Settled In and Visiting Ottawa

It's been a really busy week for me. I finally moved into my long term apartment. I now live in a Concord Pacific development called "Cityplace". It's literally right next to the skydome and in the heart of all the action of downtown Toronto. Now I have myself a car to commute to work and a place to call home. I can now focus on making the most of my time in Toronto.

I spent this past weekend in Ottawa. I've never been there before and I thought I should visit there being the proud Canadian that I am. Ottawa was nice. It reminds me of a bigger version of Victoria. I pretty much saw everything in one day; the parliament, Rideau Hall, etc. Not really much to do there after the sightseeing was over but it was nice to be in a relaxed environment for once.

I went with my European flatmate and we stayed in a charming B&B. It only cost us $35/night and we got breakfast, our own private room, TV, A/C, and warm hospitality. Considering the hostel would cost about $25/night, we thought this was a really good deal. During the day we saw the sights. At night, we went out for drinks. I did check out the nightlife briefly and all I saw were young girls in really short skirts. Normally, I'm not against that but these girls were far to young and I prefer to party with a mature crowd these days. On the next day, we drove out to Gatineau Park which is about 30 min from Ottawa. We kayaked across an entire lake and then spent the rest of the afternoon resting on the beach. Again, it was nice to get out of the city, see some nature, and be active. My flatmate loved the nature but I can't say it wowed me since Vancouver is so much more beautiful. It's funny because I'm starting to feel homesick. Thinking about the beauty of Vancouver makes me even more homesick.

Another 2 Weeks in the T.dot

I've been living in Toronto for almost a month now and I'm still enjoying it. Some highlights from the past 2 weeks:

• I went to Niagara falls last weekend with my flatmates. I thought the falls were beautiful but the area is one big tourist trap that it ruined some of the beauty. The highlight was definitely the Maid of the Mist tour since it brought you up close and personal with the falls.
• I had my first visitor from Vancouver. We chilled on Toronto island and then sampled one of Toronto's sushi restaurants. I loved the restaurant since they give you samples of food "on the house".
• I finally bought a car. 2002 Honda Civic LX. That should get me to and from work.
  
• Eating sushi with my flatmates. My flatmates come from the following countries: Germany, Scotland, Netherlands, Mexico. Some of them never had sushi before and I was impressed when they jumped in and ate the raw stuff right away. Also, watching them try and use chopsticks was priceless.
• Went to another nightclub on the weekend. The place was just okay (if it were awesome I would remember the name) but I like how in Toronto they have promoters on the street working for your business. The promoter got us into the club with no cover and no line. Since I had already done lots of pre-drinking at the house, it made for a cheap night.
• Went to a bar called the Brunswick which is a few blocks from the house for a going away party for one of the flatmates. We went on Monday but considering it's a work day I tried not to stay out late that evening. However, as is always the case with these things I ended up drinking more and staying out later than I had originally planned. I was so tired at work the next day that it brings me to the reality that I'm not as young as I used to be.

On August 1st, I'll be moving into my new apartment and I'm excited about moving into a new place. The only problem my bedroom is not furnished so I might be sleeping on the floor for a few nights. I'm also making plans to visit Ottawa next weekend and then Montreal in early September. I'll hopefully get some pictures up soon so you can see the madness.

T.

I'm having trouble understanding why everyone rags on Toronto since I'm having a really good time here. I can't say it's better than Vancouver since each has their own strengths and weaknesses. All I can say is the two cities are different. I'm currently staying in this dorm like housing right by UofT and I must admit this place is a dive. I've stayed in my fair share of dodgy hostels and this place ranks up there with the rest of them. I was almost tempted to leave until I saw all the good looking european women stayin in the place. That convinced me to "tough" it out for a month. I've gotten used to the place now so it's not longer that bad although I'm still annoyed people take your food and beer from the fridge.

Some highlights of my stay so far:

• As soon as I got to my residence, I dropped off my bags in my room and joined a porch party that was going on. Seconds later I was talking to 5 English girls.
• I found out the hard way my room didn't come with a pillow or linens. I was forced to sleep on my clothes on my first night.
• Went to a bar called the Madison with my flatmates. It's 3 old Victorian homes joined together to form an incredible bar. I was amazed. Apparently, it's an institution in downtown and it instantly become one of my favorite bars... in the world.
• Nursed a hangover the next day by going to Toronto island with my flatmates. It's quite pretty there with lots of greenspace and beaches. In the spirit of the world cup, we spent an afternoon playing beach soccer. I scored 2 goals.
• Started my new job... I like it.
• Walked around UofT. I didn't realize how pretty the campus is.
  
• Went to my first Toronto night club called "Picadilly Circus". Felt like a grown up UBC Pit Pub Night. It was packed and at one point in the night the hot bartenders got up on the bar and did a coyote ugly routine for us. It was hot.
  
• World cup final! I live with a few French people so we went to a french bar to cheer on France. I loved the atmosphere. It's too bad france lost since it would have been a really fun night that evening.
• Coming home from work and drinking beer on the porch with the flamates.
  

The fun have been having really comes from having good flatmates. Many of them are travelers who are working/studying in Toronto for the summer. They come from all over the world: Europe, Australia, Africa, etc. I think I'm only one of a few Canadians living there and I love meeting and learning all these different cultures. They have definitely eased my transition into a new city and I'm almost tempted to stay another month... however, I can only stay in shared accomodations for so long and I've already signed a new lease starting in Aug. I move out on the 1st and then I would love to entertain guests since that place is 100x nicer.

Free Calling in the US and Canada

Every so often, there emerges a technology so disruptive that it shakes up the industry. Today, Skype just announced free calls to anywhere in the US and Canada. In short, it's an announcement worth blogging about. While I don't expect the masses to ditch their landlines for Skype anytime soon, I expect it will increase awareness of VoIP and make the traditional telcos think. Telcos have spent millions of dollars to create their networks and it's tough to compete against free. Skype's free calling is available until the end of the year so I look forward to see how this experiment turns out. The telephone landscape could change sooner than expected.

Moving To Toronto

Everything is finally confirmed and I'm moving to Toronto on the July long weekend. I'm taking a new job there (still with the same company) and I will be living there for at least a year, maybe more if I like it. My original plan was to move in Feb 2007 and I've been keeping this news on the down low since I had nothing confirmed up to this point. However, on the recommendation of my boss, I've moved my plans up a few months and it's now finally starting to sink in. Some people think I'm crazy to leave Vancouver but I have my reasons. I'll offer the main ones:

• I like the job. I'm moving into a sales roles which allows me to apply my technical experience in a customer facing setting. I feel this experience is the next logical step in my career.
• I want to live in a new city. I've spent all my life in Vancouver and have never seen this great country of Canada. I've traveled a bit but traveling is different than living in a another city. I wanted to move out. If I'm going to think, I might as well think big so I'm moving to a whole new province.
• I want a different work environment. Out east, I've heard the office has a small start-up feel with no union presence. It's a very different dynamic than in the west. I want to be part of that growth.
• I want to travel. One great thing about the east coast is the cities are much closer together. Within 4 hours, I can travel to Montreal and Ottawa. With a short plane ride, I can visit NY and Boston. Across the pond is Europe. As a travel junkie, moving out east opens up many more travel opportunities.
  
• I want a challenge. For me, Toronto represents a big challenge. It's the biggest city in Canada and probably one of the most unforgiving. I want to see if I can play with the big dawgs... and possibly even beat them.

The thought of leaving Vancouver for a new city with nothing but a few possessions is exciting and liberating. My decision to leave is motivated by career and personal goals. Anyone care to follow?

My Tivo Thinks I'm Gay

My team at work has recently received a Tivo for evaluation. One of the features of the Tivo is 'profiling' where it extrapolates your viewing history and automatically records show it predicts you will like. Playing with the Tivo the other day, I noticed that it had recorded and suggested several gay shows in it's menu. First thing that came to mind was this is strange but it could be that someone in my group is gay and I just don't know it... not that there is anything wrong with that. However, after doing a simple search on Google, I found out that this problem is quite common and there are numerous articles on what to do if your Tivo thinks your gay. (BTW: no one on my team is gay.) I would say the most embarrasing part of having your Tivo think your gay is when you show other groups at work the features of the Tivo. Unaware of the Tivo problem, they often give you strange looks as they see a list of gay programming that one has to see to appreciate. The only solution I can think of to fix this problem is to record lots and lots of heterosexual porn. However, since that is not appropriate for work, this problem will probably be around for some time.

Vancouver Housing

After doing some random internet surfing one day, I stumbled across this blog about Vancouver Housing. The author takes a bearish position on real estate but he offers many facts and data to support his arguments. Reading his blog resurrected my idea of getting into the real estate market. However, after talking with some people who are in a position that I would realistically be in I have found the following data (which is by no means comprehensive):

If I were to spend $250K for a condo in either kits or downtown, I would end up paying roughly $1500/month to live. That number is based on 25% down and includes mortage payments, strata fees, and property taxes. However, if I were to rent a place in either of those two areas, I could find a place anywhere between $800 - $1000.

Given those numbers, I am going to choose to rent at this point in time. My reason is primarily a lifestyle choice. I am very aware of my monthly cash flow and paying $1500/month to live would make me working poor. I would not have much money left for savings and I would not be able to afford to travel. Also, as a single income earner having a mortgage puts me in a slighly precarious situation. Should interest rates go up (which it looks like it will continue to do), or should strata fees go up (which they almost invariable do), or should the economy start moving downwards (possible since it's normally cyclic), it would significantly affect my cash flow. Finally, my final reason for choosing to rent is mobility. Having a mortgage effectively ties me down in Vancouver. It would be hard for me to rent my place for a price high enough to cover my payments. Why rent for $1500 when you can rent for $1000? Unfortunately, I do not have enough money to make a larger down payment to bring down my monthly payments and I can't afford to take a loss. Renting, however, allows me to live with fewer strings attached and I am free to move around the world which is something I would like to do because I feel gaining a global perspective is a valuable educational experience.

I do not know if there is a housing bubble in Vancouver. Even though the 'experts' say there is no bubble, the irrational behavior of some people in Vancouver (like who waits in line for the privilige of making an offer of over $250K for condo that borders the Vancouver East side - see Woodwards development) reminds of the greed of the Dot Com Era and leads me to believe there is a bubble. I will not try and predict the market and my inaction of not buying a place could very well price me out of the market. I also do not mean to sound pro-rent since I'd rather own and build equity. However, the numbers that I have crunched and the lifestyle I want to live tell me that renting is the way to go for me so renting is the option I will choose for now.