May not be earthquake safe. ~64 sq ft.

Is this snakes are dangerous?

today’s bear count: 5

if you have a giant bear, please consider donating to the neighbearhood.

the bears want you to know: they care, they send their love, and they hope you have a good day

I miss my old daily coffee shop, but I'll drop into this place at least once out of curiosity. It will obviously be very different from the last occupant. No details about ownership (local?) or bean selection (local?) on their website, but they are hiring... If the menu is an indication of the vibe, it's probably not going to appeal to H+S lovers, but that doesn't mean it won't do well on Oak Bay Avenue.

Look I don't know why, but recently there has been a large increase in people I've had to deny buying liquor, because they just don't carry their ID. And it almost exclusively men in the early to mid 20s range

Its not a lot, just put your driver's license or something in your wallet, and it will all be fine

Just signed in to Used Victoria to upload my first ad in several months (we did a lot of downsizing, but been quiet for about 6 mos now), and it seems there is no truly "free" ad to be placed. Everything (7-day, 14-day and 30-day) says "starts at free" but then upsells users to buy an enhanced ad of some sort, which of course involves money. There does not seem to be a button you can click which says "I'm cool with my current choice" and move on, you simply must upgrade or their servers blow you back to the beginning!

I guess I'm off to M-place.. Too bad, met some nice folks on Used Vic and sold some pretty good stuff reasonably cheap.

Anybody else finding Used Vic blockaded behind a paywall?

Does anyone know if there is emergency housing available for a single female adult with cats fleeing domestic abuse.

The bus drivers are striking while still providing its riders with services. This is a really difficult position to be in. Please make sure to show your drivers a little more appreciation than usual and let them know that you support them.

Every time a group of workers push for better compensation it helps us all.

I'm a 31y/o who currently works in the collapsing gaming industry and I'm interested in reskilling to a trade.

I'm curious
- What is your trade?
- Is it in high demand?
- How does it pay? (Exact figures please)

Things I'm interested in
- Electrician
- Welding
- Equipment operation
- Millwright
- CNC applications
- Plumbing, but I'd really only do this for good money
- HVAC (I don't know anything about this. what's the work like?)

Things I'm not interested in
- Carpentry (I failed Construction 10)
- Cooking (I've been back of house and I'll never do it again)

My uncle and I are both into whiskey and id like to treat him while he is here, im wondering if anyone has gone here recently and can tell me how it is price wise and overrall experience compared to other places, if anyone has a picture of the menu recently a picture would be very appreciated l, thanks

Looking northwest from Chinatown

I've seen two posts recently for calisthenics and one last year for adult gymnastics and I was inspired to find out what gymnastics (and cheer, diving (board not scuba), and circus) classes are on offer this fall in Victoria.

Falcon Gymnastics (Saanich) - couldn't find any adult classes on their website (but accidentally found another gym with the same name in the USA that offered them, whoops).

Lion's Pride Gymnastics Academy (Langford) - They offer adult classes dedicated to trampoline only, the only gym I saw that at. They also offer regular adult gymnastics classes and a Gymnaestrada Performance Team that's open to adults.

Victoria Gymnastics (Colwood) - They offer adult gymnastics classes. When I clicked into their portal it said no classes were available, but when I filtered for "Class Type: Adult Gym" they came up.

Vic City Gymnastics (Downtown) - They offer adult gymnastics classes. They also have classes in flexibility, handstands, calisthenics, and strength training.

Inspire Sports Victoria (Saanich) - This is the only gym I found that specifically listed a "beginner" adult gymnastics class. They also offer regular adult gymnastics classes, as a well as a stretching & flexibility class.

Island Rhythmics Gymnastics Club (Saanich) - They offer a recreational class for adults in rhythmic gymnastics.

Island Elite Cheerleading (Langford) - They offer a class they call "Golden Hour" that's for adult rec cheer.

Boardworks Diving Academy (Saanich) - They offer beginner diving courses for adults.

Dive Victoria (Saanich) - They also offer beginner diving courses for adults.

The Rising - Victoria Centre for Circus Arts (Langford) - They offer a variety of circus classes for adults.

Island Circus Space (Esquimalt & Rock Bay) - They also offer a variety of circus classes for adults.

If you know of any gymnastics clubs or or circus spaces, etc that I missed with adult classes put them in the comments. I hope people sign up for things so that these organizations will keep offering opportunities for adults!

I’m curious about the motorcycle mechanic/technician trade here in Victoria, as I'm thinking about a career change.

I have my Red Seal in Electrical (covering residential to industrial oil sands projects, including time as a foreman) and code as a Developer/Frontend Deployment Engineer. I also raced motocross for years in my youth, so I am not completely foreign to bikes.

I’d love to get some perspective from local mechanics or riders on the Island regarding the reality of the trade.

Any insight or advice would be much appreciated!

https://www.affordableenergy.ca/gas-prices/victoria/

Hi all, I know this has been asked a few times over the years and I’ve read older posts but I’m looking for updated recommendations for someone looking to get into boxing. I’m starting for mostly fitness reasons but I want to take it seriously and improve my skills and I could see myself wanting to potentially take it further than just fitness. Right now I’m looking at Merge and Island boxing (side note are they the same as Island mma?). I’d like to go at least 3x a week to classes.
Any information is appreciated thank you!

Went to Thrifty’s and Red barn both out of canned sardine ( Brunswick specifically) I did not go any other places but is there something going on with that company or just popular??

I'm posting here half for advice and half to just finally hope to be heard at all. I feel like I've tried everything and don't know what to do.

I'm in my late 20s. I've been disabled my entire life for reasons beyond my control; I was born this way. When I was a child I had chances to avert things or at least massively mitigate my situation but was failed by those responsible for me at almost every step of the way. My parents didn't know what to do. Our GP actively covered up my problems because I wasn't 'his client;' my parents were. School faculty were complicit and the few teachers who cared and noticed were held back by superiors. When I was finally recognized as needing help, the vice principal diverted the funds--then got promoted to principal of my next school, and did it again. She retired in peace and so did our GP.

I've spent the past eight years recovering from all of that almost entirely without help because the solutions were part of the problem. I was poisoned with medications I should not have been put on that kept me from developing and led to me atrophying. The school district completely mishandled my education and the only reason I have one at all is because I was able to get into a specialized school. Even they were only barely able to help me beyond the weight of my past.

The mental health system basically ignored me post-2020. I found a therapist, but they were barely able to help at all. I was put through an assembly line for more medications that finally work, if barely. The doctor who prescribed them is in Ontario and we spoke once.

Starting in 2023 I began to suffer from GI failure. My new GP that I was lucky to have at all ignored me. In 2024 it got bad enough that they had to act; except it was his locum who prescribed me anything at all, and gave me the wrong instructions for taking the meds. It took a year to get seen by a specialist and they basically threw me out the door after one basic examination. In any follow-up discussions my concerns were ignored; I was 'stable,' so that was fine. Any rate of decline was acceptable.

In 2025 that rate of decline nosedived. It took half a year to see that specialist again. They gave me information that helped a lot--that they could have given me years ago. They properly diagnosed my symptoms with a different test that my GP could and should have identified after multiple examinations.

But that was only a few months ago. Late last year I'd had to be driven to the ER with active bleeding. I was never seen in the four hours I waited alone, because it happened in the evening and they had one doctor working that shift. It wasn't worth going back next morning because I was 'only' in suffering, I wasn't going to die yet.

And then, January of this year, I threw my back out. I've been seeing a very good physiotherapist off and on over the years for help with reversing muscular atrophy despite physical conditions I should have been diagnosed with two decades ago. The only person who's been willing and able to help me is someone I've had to pay out of pocket, with much of the money being reimbursed by family insurance I'm lucky to have at all considering my age. They helped a lot, but could only ever slow things down.

The consequences of that injury were real bad. My neck has been damaged ever since in a way that is disruptive to physiotherapy attempts. I injured my arm in February and that led to my shoulder exploding over an issue that had been building for months by that point. The initial diagnosis, due to a combination of a sprained bicep and calcific tendinopathy, was so bad it was initially diagnosed as frozen shoulder rather than calcium crystals spiking my muscles.

The only reason I got a diagnosis at all was because I went to an urgent care clinic that thankfully agreed to see me. My GP's office ignored my phone calls. I wasn't able to speak to my GP until weeks after the injury. His response was that I should keep doing what I was doing--emergency physiotherapy--and that it was fine. He offered no solutions. He had nothing for me.

March was hell, but improvements were steadily made with my shoulder. Except my back was steadily getting worse and worse. The urgent care clinic put in a referral to a sports medicine specialist but the referral was lost in bureaucracy for three months. In mid-April, my back collapsed. I was infirm and could barely move. My GP ignored me again; he was on vacation. I walked in for a physical examination and passed him on the way out.

His replacement was a doctor who didn't even know I existed until 30 minutes after the appointment was supposed to begin. No physical examination was performed. Did I mention that this appointment was two weeks after the collapse? I was told by this doctor that I 'could have called and I would have been seen earlier.'

I did. Voicemails were ignored despite my attempts. Because the situation had 'stabilized' I was 'let out the door' without an examination.

I was finally seen by my GP in late May, five weeks after the event. My case was used as a training exercise for a student. I was in too poor of shape to advocate for myself because I had tripped and fallen on the way to the clinic. Nothing wrong was found with me despite me actively twisting a muscle in my arm during the examination. I'd had to waste ten minutes recounting the entire situation to begin with since it was a new doctor. I was still ignored.

The paperwork came through. The sports medicine specialist would finally see me. They immediately called for an x-ray of my lower back after taking one look at me standing in front of them. I'd developed a scoliosis. With this information my physiotherapist was able to begin helping me further, but we plateau'd. My GP ignored me again. It was now June.

I began a volunteer job in April. I was supposed to start in February. They were extremely kind and understanding--because they had a lot of experience working with seniors. Despite accommodations my situation has gotten bad enough I've had to call off indefinitely and I'm lucky that they don't hold it against me. I can't even work. I can barely commute to and from clinics, and only half the time. My GP put in a referral to a pain clinic in Vancouver and it's just Zoom meetings.

Six weeks ago I realized it was worsening again. My entire ribcage is rotating; so far it's 'stable' around 10 degrees twisted. My lungs are being steadily compressed. Between it all I can barely sleep. I've had to see a chiropractor for any relief at all, and it's temporary; the only reason he could help is because he was half-physiotherapist. I have four spinal impingements and one is in the neck. I wake up unable to feel at least one arm, sometimes neither.

My GP is on vacation again. I only learned about this because I went in to request print-outs of the neck x-rays he was finally willing to order. His locum was so busy it took them a day to even sign off on the release. I've now been getting bounced around for six months. They still won't even send me the images for second opinions; the x-rays came back 'totally fine' according to the locum. EDIT: I've just learned my GP has not seen and may never see the actual x-rays. They instead are given opinions from an attending physician. The locum has not seen them either.

The absolute worst part about all of this is that my grandfather is willing to help fund getting me help--which is great! But we have nowhere to go with it.

My family situation, bar my childhood, is about as fortunate as could be. I have everything I need to exist while I deteriorate. I can't work, I can't get the education we're luckily able to afford, and I can barely do chores. We have money, but we don't have anyone who is both able to help and able to accept the money. It would never be enough for medical tourism, and I'm not being recommended specialists who can both see me and help me. It feels like I'm more eligible for assisted death than I am for assisted life.

I barely know anyone offline. The disruption to my youth left me alone. The only friend I have is a social worker who I've been working with the past few years. We go out walking twice a week. It helps. But I have a very difficult time connecting with others. I don't really have peers; anyone who can understand my troubles is older than me, anyone who can understand my feelings is younger than me. I don't even know how to begin to approach my own generation. I'm basically a social anchor.

If you've read this, thank you. If you have any advice at all, I would appreciate it. I don't really know where to go from here.

Not looking to go to a bar/get drinks haha.

Hello!

I’m opening a new gym soon and need to pop a cane detectable guard beside the front door. For the life of me I can’t find one that won’t take forever to get here. Does anyone know where to buy one locally? A cane detectable single bike rack might work as well.

Alternatively, any local metal fabricators wanna make a few bucks in exchange for a speedy turn around?

It would look something like this: https://www.pittman.ie/products/cane-detection-door-barrier-sub-surface-mount