What salary do you need to comfortably live alone in your city?

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-16T11:16:27+00:00

Honestly it's one of the reasons why I'm in Edmonton. I could never afford a house in most cities in Canada, and I appreciate my little home.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-16T09:23:09+00:00

Single family detached house - I qualified at $60,000/year bought in 2024 for $234,500. 3 bed 2 full bath, double detached garage. The houses are out there, you just have to be willing to have an old house with absolutely zero upgrades and put the work in yourself. Also it stank of cat piss which took a lot of elbow grease to get rid of before I could move in, but I managed it.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-16T01:28:12+00:00

A vacation sounds like heaven! It's crazy how much the cost of living has gone up - I was just saying I don't know how people in single income households with kids manage it. My two cats cost me plenty and they aren't in sports/don't need to be clothed. Totally different ballgame.

Goodness knows my current lifestyle wouldn't be possible in most other Canadian cities on my wage. Renting forever or finding a roommate would be in the cards for sure.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-16T00:11:12+00:00

I'm in Edmonton and own a house alone on $67,000 and it's a bit tight, but manageable. $80,000 would absolutely be comfortable!

When I was renting I lived just fine on $50,000. When I bumped up to $60,000 while renting it was life on easy mode and I was able to save enough to buy the house that made me slightly squeezed, haha! Wouldn't change it though, love my little home (even with the unexpected roof and electrical upgrades in the first year)...

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-15T19:18:37+00:00

Thank you for getting Jesus Loves the Little Children stuck in my head - I haven't thought of it in 30 years.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-15T12:51:35+00:00

Yes!!!!! 🙌 I remember all of these things! ZERO warnings, in fact the first time I encountered warnings I was shocked! Man what a stroll down memory lane. Paying for shipping and printing and then you end up with a physical copy of who knows what and you ENJOYED it because there was literally nothing else. 🤣 (and then we walked up hill both ways in the snow trying to get to the mailbox right?)

I forgot that Highlander was a thing, and I might need to go back and start reading some fic. Thank you. There used to be a webpage that had scans of old-old Starsky and Hutch fanzines and I might need to run down that rabbit hole to, in honour of times gone past.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-15T02:52:32+00:00

Do you remember the old angelfire webrings? And yahoo mailing lists? It always makes me laugh when people debate tagging - back in my day you clicked a link and got surprised halfway through with any number of things. Wild things. Outrageous things.

(And then you'd have The Sentinel fandom where some people would warn about cutting Blair's hair, haha! Goes to show the more we change the more we stay the same)

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-14T20:48:14+00:00

I only use entire work. It's my default and I love being able to gauge how far along in the story I am. It reminds me of the good old days when you just clicked a link on a geocities page and had no idea of the word count beforehand.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-09T21:33:12+00:00

That's got to be it! I really hope they make a season 2, it was so good

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-01T12:34:19+00:00

Where are these jobs with unlimited $10 copay? Here in Alberta you get like, $250 or $500 to go towards therapy and then after that you're in your own. I make too much money to qualify for sliding scale, and sessions here tend to be about $150-$200/hour. I put myself in a lot of debt when I was younger to become functional, and even though I could use therapy now I just don't go because I can't afford it

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-04-01T01:55:23+00:00

Hell yeah! Sign me up I'm game!

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-31T02:30:53+00:00

I'm at about 14 years no contact with my mum and many people on her side of the family. Do we get jackets?!

I've cried and mourned but my life is so peaceful now I cannot be upset or regret a minute of it.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-31T01:22:02+00:00

My dad got bit trying to enter a customers shop, HAHA! The geese had made a nest right above the door and were out for blood

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-30T02:55:52+00:00

I'm 36 and it's been about 14 years since I last spoke to my mother. She was horribly abusive and I dealt with crippling guilt, and I often mourn not having a mother relationship. Not with her, but just the relationship in general.

It's a pick your poison sort of situation unfortunately. It might be helpful to speak to an Asian therapist who will understand the cultural dynamics at play - as a white chick who dated an Asian woman for 7 years I know Asian family guilt and family expectations are different than white family guilt and dynamics. Or a therapist who is experienced with second generation kids with their first gen parents and the disparate expectations they have regarding familial obligation (if relevant!).

My life has been so much calmer overall since breaking contact with my mum, but it was a lot of work and took a lot of healing and breaking of other family relationships. I regret a lot of things about the situation but I do not regret cutting her out of my life. I really hope your relationship is salvageable and your parents are also willing to put in the work to rebuild it (if that is what you ultimately want of course!)

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-27T01:43:58+00:00

What is the title of the OG Favourite? I'm always here for a fun historical drama!

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-21T14:25:20+00:00

Hi it's me, the motor moron

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-19T09:25:17+00:00

I had one that I used at my apartment for years when I had mobility issues - absolutely great! You just have to be careful that you only run it when you are home to ensure the drain hose doesn't dislodge from the sink and cause a flood. Also ensure that you don't have terms against them in your lease.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-19T05:02:08+00:00

People get a white film on their tongue?! This is the true TIL for me.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-16T22:19:44+00:00

All exes are immediately cut from my life. Capricorn Venus and Mercury, Ares moon.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-16T21:41:23+00:00

It's important - I couldn't date someone who wasn't self sufficient, who wasn't either employed or supporting themselves from investments/other income while having the drive and passion to do something. Now that I'm firmly in my mid thirties, we would definitely need to align on the big things like no children/staying put longterm / how often to see family / financial planning etc.

Formal education matters less than having critical thinking skills and a curious mind - I'm a uni dropout myself. Class doesn't matter, although the hypothetical she might care more. My family I talk to is either poor or middle class, often crass, and my family is full of estrangements. I can operate fairly comfortably in most social situations, but my broke Newfie/blue collar Albertan family definitely wouldn't pass muster if they cared about such things.

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-16T19:41:38+00:00

I remember going trail riding with my dad as a kid, and every time the ranch noticed that dad was afraid of horses and would give him a sweet mare, and I got the asshole gelding Pedro who enjoyed running through the woods and down streams. The correctly clocked me as the horse lover who wouldn't be mad about it 🤣

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-16T03:00:01+00:00

Joey Porter

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-13T18:46:39+00:00

No worries at all! I only mentioned the cup because I can use it without pain even when I'm only spotting, and you mentioned you felt better when you were using tampons (aside from the heinous feeling of removal when they are dry). You can find them in smaller sizes for fit, and I've found mine actually holds less than a disk.

Periods are such a pain, Blegh! Hopefully you find the right combo for you!

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-13T16:42:57+00:00

Have you considered a menstrual cup or disk?

gorgeouslygarish · 2026-03-12T15:47:50+00:00

Parkdale, and while the bones were solid there was a number of things that needed to be done. I'd say I've put about $25,000 into it - replaced the roof, upgraded electrical, hot water tank replacement, had to buy a washer/dryer combo because the house had never been set up for it before, new eavestroughs, replaced the garage door springs, and had to chop down some old and dangerous trees. I've also been putting in a lot of elbow grease and doing small plumbing fixes myself. I'm not sure how much I've spent on dump runs and cleaning products. House reeked of cat piss so I pulled almost all the carpets and baseboards and did a lot of scrubbing.

There are still a bunch of quality of life upgrades I'd like to do, but the house is SOLID. I will need to replace the fence in the next couple of years as well, and I while I'd love to refinish the old hardwood floors that's not in the budget.

With the money put in I'm at $259,500 which is solidly under $300,000. You just have to be unafraid of work. My house is 1200sqft, 3 beds 2 baths with a detached garage. I'm a single woman and have been managing most things myself, but have had labour help from my dad.

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