FranLab is getting evicted

[EEVblog]

Here I am doing it again 
https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1724-Ridge-Ave-Philadelphia-PA/26394808/
2000sqft office space smack in Philly downtown, new build, $10.80/sqft/year, or $21k a year.
Sure it's not factory, but you can do electronics and basic mechnical in an office environment. Ditch the lathe and heavy industry gear.
So with her apartment, surely that wouldn't come out less than the $90k expenses (minus misc utilities, say $10k) she's paying now?

If she just gave a slightly better budget breakdown she could crowd source a cheaper solution. I'm not even trying here.

[EEVblog]

I don't know about the exact area, but a really nice smick 3BR apartment in downtown philly is $1465/mo or $17,580/year.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1810-W-Susquehanna-Ave-1834-Philadelphia-PA-19121/2080049285_zpid/
One BD to sleep in, one for an office, one for a small electronics lab.
That leaves an awful lot left over from her current $90k/year spend for an additional office/industrial space?

Have I got this wrong? 

[EEVblog]

5BR almost 2000sqft she is after for $2649/month = $31,800/year.
She said it's all currently "8 large rooms", so just ditch the "factory" and 5 rooms + living area would be enough maybe? 

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1315-N-15th-St-1517-3F-Philadelphia-PA-19121/2062271599_zpid/

[EEVblog]

I just got confirmation that Philly is indeed an absolute unsafe shit hole. I'm bowing out helping her stay there 

[Muttley Snickers]

<<<

That's 35k posts Dave.   

[Quarlo Klobrigney]

Let us not forget, its just over the bridge neighbour, Camden New Jersey...

[Alex Eisenhut]

I just got confirmation that Philly is indeed an absolute unsafe shit hole. I'm bowing out helping her stay there 

youtuber Nick Johnson drives around rough areas and offers commentary

https://youtu.be/N3LiT1-YC9A

[Kasper]

These are the places on Loopnet near Philly that are under $10/sqft/year
But I've tried to find her places before and I know she wants me and other to stop looking for her, it seems to upset her if you even try 
[...]

I doubt she's upset with you so much as she's upset with the facts that you are sharing.  Stubborn people often get upset while fighting off their stubbornness.

FYI, she just sent me lengthy email thanking me for my help and concern. We are in regular contact about this stuff. Problem is the engineer in me wants to help solve the problem and I go overboard by doing the research to try and find her alternatives, I can't help myself 

From the original gofundme video she said she needs about 2000sqft

Sounds like you've found some solutions so that's a win.  Convincing her to try them is a whole other problem.

It's nice to get a look into the thinking behind a strong desire to live in a specific area.  This is common in Canada and I've never understood it.  Tons of space and great cities where homes cost 1/4 and wages pay 1.5x what they do in our 5 biggest cities.  Those are some of the least affordable cities in the world, people overcrowd them and refuse to leave even if it means living in a tent.

[Alex Eisenhut]

Here's more interesting videos

https://youtu.be/aQfDxQRVf78

https://youtu.be/lzuFD4QcBVk

[WattsThat]

I just got confirmation that Philly is indeed an absolute unsafe shit hole. I'm bowing out helping her stay there 

It really depends upon exactly where she is, Philly is really about ten cities sharing the same name. West Philly, Kensington, Mayfair, Fishtown and several others are downright war zones as seen in that Kensington video, which has some of the worst drug use in the US.

The Northeast, Center City and parts of south Philly would be much safer but still way higher crimes rates than the suburbs. I’m about 40 miles northwest of the city and crime rate here is incredibly low. Some property crime but it’s rare, personal crime is virtually zero. I open my windows and all I hear are the birds and the livestock across the road.

[EEVblog]

Sounds like you've found some solutions so that's a win.  Convincing her to try them is a whole other problem.

Fran has contacted me about this, and I can guarantee that's not going to happen 
I won't go into further details. All I can say is do not try and suggest alternatives, she doesn't want them.
I wish her the best of luck with the Patreon income, I hope it can keep her afloat.

[Bud]

Let Nature take its course.

[gnavigator1007]

I just got confirmation that Philly is indeed an absolute unsafe shit hole. I'm bowing out helping her stay there 

The same can be said for many places in the US, cities & small towns alike. Philly is just the most recent to end up in the spotlight for it's problems. While the problems are very real, they're not all that unique. Often the metrics used to gauge how dangerous or bad a place is here are deeply flawed.

That being said, as a FranLab patreon supporter going back quite a few years, I'm somewhat unsure what I'm supporting at this point. I still enjoy many of her uploads, but the last few years it's started to feel like I'm just supporting someone to make videos about needing more support.

[magic]

the engineer in me wants to help solve the problem

I think it's the liberal in you, trying to prove to yourself something that you believe.

AI could accurately predict the next 399 pages of this thread.

[james_s]

Not only hoarders, but there were also shows about the lives of über-overweight people and there was always an enabler behind the scenes, as the people themselves were sometimes unable to even leave their beds or houses, let alone go out to buy groceries. These relationships were usually based on guilt with a very controlling person - something similar to the current fad of glorifying obese people.

I saw one of those shows once, I couldn't even watch more of it, it's too frustrating. You're absolutely right, there is ALWAYS an enabler, these people were too fat to get out of their bedroom, that should be self limiting, if you can't get to the kitchen you can't eat.

[EEVblog]

the engineer in me wants to help solve the problem

I think it's the liberal in you, trying to prove to yourself something that you believe.

And what do I "believe"?
That there is a solution to Fran's financial problems? Yes, I believe that, in fact I'm pretty sure it's demonstrably true. But it's not up to me to make the leap.

[nctnico]

Sounds like you've found some solutions so that's a win.  Convincing her to try them is a whole other problem.

Fran has contacted me about this, and I can guarantee that's not going to happen 
I won't go into further details. All I can say is do not try and suggest alternatives, she doesn't want them.
I wish her the best of luck with the Patreon income, I hope it can keep her afloat.

I get why Fran wants to stay. Likely all her friends are nearby so it is not just her home but also her social life that is in Philly. Many people really do need their social circle with them while others are of the 'where my hat is, is my home' type.

Still it would be good to question Fran on needing so much space. From a business perspective the question is: is the stuff worth spending so much money on for the rent? I'm a bit of a hoarder myself but nowadays I also look at the cost of storing stuff and keeping track of what I already have. In many cases buying new and throwing leftovers in the bin is cheaper than storing the leftovers (which you may never use).

My own example: Recently I came across a bit of expensive cable for a project for one of my customers. The last time I built one of the devices, I bought new cable because I didn't know I still had that cable. That is just money wasted twice (the bin I stored the cable in, isn't free either).   

[EEVblog]

Sounds like you've found some solutions so that's a win.  Convincing her to try them is a whole other problem.

Fran has contacted me about this, and I can guarantee that's not going to happen 
I won't go into further details. All I can say is do not try and suggest alternatives, she doesn't want them.
I wish her the best of luck with the Patreon income, I hope it can keep her afloat.

I get why Fran wants to stay. Likely all her friends are nearby so it is not just her home but also her social life that is in Philly.

That is why this time I suggested staying in her place and simply consolidating the other three spaces into one slightly further away that she can (safely) commute to in order to slash expenses at the small inconvenience of a commute. I have been told this is not an option. There is no option at all as it turns out.

[Ed.Kloonk]

Another youtuber with space constraints and waaaaaaay too much stuff is Techmoan. Space can be tight in England and he found out years ago, for marital harmony at least, a remote storage solution is the thing. He often has to drag items out and back to the house for a video.

[EEVblog]

Another youtuber with space constraints and waaaaaaay too much stuff is Techmoan. Space can be tight in England and he found out years ago, for marital harmony at least, a remote storage solution is the thing. He often has to drag items out and back to the house for a video.

Has he done a video on that?

[Ed.Kloonk]

Another youtuber with space constraints and waaaaaaay too much stuff is Techmoan. Space can be tight in England and he found out years ago, for marital harmony at least, a remote storage solution is the thing. He often has to drag items out and back to the house for a video.

Has he done a video on that?

I wanna say prolly not cos of the value of much of the stuff he's got tucked away.

[sokoloff]

There is no option at all as it turns out.

Well, there you have it.

I'm sorry to hear that Fran has determined she has no options, but that being the case, there's nothing that can be done.

[thinkfat]

Such a safe and wonderful place to live, full of brotherhood...

There is none so blind as he who will not see.....

Wow. Didn't expect that place to have its own Wikipedia entry...

[nctnico]

Sounds like you've found some solutions so that's a win.  Convincing her to try them is a whole other problem.

Fran has contacted me about this, and I can guarantee that's not going to happen 
I won't go into further details. All I can say is do not try and suggest alternatives, she doesn't want them.
I wish her the best of luck with the Patreon income, I hope it can keep her afloat.

I get why Fran wants to stay. Likely all her friends are nearby so it is not just her home but also her social life that is in Philly.

That is why this time I suggested staying in her place and simply consolidating the other three spaces into one slightly further away that she can (safely) commute to in order to slash expenses at the small inconvenience of a commute. I have been told this is not an option. There is no option at all as it turns out.

And the real kicker is that with the income she generates, a serious reduction of expenses can quickly build up enough cash at hand to buy her own place (or at least do a significant downpayment that makes getting a mortgage for the rest of the sum not so much of a problem). Suddenly gentrification becomes a blessing because the house becomes worth more without needing to do anything (except making sure that property taxes can be paid).

[james_s]

Well, there you have it.

I'm sorry to hear that Fran has determined she has no options, but that being the case, there's nothing that can be done.

I'm increasingly convinced that this is some form of self destructive behavior. There are lots of options, lots of places that are not only much safer but also cheaper and have everything she's looking for and she has categorically pushed all of those off the table without even looking. Staying in Philly indefinitely while relying on donations is not feasible, especially if she gets too focused on her living situation and drama instead of playing with interesting technical stuff. I expect her income will drop sharply over the next couple of years as the recession settles in and people all over start cutting unnecessary expenses like supporting youtube producers and focus on supporting themselves. This might also cause rent to drop a bit but not enough to keep up with the drop in income. This sort of thing is very frustrating for me because I'm a very rational and logic driven person. I don't want to move somewhere else but if I were faced with Fran's circumstances I would be actively exploring other areas in search of somewhere I find suitable. I'm quite certain that after a few months I would feel at home in any number of towns across the US.