u/Past_Ad_9525

I'm applying to be a PhD student at Simon Fraser and looking for experiences of those who commute from the city. My partner will have a job in Vancouver and we would like to live reasonably close to the city but having not been to Vancouver before it looks like SFU and Burnaby is very much its own thing separate from actual Vancouver. I imagine staff and some students make this commute for various reasons and was wondering how long and efficient it is using public transport? Any recommendations of neighbourhoods to live in that allow for commutes to both and give us the Vancouver city lifestyle would be greatly appreciated! We love hiking but are very much inner city apartment people who want a walkable/cycleable neighbourhood and great public transport connections.

Hoping for some recommendations for bedsheets. I am hoping to get long lasting sheets that stay super soft overtime.

I have stonewashed cotton from Adairs which were initially soft but have gone very scratchy over the last year or so I had them. I like the feel of their bamboo linen range in the shop but they don't have many colours, and in the shop the stonewashed cotton ones I do have also feel soft so I don't know what to trust!

I have an iphone 13 currently which the battery desperately needs replacing on. For $100 (AUD) more I could get a refurbished 13PM with a new battery. I'm trying to determine if the battery on the PM really still lasts twice as long as the base model, and also if the camera upgrade is worth it? I was going to upgrade to the 17 but its three times the price as even the 13PM, so hopefully with a new battery in either I could get at least another 18-24 months out of a phone.

I'll be upgrading from an iPhone 13 which the battery has completely failed on and is constantly lagging/glitching/freezing. I always end up upgrading roughly every 3 years due to the battery and it slowing down. I would love something that lasts as long as possible from this point of view. In terms of use, I don't use it for anything special (social media streaming etc) but I do use it a lot, with an average 11hrs daily screen time. It would also be nice to have some nice cameras for photography as I am a photographer, but I have a professional camera for this so more a nice to have than an essential. From my initial research it seems my best options would be 16 pro, 16 pro max, 17, 17 pro, or 17 pro max. What would you guys recommend? Would paying all that money for the 17PM mean it would last twice as long as my typical 3 years in terms of battery and lagging so therefore is worth the cost, or would a cheaper one serve me for longer than my typical 3 year period anyway?

I have a 3.5 year old 50/50 working/show red lab. He is a very typical labrador with food balls pats and other dogs being everything to him. I've been thinking for a while now about getting him a sibling as he has always seemed like he would love a friend and so would I. I volunteer as a temporary carer for guide dog puppies as a bit of a test run, we had a 5 month old boy that mine LOVED after the first day of adjusting they were soul mates, and we just had an 11 week old girl that he would play with a bit but definitely wasn't as keen on (potentially her just being so young?).

I'd love to hear people's experiences who have two!
How long did the settling in to the new routine take for your first to full adjust and be best friends?
Would you always have two now or is it overwhelming/too stressful at times?
How did you handle walking the puppy and the older one when they have different needs so young?
How did you decide genders? I'm so torn on whether we are a family of all boys or if a girl would be good given their typically smaller size (my boy is all legs and very long so he's big for a lab even though he's not chunky)

Any tips or advice on any aspect of having two would be greatly appreciated!