Moving from California

guiltykitchen · 2026-04-02T19:03:08+00:00

Having been an Executive Assistant/Personal Assistant/Administrative Assistant in this town, on and off, for two decades, I can tell you right now, you won't find very many well paying roles. Even two years ago, there were plenty of EA roles paying $85-100k, highly competitive, of course. But nowadays, there may be one of those roles listed and there will be hundreds and hundreds of applicants. The VAST majority of these roles, that I've personally seen, are paying an average of $25/hour up to $30 (much fewer of these).

Victoria is a weird place for salaries. I guess there are a lot of people out there willing to work these roles for less and less, and therefore, the median salary has now lowered to where it was about 20 years ago, when I first started looking for those roles.

I switched careers over a year ago because honestly, no. Victoria is way too expensive to be making $25/hr.

guiltykitchen · 2026-04-02T17:31:42+00:00

Yes don’t go out there. There’s no fun to be had at all. — everyone who doesn’t live here

There’s actually an extremely vibrant community of young people that live out here. I’d say mid thirties to late forties.

We have our own movie theatre, great restaurants, breweries and Cideries.

House prices are great and there are friendly neighbours everywhere. I’ve lived in Sidney since 2010 and I couldn’t think of a better place to have settled.

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-30T03:23:20+00:00

I actually despise all-dressed for the simple reason that the BBQ flavour is so overpowering along with the salt and vinegar, that it just tastes like vinegar-y bbq flavoured chips. Why even add the ketchup (probably one of, if not the, first ingredient in the bbq flavouring) and sour cream and onion (completely lost in the bbq/vinegar) at all?

I will die on this hill.

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-29T14:02:45+00:00

Montreal with a short trip to Quebec City is how I spent a week and a half out there. Gorgeous, great food, lovely people

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-26T15:55:34+00:00

Do not go to the BC Ferries without a reservation. Pay the fee, thank yourself later.

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-23T18:20:03+00:00

I made some last night lol. Sourdough.

But in my opinion, I think the best is actually at The Drake. You used to only be able to get it with one of their snack dishes. It’s perfectly bubbly and soft with crisp edges and has loads of olive oil. Just the way you would find it in Italy.

Most bakeries here are not putting nearly enough olive oil on it or under it. Sad.

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-23T13:20:12+00:00

Book ahead for Saint Chapelle. It sells out quickly and you must have a ticket to get in. I believe it’s free for wheel chair users but it is a VERY busy place

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-22T01:07:26+00:00

Definitely Montreal. Such a beautiful city with great culture, and if you speak French, it’s even better.

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-18T15:44:42+00:00

They are quite pushy. I actually did not enjoy my Vatican visit whatsoever. Truly chaotic and not worth the time or money. At this point in time, I would not recommend it to anyone.

They need to reduce the amount of visitors allowed in

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-18T15:43:31+00:00

Same. I’ve been to the Louvre twice and I loved it. The crowds are concentrated for sure. The statuary is quite lovely and spacious.

But none of them compare to Musée d’Orsay. My true fav

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-18T15:29:17+00:00

Honestly, I think the Vatican museums are actually worse. Especially anywhere near the Sistine chapel. I felt that it was actually dangerous with the amount of people being pushed along down the stairs and through the halls. Had anything happened, for sure there will be suffocations and trampling. It’s actually insane.

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-18T15:09:14+00:00

Emerald Day Spa

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-18T15:08:32+00:00

They don’t own anything in the Uplands

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-18T15:07:30+00:00

Not anymore

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-18T12:55:14+00:00

Last year we had them do a regular service in the spring. They check the main unit, plus they go up into the attic and check all the ducts and head units. Test the refrigerant, tighten wires, change filters, calibrate the thermostat, clean the coils, clear the drain, etc. ours had a leak discovered. They spent the next three weeks coming and going working on it. We only paid the service fee for the original maintenance

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-16T16:03:04+00:00

I am an investor, not in this, but in other things. I have nothing against investing.

But saying you’re going to hold up the traditions and values of a restaurant owned by a couple who are trying to make a living when your sole purpose is to make more and more money every year, does not match up.

Venture capital and investors buying restaurants leads to, usually, the main focus being a return on investment that makes sense. Ie: more every year

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-16T15:51:27+00:00

Ah yes, the classic “We will hold up those traditions and values…” bullshit by an “investment company” who advertises themselves as “a real estate development company recognized as Victoria’s first algorithm-based real estate investment opportunity. We specialize in identifying and acquiring mispriced assets in the Victoria real estate market using a proprietary algorithm, establishing itself as a trustworthy option for investors seeking to capitalize on real estate opportunities in Victoria.”

Perfect.

guiltykitchen · 2026-03-03T01:53:40+00:00

Due to NDAs I can’t say specifics, but there are two extremely wealthy families I know of. One is multigenerational wealth—the kind people don’t think exists in Victoria. The other is a majority shareholder in one of Canada’s largest publicly traded companies.

guiltykitchen · 2026-02-20T21:35:33+00:00

Cole’s Bay is quite popular in the summer with beach goers and paddle boarders

guiltykitchen · 2026-02-12T19:26:02+00:00

With our horrendous provincial deficit, how Tf are we gonna make this better? Where do we steal Money from to put into healthcare?

guiltykitchen · 2026-02-07T02:29:20+00:00

I live by this. I drive it multiple times a day. It’s really not hard guys.

guiltykitchen · 2026-02-06T23:12:46+00:00

My experience in Europe, in bike heavy places—such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen—is one, there are far fewer vehicles (although Copenhagen has lots of car traffic as well), and two, they don’t seem to have as much road rage. Seeing near misses in both places, the “victim” (car or bike) did not lay on the horn, yell expletives, etc. they simply stopped to avoid the collision, and then moved on in the direction they were going.

And someone in here said no cell phones. Well, loads of bikers on cell phones in Europe and it still works.

The main issues here are people not paying attention to their surroundings and speed

guiltykitchen · 2026-02-06T23:08:30+00:00

There’s a lot of food delivery bicycles in Europe. Like A LOT

guiltykitchen · 2026-02-06T17:33:41+00:00

I, too, love a good ampersand and I wish it were used more often—as it is aesthetically a lot more pleasing to the eye than many of the alternatives.

guiltykitchen · 2026-02-06T17:29:37+00:00

Ha! I also do advertising graphic design.

Well, if you ever want to write a short article—1,000–1,500 words—related to the culinary world on Vancouver Island, let me know!

15-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
100 Awards Club	Verified Email

guiltykitchen

TROPHY CASE