Anybody else like IKEA furniture

[taylor]

Target is the latest entry in the Big Rolodex of Junk Stores in Canada. They got here in the past year. K-Mart left Canada years ago and Target kind of filled the void -if there was one. Target bought a Canadian junk chain - Zellers. They didn't have to do too much to convert it. My sons had seen Target Stores in the US for years and described them as "Zellers 2.0." Same tawdry red color scheme and junky merchandise. You could fire a cannon down a Zellers aisle five days before Christmas and not hurt a soul.

The same is going to happen to Target. Target came in and got rid of all the Zellers people -- and of course they could re-apply for the job they'd had for 20 years, and they might/might not get hired back. If they did, benefits and seniority were gone and the pay was nothing near what they earned before.

I've been in Target stores twice - junk - bought nothing. Nothing I'd define as "furniture" in the place. Whole store looked like Zellers' clearance stock. Coffee was by Starbucks -never had one, don't want one. I'll stick with IKEA. Wal Mart here is still low-end, but 500% better than Target.

Johann

I actually like Target. When I have to buy miscellaneous stuff for home and some grocery too it's very convenient. I don't think I'll buy furniture there again because IKEA is much better for the price imo. I also prefer shopping at Target compared to Walmart because I like the wide aisles and more elbow room. I know Walmart tends to be cheaper but I get claustrophobic in there and Walmarts seem to have sketchier looking customers in SoCal at least. I also like shopping at Costco when I need to buy stuff in bulk like bottled water and toilet paper. It also gives me an excuse to buy a cheap lunch consisting of a hot dog + drink, slice, and a berry smoothie for about five bucks. That leaves me some extra money to get a fresh haircut.

[Johann]

I actually like Target. ... I know Walmart tends to be cheaper but I get claustrophobic in there and Walmarts seem to have sketchier looking customers in SoCal at least....I also like shopping at Costco when I need to buy stuff in bulk like bottled water and toilet paper. It also gives me an excuse to buy a cheap lunch consisting of a hot dog + drink, slice, and a berry smoothie for about five bucks. That leaves me some extra money to get a fresh haircut.

Where I live - ALL the customers look sketchy. I've been retired 20 years, but I still wear a tie most days -- just so I don't look sketchy, too. Target up here hasn't got deep into groceries yet. WalMart has - and they're killing the supermarkets -- or at least making them sit up and take notice that WalMart is eating their lunch and they'd better do something about bit -- like adjust their prices! (And they have! Thanks, WalMart!) Costco doesn't do much for me, as one person doesn't need to buy in bulk -or lug it home on the bus. I'm not much into hotdogs or slices, but it's OK if you like them. I DO make home-brew pizza, though -- probably one of the few Canadians that does it Chicago-style. It helps keep me on good terms with my grandkids.

Johann

[Lindagerr]

Johann I would really like to meet you someday when I am up that way you sound like a cool guy. Now I have a question for you do Canadian Universities like McGill accept CLEP or other CBE credits? I have a friend who has a daughter going to be doing college in Canada and she was interested in the policies, but I could not find anything on the McGill site so thought I would ask a Canadian expert.

[Johann]

As far as I know, CLEP is not generally accepted at Canadian schools. In fact, I don't know for sure ANY school here that accepts it - or DSST. Athabasca might, because they're also RA - They're a good distance school that has a lot of US students. In fact, some people refer to the "Big 4" - the "Big 3" plus Athabasca. I don't know of any other Canadian school that is likely to accept CLEP. of course, if you have an RA degree that contains some CLEP credits, you should be OK for further study here, providing you have the requirements - but no other school I know of will give you course-by-course credit for CLEP. There were also a couple of non-mainstream, DETC accredited universities in New Brunswick - Meritus and Lansbridge. I'm pretty sure they would have accepted CLEP - but they both came to grief and they're closed, now.

I live in a fairly major city (Hamilton ON) and I'm only 50 miles from Toronto, which is about as big as Canadian cities get - but I'd have to go at least 1,000 miles if I wanted to write a CLEP in Canada. Of course, the US border is about an hour away and I wouldn't have to go more than 5 miles across it before I'd find a CLEP site. But why would I want to - unless I was working on a degree at a US school?

There are, I guess, always undiscovered niches that will take CLEP - even here. A Jewish women's college for religious studies - Talpiot College, in Toronto was listed as a CLEP centre some time ago. That changed - the College only gave CLEP exams to those enrolled. I'm not sure whether they still do even that. Basically, we don't get CLEP/DSST credit here - and there's no similar Canadian system. We have to get all our credits either bum-in-seat or by distance from our regular, Provincially-chartered universities - or possibly RA or equivalent schools outside Canada. No Straighterline or Aleks for us, either. I guarantee you - the only Canadians who want to write CLEPS are working on US degrees - well, maybe Athabasca too, but I'm not sure.

McGill? A very high-quality school, but academically snooty as can be! Not only don't they accept CLEP etc., but last I checked (admittedly, 4 or 5 years back) they would not accept ANY degree that was earned by distance! Not Harvard, not even Oxford! Maybe that no-distance rule has changed. Check their web-page. No matter - Canadian schools - including McGill, of course, are a very good choice for US students. We get more and more of them every year. Reasons- the schools are good, they're well-regarded internationally and the cost is comparatively low - especially in Quebec, for historical reasons. I've heard of some US students paying the same amount for four years of college here that they'd spend on one year back home.

Sorry I don't have more encouraging news about CLEP. It has worked well for thousands and thousands of US students. If we can't have it -- there should be an equivalent.

Johann

[Lindagerr]

Thank you for all of that information. I had dinner with my friend and gave her some false info.Now I can straighten it out. Her daughter is a Canadian Citizen living with her father for now. She will move to the US once her mother has Citizenship. She has applied to McGill and I think U of Toronto.Recently I saw they are the #1 & 2 schools in Canada and in the top 25 world wide so I guess they have a right to be snooty. In the US those type of schools would be beyond the reach of most students without many scholarships.

I recently passed through (or at least very near) your town on my way up to Toronto. Is that where there is a bridge over the edge of Lake Ontario and you can see forever across the lake? I have never really explored Canada except for Niagara Falls, Montreal and Quebec and that was over 35 years ago. Now that I live where I could throw a stone off one side of my Island and it would land in Canadian water I am finding it interesting to learn about. I have noticed you have a good deal of large beautiful parks, and Niagara on the Lake is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen.

[Johann]

Yes - our top universities are, as you say, bargains when you consider the cost of highly-ranked schools in the US. That's why we have an increasing number of US students. Welcome to Canada, eh?

Yes again. We have the Burlington Skyway, as you described and not many miles away is the St. Catharines Skyway, that offers a similar view. Windy up there -take the big Buick and leave the Morris Minor at home!

Please -don't throw stones in our water. It would confuse the authorities. They'd be wrangling forever about whether the stones were a Federal or Provincial problem - and nothing would get done for weeks!

I like Niagara-on-the-Lake too. I visited it pretty nearly every weekend when I lived close by. It used to be such a small place - but it's getting 'way built-up now. At least it's being done by people with lots of money -- so it doesn't look too bad. Recreational shopping used to be great there - I still have things I bought from artists and antique dealers there 30 or 35 years ago. Last time I was there, the selection seemed to have fallen off and most of the really interesting small-time merchants had left. Too many t-shirts and mass-market stuff in the mix, for my liking. It's probably because the rents, once merely high, are now astronomical! Still, a beautiful place and great town for a Sunday stroll. I've seen great jazz and theatre there, too!

Back then, the restaurants in Niagara-on-the-Lake were mostly ho-hum, pretentious and high-priced. They spared no expense on the dÃcor, though! I have no idea how they are, now. I got 'way better food in Lewiston NY - I remember Cirillo's, the Riverside and Vince's among the best. Never a bad meal! And the entertainment! B.B. King, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles -- and once a trio of world-famous jazz guitarists - Herb Ellis, Charlie Byrd and Barney Kessel - on the same stage at Art Park. (Did I mention I'm a guitar freak?) Average admission cost 30 years ago - $5. My son was there, recently. In 30 years, it's gone up to a whopping $8!

Yes once again - we do have a lot of parks and natural/preserved areas. I've always appreciated that. I think that's because I enjoyed the same thing as a boy, in England. The small borough at the northern tip of London where I was raised has a population of about 250,000 - but fully one-third of it is green space. Thanks to the Internet, I have hundreds of pictures of the parks and green places where I played as a youngster.

You've evoked some very pleasant memories for me. Thanks!

Johann

[taylor]

Just wanted to mention that I saw a HUGE IKEA in China in the middle of nowhere. The native Chinese people I was with didn't know why I was making such a big fuss about it. I thought it was pretty cool with some Chinese characters on the bottom. I wanted to go in to see if they made some bootleg Swedish meatballs in there.

[Kaskadian]

While I was living in Germany, IKEA basically turned the place into a home! A lot of German apartments (in my experience) lack some things like closets, etc; so I was required to assemble a wardrobe and the like.

[taylor]

I just bought this Malkolm swivel chair from Ikea in beige, already have a black one too. I'm trying to make a little small home office next to my little home gym. Man I don't think anybody can utilize tight space like I can. Well I really like the chair in this color, it matches my sofa set. I did notice when I was assembling it that it was made in China. Not sure why I didn't notice the markings when I assembled the black one almost a year ago. Actually it shouldn't come as a surprise to me because more and more stuff are being made out there but darn Sweden you fooled me. It's ok not a deal breaker. MALKOLM Swivel chair - Bomstad beige - IKEA

[taylor]

I bought a Sanfrid table with intentions of using it as a desk in the living room but I returned it, way too wobbly. SANFRID/SJUNNE Table - IKEA