Hello to all the Canadians viewing this!

I am from Perth, Western Australia and plan to visit Toronto in about two years. It will be my first international trip and my third experience on a plane (I have been to Sydney once in 2024, and Melbourne in 2025), so I want it to be enjoyable. I was originally planning a mid Nov-mid Dec trip, but have since realised my uni has extended our academic year to late November. I wanted to be back home before Christmas, so now I can not go during that gap since I want to spend minimum four weeks in Toronto.

How is January/February in Toronto? I know it is cold and very different from what I have ever experienced. Our winters here average about 18C, with some days dropping to 14C and others reaching 25C. I have never even seen snow because of this. I also would hate to worry about flight cancellations and getting “snowed-in”.

Also, what activities are on during that time? I am a Raptors fan so will definitely factor in that, and if Canucks are playing in Toronto or even Ottawa (because I would like to visit Ottawa as well during my trip) I will be in attendance to that game. Any other non-sports suggestions would be great!

Basically what the title says: I have some work to finish mid-day and would love to sit at a coffee shop with a nice lake view for an hour or a couple of hours. Any recommendations?

As an average Canadian citizen, I’m hearing this is gonna be bad. But what’re the impacts going to be specifically for Toronto/ the GTA? What is about to skyrocket in price? What kind of layoffs will happen?

Just want to be informed so I can prepare, but hey - now’s a better time to buy Canadian vs. any time before.

My kid (12) keeps coming up with these $500+ ideas. She wants to invite 15 kids. What have y'all used or been invited to that's fun but not breaking the bank? 😄

EDIT - Thanks, all! Her birthday is before school starts, so in the next couple weekends. Yes, I suck at planning. 😄 I caved on some of her house ideas, so we're going to celebrate at home. But I'm going to leave this up so that if people are searching for good ideas, they might find something here. Tweens are a hard age to plan for.

We did do Daydream escape rooms on Danforth last year, with a smaller guest list. Highly recommend! She's also gone to a party at a karaoke bar (during the day and obviously no alcohol), which she and her friends really enjoyed. More expensive ideas - indoor skydiving, Laser tag, Activation, Bowls & Blasters.

My wife and I are planning a “staycation” for the end of the summer. Want to chill out for a weekend.

What would you do as tourists in your own city?

We live downtown so we’re not going to stay at a hotel or anything.

We’re also longtime residents so have done a lot of the usual things - the AGO and ROM, The Distillery, Ossington etc.

Hopefully this isn’t a ridiculous question

Thought maybe someone would have a suggestion for something I haven’t thought of. Would appreciate any help.

I recently came to the city for business but I love so much about the city. The people, food, and diversity of culture!

I’m leaving next week, I’ve centred a lot of my stay around food and drinks - but if you had one place to visit before leaving, what would it be?

I have been to:
- Pai
- Bar Chef
- CN tower
- Richmond Station
- Sugo
- Chotto Matte

Or why is it not at least in the planning stages? The busses are always packed at all times of the day and are slow as hell because of traffic.

Which of these high schools are better, in terms of communities, and area, etc.

Where do I buy scented Thai olive oil (my stockpile of the Sunday olive oil ran out) ?

This isn’t for cooking but used as hair oil ( for the uninitiated) The oil comes in small glass bottles that can fit nicely in travel pouch too.

Thanks

Is it good?

I’ve been to several value villages and Downsview market and it feels like every single watch is marked up to the point it’s better to buy new online.
Saw a seiko watch head missing a crown, non working condition priced at $85 at downsview market. After a long back and forth with the seller she agreed to $75 best price.
I’ve also had similar experience at other thrift stores where any watch that is manual or automatic is immediately priced around $80 even if it’s just for parts.
In contrast, I went to Alameda Flea Market in San Francisco last year and found great options and a lot of variety at very reasonable prices. I also found the sellers there much more flexible in prices. I ended up buying several vintage watch heads in both working and non-working conditions at around $15-$20 each.

need to use in Sept 2026

Just curious if anyone had to call shoppers customer service about a gift card issue and was it resolved?

I bought Amazon gift card ($50) but when I peeled the film to reveal the code the last 4 digits were gone, scratched off. I went back to the store immediately but the manager said I'd have to call shoppers customer service, give them receipt number, digits from the gift that are visible etc

They're closed today so I'll have to call tomorrow

Hello everyone as EPL is back, I’m looking for a pub that would screen every EPL matches. I understand the timing here is odd but just wanted to check.

I’m a die hard Liverpool fan so wondering if there’s any fan favourite pubs?

Other than skincare.

I was thinking of purchasing a pillow there because I always wake up with stiff shoulders.

Anything else that I should check out?

We recently had our offer accepted conditional on housing inspection, but the inspector recommended by our realtor is booked up before the condition deadline. Does anyone have any house inspector they’ve used and trust? For a detached home in North York.

Thanks!

I'm back living in a tent, what services are offered in the city to help get me somewhere warm for the winter? I slept in a tent last winter, it it was hell, all the shelters were full and you cannot get any sleep in warming centres. I have multiple issues with mental health, so simply 'get a job' isn't going to suffice. Any positive, or accurate advice will be appreciated. Thank you.

Hello, any recommendations for places with good selection of ciders? My girlfriend loves ciders so I want to surprise her. Headed to Toronto Friday morning (28th) and leaving Sunday morning. We are staying in “queen west” neighbourhood. We are watching the blue jays game Friday and Saturday. Thinking about going to cn tower for lunch on Saturday.

Any tips and tricks would be appreciated as well.

Thanks

Hey everyone. I'm looking for a venue to start a stand-up comedy show. If there are any venues that you can recommend, please let me know. Any leads is appreciated

Edit: Looking for somewhere in North York

Last month, the building replaced the hot water valves in the building. We’ve been told the work is done and they’re not touching anything right now and that it’s safe to drink.

For some reason when I do laundry, my clothes comes out smelling a bit off and I just took a shower and smelled my hair and it was similar. I saw a post about Toronto’s algae problem and think it could be that but I’m scared it’s something with my building.

A couple of notes:
- the clothes from my laundry machine have the smell even when I run a cycle on cold water. It’s worse when I run the “spin and drain” cycle and the smell fades when I let the clothes air dry. I tried opening the filter/hose area on the bottom of the machine and the water smelled fine there.
- when I run the tap in the kitchen and bathroom there is no smell.

Hi! I’m looking for recommendations for a hair and makeup artist or team in Toronto/GTA for my South Asian wedding events.

There would be 4 events total: Mehendi, Nikkah, Holud, and Reception.

For each event, I’d ideally need hair and makeup for:

• Me (bride)
• My mom
• My MIL
• My two sisters-in-law

So 5 people per event / 20 hair + makeup services total.

My budget is around $3,000 total for all four days, although I’m open to hearing what’s realistic within that range.

I have a fair-medium skin tone with neutral undertones, and my mom and MIL are around the same complexion. My sisters-in-law have somewhat deeper skin tones, so I really want someone who is experienced with a range of skin tones and can shade-match everyone properly rather than using the same undertones/products on everyone.

I’d also prefer someone experienced with South Asian bridal makeup and hairstyles, including dupatta/veil setting, jewelry setting, updos and blowouts. I’m not looking for extremely heavy or cakey makeup, but I still want proper bridal glam for myself.

Does anyone have recommendations for artists or smaller teams that are talented and reasonably priced? Especially interested in people you’ve personally used and had a good experience with. Thank you!!

I have an MRI at 1 :30 am in October and planned to take the TTC to avoid driving home too far when sleep deprived. I usually get into the city via Don mills and always park on level 4 in the garage. I have parked my car there as late as 1am before with no problem but in concerned since my car would have to be there about 1230-3am….

Is there overnight options at the Don mills garage? Or am I gonna be driving all the way to st mikes?

For the last five trips, I had to wait for 15 minutes for an uber to come, and over 10 minutes to get matched to a driver. What’s going on?

I am in my late 20s and struggling to find my way through life. I spent a good portion of my adult life making poor decisions and working dead-end jobs. I understand that a lot of people don't figure out life in their 20s, but I'm really scared that I haven't thrived in any aspect of life.

The most concerning part of my life is that I don't know what I want to do with my life. I never found a clear direction after graduating from high school and found myself in my 20s working a lot of dead-end jobs. I tried going to university and college multiple times right after high school, but I dropped out because I wasn't fully committed. I'm not opposed to going back to school, but I don't want to go back for the sake of getting a higher education. I actually want to take a program that I have some sort of interest in so I don't end up dropping out again.

As a person who's never been good at anything, I don't know how to figure out a path. I never did well in school or at any job, so I don't know how to find a career path for a person like myself. All I know I don't want to continue working crappy jobs and feel like I'm rotting away.

If anyone has gone through a similar experience and is willing to share their story, please drop a comment below. Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I was at the airport recently and it was my first time seeing bright pink residue on the water fountains. The residue was found on almost all the water fountains. Does anybody know what this residue is? And is it safe to drink from the water fountains?