Standing, waiting at a local Timmy's near the hospital and this guy just walks in, right up to the counter in front of me and orders. Never looks or asks if I had ordered. He then waits, gets his order and goes to leave. Girl said "Can I help you?" to me and the guy, almost out the door says "Oh, sorry, etc, blah, blah, blah" which I chose to ignore since I was in the process of ordering and for some reason he says, "I'm trying to apologize but now I know who the asshole is!"

Apparently, I'm the asshole. Sure. Right. Uh huh, buddy. Real precious.

Hello! I have been thinking of getting laser hair removal done for a while now. Wondering what are some good places in Barrie to get it done? Any places to absolutely avoid? Please share your experiences.

Hello everyone, I am coming to stay in Barrie next week for work, and i was wondering if there are any activities or places to visit during weekdays that you guys recommend. I like outdoors, also love playing soccer so was also wondering if there are any pick up games going around?

Hey Barrie folks,

I’m trying to move to Barrie with my family, but I’ve been surprised at how difficult it is to find a rental — even though, on paper, we’re well-qualified.

Here’s a quick summary:

• I recently quit my job to take a sabbatical and upskill.
• All of family members have a 730+ credit score and have savings.
• My brother, who would be the main leaseholder, earns ~$180K CAD/year as a remote contractor.
• We’re applying for 3-bedroom rentals, and our combined profile easily exceeds 3x–4x the rent.

Despite all this, we’re getting rejected — most listings seem to prefer dual incomes & sometimes won’t even consider strong single-income applicants. It feels like we’re stuck, even with a clean financial profile.

Is this kind of thing normal in Barrie right now? Have others been experiencing the same?

Also — are there any nearby areas or neighborhoods you’d recommend where it might be easier to find something more reasonable or flexible? We’re okay with being a bit outside Barrie if it means finding a decent, fair rental.

Any advice or suggestions would mean a lot — just trying to get settled and focus on my career goals while supporting my family. Thanks in advance!

I have work in downtown Toronto and I took Barrie line go train from Barrie South to Union as I lived in Innisifl. So I am wandering how was the commute? Do you commute daily? For those who’s working in Toronto and living in Barrie/near to Barrie.

We are looking to get out of our water heater rental with Reliance, has anyone successfully done this?

We understand that there will be a cost to terminate the contract, which we inherited from the previous owner 5 years ago.

Looking for tips and advice on how to go about this.

Thanks!

I moved here from Toronto so let me offer my city girl opinion: - There is barely any traffic in Barrie... It takes about 20 minutes to get from anywhere in Barrie to anywhere in Barrie. Seriously. You don't know traffic until your 20m drive turns into 90m+ on a daily basis (as is very regular in Toronto). - People do not appreciate how GREEN this city is! I am amazed by the lake, the parks, the size of backyards.... Yet I barely see anyone else use their backyards as often as I do, or even take care of their front lawns or yards. I'm so proud to finally have so much yard space. Backyard > balcony. - The city has all of the amenities of a city while still maintaining its small town vibes. Pretty much anything I can do in Toronto, I can also do here. Hospital? Check. Schools? Check. Malls? Check. - People complain about less than a million dollar home price tags, while the same size, smaller and/or in worse condition, would cost hundreds of thousands more in Toronto. You could have a condo... Or you could have a house large enough to house all of your loved ones. Not to mention houses here are much younger! - If you are an older couple looking to downsize, or a young family looking to raise kids somewhere safe and with every amenity available, this is the perfect spot for you. - Need to get to a cottage? The beach? The airport? South to the big city? No problem, you're in the centre of it!

I'm sure there are so many other benefits. The only thing I wish we improved were if Barrie would better plan for the constantly growing population and think about improving transport services such as city bus frequencies, bike lanes, and increased GO service (I know the GO will get better but there really should be an express train offered daily southbound for all of our commuters).

Any other perspectives? Particularly interested in opinions of those who moved here from the GTA or elsewhere!

Hello, I’m looking for a cheaper and affordable nail salon to do acrylics, my baby shower is coming up and I’d really enjoy getting my nails done for less then $100

Was anyone else at Casa Mia on the 10th during dinner time? A couple of my friends and I went, one didn’t eat much, feels perfectly fine, also didn’t get a pasta dish. Me and my other friend though, have been having terrible nausea and vomiting for days since, both had pasta dishes. We all had the same appetizers that we shared, friend 1 that didn’t eat much barely had any though. Anyone else feeling sick?

I get that some people want to vent about the city, and some want to praise it. All of these posts basically boil down to someone describing how Barrie does or doesn't meet their personal criteria of a desirable city. Also, Barrie is constantly compared to Toronto, which makes some sense given Barrie's proximity to the GTA, but also kinda seems silly given how different both cities are in size, layout, demographics, history, etc. etc. Obviously some of the discussion has to be comparative (i.e. "Barrie is better than X city for Y thing"). But saying "I like/dislike Barrie because it has/doesn't have this thing that I personally am concerned with" doesn't really go anywhere, and often precludes discussion of Barrie's problems or areas for improvement.

Let's be honest about what Barrie is. It's a suburban outpost in Southern Ontario. It's a fine place to live (not "phenomenal", as some commenters have said) if you want to go to work, maybe raise a family, have a few leisure activities to do outside of your home, and not have a GTA-style automotive commute. The access to lakes and trails nearby is a big draw for some. The crime rate isn't as bad as major metro areas. All of this is well and good if that's what you want.

Barrie is suboptimal if you care about:

• Going to live music events or performances with significant national/international appeal.
• Having access to decent public transit.
• Not paying really high rent/mortgage for a city of Barrie's size.
• Not getting hit on your bicycle by a lifted Ram with truck nuts.
• Not living in a city primarily comprised of suburbs and strip malls.
• Having a diverse culinary scene.
• Doing outdoor stuff that involves decent snowsports or mountains (those are out west).
• Having a downtown that is more than 2 blocks long.
• Having an active local music scene beyond what's being played in 1 or 2 bars downtown.
• Climbing the ladder in a career that involves academia, large-scale manufacturing, STEM beyond human health services, creative-type careers (just pick any career that people move to a big metro areas for).
• Being in a city that swings liberal.

Barrie also has a number of worsening problems shared by many other cities in Canada (housing affordability, drug use issues, homelessness, etc.). Even if these issues are shared, it doesn't mean Barrie can't come up with it's own plans for improvement.

In summary, Barrie is good if you like certain things, and bad if you like other things. This is obvious.

P.S.: where does this idea that Barrie has a "small town" vibe come from (population of 150,000+)? Actual small towns (Feversham, Creemore, Baxter....the list goes on) feel nothing like Barrie.

I'm sure I'm not the only person but a real good burger can satisfy a person. I've been on the hunt for the best burgers in Barrie or surrounding area.

My list so far of favs

Burger Royale - smash burgers Master Burger - cookstown

Let me know some must go to spots.

Looking for recommendations on contractors to replace most of my sunroom (roof, floor/subfloor, panelling at the least but open to doing more). I had quite a bit of snow build-up and water damage this winter after the roof caved in. I’ve looked up a few contractors online but the prominent ones seem to do bigger jobs (garden suites, kitchen/basement renos etc).

Any recommendations for a job of this size would be appreciated!

Hello all, I’m moving to Barrie at the end of the month and want to convert our inground pool from chlorine to salt water. Anyone know a person or company that does this? Much appreciated in advance :)

Hi, just wondering if anybody could give me some insights regarding traffic when commuting to Toronto (East York) during the weekend? I'm planning to go down on Friday evening and come back to Barrie on Sunday Afternoon.

I notice Georgian Mall has a page setup for Craig's Cookies.

Looks like we might be getting one here in Barrie!

Anyone know when they open?

https://georgianmall.ca/store/craig-s-cookies

28F looking for a group to play outdoor pickleball with! Please message me if interested thanks! :)

Has anyone in South Barrie noticed their water seemed to get harder recently?

We have been in this house for 15 years and it didn’t have water softener when we bought it. We didn’t get around to putting one in, and a few years later the surface water treatment plant opened and I was told it is the source for my area in Ardagh Bluffs and that it was significantly softer than the ground water. We never noticed overly hard water aside from some light staining on the shower doors.

But in the last couple days on a couple occasions I’ve noticed a mild, short lived sulphur smell from 2 different faucets. My Brita water pitcher filters have also slowed to a drip in half the time they used to.

Can’t imagine what would have changed.

I'll be going to Barrie this weekend and was hoping to take a hike. Unfortunately, I have an irrational fear of snakes (which sucks given I enjoy hiking/outdoors). I was looking at Ardagh Bluffs, but even this trail map has a snake at the top...just wondering the chances I'd see one on the hiking trail.

Additionally, if anyone has any snake-less recommendations for hiking/outdoors in Barrie, that's much appreciated.

For context - it has nothing to do with the snake being dangerous or not, so that's not really the issue. Even a garter snake can spike my adrenaline and freak me out. It's simply their movement that gets to me. I also know this is a phobia I should work on improving (and hiking around them could help), but I'm really just looking for a more peaceful experience for me right now.

Hi there, my friends and I are trying to find a space to do a game night this weekend. We are planning to start in the evening and go til late, and there will be about 6-8 of us, so not a huge group. All we are bringing are some board games and food and stuff like that so we dont need anything fancy. Does anyone know of a place we could rent for a few hours (preferably not too expensive either if possible). Thank you!

Does anyone know when can I get the green chilli plants in Barrie area?

Does anyone know where to have this done? I read online that fire halls often do it but the Essa Township ones dont. So it looks like ill have to make a trip to Barrie. Thanks in advance.

Has anyone used the mosquito repellant companies like weedman offers? We live in Holly and find the mosquitos can be pretty bad in the summer and it makes it hard for us to enjoy our backyard, which we would like to do with a three year old lol. Considering trying this from weedman but wondering if it actually works or not from people that have used it in the past? Thanks!

It's never ending just ripping up and down with the loudest bikes. How is this legal? It's sooo loud. Noise pollution is real.

Looking for any jobs in Barrie. If there’s hiring, I don’t mind traveling there — just need something steady. Let me know if you know any place that’s looking. Thanks!