FranLab is getting evicted

[james_s]

I don't know. But I did find a nice very afforable place once in a large town about 50km outside of downtown Philly that even had it's own large active LGBT centre just down the road and she didn't like that suggestion at all to put it mildly. So 
I think part of it, perhaps a large part is that she knows it so well.

Frankly I think it's some kind of mental illness. I'm not going to try to diagnose her, but I do know that comorbidity is considerably higher than among the general population. There is simply no rational reason to choose Philadelphia for the reason of trans acceptance or safety. It is an objectively true fact that the city is one of the more dangerous parts of the entire country for everyone, let alone trans people. Once you factor out the rational reasons, that leaves the irrational reasons. 

[james_s]

For your cultural enrichment needs, drive into the city as needed. I'd be surprised if she's wandering the streets of Philly for cultural enrichment every day?
I know she's sick of me trying to convince her of this privately, so I've stopped.

Or take the bus. Our mass transit here generally sucks, but one thing it does work well for is going from suburbs and outskirts into the downtown area of major cities. I can walk 10 minutes to a park & ride, hop on a bus and be in downtown Seattle 45 minutes later. I'm sure Philadelphia must have something comparable.

[james_s]

why some never move or stubbornly refusing to move from a particular place.  so I am been  told.
normal people live with family, normal people get married , then have children,  but for some family is a particular street in a particular city
a grandmother's joy is her grandchildren, but for some, all they have left in old age is one or two like them,  memories of youth or an old school friend.
-like trying to understand a garden snail by looking at its shell.

If this is the case, you had better buy something then, because if you are going to rent, you are virtually guaranteed to have to move at some point. I moved 3 times back when I was renting, one because the rent was rising by a large amount, another because the landlord decided they wanted to live in the house. It's the reality of renting, the property isn't yours and you have to move when the owner has other plans for it.

[EEVblog]

If this is the case, you had better buy something then, because if you are going to rent, you are virtually guaranteed to have to move at some point. I moved 3 times back when I was renting, one because the rent was rising by a large amount, another because the landlord decided they wanted to live in the house. It's the reality of renting, the property isn't yours and you have to move when the owner has other plans for it.

Fran has also been hit with both. Obviously booted three times, but IIRC she said rent is going up 10% per year on average, and she has 4 places.
And the Patreon income seems to be dropping by an even larger rate, not increasing to match the rental inflation.
I think some very hard decisions are not that far away.

[james_s]

Where do you park the van or caravan? You can't just set up camp anywhere. Well, if you're a drug addict apparently you can do that in Seattle but in most of the areas you'd actually want to be you've got to rent a campsite of some sort. Also you need fuel and maintenance, RVs are not known for being fuel efficient. And you need a place to dump your waste tank and fill up with fresh water.

[tautech]

Where do you park the van or caravan? You can't just set up camp anywhere.

Check his flag. 
You can in Oz if you go out some ways. The place is massive.

[Bud]

In a van or caravan is probably where I'll end up.

Do not know why you gave up on yourself. Your posts seem to be adequate, knowledgeable and self-sufficient.

[fourfathom]

I have a good friend who was an early (if not the original) "tech-nomad"  He pursued his career and passion on recumbent bicycles, truck and trailer, sailboat, powerboat, and now back to a truck and trailer.  This works for some people and for some activities, but not for many.

[EEVblog]

Where do you park the van or caravan? You can't just set up camp anywhere. Well, if you're a drug addict apparently you can do that in Seattle but in most of the areas you'd actually want to be you've got to rent a campsite of some sort. Also you need fuel and maintenance, RVs are not known for being fuel efficient.

Do an EV conversion and you'll be using solar panels on the roof and portable. Living that lifestyle usually means you aren't in a hurry for a charge anyway.

[EEVblog]

Dunno about you guys but I would recommend that Fran get out of any major city pronto. Go mobile with a mobile lab on the back of a truck. That way she can send and receive parcels at any city in the country, retire wherever she wants, escape any situation that comes her way.

I actually half-seriously thought about doing a video converting a van into a portable electronics lab, just for kicks and the views, as van conversion videos are (or were) popular.
Main problem is I don't really have the space to do it.
Mrs EEVblog wouldn't let me park it on the lawn at home, and I do have two designated parking spots at the lab, but not exactly the greatest place to work on such a thing.

But in Fran's case her best long term bet is buying (or even renting) a cheap house in a small town or on the outskirts of a major city. I'm afraid the only other option is eventually shutting down most of FranLab and getting a day job if she stays in downtown Philly.

[Bud]

Where do you park the van or caravan? You can't just set up camp anywhere. Well, if you're a drug addict apparently you can do that in Seattle but in most of the areas you'd actually want to be you've got to rent a campsite of some sort. Also you need fuel and maintenance, RVs are not known for being fuel efficient.

Do an EV conversion and you'll be using solar panels on the roof and portable. Living that lifestyle usually means you aren't in a hurry for a charge anyway.

That would not be an answer to such trivial things as how to get a shower. There are so many little things that make generating energy the least of the problems.

[EEVblog]

Where do you park the van or caravan? You can't just set up camp anywhere. Well, if you're a drug addict apparently you can do that in Seattle but in most of the areas you'd actually want to be you've got to rent a campsite of some sort. Also you need fuel and maintenance, RVs are not known for being fuel efficient.

Do an EV conversion and you'll be using solar panels on the roof and portable. Living that lifestyle usually means you aren't in a hurry for a charge anyway.

That would not be an answer to such trivial things as how to get a shower. There are so many little things that make generating energy the least of the problems.

Well you obviously need to be near a water source periodically and fill up the tanks. The solar batteries can take care of water heating too.

[james_s]

You save up and buy land somewhere just on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York. A small amount of land in bushland somewhere with a lot of privacy.

Land is a lot cheaper than a house and a lot cheaper than renting. So are the repayments for said land. Just make sure that you can park a caravan or van on it on a permanent basis.

Not in any of those places. The land my house sits on is worth about 5 times what the house is worth. LA and NY are expensive areas, you have to get a long way out into the sticks before prices on land come down.

[nctnico]

Where do you park the van or caravan? You can't just set up camp anywhere. Well, if you're a drug addict apparently you can do that in Seattle but in most of the areas you'd actually want to be you've got to rent a campsite of some sort. Also you need fuel and maintenance, RVs are not known for being fuel efficient.

Do an EV conversion and you'll be using solar panels on the roof and portable. Living that lifestyle usually means you aren't in a hurry for a charge anyway.

That would not be an answer to such trivial things as how to get a shower. There are so many little things that make generating energy the least of the problems.

Well you obviously need to be near a water source periodically and fill up the tanks. The solar batteries can take care of water heating too.

That sounds more like a homesteading lifestyle. Next thing you know people suggest Fran to move to Alaska and hunt deer with a rifle. 

[EEVblog]

Not in any of those places. The land my house sits on is worth about 5 times what the house is worth. LA and NY are expensive areas, you have to get a long way out into the sticks before prices on land come down.

Same here. You have to get well outside of greater Sydney (like >150km) to get any reasonably priced land. I know that's not the case for the US though.

[EEVblog]

You save up and buy land somewhere just on the outskirts of Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York. A small amount of land in bushland somewhere with a lot of privacy.
Land is a lot cheaper than a house and a lot cheaper than renting. So are the repayments for said land. Just make sure that you can park a caravan or van on it on a permanent basis.

Fran needs 2000sqft of space for the lab, workshop and storage.
So at the very least she needs a giant shed.
You can likely get a plot of land with just a large shed, I've seen that myself, fairly common here.
But a run down house and decent sized garage would do the trick, there is much greater choice there as it can be in any suburb or more remote area.

[tautech]

Where do you park the van or caravan? You can't just set up camp anywhere.

Check his flag. 
You can in Oz if you go out some ways. The place is massive.

Australia is the driest inhabited continent on planet earth though.

Oh yeah I know.
Our older son is a resident of Perth and currently here with his family visiting his Ma and Pa after the mess of the last few years. On arrival he had a 3 day wet weather reminder of why he left NZ. 
Hopefully we’ll get back over there for some more exploring next Xmas.

[EEVblog]

Fran needs 2000sqft of space for the lab, workshop and storage.
So at the very least she needs a giant shed.
You can likely get a plot of land with just a large shed, I've seen that myself, fairly common here.
But a run down house and decent sized garage would do the trick, there is much greater choice there as it can be in any suburb or more remote area.

$149k for 4000sqft garage workshop on 0.5acre of land in what looks like a realtively nice suburban neighborhood. Some elbow grease required. 1hr from Philly
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/223-E-Walnut-St-Birdsboro-PA-19508/2061135479_zpid/?

[james_s]

My idea won't work then.

The idea itself is sound, but it won't work within the rigid constraints that Fran has boxed herself in with. She has decided it's Philly or bust, so IMO bust is the inevitable result. The train is speeding toward the end of the track.

[james_s]

$149k for 4000sqft garage workshop in what looks like a nice neighborhood. Some elbow grease required. 1hr from Philly
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/223-E-Walnut-St-Birdsboro-PA-19508/2061135479_zpid/?

That looks like a bargain. Plenty of room to park a trailer (caravan) next to the building to live out of while renovating the building to put in a modern apartment for living space and then divide up the rest of the space between storage and workshop. $149k is peanuts.

[EEVblog]

$149k for 4000sqft garage workshop in what looks like a nice neighborhood. Some elbow grease required. 1hr from Philly
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/223-E-Walnut-St-Birdsboro-PA-19508/2061135479_zpid/?

That looks like a bargain. Plenty of room to park a trailer (caravan) next to the building to live out of while renovating the building to put in a modern apartment for living space and then divide up the rest of the space between storage and workshop. $149k is peanuts.

Yep, exactly how I'd do it.
There would the arguments that it's not a safe neighbourhood, no culture, etc etc. But if it meant the difference between shutting down your business and living a rent and work slave for the rest of your life in Philly, or this, I'd take this any day of the week.

She still has the problem of not being able to get a loan though, that needs fixing.
I suspect she'd be able to raise at least a quarter or even half the price of this place in a crowd funder if she had a legit actual plan to buy a place instead of just money to appease land lords.

[SiliconWizard]

Yeah, that looks cool.

[EEVblog]

Yeah, that looks cool.

Totally, I'd kill to have a space like that.
If I was single and had no family I would buy a large block of land and build a giant open warehouse type thing with mezanine floors (and fireman poles  Did I mention I like fireman's poles?)

[jmelson]

Yup, a guy in my area bought an old factory building with street-level garage door and another level in the back with alley access.  It had clerestory windows in the back, an office space over the shop area and 3-phase power feed.  He did a pretty major rebuild of the place, turned the office into a living space and such.  He rented out the back half which helped the financial aspects.  unfortunately, he developed cancer and died awfully young.  But, it CAN be done!
Jon

[nctnico]

$149k for 4000sqft garage workshop in what looks like a nice neighborhood. Some elbow grease required. 1hr from Philly
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/223-E-Walnut-St-Birdsboro-PA-19508/2061135479_zpid/?

That looks like a bargain. Plenty of room to park a trailer (caravan) next to the building to live out of while renovating the building to put in a modern apartment for living space and then divide up the rest of the space between storage and workshop. $149k is peanuts.

Basically you are only paying for the land and the pleasure to remove a whole lot of garbage. The buildings have a negative value. I have no idea how much it would cost to erect a home, garage and office space but likely it isn't cheap. And it looks like the zoning designation doesn't allow commercial activities.

Yeah, that looks cool.

Totally, I'd kill to have a space like that.
If I was single and had no family I would buy a large block of land and build a giant open warehouse type thing with mezanine floors (and fireman poles  Did I mention I like fireman's poles?)

Doing construction work is not for everyone. You'd need the skills / experience, tools and to be able to work fulltime on such a project for weeks in order to make decent progress. I've seen various people take on construction projects that turned out to be way over their head. It is not as simple as they show on TV.