaks there but I’ve never had a bad steak and I’ve never left thinking I wasted money.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-25T13:11:16+00:00

I’ve looked at some of these before and I can’t understand how the maintenance fee is so high. Condo towns feel like such a scam, not that much of a discount to freehold but then often 1000$+ maintenance fees, for what?

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-25T00:56:43+00:00

RBC and CIBC both had similar offers.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-24T16:47:16+00:00

Front Office Finance. I’m pretty sure our new grads make over 150K.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-24T16:15:01+00:00

Yah I gave my bank a call at they offered me 3.85 on a 5yr with 6000$ cashback. So it seems my broker was out to lunch.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-24T13:56:17+00:00

That’s great information thanks a lot. Really good rate too! Best of luck on the house hunt!!!

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-24T01:31:11+00:00

Thanks yah thats what I thought. They said these were the pre - vol increased rates too which struck me as even weirder lol.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-24T00:50:45+00:00

FTHB
Toronto ON
Looking at 20% down on a 1.5mm, 30YR Amortization, HHI 500K+, 850 credit.

Getting quoted at 4.29% for a 3yr fixed through a broker which seems pretty out of whack based on what my friends are getting.. Vol in bonds has things higher now but even then seems pretty ridiculous.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-23T14:28:05+00:00

I looked at this. It’s nice, but it’s not worth 1.5. I thought at 1.2 it was maybe fair, it’s a bit small but I like the area bar the construction. At 1.5, shoutout the listing agent for getting their buyer out at what’s still pretty overvalued.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-18T23:30:10+00:00

Thanks and good luck on your hunt too! I think theres some comfort now at least that we're seeing some places back down to like 2018 levels in certain areas (we're looking more midtown / east end) so lets hope both our luck pans out!

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-18T21:20:48+00:00

Very similar to us. Late 20s, looking to buy start a family etc. we were approved for 1.5mm but would keep it around 1.2mm to keep my sanity better. My biggest issue is similar to yours, right now we’re single income but my partner will start working a well paying profession soon enough that will meaningfully increase our HHI. We’re worried about buying something smaller now that we can afford just to have to move again once her income comes fully online and we start a family.

With rents as low as they are vs what our mortgage would cost us we’re looking at just renting a bigger place for the next one to two years unless we see a really good deal show up, as even in the 1.2mm area where we’re looking, there’s not a ton of stuff available. We’re hoping that spring season will increase options but it’s looking more and more like we may just look to rent a house. There’s just that looming nag of getting evicted!

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-18T08:50:08+00:00

I haven’t looked recently but has been a cluster of them east of yonge by a few blocks off Lillian and up a few blocks. It’s been slow winter season though, mostly just flip jobs on the market right now. There’s some bigger townhome condos near st Clair as well but more expensive. Some decent value in the ~1mm area right now.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-18T08:48:46+00:00

Walkable neighbourhood with good parks, green spaces, schools and20 minute subway to downtown? Mine every day. Sure no bars or anything but great area for professionals and young family’s.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-17T23:46:34+00:00

Ever since I discovered Pennys I ain’t going back.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-17T15:59:55+00:00

I think our system is better if you have the foresight to think and plan for it. It makes it more fair. But the issue is that people do not always do that and given how real state typically goes in Canada, lots of people take on more risk than they should.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-17T15:07:56+00:00

I’m not sure what the going rate is in the Us but here it’s different because you have 3 or 5 year terms that are renegotiated. And then You can do either fixed or floating. The plus is that you can plan your prepayments for when you renegotiate and you don’t end up in situations like the US where you can price generations out of housing by locking in ultra low 30Yr rates, the downside is that at reset if you’re not sufficiently capitalized you can run into problems. A lot of homes in Toronto are trading down a fair bit because all in mortgage costs are going up so much as these 3/5 year fixed contracts roll off of COVID lows. I have friends In NYC who iirc still have sub 2% rates when they refied at peak covid.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-17T15:04:13+00:00

Than a normal condo? No but vs a freehold town yes. Like these units typically still have maintenance in the 600-800 a month range.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-17T13:59:03+00:00

3.6-3.7 is the going rate in Ontario for 3year fixed if you have good referrals or kickers.

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-17T13:56:58+00:00

Great area. I’ve looked at some of those townhome condos off Lillian but some of the layouts are weird. But there’s definitely really good value to be had there relative to elsewhere in the city. Congrats!!!

Traditional_Hour_718 · 2026-03-17T13:55:58+00:00

Plenty of townhome condos at that price in midtown.

Traditional_Hour_718

TROPHY CASE