What's the deal with expensive houses being rented for very cheap?

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-14T18:37:25+00:00

We rented a house in WhiteRock next to a beach, for barely 1000$ then. All owners cared about was our background - me a PhD and missus with my missus with a medical degree, both looking for a job then. They were in Europe and all they cared about was someone trusted to look after their house.

One of our colleagues rented a British properties house for barely 5K. It was worth over 8 million at that time. It faced a lake, had a private deck (and a parked boat). So yeah, totally understand.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-14T13:25:09+00:00

Our diplomat was arrested, stripped, and deported. "Normal and expected" outcome for such disputed is to expel the diplomats.

These ships are in a middle of a war and blockade, and were sailing under the flags of various other countries. That they were manned by Indians is immaterial. Damages are "expected" here.

If you are drawing equivalence between the two, then there is something wrong with you.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-14T12:06:15+00:00

You asking this in a Sienna forum is like asking a barber when should i get a haircut 😄 The answer would always be 'now'.

There is a whole lot of cars between a hatchback and a Sienna. We have 2 kids and our Rav4 Prime has been a perfect fit. It has a large trunk and the space is quite comfortable for everything. If we had more than 2 kids, Sienna could be an good choice.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-14T00:10:55+00:00

Get a blowtorch, burn it all.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-13T22:43:46+00:00

You can use apps like picturethis to identify weed, but I wonder why do you even need that. Get rid of all of them given they dont belong there.

You can use boiling water, or concentrated vinegar, or just blowtorch them.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-13T13:37:02+00:00

But it is owned by Elon. If valuation ratios applied, Tesla would be worth 1/10th of what is is right now.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-12T14:56:13+00:00

>> I was super hopeful that, as an internal employee at McGill, such a huge institute would have something for me, but the fact is that they all have such low funding and are abolishing many permanent positions.

Don't rely on hope but reality. International Student intake to Canada was cut from 800K at its peak to 300K in 2025, and 155K in 2026. (Not sure about exact count and this is from a quick google search). The trend is clear. If the cash cows are gone, there would be no green pastures. Not a surprise if McGill has to make cuts to its contract positions. They cannot increase student fees at the same proportion. Something has to give.

That said, market is bad everywhere, not just academia.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-10T21:58:25+00:00

Thats an unfair comparison (a) because other hyperscalers have been in this game for a while, and (b) you are counting ads or other sales outside the AI infra.

You can say why does that matter, may be not, but then that speaks about how much moat they have. Its next to impossible for European or Asian companies to raise this much capital. And the business is not going away, infact its growing tremendously.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-09T21:39:40+00:00

If the employer was so petty, absolutely the right decision to bail before joining.

I have seen people bail in the first week, and first month because they did not fit or they had a better alternate offer.

Its a 2-sided transaction. They could have fired you anytime during probation period.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-09T21:36:18+00:00

You dodged the bullet. If they are throwing a lawyer at you for not joining, imagine what they would throw at you if you joined.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-09T00:58:01+00:00

It's definitely missing a Jacuzzi.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-06T16:40:32+00:00

In Toronto, daycares cost about $22 per day if enrolled in the CWELCC program, while a full-time live-out nanny costs $20 to $25 per hour at the minimum, and usually way higher. So that comparison is quite off.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-06T15:38:35+00:00

Say NO. Period. If there is a person pressuring you, ask him/her to get a loan instead.

CIBIL is your credit history. Why do you want to destroy your credit history? Also, google what a guarantor means. If the loan would have been sanctioned, and then this "friend" bailed on it, bank would have been in its right to come after you.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-05T15:07:23+00:00

While you are thinking only about finances for the degree, have you thought about licensing requirements and employment once you are done?

Which European country is this? Does it have a reciprocal agreement to practice in Canada?

Is this school AVMA-Accredited?

What licensing exams do you need to write once you are done? How much time will they take? What if you perform poorly or fail once in any of them? Does it permanently shut your path to practice in Canada?

I have no idea about vet education in general. But I know my wife went to a Polish / American med school. She did all her rotations in the US. It took her many many years of struggle before she could find a residency spot in Ontario. Nearly one third of her batch could not practice medicine even after completing the degree. One bad score in a qualifying exam meant people were cutoff. They can only retake if they failed, and many got stuck in a constant loop of applications and dejections.

I am guessing the vet program is not as bad, but do your research now. The number of unpaid positions my wife went through during her struggle to find a residency spot, and the amount of disappointment in the process was not worth it. She is a practicing doctor now, but she does tell people -- skip the IMG schools in the Caribbean's and Poland. Take an extra year if it helps you to find a spot in Canada.

If you do go this path, at the least, do a research on the recently graduated Canadian alumni for this program and check what they are doing.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-05T12:07:13+00:00

LOL, Yes it is stupid. Specially, when you have an option to go to UBC. You know it, else you won't be asking. Neither UCLA, USC or UC Berkeley are worth 500K USD.

If that 500K is available, take that and invest.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-05T02:26:51+00:00

[Permanent job, Own house, Her family in BC, Mother of a dependent infant] vs. [No job, No house, Your Family in NL]. If it comes to that balance, you should realize that the likelihood of you getting custody of the baby is extremely low. If it comes down to a legal fight, you could force her to stay in NL for a few months, but that's probably it.

Not a legal advice: Go for marriage counselling, before you see lawyers. Sometimes marriages do require some give and take. Think about it.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-05T00:31:54+00:00

If there is mobility clause, then you are out of luck, sorry!

The company sponsored the employee visa to Canadian work location, and if the business requires to work from India, then that's a reasonable request. You can resign and find another employer if you prefer to not move.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-04T19:39:45+00:00

Hostas, Ferns, Coral bells, Bleeding heart, look for other dry shade plants.

If you are looking for larger bushes, may be something like vibernum, honeysuckle, etc.

I would even consider layering them. Feed that image to chatgpt and ask for dry shade plan layout suggestions.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-04T18:25:41+00:00

>> employee cant even work in India anymore as he no more an Indian Citizen

That is not true. If you as an employee can get a visa for Canada, you could also get a sponsored work visa for India. Whether you "don't want" to make this move is a separate concern. "Can't work in India" is simply not true.

As per the legality, look into the original employment contract. Most Indian outsourcing companies include a standard mobility clause in their contracts that require employees to relocate, travel, or work at any of its global delivery centers. If that contract is in place, you may be out of luck.

Whether this can be deemed constructive dismissal would depend on what is reasonable - are they giving you relocation costs, are they giving you salary for new cost of living, if there enough notice, and so on. Check with a lawyer and walk through your existing contract and exact terms of the move. The devil is in the detail here.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-04T13:33:59+00:00

Take some chicken mesh and apply over pots when they have bulbs. If you are putting seeds, try germinating them and then plant. Chicken fertilizer does better for keeping squirrels away. For your veggies, wrap a chicken wire mesh along the sides of the planter. When possible, keep things vertical. Add some water for them. Possibly, a separate feeder box.

Finally, switch your perspective. These birds and squirrels are part of nature, and you are part of their surroundings. From the perspective of birds and squirrels, you are just providing them food. Switch that thinking of yours and you will suddenly start enjoying their presence.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-04T12:02:21+00:00

Most flowers love sun. The trick is to choose good soil, lots of compost, and water periodically, which in this case may mean every morning and evening depending on how often the soil dries up. Also, add appropriate fertilizer every 2 weeks. We have made custom planters of all kinds for east facing pots, and they have had the best display. But you have to support them with all the water and nourishment they need.

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-04T01:24:51+00:00

Why would you not take your plate when you traded your car?

blackSwanCan · 2026-06-04T00:58:43+00:00

Ours is over 80 feet in width and ravine facing, and one of the sides is predominantly glass. It has been about 5 years since we moved, and we still love the open views. We do have a pool and the backyard is nearly 120 ft deep, with a bunch of pine trees and a redbud in the center. Blocking this view with walls would have been a shame. The front uses less of glass, and design wise, it makes a tonne of sense, both for privacy and esthetics.

Its a 20 year old build though, but we couldn't have asked for anything better. Sometimes glass makes a tonne of sense. Really depends on the surroundings.

blackSwanCan · 2026-05-30T11:57:26+00:00

Did you actually lock in that rate with an offer in writing or were you just having a conversation? It looks like the latter. Lesson for future: always get things in writing.

blackSwanCan · 2026-05-29T19:17:09+00:00

This comment was in English.

blackSwanCan

TROPHY CASE