FranLab is getting evicted

[EEVblog]

she refuses to consider anywhere apart from certain sections of downtown philly.

This is much worse that i thought... cant get more narrow in choice than that.

It's basically what this entire 80 page thread has been about.
She rents four properties for the business (apartment/Franlab, workshop, and two storage units), and all of them have to be in downtown Philly, absolutely no exceptions. She has said she will progressively shut down the business instead of moving anything outside of Philly.
Even friends like me have tried to convince her there are options, but she has asked me and her community to stop trying to help.
Even my suggestions of specific places I've found in downtown Philly where she could consolidate to save cost have been shot down because she knows Philly and I don't. Fair enough I guess.
I really don't want her to have to shut down Franlab 

The difference in approach with say Louis Rossmann who has moved several times and made a whole series about it, he's taken mine and other people's suggestions of places and has done tour videos and evaluates every possible option. Even I've done many videos (one just recently) evaluating various moving options. I'm always on the hunt "just in case" an exceptional deal comes along.
Fran's approach is that her current situation is already absolutely optimised and there is no other options available. If the Patreon money doesn't come in then things will get shut down, starting with the workshop, then storage, and then Franlab and she goes back a 9/5 job she doesn't want just to make ends meat.

[jonovid]

teaching an old dog new tricks. is when a donated digital oscilloscope in the lab, is a steep learning curve.
keep up the patreon donations as the show must go on! 

[EEVblog]

teaching an old dog new tricks. is when a donated digital oscilloscope in the lab, is a steep learning curve.

For those who don't get the reference:
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxOf186Olp4344csY3i1wtEaJGcFGJUEvK
She obviously hasn't ecountered the EEVblog forum test equipment section before! 

[abeyer]

Wait, did she actually take the scope video down completely?! Now I'm curious how bad the comments actually were...

[xrunner]

Wait, did she actually take the scope video down completely?! Now I'm curious how bad the comments actually were...

That's what I was wondering. I looked all over her YT channel and never found it.

[abeyer]

I think I just happened to be browsing yt when it posted, so I watched it... there was certainly a little bit of wanting to shout "you just need to do X!" but seemed like the typical learning curve for someone's first time using a digital scope, and didn't seem like it was likely to attract any more than the normal lectures on how you should be doing things. 

[EEVblog]

Wait, did she actually take the scope video down completely?! Now I'm curious how bad the comments actually were...

There are two scopes videos, both still exist but set to Unlisted. Links still available to Patrons.
Browsing through the comments on both videos I can't see any problems, just people trying to help her to use various features and with some termination issues.
I commented on the first video that she missed the x1000 probe setting, which she corrected in the 2nd video.
Maybe there were some bad comments she deleted? But I think it was mostly that there were too many issues and she'd continue to get the same comments for years. That's pretty much my threashold for pulling a video, if I know that I'm still going to be getting emails and comments for years to come correcting me on things.

[EEVblog]

Interesting video from Kurzgesagt about income sources:

[ravida]

I'm sorry to hear about FranLab being evicted. It can be an upsetting experience to face unexpected changes, particularly when they involve leaving a place you've called home for some time. While change may present challenges, it also presents new opportunities for growth and learning.

If Fran is considering moving, research different areas and neighborhoods to find one that meets her requirements and preferences. She could also reach out to local real estate agents or rental agencies for assistance in finding a suitable residence.

Fran must prioritize taking care of herself during this challenging time, whether that means engaging in self-care activities like exercising, meditation or spending quality time with loved ones. She could also consider seeking professional help from a therapist or counselor for additional support and advice.

I wish Fran the very best as she navigates this difficult period and wish her a new, peaceful place to call home.

[EEVblog]

Another ChatGPT bot banned.

[Black Phoenix]

After a while you start to realize how they work and write... OK back to the show.

[EEVblog]

Some Patreon videos are up.
Fran is spending a few weeks in Washington DC doing research and seems to be really enjoying herself.
Any affordable live/work places there I wonder?
Although I suspect DC falls under the "nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there" category?

[sokoloff]

DC proper falls into exactly that category for me, but there are some great livable suburbs within a commuting ring around DC.

I seriously doubt any of the nice ones are cheaper than Philly, though, because there’s a lot more money and power surrounding the White House than the Liberty Bell.

[james_s]

IMHO it's hard to do worse than Philly except maybe Detroit or some other similar economically depressed former industrial crime ridden ghetto. There are a bunch of urban areas like that well known for being dangerous and dirty.

[SiliconWizard]

Some Patreon videos are up.
Fran is spending a few weeks in Washington DC doing research and seems to be really enjoying herself.
Any affordable live/work places there I wonder?
Although I suspect DC falls under the "nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there" category?

What the above suggests to me, rather than the fact she should consider Washington DC for a place to live, is that she should take this experience as a starting point to go and visit more areas in the US in the coming months, spending maybe a couple weeks for each. That may not only help her find a new place to live, but also expand her horizons which may kickstart her out of the relative rut she appears to have been stuck in for a while.

Just a thought, not meaning to tell her what she has to do or not.

[EEVblog]

DC proper falls into exactly that category for me, but there are some great livable suburbs within a commuting ring around DC.

Nice house for $250k near the university of Maryland
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5021-Lakeland-Rd-College-Park-MD-20740/37566243_zpid/?

[tom66]

DC proper falls into exactly that category for me, but there are some great livable suburbs within a commuting ring around DC.

I seriously doubt any of the nice ones are cheaper than Philly, though, because there’s a lot more money and power surrounding the White House than the Liberty Bell.

Doesn't DC have surprisingly high rates of violent crime?  Like it's the violent capital of the US for some reason - not sure if that's due to it being all city  or genuine evidence of a problem.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_violent_crime_rate

[abeyer]

Comparing DC to states doesn't really make sense for most statistics (and I think you'll find the crime rates are a bit higher than average, maybe, but not really much if compared to similar sized cities.)

Despite the weird legal/political structure, it's really more like a city -- its total land area is less than 5% that of the smallest state.

[james_s]

A list of crime by state doesn't tell you the full story either, in some states the bulk of the crime occurs in a few specific urban cities, or even specific areas of specific cities. Philly is one such area. DC is apparently pretty bad but I've never been there and don't know anyone that has lived there.

[EEVblog]

Comparing DC to states doesn't really make sense for most statistics (and I think you'll find the crime rates are a bit higher than average, maybe, but not really much if compared to similar sized cities.)
Despite the weird legal/political structure, it's really more like a city -- its total land area is less than 5% that of the smallest state.

Yes, DC is essentially a city, so doesn't really make sense to comparing with states. Often it doesn't make such sense to compare states either, as there are often large variability in crime in various cities within the one state.
As SiliconWizard said, you can live not far from what is considered a major crime riden city in outer suburbs or whatveer and not have any of the problem. Then you get the benefit of access to the culturally interesting places that city has to offer. DC has tons for obvious reasons relevant to Fran, whcih is why she is spending two weeks there doing research.

[EEVblog]

A list of crime by state doesn't tell you the full story either, in some states the bulk of the crime occurs in a few specific urban cities, or even specific areas of specific cities. Philly is one such area. DC is apparently pretty bad but I've never been there and don't know anyone that has lived there.

I spent a few days in DC and never saw anything that would have made me feel unsafe. But that was almost 20 years ago now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

DC is actually 30th on the list of crime rated cities.

[james_s]

I spent a few days in DC and never saw anything that would have made me feel unsafe. But that was almost 20 years ago now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

DC is actually 30th on the list of crime rated cities.

20 years can make a big difference. 20 years ago I would have told you Seattle was safe, even 10 or even 5 years ago it was not bad at all, but in just the past 3-4 years it has really gone downhill. The homeless problem is out of control, and the bulk of the homeless problem is really a drug addiction and mental illness problem. The "solution" has been to leave them alone to their own devices which has resulted in homeless people coming from all over and settling where their behavior is tolerated. When you have a large mass of opiate addicted junkies living on the street with no means to support themselves it's no wonder that catalytic converter theft, car breakins, business breakins, shoplifting and robbery have flourished. The amount of graffiti is crazy and just makes the place look like a dump, and I regularly see articles about another business closing up shop and shutting down or moving away From what I've seen, a similar thing has happened in many of the large cities in this country. It's to the point where I'm not even comfortable parking my car in much of downtown, I don't want someone to smash a window looking for loose change or valuables.

[EEVblog]

What the above suggests to me, rather than the fact she should consider Washington DC for a place to live, is that she should take this experience as a starting point to go and visit more areas in the US in the coming months, spending maybe a couple weeks for each. That may not only help her find a new place to live, but also expand her horizons which may kickstart her out of the relative rut she appears to have been stuck in for a while.
Just a thought, not meaning to tell her what she has to do or not.

I'd certainly keep my options open in her position. Even if the Patreon income was making ends meat (it's currently not). The odds of that continuing is not very high, and the odds of having to move again is all but guaranteed. She lasted 6 months in FranLab 2.0 before she got booted out even though she had a 6 year lease. And IIRC that was her 18th move 
And she said she was incredibly lucky to find the current FranLab 3.0 that has an acceptable cost, location, and required features. I wouldn't rely on that luck happening again. Best to have a backup plan.

[EEVblog]

I spent a few days in DC and never saw anything that would have made me feel unsafe. But that was almost 20 years ago now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_crime_rate

DC is actually 30th on the list of crime rated cities.

20 years can make a big difference. 20 years ago I would have told you Seattle was safe, even 10 or even 5 years ago it was not bad at all, but in just the past 3-4 years it has really gone downhill.

Yep, I've been seeing that happen in real time in the US news and personal commentary reports.
I used to love San Francisco for example, have been there twice. But in the last 5 years it's spiralled into what looks like a hell hole. Recent local governments have let some places go to hell with the whole BLM "Fiery but mostly peaceful protests" thing. Louis Rossmann of course documented that in New York city, but even that wasn't as bad as some other cities.

[james_s]

Yep, I've been seeing that happen in real time in the US news and personal commentary reports.
I used to love San Francisco for example, have been there twice. But in the last 5 years it's spiralled into what looks like a hell hole. Recent local governments have let some places go to hell with the whole BLM "Fiery but mostly peaceful protests" thing. Louis Rossmann of course documented that in New York city, but even that wasn't as bad as some other cities.

It's really unfortunate, I've been to San Francisco several times myself and thought it was a neat place, surprisingly cold, but neat. It's been about 10 years since I was there and now I don't think I'd even want to go. NYC was a crap hole for a while, but Giuliani (before he got old and seems to have turned into a nut) did what I thought was a pretty stellar job cleaning it up. Unfortunately it looks like it has mostly reverted to its previous state. I don't claim to have a solution, but I see no compassion in enabling the homeless population to live in squalor while slowly poisoning themselves with deadly drugs and inflicting a tremendous amount of collateral damage. The homeless encampments are a constant source of property crime, assault, fires, even homicides. The city leaders stand around with their thumb up their asses talking about how they're going to clean up the camps as soon as possible which is a laugh since as soon as possible was years ago. I don't want to drag politics into this any more than I already have, but now we have a regional homeless authority created ostensibly to solve the problem and they are asking for an eye watering $12 BILLION dollars for 5 years in order to provide permanent housing to all the homeless people in King County. It should be obvious to anyone with a functioning brain that just giving free housing to a bunch of addicts without forcing them into treatment and providing services with a goal toward employment and becoming productive members of society is doomed to fail. The junkies will trash the taxpayer funded housing in short order, and more homeless will continue to migrate from the areas where their lifestyle is less tolerated. I have reached the conclusion that these organizations don't actually want to solve the problem, they want to make a living off it. The homeless activists aren't actually helping anyone, they're just enabling, and it's costing all of us.