Hey! I'm moving to Thess soon, and hope to continue some of my hobbies (climbing/bouldering, muay thai, skiing). I've seen many options on Google maps for each, and am wondering if anyone has a personal recommendation? Factors of interest are cost, welcomeness towards women, and ability to do participate with a low level of Greek (so far!).
Thank you for your thoughts!

I am moving to Thessaloniki for November-March, and notice there are a few ski hills within 1-2 hours. I typically ski 3-4 days a week at home, and I realise this won't be possible. However, I'd love to go at least once a week, but don't have a car. Is it possible to take public transport or a ski shuttle to any of the mountains? If so, at what price?

Thank you in advance!

my gf and I go long distance once a year, for 1-3 months. we have a 9 hour time difference, uni, work, and friends. this leaves us with 2 small windows to talk when we’re both awake and not occupied, but instead of being a nice time, we’re really unlike ourselves.

we can’t get over missing the other person and get stuck in a cycle of "I miss you, I hate not having you around" followed by "just X amount of days left!! it’ll be better soon" kinda deal. we go near silent on voice calls. we cant tell the tone when we text and end up thinking the vibe is different than it is. we get hurt and rejected when things are actually fine. we disagree on the tiniest things and end up being annoyed for nothing.

we’re nothing like this in-person, and I really need advice on how to make this better when we’re apart

My girlfriend and I have been together just over 2 years. She loves dancing, it makes her so happy and free, and I despise it. and feel panicked and trapped and horrid from it.

She loves listening to music, singing to it, memorizes every lyric, will move around and start dancing to literally anything. She dances more than anyone else at parties, weddings, in the club, with friends. She dances around while cleaning everytime we put music on our record player. Shes never taken lessons and isnt wildly good at it, but it looks so natural and easy for her. But mostly, it makes her so happy. Everything else melts away, she forgets the day, shes in her own world and having the absolute happiest smiliest time with everyone else dancing.

I hate it. I’ve never liked dancing at all, or had any urge in my body to dance when I hear music. I love music too, I play a few instruments and listen a lot. But to move my body to it? I dont understand how that feels natural to some people. I go entirely rigid, board stiff. I can try to mimic other people’s moves but it’s SO complicated for me to copy even the simplest thing, and mostly it just feels SO WRONG. I hate how my body feels, I lose the enjoyment of the music, I panic, I feel really icky and terrible inside and I just cannot stand it. Dancing at parties, silly dances for fun, slow sweet dances alone in the kitchen.

I want SO BADLY to enjoy it and feel natural and just go with it, even if I’m terrible at it, I wouldn’t care. I don’t care how I look or if I’m off beat or bad at it. I just cannot for the life of me connect my body to the music, I can’t figure out how to do it, and my girlfriend 1) gets disappointed that I don’t join, and then 2) really pissed off that I don’t join. When I do join her, I really do try, and the second she lets go of my hands and I need to do something by myself, I freeze and she’s so fed up. I feel so bad about it. She just wants to have a nice moment and dance a little with me. To have some fun without thinking at a party. It makes her happier than anything, I love to watch that, but I feel like I’m killing her vibe by existing when she dances.

I’m feeling kinda shitty about this and not sure if it’s normal to feel a little jealous and disappointed, or if I’m being unreasonable.

My girlfriend [20F] and I [20F] have been together for just over 2 years. We share an apartment together, have a cat, see eachother everyday. Shes always been a stressed person; uni, exams, work, going out, crowds, etc. all stresses her out quite a bit. I’ve always been decent at helping her through these things, but lately it’s been different.

Shes on holiday from uni, quit her part time job and has most days free. I completely get that she’s exhausted from the year and wants to rest, sleep in, chill out a lot. But she’s started to replace every quiet moment we used to have together with her phone- always TikTok. Mindlessly scrolling. I know that she does it to distract herself and relieve stress, she’s told me this and I can also see it; she does it whenever something stressful happens or we argue. Instead of having a conversation, boom, phone.

She sleeps in and looks at her phone instead of having breakfast with me anymore. She goes back to sit on the bed and look at her phone between every meal, we watch a movie before bed, and she sleeps. Anything I offer to do with her she refuses. We used to go climbing together, hike, swim, run errands, journal, make travel plans, have little dance parties, read together, sit and talk for hours. Now she says no to everything and turns back to her TikTok, barely even looks up. So I’ve been worried she’s getting depressed, and have tried asking how shes been feeling, but she seems offended and shuts me down.

Typically she sees her friend group (a handful of nice girls from highschool) maybe once a month, maybe once every 2 months. She used to invite me to hangout with them, and I always agreed. I like them, they’re nice people and I often stay quiet in the back because it’s her friends, not mine (and they mainly speak a different language than me). But the last few times she hasn’t invited me at all, yet she gladly joins them, gets excited to get ready, goes out and parties and clubs and drinks. This sort of thing is how I met her- through partying with friends. We used to have a great time so I don’t understand what happened. Once or twice I over drank and she gets really mad, but she’s done the same and I’m always gentle about it. But when her friends have a few too many shots, it’s "funny" and she sees no problem. When she comes home she always seems so happy to see me and kiss me and is super sweet again. I don’t get it.

TLDR; my gf seems like she doesn’t want to do things with me anymore, and is very addicted to numbing herself on tiktok

There's sushi, pizza, a few fancy expensive places with bars. A lot of cafes. What do you wish existed in Tofino or Ukee food-wise? Personally I wish we had something quick, under $8 that tastes better than a packaged Co-op sandwich. Or real French bread...

Alright. So there's a few towns I've got in mind for my upcoming working holiday (original, I know) in oz. I picked them all based on surf, small population, and seemingly chill vibe (as someone from the Canadian equivalent of all that, Tofino). But I've never set foot in Australia and would love some honest opinions (or stereotypes hah) on the following towns and areas. Bash them if you want. Give better suggestions. Laugh. Anything is appreciated.

• Flinders
• Yallingup
• Crescent Head
• Yamba
• Bellingen
• Torquay/Jan Juc
• San Remo

Hello, I am wondering if the following situation is possible.

I am a French citizen (21y/o) and would like to spend a gap year working/traveling in Australia, on a Working Holiday Visa. I want to spend 3-4 months in Canada beforehand, also on a Working Holiday Visa.

Is it possible to apply for the Canadian visa, receive it/get my passport back, and then immediately apply for the Australian visa? Then, with stamps for both in my passport, go to Canada for 3-4, and then directly to Australia after?

A rough timeline of what I'm thinking:

• February 2027: apply for a Canadian WHV (passport will be taken)
• March 2027: receive passport back with WHV in it
• April 2027: apply for an Australian WHV (passport taken again)
• May 2027: Receive my passport back, with both WHV in it
• June 2027: fly to Canada to work 3-4 months
• Sept/Oct 2027: fly from Canada to Australia to work for 10-12 months (then return to France)

Hello, I am wondering if the following situation is possible.

I am a French citizen (21y/o) and would like to spend a gap year working/traveling in Australia, on a Working Holiday Visa. I want to spend 3-4 months in Canada beforehand, also on a Working Holiday Visa.

Is it possible to apply for the Canadian visa, receive it/get my passport back, and then immediately apply for the Australian visa? Then, with stamps for both in my passport, go to Canada for 3-4, and then directly to Australia after?

A rough timeline of what I'm thinking:

• February 2027: apply for a Canadian WHV (passport will be taken)
• March 2027: receive passport back with WHV in it
• April 2027: apply for an Australian WHV (passport taken again)
• May 2027: Receive my passport back, with both WHV in it
• June 2027: fly to Canada to work 3-4 months
• Sept/Oct 2027: fly from Canada to Australia to work for 10-12 months (then return to France)

I am a Canadian hoping to apply for a long-stay multi-entry Schengen visa, issued in Greece. Possibly for an internship, or possibly just as a tourist. However, I would like to travel around the rest of Europe after my time in Greece (6-7 months). Can I do this, as long as I spend more time in Greece than anywhere else? Or does it have to be only 90/180 days? Thanks!

Hello,

I'm a Canadian living in France since September 2024. I had a Working Holiday Visa given from within Canada (Sept 2024-June 2025), then applied within France at the local prefecture for an APS. They gave it to me on the day of my appointment (June 2025), and I received a 12 month APS, expiring June 2026. I need to know if I can renew my APS from within France, if I need to return to Canada and then do it, or if I can't renew it at all because I've been here a collective 24 months between the APS and the WHV combined.

I've been trying to contact them for months, but all the answers are mixed. I've been told:

• I need to return to Canada because I've been in France 24 months
• My APS will automatically renew for another 12 months without appointment
• My APS can be renewed once, but I need an appointment (currently waiting for one)
• An APS can be renewed once, but not for me, as I had 12-month WHV before the APS
• APS can't be renewed at all, but I can get a visa with my CDI (from within France)
• APS can't be renewed at all, but I can get a visa with my CDI (but first return to Canada)

Has anyone been in this situation? I need to know exactly what I can/can't do, and very quickly.

I was given incorrect info on APS renewal, and suddenly need to fly home (Canada) before it expires (June 23).

I'll be in Croatia June 23, and plan to take an afternoon flight from Croatia to France that day, then connect to a separate flight (same airport) from France to Canada. I'll leave Croatia and land in France on the same day (the 23) but the soonest flight I can take out of France is the next morning (14 hours after it expires). I'm really worried about overstaying my visa, as I've heard they mark that and can make it difficult to ever get another visa. I have 2 questions:

1. Will I need to go out and back into security in the French airport after my flight from Croatia, and before my flight to Canada?

2. If I'm already in the airport and through security/waiting for my flight in the terminal, and it goes past midnight and into the 24th, will that be considered overstaying my visa? Or will it be fine because I've already gone through customs?

I need some advice on which hiking shoes to go with (Yes, I've tried them all on and jumped around the store for a good hour in each pair).

I'll be backpacking Italy, Slovenia & Croatia from Jun-Sept. Most days will consist of a several hours of hiking (varied terrain, from flat dry trails to steep wet scrambles), swimming at lakes, wandering the towns/cities, and long train rides. I need shoes comfy enough to handle all that (+ city walking) with a backpack, technical enough for sketchier hikes, and breathable enough for summer weather (I won't have another pair). Oh, and I'm looking at low-cut only. I would rather a twisted ankle than a the feeling of a boot.

I'm torn between:

-Salewa Wildfire 2 or Mountain Trainer Lite

-Merrel Moab 3

-Scarpa Mojito

-La Sportiva TX4

-Salomon X-Alp Suede

-Arc'teryx Konseal LT

Any opinions on any of these? Hard no's? Important bits to consider?

I need some advice on which hiking shoes to go with (Yes, I've tried them all on and jumped around the store for a good hour in each pair).

I'll be backpacking Italy, Slovenia & Croatia from Jun-Sept. Most days will consist of a several hours of hiking (varied terrain, from flat dry trails to steep wet scrambles), swimming at lakes, wandering the towns/cities, and long train rides. I need shoes comfy enough to handle all that (+ city walking) with a backpack, technical enough for sketchier hikes, and breathable enough for summer weather (I won't have another pair). Oh, and I'm looking at low-cut only. I would rather a twisted ankle than a the feeling of a boot.

I'm torn between:

-Salewa Wildfire 2 or Mountain Trainer Lite

-Merrel Moab 3

-Scarpa Mojito

-La Sportiva TX4

-Salomon X-Alp Suede

-Arc'teryx Konseal LT

Any opinions on any of these? Hard no's? Important bits to consider?

I need some advice on which hiking shoes to go with (Yes, I've tried them all on and jumped around the store for a good hour in each pair).

I'll be backpacking Italy, Slovenia & Croatia from Jun-Sept. Most days will consist of a several hours of hiking (varied terrain, from flat dry trails to steep wet scrambles), swimming at lakes, wandering the towns/cities, and long train rides. I need shoes comfy enough to handle all that (+ city walking) with a backpack, technical enough for sketchier hikes, and breathable enough for summer weather (I won't have another pair). Oh, and I'm looking at low-cut only. I would rather a twisted ankle than a the feeling of a boot.

I'm torn between:

-Salewa Wildfire 2 or Mountain Trainer Lite

-Merrel Moab 3

-Scarpa Mojito

-La Sportiva TX4

-Salomon X-Alp Suede

-Arc'teryx Konseal LT

Any opinions on any of these? Hard no's? Important bits to consider?

I'll be backpacking Italy, Slovenia & Croatia from Jun-Sept. I aim to pack as little/lightly as possible, as spend as little as possible, too. I'm currently in France and have noticed Decathlon has a lot of well-priced gear. Does anyone know which items are worth buying cheap from there, rather than splurging on big brand-name versions?

Most days will consist of a several hours of hiking (varied terrain, from flat trails to steep scrambles), swimming at lakes, wandering the towns/cities, and train rides. I'll be staying in hostels, a few huts, and some home stays/cheap airbnbs.