just sell it and live wherever you want. i would never let a home giveaway dictate where i live. i mean lions bay would be great when im actually retired but until then i gotta live where i work.

I think we broke RS, or this thread reached it's post limit. Can't read the last page unless you post yourself.

lions bay is fun

lots of drama and you get to die in a land slide

Nice :fuckyea:

No doubt but think of the caché you'll get with a Lion's Bay address. Not just any run-of-the-mill caché but the type that'll get a highway built next to your town with quieter asphalt kinda caché.

House is probably already allocated to one of their friends lol

That house looks pretty dope. I wouldn't live in it cause Lions Bay is too far but I don't think I'd sell it right away - probably AirBnB it or rent it out a lot and just use it for summer parties or something for a few years before selling it.

First class doesn't make sense. The amount of extra one needs to pay vs what you get just doesn't quite cut it.

I have never paid for F tix, only miles redemption.

However, I wouldn't say the same for business class.

My rule of thumb is this, a J class seat takes roughly 3 Y seats. Thus, if J price is <=3x of Y, I'd always get business if flight time is 10hr+.

For 3x the price, your whole trip is just more convenient. First, the seat let you arrive refreshed. Flights to TPE (where I often fly) for example usually leaves late in the night here to arrive to TPE in the early morning. If I were seating in Y, I probably just want to go home and sleep once I land. In J, I can start the whole day without resting.

Then the baggage allowance. Most don't think about this, but with J having 2x32kg, you can just fill and fill your luggage until it's full and it's almost never overweight. No more being careful about what to bring or strategizing how to sneak in stuff in your jacket or carry on so that you can make to the weight limit. I have *A Gold and I get an extra piece for *A. Not just that, anyone on my itinerary gets that as well. We once brought so many luggages back that I needed to hire a moving truck to carry all my stuff to the airport. (6pp*3pcs*32kg=over half a ton)

Finally, there's some service both on the ground and in the air. Luggage is one thing. And you hardly need to worry about lines. In Y, you are cattle, they just hurry everything through and that's it. In J, everything is just... more convenient.

For 3x the price, it's worth every penny IMO. I couldn't care less about 5* hotels when I'm visiting a city. As long as I've got a comfy bed in a clean room with nice location, why do I want 24hr concierge/resto/pool? I wouldn't be anywhere near hotel for most of the day.

im so peasant that i put carry-on in the checked pc for the outbound :alone:

Wait, you have suitcase?

I just buy cardboard boxes. :pokerface:

Spoken like a true Asian.

I just stuff my clothes into garbage bags.

...I need to re-examine my life.

filipinos and vietnamese have entered the chat

Mortgage renewal coming up. My current bank TD guy told me they haven't been offering good "renewal" rates lately, and can offer a good rate if through refinance. He's been pushing me for refinancing for the past half year (I'm not very knowledgeable) about refinancing. There's gotta be a catch to it as banks don't offer anything to clients that don't make them money. I'm reaching out to a few different banks now to shop around, and use it as leverage for renewal with my current bank (since I want to save the hassle of changing banks if possible).

What is everyone knowledge on refinancing? and experience so far with renewal? Do everyone just switch to different banks all the time?

There are a handful of differences between a simple mortgage renewal versus refinancing.

At a very high level, when you do a simple renewal, it's just that. No new application, no credit check, and you don't get access to any new or additional equity such as a HELOC. As opposed to refinancing, you'll require a full application process again, it may open up opportunities to equity, such as a higher HELOC if you need it, there may be additional fees (ask to be sure), and you'll be subject to new terms and conditions. This is where your guy at TD wants to push you so he can get a commission on the refinancing process and HELOC.

If you don't need a HELOC, or you don't want to access the equity of your house (Say $250K) to spend on female companions and illicit drugs, or to buy cars you don't need w/o your wife knowing, then perhaps a simple renewal will do the trick. But if your goals involve some requirement to access equity for whatever reasons it may be (we're not here to judge!) then perhaps consider refinancing.

Ask around. Shop around. But whatever you must do. Trust the folks on Revscene (except for me, of course.) :)

I don't think I've ever renewed any of my mortgages ever, I've almost always ended up breaking the mortgage and refinancing either due to rates or needs. I've been in this house close to 5 years and I've had to financed it 4 times for various reasons.

I've always been with TD and my guy has been helpful. Seems like the rates are not amazing at the moment.

EDIT: I don't know for sure, but I have a hunch that refinancing probably brings the agent more commission vs a straight renewal. If the terms for the refinance are better I don't see why not.

That's BS.

I got better rates for simple renewal 3.79 5 year fixed and 4.04 for refi

mine is up for renewal in 1 year.. currently 3.6%, hoping for the same by then..

I had 3.9 recently on a condo, but it was in circumstances where I could not shop around very much.

I'm at 4.7, this was from 2023. TD offered 3.79 fixed & 3.61 variable if through refinance. I've just ignored him for now since I am going to shop around. I don't need to access heloc or that jazz.

Back in my twenties you can shove me in the middle seat in the back of an asian LCC with 28' pitch beside a screaming baby and I wouldnt care. Stay in a questionable hostel with a lizard crawling up the wall in southeast asia.

But now I like the comfort of business class. Nothing worse than flying long haul red eye and waiting till 3pm for the hotel checkin time so you can rest. You effectively lost a day right there. Fancy hotels in a great location that give you access to their high end gym and sauna + free extravagant breakfast yes please.

Some people swear by compression socks for travel but I tried it and didnt make a difference, you're better off going for a walk down the aisle every hour IMO.

Speaking of checked baggage

I never use it, so i was thinking of bringing a suitcase with a single brick inside, packaged around foam or such.
Just to fuck with TSA

on my last trip although my hotels were rarely over $100 in taiwan, when i arrived at like 10 in the morning i just paid for the previous night so i could check in straight away.
same with the last day before i came home, my flight was at 8pm i just paid for the entire night so i had somewhere to stay comfortably before leaving.
yeah if i were paying for a really nice hotel then that would be a harder sell, but since it was mid range (for over there), it was an easy choice.

I got a work trip to Korea in a few weeks. Debating on saying fuck the AC points (but would be direct) and taking any other Asian airline + layover in (SFO/HKG/LAX), just so that I could arrive not feeling like shit. Economy in AC is SO bad.

why would you fly economy to asia? pay out of pocket for premium econ ! or pick a redeye, pray for less people, and kindly ask the gate agent for an upgrade while looking your best and MAXIMUM CHARISMA!