On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, bad cat (Michael dean) wrote:On Thu, 21 Jan 1999, bad cat (Michael dean) wrote:I have noisy neighbors from hell, above and bellow, (a noise sandwich, hold the serenity) and that is just a symptom. I am pretty sick of cities in general and this city in particular. I am thinking if I get a chunk of change from this novel, like enough of an advance, to live somewhere cheap for a year, of moving.
SOOOOO, I am taking a survey. What is it like in YOUR town? rent, jobs, cost of buying a cheap house, and any quality of life things you can think of. I pay 500 a month for a small studio in packed apartment building in an OK neighborhood in a city where everyone seems more mentally ill every day. and I have rent control--the same apartment is renting to people just moving in here for 700 a month.
Please share your experience, strength and hope on this.
tim burr wolf wrote:
We live on in san fran on Bush between Mason & Taylor, and more or less like your digs, we pay around $550 for a studio after three years' rent control, identical units in the bldg. go for close to eight hundred now. (upscale from you by 16 percent? Or maybe our landlord is just better at getting blood out of stones)
There really does appear to be a sort of division that occurs at Bush, which is observed at least by a majority of panhandlers-- it's rare to get asked for change North of Bush unless you go West of Hyde, where the rules are different. On Polk or Van Ness you can bum change, sleep in foyers, and park a shopping cart almost anywhere. Not so here in the TenderNob.
I saw a little flyer in the Morning Fix Cafe (@ Bush & Jones) announcing a "neighborhood watch" kind of meeting; talking about a crackdown on drugs, crime, graffiti and prostitution. And I felt a little appalled-- the graffiti, the drugs and the prostitution have really never affected me in the least... If we do indeed have a neighborhood watch, why didn't they stop Blockbuster Video from moving into the 'hood
ALAN A. ROTH" p>hi Michael dean, al Roth here to tell you about renting in S.F.. first you give the landlord a few thousand dollars then you stand in line to get lubed then you bend over and grab your ankles as you get the key from the landlord. that you're paying only 500 for your own (?) studio in S.F. is miracles. I'm living in the middle flat on oak St. at Laguna with 5 (count 'em) other male roommates (I'm the sixth). I pay 400. the six people downstairs are all smokers (I'm not) two of them chain smoke and one of these two lives directly below me. my room gets smoke almost 24 hours a day, mad due to the way the air flows between the buildings I get more smoke if I open the window. up to recently there were four people above my flat, one of which was this geeky 20 something body builder that hopped on his heels morning to late night and made my whole bedroom shake violently. I recently went to a place called roommate solutions and found, not unexpectedly, where all the bottom feeders have gone. hey, Ya know, I think that Clinton's punishment should be that he has to give Monica head ('till she comes) on national t.v.. it's only fair!
justice, justice everywhere but not a drop to...uh...whatever.
al
Re: how much is YOUR rent?
Damn. That sucks. Sorry.
New Mexico is pretty dull. No shows come around and the music scene from what I hear is non existent. I just suggested Houston cause it's probably the cheapest place to live that has a scene. You can also get a house for $400 here too. Depends where. Up to you tho.
There are still a few spots on the cat lyrics page that have ? on it cause you couldn't remember them at the time. if you know them now, please let me know so I can fix it. Thanks, Mark
Normally I don't try to sell people on this place, because frankly, I don't want anymore people here. But I think you would be a fine addition to the community. There are lots of artists, writers and computer people here.
We
even have a handful of semi-famous musos living here.
.
I moved back here a year ago from San Francisco. I miss the City, but I don't miss the fucking landlords.
Cheers.
stan
The PlaygroundTo:badcat@kittyfNO-SPAMeet.comSubject:Re: how much is YOUR rent
I live in Chicago in an apartment on the lake right on the very edge of the city before it changes into Evanston. I have quiet neighbors, a big one bedroom apartment, and I pay $590. When you walk out the front door, the neighborhood is charming, with a park and a beach and a reasonable parking situation. When you walk out the *back* door, the neighborhood is kind of frightful, jutting up against the infamous Howard St. on one hand, and Sheridan road on the other. Little bit spooky for girlies like me walking from the train after dark. However, I've lived in 3 apartments in this general vicinity for the last 4 years now and I love it.
Right now Chicago is not looking its best, piled as it was under five feet of snow and then rained upon until the snow melted revealing much dirt and dog doo that people had hidden under the drifts. But you can't beat the Midwest for paradox and enigma. The music scene here is not exactly bubbling but there are lots of places to play and plenty of people who go out to hear bands. One thing I noticed when I was in SF last was that self-promotion will get you lynched for a capitalist. In that respect, Chicago is a good place to be a big fish in a big but sort of disoriented and unorganized pond. It's not L.A., but you won't get knocked on the head for making promotional kits for yourself.
:)
Lily James
Michael,
I pay $1450. for a 2 bedroom, 1 office, 2 full bath, laundry, courtyard, backyard, fruit trees, 2 car garage, hardwood floors, 1920's Spanish style (red tile roof- white stucco exterior) loaded with French windows and built- ins house in Los Feliz- a incredibly nice neighborhood with the largest regional park in LA almost across the street... After paying $2800. a month ( nearly twice what I pay now) for my place in the Berkeley hills it almost makes Los Angeles seem great- plus the economy down here is pretty good- I can charge $75 an hour more per session and still get tons of work... Hope all is well with you.
Ms.K
.
As you know rent in the DC area is expensive. I am paying 925 for a VERY small house in a decent, blue-collar neighborhood. I am sick of how rude the people here are. I am still considering moving to SF as I have the job offer there. Is it really that bad or are you just lethargic? 500 bills a month doesn't sound that out of place, 700 does. Any major city is going to be in that range for a safe place.
I am going to the Florida Keys tonight. We have an emergency at one of the sites my company maintains and they need me there on the pronto. I will be there for 3 - 4 days working outside, right on the ocean, watching for bales to wash up. I love my job!
Your pal,
Cool Howie Kafka
Kyra wrote:
Hey,
yes feel free to put my words wherever, I do not send anything to you that could not be repeated. The city takes its toll, if you leave, will you go back? I left for the summer, six years ago. My places review. After three years in Maine I have come to find that this is a place I enjoy. I learned some common sense due to the winters, but I get a little stir crazy. It is a small, small, small scene. Human scale, Portland population is 75,000 and the outer areas suffer suburban sprawl. But... hours from New York City, one hour from Boston, summer kicks ass, cheap airfare to Europe. Jobs...mmm...its skinny...my opinion is if you have a brain you can make a go of it. But not a lot. houses to buy range 80-120K and that's for old Victorian. Lot of first time buyer programs, if you make less than 30,000 can qualify for city/state program that asks for 1% down, and interest no higher than the Fannie Mae bit. If I can find work that pays 30K plus benefits when I graduate I may stay here. Lalania and I have a three bedroom, two story renovated Victorian with basement, and huge yard on Peaks Island for $850/ month. Then add $40/month for ferry, and last boat is at 11:30 with a 12 o clock on Friday nights. But my swing dances end around there, I know its trendy everywhere else, but here I'm hanging with the ballroom crowd, and they've been putting steps together for ages. I dig the old guys, they spin me around like no youngster has had time to figure out.
Other favorite places...Taos is beautiful, boring, expensive, a great place to visit friends. After my recent visit there no way would I raise my child there. It is an experience that is generally good for growth, and definitely something there feeds the spirit, but work your ass off for low pay and high rent, 6-800 for a house, 1 bdrm. Good place to retire, or to spend the fall, or winter if you are loaded with dough to ski.
The western slope of Colorado any little art colony. That's all I know about where I have been. I am glad you are out there spewing like crazy, where ever else would I find intrigue from the city in my little old Portland. Take care to the beautiful man. If I had a million I'd head to Marin. My unsolicited opinion, sublet and invest in a car and travel. Love you Kyra----------------------m.i.blue wrote:
dear Michael. Friday I went out shooting guns with hank hyena. it was ever so much fun. I started out with a .22 ruger but when that just didn't feel powerful enough I took the gun back to the desk outside the range for something else. he asked me what I wanted and if television hasn't taught us anything else it has at least taught us to say "a glock 9" when somebody asks you what you want to shoot... I believe it may be the answer to the landlord when he comes wround asking for rent, too. blue
blue----------------------Courtney J. Ulrich wrote:
...The Bukowski quote was a classic, but what Mike Kelley said to you was so eloquent and nurturing. I may not agree that you should stay where you are exactly, but he makes a good case for it. I can't go into detail about my place or the rent situation for legal reasons, but what I can talk about is moving around within SF. I lived in Oakland on lake merritt in a beautiful large one bedroom for $525 (incl. utilities) for about 4 1/2 yrs. Then I graduated from CCAC and really wanted to live in SF. (STUPID GIRL!) The first place I lived, which was that storefront place you saw on Precita near Army cost $1350, (I had a roommate, sometimes 2 if you count her boyfriend). We had NO privacy from each other, though we had mucho space. It took us 10 months to find that pad, we lived there for 1 year, then the owner did the old "owner move-in" on us. I bailed for a few months to Europe hoping that when I returned it would get better.....WRONG! The market was even worse, it was 1997 at that point. I stayed with a friend for a few weeks and moved into a house with 5 others and for my room paid $550. This was just for the room, the people I lived with owned the house and the woman was the biggest bitch to me ever. From the moment I moved in I tried desperately, can I stress that anymore, desperately to move out. It took yet another 10 months of active searching to find another room in another house in the Mission where I paid $650 this time to live with 2 others that were total strangers but very cool. 3 months later, the property manger sells the place and we all have to move. Now I live SOMA in an old really fucked up, but we've made it as nice as it's gonna get live work space, with the junkies and homeless folks camping out at our door. One significant quake and this place is gone! There's no doubt in my mind that I'm not safe here. My plan is to get into grad school and get the fuck out of Dodge. Do you take writing classes or anything. I know you do the computer thang, but what about grad school for writing, that may be a way to get out and relocate and still have a part in an established community if you feel you need the support or structure. Thanks for posting the poll, found it most interesting. CJ
------------------------------------------------------------------------ As you know rent in the DC area is expensive. I am paying 925 for a VERY small house in a decent, blue-collar neighborhood. I am sick of how rude the people here are. I am still considering moving to SF as I have the job offer there. Is it really that bad or are you just lethargic? 500 bills a month doesn't sound that out of place, 700 does. Any major city is going to be in that range for a safe place.
Hi Michael, Funny that I've been thinking about asking you how much you pay for what kind of apart. in SF. This is because when I went there Oct.97 I found even a small studio bloody expensive, and I felt terrible cause I had to come back here to Cascais, Portugal, town where I have my OWN place, so I don't pay rent. But if I rent this place, which is a 2 bedroom, with 2 varandas, fully equipped, with fireplace and private garage for one car.....I would get 800 USD for it, and with this money I could hardly find a decent place in SF. So, as you see, this here now is real estate speculation and life, I mean basic things are expensive,,,,,,unless you are very street wise.
For what i saw, I think if you go a bit inland from SF, away from big cities, you find great bigger places for half price....and life is cleaner, cheaper, and can enjoy so many other things.
++Rita
Re: rent?
hey look at outside the portland,OR area--cheap rent/mortgage(you might be able to get a FHA backed loan) its beautiful has high tech jobs has music/art scene has large number of ex junkies so im assumein has large NA/AA scene lowish crime
OR is clean and green,baby its still on the west coast close to bubbles/jll the witch/your kid(last i knew)and im sure many others plus well be out their sooner or later all of our shit is in storage in Eugene let me know what ya thiinki skanko
oh yeah health care for everyone in the state regardless of income(slidin scale()
OK, Michael I say you move to Texas. Probably the cheapest you will get!! It seems crazy to get tired of living in San Francisco cause all I think about is getting my degree and moving to a big bad ass city, but that goes to show everyone gets sick of everything. or I should say everything can get old! Texas is seriously the cheapest place to live of that I know of and there are tons of small cities and towns. The city I live in is kind of crowded nothing like Houston tho. There are 50,000 folks here but that is small compared to your crowded city. So the vote is that you come here and then in short enough time you will be saying y'all!!!! just teasing, my boss is from Calif. and I have never heard him use the word. oh and if you live in Texass you could live in a quiet city with a bunch of back roads and not even a grocery store in town. so dark at night you can see all the stars and then when you drive down the road (oh you would have to have a car here) you could wave at all the passerbys! Bye
Let us know the results of your poll!!
Santa Cruz might work, and you know what, I just came back from San Diego and dug it there, Ocean Beach in particular you might like. Forget San Jose, not a contender....let me know what you find.
Elizabeth Safran
You would hate it where I live. I don't hate it, I'm OK with it, but I know you would hate it. I pay 700.00 a month for a two bedroom apt with a small front yard and one quiet upstairs neighbor. The neighbors on both sides of me are nice. One is a Phillipino dude who's a Dudley Do Right for the block, and has helped me on many occasions-- he even did the plumbing in my shop, for free, or an owed favor. He would accept no money. On the other side I have this lady who's an animal loving coke freak and white supremacist who's mellowed down in her middle age. She's nice too.
This is Jersey City, over the river from NYC, all of the urban decay and none of the glamour. People here are friendlier than over there. And everyone is a bit more laid back. You can get a 500.00 a month small apt. here in an OK neighborhood. But I still think you'd hate it. There's no rock and roll in this town-- not one hipster bar, not one place with a stage. You have to go to NY for that. I do what I do because I didn't ask permission. And no one has bothered me yet about it.
denise wrote:I have little respect for such institutions, because they imply that women wouldn't be able to do it without some organization that excluded men. Like we're naturally inferior, so we get to ride the special bus. It's stupid and wrong.
Your highschool sweetheart,
Denise
Re: how much is YOUR rent?
self promotion. you are the KING!
Ever think about Las Vegas? Or Phoenix? The weather is nice and you can find lots of work.
Love
Laura
KS wrote:
The worst thing about fighting is that you know you have to hold back. The wanker who keeps you up on work nights will be the first to lie in court. Take your own advice. Make money and get out. Visit Downeyville, CA when you have a chance. There is cheap beautiful land north of Tahoe. We went there last week.
Mdean wrote: I am sick of this city, sick of my neighbors, and my conflicts with them. can't sleep. too much adrenaline. I wanna make a million dollars and buy a ranch.
KS wrote:
I understand what you did in your last email. That night, I stopped three very young creeps from bothering some women at the bus stop that I normally use. Young creeps have no way of knowing that I have been studying the martial arts for as long as they have been alive. Nor do they know, when they tell me (for all at the bus stop to hear) that they are going to get their friend to shoot me, that I am a licensed owner of a 357 magnum. I say nothing to them. Now, I use the next bus stop down.
In the words of Charles Bukowski: "It's not that I hate people, but I feel a lot better when they aren't around.
Your ideas about buying your way out of normal stupid humanity are right on the mark. Land. ASmith wrote:
Well, I live in the same town obviously .Although I have a sweet deal,(288 a month) I too am fed up with all the freaks, bums, psychos, and yuppies here. I hear Olympia, Wash. is the place to be. I heard you had a great share tonight. Love, Allison
I wore a suit and handed out envelopes with my resume and bio and InternetDay article. The got confiscated and discarded by a matronly marm. My friend overheard her saying "here goes the psycho promos" as she dumped my 50 painstakingly assembled packages in the trash. Cest' La vie.
WHAT the FUCK was her problem anyway? Sheeeit.
Answer to yer survey: I live in a building above (well, almost above) the Edinburgh Castle on Geary/Polk and pay $520 a month for it. I'd be paying $440 a month for it if I lived alone since I moved in in '92, but when my sigoth moved in they said "eighty bucks more for a roommate". and the goddamn fucks wouldn't give him a FRONT DOOR KEY unless he plopped down a $125 deposit. they say it is for security, in case they ever have to change the lock on the front door. which has, incidentally, never once been changed in the seven years I have lived here. deek STILL doesn't have a front door key and he's been living here for three years now. he has to go around the back to Cedar Alley (which is haunted by the way) and call up at me like a GUEST or something. sheeeeeish. we're trying to find another place, since this one is falling apart at the seams (they only made it look nice in the lobby and hallways to impress the Property Management Company...the rooms are in poor repair and they don't do ANYTHING to fix ANYTHING in dire hopes that this will cause us to move out, so they can jack the rent on this unit another $250 or more. well, we went looking for another place, but I think I don't have to even say that is a JOKE...you can't even find a tenderloin hovel for less than $700 and that's for an Eddy Street place. sigh. at least I have a home, and one that allows cats yet. I am really not unhappy
-dm
-- [thraam transmissions] http://thraam.com If God dropped acid, would He see people? Peter Bogh wrote:
I pay 200 bucks to live in one of the two basement rooms of a 30-something year old 2story house in Portland Oregon. I live in what is considered to be the 'ghetto'ish part of town, but you can just chalk that description up to the somewhat questionable local take on this section of the city's larger black population. It's fairly quiet, and though I am getting a fucking spectacular deal, it's still Cheap rent around here and none of the neighbors give a shit that our amplifiers 'go to eleven' 8-] The definition of a studio can stretch quite a bit from what I've seen, but you could most probably score one for less here than what yer paying if you can deal the occasional redneck, horribly- HORRIBLY bad drivers, and the area being referred to as *'The Silicon Forest' replete with yuppies and loggers and Rain Rain and some More Rain. There's a lot of that Seasonal Depression Syndrome in these parts...Music scene is a bit slow, but great acts always seem to stop through here so there's usually a good show goin on. Oregon is very green and very boring for the most part. I stay for the marijuana =]
ScreamgCat@aol.com wrote:
out here the rent is outrageous....a studio averages around 650-700 (no rent control)...if you search long and hard you can find gems...a friend has a huge 1 bedroom with a garage for 650......but they are few and far between....it is quiet and people keep to themselves.....not a whole lot to do, but there are some cool divey bars which are decent to play, and they pay you pretty well....some nice coffee shops that aren't too overbearing.......Burlingame, California, if you were wondering
Dr teknik wrote: When I sent the name of the paper, "Press Democrat", I meant it for your ~rental~ reference. Go buy a copy to see what's available in Sonoma, California, rent- wise.. :-)
pw wrote: Or searching for a place to relocate? Rents are less expensive here(coos bay, Oregon) - we pay $525 for a three bedroom house, sometimes the availability of housing here is limited. Right now the market is "soft" and there are a lot of homes for sale at really decent prices. Life is MUCH slower here than in a city, culture is limited, tourism is increasing, fishing is at a standstill, logging is decreasing, music scene is limited, swing is in here
Michael, I live in in the fabulous circus loft. A peaked roof 3 stories up atop the old Oddfellows building with access to a 50' x 40' ballroom w/ 23' celiengs on the hippest block on the hippest street in this townof 2 million with a huge gay and lesbian population and less than 2% unemployment. I live with a genuine circus freak and so we have a trapese rig , a webbing (a rope like thing that you grab and spin on), a puppet stage, theatre seats, and various juggling stuff set up. We have a draw bridge giving us access to the fire escape and a 3' mirrored ball and theatre lighting. 3 funky bedrooms including an overhang loft bedroom and a big, huge kitchen. Each of the 3 of us pay $250 utilities included. Do you hate me now?
Ciao
Andrea
michael dean wrote:
>
> yea, but I feel I am to a place in my life where I am inde0pendent of > the need of outside stimulation. or maybe I am just kidding myself.
Stay where you are. Your little noisy studio has given/ shared with you sweet sobriety, a loving sweet beauty full girl, and endless creative bon bon's, such as yer novel/music/ and true friends, and i get to share these things too! Do not rent the space in your head to loudness and the dirty streets of that nostalgic and tragic city. Get yourself some houseplants and learn to speak french with them, wear your pants backwards and powder your butt. The world is an illusion and really we are all- together, or simply, we are not. If you must leave take holiday, but i think stay where you are. The cost of travel or, to get where you wanna live, is rich? and that city S.F., is a walking mans town...er person's town.
And when i walk here, into my office, and push the power button, why, here you are, right here with me. Mike kelley
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