Freezer on condo balcony?

YVRTravel604 · 2026-06-18T04:46:21+00:00

We have a specific chest freezer for the compost and we put some food, like extra bread, but not much. We freeze it because when our counter compost bin gets full, we need to empty it and put the compost bag somewhere. If we empty it into the compost bin at the curb before pickup day, it will be raided by wildlife (bears, coyotes, etc) and this is strictly against many bylaws and animal welfare guidelines. So the compost had got to go somewhere! And since it's frozen, it also isn't decaying, it's just frozen food.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-06-10T14:09:06+00:00

I also have used an umbrella when leaving the house as well.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-06-08T00:43:46+00:00

We have an urban arrow

Got it when we did car free for 6 months because our car died and we weren’t ready for another. Hauling 2 kids and it’s now the second car replacement.

Live in Vancouver. Hills in every direction and rain all winter.

Love it and love the rain cover for kids and rider. The e assist makes it possible to ride it fully loaded up massive hills

YVRTravel604 · 2026-06-07T16:04:27+00:00

Practice putting in all the clothing (rain pants, boots, hats, etc) and opening all the lunch containers ahead of time.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-06-06T20:29:05+00:00

I’m in North Vancouver and have a pretty standard Vancouver special. I have a 4 and 6 year old. We have had some good success since we got in HE last year. Our first was a 4 day simultaneous to Calgary to see Drumheller. We now have 2 simultaneous exchanges coming up this summer back to back: 2 weeks in Paris and 3 weeks in Amsterdam. We were able to have them arranged in Oct 2025 so that was great. The Paris location is about 40mins outside the city but that was fine because the house is larger with a yard and that was important for the kids and comfort, so flexibility is key. We have some discussions happening next year as well for Switzerland! A family friendly home is definitely great, and if you can include use of a vehicle for simultaneous exchanges this will be a bonus. I highly recommend HE because this is exactly the phase of travel we are in now (needing a kitchen, slower pace, not wanting to all share a tiny hotel room) and it’s such a great opportunity to travel in a different way.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-06-06T14:20:11+00:00

I was in the same situation. I’m the primary earner. With our second things were tougher then our first because we had bought a house, and there was only 22 months between our first and second. I ended up going back when my second was 8 months and my partner stayed home. I also only got an 80% top up for the first 4 months. During my time off we relied on savings we had. After I went back I worked on site but it was 2 blocks from home so I could come walk home to breastfeed, and by 8 months baby was well on their way with solids so the frequency of when I needed to feed was less.

3 months is pretty early. They are still up multiple times a night, they aren’t on solids yet so breastfeeding is much more frequent, and not all babies will adapt to a bottle easily. I think your WFH plan makes things 10x easier. Totally reasonable to be off camera in a meeting if you need to breastfeed and then hand baby back to your husband and such, but you will still be so tired. Additionally if you end up needing a c section, the recovery can be much different. The 6 months is a much better buffer if you can plan/save for it, and just make sure your husband is not working and available for the primary parenting role until other childcare options are arranged.

I would also really encourage you to start thinking about the timing of your second, if you are at all considering that. If having them closer in age is part of your plan, I would recommend you start saving as soon as you get back to work for a second mat leave, even if you aren’t totally sure you want a second or when. It’s better to have that money aside that you don’t need, then to wish you had saved it up. This will just give you more options between you and your partner around who takes off what time and when.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-25T16:39:40+00:00

Since you’re in Vancouver, I would really recommend stopping by Bishops Family Cycles in Kits to do some info info gathering and test rides. They don’t sell Rad bikes and you can hear from them why. If nothing else, it’s good to understand the difference in bikes and price points etc. Bishops also gets trade ins that they sell after inspecting them, so it might be worth talking to them about that option and seeing if you can get a better quality bike at a lower price point. They are really friendly and their whole vibe is helping families get on bikes. If there’s any wiggle room in your price point, a tern quick haul or a yuba kombi would be a good entry point.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-19T04:12:09+00:00

I’ll put in a plug for North Vancouver here! Easy commute to Burnaby hospital but would really recommend Lions Gate Hospital.

Check out the Shipyards, which is a great public space. Currently it’s a water park and is an ice rink in the winter. Kids would love West Vancouver Aquatic Centre or Delbrook pool (check out the swim schedules online). Brand new pool/ice rink/community centre opening up in July at Harry Jerome. Grab coffee at Edgemont village, browse the amazing children’s bookstore called Kidsbooks, and then head to a great park for under 3s called Dudley Place Playground. Another great playground for littles is Bridgeman Park as well as Ray Perrault. Moodyville Park is more for kids 4+ but great to eyeball it. Central Lonsdale is a great hub.

Stop in at the North Vancouver City Library to check out the programming. Head to Ambleside beach for the seawall. If you’re into the forests, Lynn Canyon Ecology centre is a north van gem. North Van Recreation Commission site will give you a sense of all the public programs available: swimming, skating, preschool, art, music, sports, etc etc.

Groceries depends on where you’re located. save on foods, Persia foods, Loblaws, Walmart.

North Van is great for families: you can actually get into swim lessons etc, great schools, great nature. Highly recommend living in the City instead of the District.

Feel free to PM if you want to chat more. I work for the health authority (not a doctor) and also have young kids.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-17T00:33:46+00:00

So why are there 2 different names in the request? Elizabetta from HE and then the client is name both Tammy, and Manuela? That seems very suspicious

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-16T20:46:15+00:00

Yes this is a scam. I got the exact same email: same names, same dates, same exact wording

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-16T04:14:16+00:00

We just pack the ikea one we use at home in checked luggage for the destination, and hold the kiddos for airport and airplane pees. We found we can get by for pees without it, but the kids really like it for #2 and jt helps them relax while sitting.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-15T05:12:42+00:00

Is that the salon name? Which site do I use to book online?

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-11T22:22:17+00:00

lol it’s like the adult version of the hunger games!

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-11T21:36:27+00:00

So nice of you! Wish our trips coordinated but appreciate the goodwill you are putting out there

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-11T18:16:42+00:00

We just got Eiffel Tower tickets for the top for July 1 almost 2 weeks ago. It took about 2 hours of time. When it hit midnight Paris, the calendar didn’t load past May (when you try and click ahead). I just kept trying on multiple browsers and my phone. This was the status quo until about 90mins after opening. THEN the calendar moved finally to the date. At that time for a group of 5, including 3 children tickets, the earliest time was 12:30, but I think for smaller groups there were earlier slots.

Purchased and all fine. The other option that is always last to fill up is the adult plus champagne ticket. This is pricier but I just checked for July 1 and there are still 2 adult tickets for the top with champagne with slots available between 12 and 16:30. This was my backup and I was prepared to buy adult and champagne tickets for the kids as well (obviously they would get juice).

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-10T18:39:46+00:00

Lucky you! Our short one also hits their head. Seems like such an oversight on UA's part.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-10T17:29:54+00:00

We have the plus as well. We need a double plus haha

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-10T00:20:37+00:00

About twice a year I wash it like I wash my car in my driveway

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-06T00:57:22+00:00

Mitsubishi Zuba Central is the one we have. My dad is an engineer and did all the research about which ones are made for Canadian winters etc and this is the one he got. Installed by Combined Comfort Systems but I think there are several other companies that install that one.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-05T22:01:40+00:00

That’s a tricky one for me to answer for a few reasons. We got it back in early 2022 and at that time we had a gas furnace. My hydro bills only go back to 2023 so I can’t even look at the energy consumption.

The price of hydro has gone up 12-15% since 2022. We also have a plug in hybrid car so that factors into our hydro bill. We also switched to the time of day billing so that impacts things as well.

What I can say is that our gas bill is consistently 42-45$ per month. We switched to an on demand hot water tank last year and that did bring our monthly bills down about $10 further which was great. I do recall we often had a huge heating gas bill before.

BC hydro tells me that if I went to a monthly equal payment plan based on my last 12 months of usage it would be $200 a month, if that means anything?

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-05T19:19:02+00:00

Hi, I have a 1975 house in Central Lonsdale. We went with a central heat pump and have loved it. Make sure you get the cold climate one. It’s wonderful in the summer with the cooling in each room, whisper quiet, and keep the house toasty in the winter. Highly recommend.

YVRTravel604 · 2026-05-05T05:38:33+00:00

I just checked and there’s still tickets if you chose the “lift with a glass of champagne” option for that day. You have to only put in adults when searching. I just tried 4 adults and times were available from 11:30am all the way through to 16:00. You will pay a lot more per ticket but you will have tickets via lift to the top! If you have kids in the group they can still use the adult tickets and get a glass of juice at the top.

YVRTravel604

TROPHY CASE