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Escaping San Francisco
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- ojagodzinski 7y ago> At one point our doorbell stopped working, resulting in at least a half dozen packages being stolen (..) It took us over 9 months of emails and complaints to the landlords to finally get the doorbell replaced Is this a fucking joke? Remote doorbell costs like 4USD. You should just buy it yourself... > 3,657 USD per month for an apartment It is cheaper to go to EU by plane, get a job for like one month, get proper healthcare and come back ;)
- the_svd_doctor 7y agoSo interesting (and sad). Is there a simple way for people to detect mold in apartments without opening the walls ?
- detaro 7y agoYou can buy test kits, which either provide a growing medium and you'll see if airborne spores cause something to grow, which you then can get tested for what it is exactly, or let you take air samples that you mail to a lab.
- op00to 7y agoIdeally you’d do air sampling over a period of weeks, multiple times across the entire year. Reliable testing is hundreds of dollars. No, those little test kits don’t count.
- flak48 7y agoAs someone planning to move to San Francisco from outside the US soon, is living in SF really as bad as all the blogs make it to be? I chose SF mainly because of its proximity to the outdoors (which I value highly) and relative lack of a concrete jungle feeling compared to NYC EDIT: I have visited SF a few times for work before, and found the homelessness and filth to be confined to a few neighborhoods..
- PopeDotNinja 7y agoThe first thing you'll notice when you get to San Francisco proper is how many homeless people there and how dirty it is (google "sidewalk poop"). My recommendation would be to visit before you move.
- Daniel_sk 7y agoI would recommend spending a week or two there first. I was astonished how many crazy and homeless people are on the streets and theft/crime levels (broken windows on cars is now nothing uncommon). Do you want to actually live directly in SF or somewhere in the surrounding cities?
- chrisseaton 7y agoAre those issues only in the downtown area or they extend to the residential areas to the west as well?
- inferiorhuman 7y agoIt's not as bad west of Twin Peaks, but there are still homeless folks living there. I'm baffled by the folks who think there aren't any homeless people out west (presumably they never go out at night). You'd be hard pressed to find any city in the Bay Area without a homeless problem.
- prpl 7y agoNot really in the western neighborhoods except in a few select spots. You can live in those neighborhoods without seeing it except when you go to the grocery store, parts of Golden Gate park, or the beach
- lewisflude 7y agoIs GoFundMe really a popular way to pay for healthcare costs in the US?
- parrellel 7y agoGod, unfortunately, yes.
- Bostonian 7y agoLet's be realistic. Do you think even 1% of health care expenditures are paid by Go Fund Me appeals?
- parrellel 7y agoI doubt it, but, I have been hit up for Go Fund Me money multiple times by people trying to cover unexpected medical expenses. They included friends, neighbors, and my literal actual boss. So, while I doubt it's an appreciable amount in absolute terms, it definitely seems normal.
- kevmo 7y agoYes. It's very unfortunate. Millions and millions of people are walking around with treatable problems in the USA. We have a severe public health crisis, but the billionaires have a strangehold on our media and politics.
- SuperPaintMan 7y agoI'm very curious as to why this is being downvote so heavily. They're not wrong. Among other reasons, the healthcare situation is one reason I would not consider taking a job in the US.
- JKCalhoun 7y agoI upvoted, but perhaps people don't like the reductionist conclusion: billionaires control the media + politics. It's certainly an over-simplification but rings true enough to me to not warrant a downvote. Now the comment is [flagged]?
- mikece 7y agoI am no lawyer but it sound like the landlords are liable in a huge way.
- swiley 7y agoYou would hope with how hard we make it to build and rent housing that they would be.
- 8draco8 7y agoEven if they are it's USA, everybody have to pay their lawyer bills. It's not like in UK or many other countries where the side that looses pays up all costs. So if you have to choose between paying for healthcare and paying for the lawyers you'll obviously choose your health.
- Daniel_sk 7y agoIt's really sad that in US you have to ask for donations for your healthcare, this is absurd in a country on this level. I live in EU and I have been to US (and SFO) and I feel like live a more comfortable life here in EU. And I live in the "poorer" Slovakia (compared to west EU). I don't need to think about costs if I get sick or injured (+ I get social support in case I can't work during that time).
- sebow 7y agoFor the average european citizen?Yeah, maybe, if you consider most of western & central europe. Then again, as an european, i am not delusional to the fact that our healthcare is not free at all.There are a lot of differences, i guess it matters depending on one's way of living.
- qnsi 7y agoHow long do you wait for medical stuff? In Poland wait is sometimes >1 year
- inferiorhuman 7y agoHow long do you wait for medical stuff? In Poland wait is sometimes >1 year Depends on what you're looking for. A few years back I was told there was a 6-9 month wait at UCSF to see a GP that was willing to accept new patients. Non-urgent stuff like ultrasounds were around a 3 month wait.
- yulaow 7y agoIn Italy it's, for low urgency, ~6months in public hospitals, 3days - 1week in private public-affiliated clinics paying the same as in the hospital (which are the main used solution to not overcrowd hospitals), <1day in full private clinics paying a bit more (eg ~ 80euros for a low abdomen eco, instead of ~ 15 in the public and affiliated) If you have an high priority you get served by an hospital the same day.
- kristianc 7y agoThis might be, to be fair, because you’re likely a SWE and €800 a month in Bratislava gets you a three bedroom flat.
- chrisseaton 7y ago> We eventually discovered the apartment building we were living in was built in 1908. Yes, we were living in a “sick” building that was over 100 years old, and never knew. We even found photos of our former apartment in historical archives dating back to the 1920’s. Is being just a hundred years old some kind of inherent problem? Obviously rotting is bad but they talk about discovering that it existed in 1908 like they found out that it’s a time machine, or that people didn’t take photos in the 20s. What’s the big deal about the age?
- JshWright 7y agoThe best house I've ever lived in was built in 1850. As a sibling comment points out, this is definitely survivorship bias, since only the "good" wooden houses survive this long.
- AllegedAlec 7y agoAmerican houses are made with cheap wood most of the time. Especially when you live in an older home, these are highly attractive to moulds when the building isn't maintained.
- MisterTea 7y agoThey are highly attractive to molds when plumbing leaks all over. Otherwise they are dry as a bone and sag in places. They're also built like shit so floors are wobbly and uneven and bowled in spots. A ball in the living room will roll to the center from any point in the room. My mother's house was built in 1927 here in Queens NYC and the place is a shit box. After redoing the living room and fixing up the kitchen I can safely say that once that house is sold it will be knocked over. They're just a cheap rickety mess thrown up by the dozens.
- op00to 7y agoMy hundred year old house was not well maintained, had a super wet basement, and never had mold. It was leaky enough to air that it stays dry.
- thrower123 7y ago
- 100011 7y agoNow they'll move to another state and vote for similar progressive legislation, regulation and policy in there. Beautiful ratchet.
- herostratus101 7y agoTo be fair to them, it's not obvious to me what their politics are. Their willingness to complain about the homeless suggests that they might be less liberal than the avg. SF resident.
- fjabre 7y agoThat's like saying Mississippi's republican policies have made it the poorest state in the country.
- qaq 7y agoWell they def. do not have the tax base that SF has.
- prpl 7y agoI’ve been paranoid about how bad places in SF can be, and have had some issues with mold occasionally. I have a rent controlled apartment I’ve been in for 8 years, but I’ve done the maintenance myself to improve the place and keep health issues down, which largely boils down to making sure surfaces are sealed and cleanable: Paint the bathroom and use a mold killing primer. Refinished hardwood floors. Wash walls with TSP and paint using an oil-based primer (only one room so far, this was more for lead-based paint sealing) Keep the windows cracked often Clean the bathroom walls with bleach often (several times a year) Clean some other room walls with bleach occasionally (once a year) Clean window sills a few times a year Bought a dehumidifier (I will actually buy another soon) I don’t pay $3k+ a month though. One of the reasons I did all that work is precisely because I have been worried about moving to a new place, spending s fortune, only to find the landlord has never maintained it or knows how terrible it is.
- gregors 7y agoregarding bleach and mold - tldr don't use bleach on drywall https://homeguides.sfgate.com/bleach-thing-clean-mold-off-walls-105077.html https://homeguides.sfgate.com/bleach-thing-clean-mold-off-wa...
- CPLX 7y agoThis article is literally nonsense, it’s at the same level of medical rigor as an anti-vax rant, and appears to be crafted intentionally to get people susceptible to this kind of narrative to give them money. I can’t believe it’s being taken seriously here.
- candiodari 7y agoMold can definitely cause long-term medical symptoms. People not realizing this is happening because they're cheaping out is also not that rare.
- thatfrenchguy 7y ago> We were paying $3,657.60 per month for an apartment built in 1908 that got us and our dog severely sick Why did you not move ? $3600 will get you a nice 1bd in San Francisco...
- kristianc 7y ago> We eventually discovered the apartment building we were living in was built in 1908. Come to England, we have houses built in 1600. Growing up in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the entire country, living in SF and having to wait for a few fixes (fix your own damn doorbell?) to your apartment is not Victorian level penury. But man if I’m not enjoying the juxtaposition of Mr Crypto Blockchain Free Thinker with ‘why won’t someone fix my doorbell for me’: https://trentlapinski.com/ https://trentlapinski.com/
- huffmsa 7y agoIt is the legal obligation of the landlord to fix the bell, but sometimes you've got to threaten to sue / ruffle a few feathers to get shit done. Or do it yourself. Guy's allegedly been building and selling since '01. Where's the money gone?
- tempsy 7y agoThis story makes no sense. $3700 can get you a nice 1 bedroom anywhere in SF, so it’s unclear why they couldn’t have found another place. If you’re renting, you find mold, and your landlord does nothing then by CA law you have the right to break your lease for unsafe living conditions. The author’s LinkedIn is filled with executive/founder/CEO roles (and claiming a 7 figure exit) and yet still needing to use GoFundMe for $50k? Also don’t understand how his existing health insurance through his work would not cover him. He claims he doesn’t have it anymore because they wouldn’t treat him? I’ve never heard of a situation where you get insurance through your work and you are dropped because they won’t treat you for some reason. Lastly the mold is clearly visible in all the videos and pics he linked! It’s not like they four years later decided to pull out some carpet or something and only then discovered the place was filled with mold. They seriously lived there for 4 years without questioning that at all? If the story is true (questionable, really) then I would have to question their mental capacity if they thought nothing of all the clear as day black mold all over their apartment while getting sick without thinking twice about it.
- baybal2 7y agoFor $3700 a month you can live like a king in a 300m²+ serviced mansion apartment here
- csomar 7y agoI hate to say this seeing what the OP is going through: But this seems largely their responsibility. While the landlord, in theory, should provide these baseline services of cleaning and repair, sometimes you got to take matters with your hands. I have been in this situation before and there were either one of these two solutions: Fix things yourself if you can't afford a new place; or find a new place and make sure things are fixed. I prefer finding a new place but sometimes you can't afford that and need to take matters with your hands. Where should I start? > It took us over 9 months of emails and complaints to the landlords to finally get the doorbell replaced. Replace the doorbell yourself. Should be easier than the endless contact with your landlord. Should be fixed in 1-2 days. Return the old doorbell when you are leaving the property. > We ran home, but by the time we got there the box was gone. I'm not really sure. But if I got a package stolen, I'll probably stop ordering delivery. I thought delivery is mostly useful for those living in suburbs but if you are in the city, just walk to the nearest store? And that would help preserve the community too, right? > the gold rush mentality of the tech industry, which is mostly a lie. Which sounds like the OP profile? https://trentlapinski.com/ https://trentlapinski.com/ If you think it's B.S. don't do it for the sake of money or fitting in. It'll just make you miserable. Let's look at the photos: > https://techpost.io/uploads/mold-document-4.jpg https://techpost.io/uploads/mold-document-4.jpg This is "inside" the house. It'll take months for such a mold to develop. They probably have a problem with water but hell sure they have a problem with cleaning. Mold is easy to remove from my experience. Just clean the damn thing. Tip: Paint is cheap. Buy a bucket and paint it yourself. > https://imgur.com/a/VCFLDxz https://imgur.com/a/VCFLDxz I might be wrong here but this dust looks like it built up over a very long period. Looks like the guy and his girlfriend don't clean up? > https://techpost.io/uploads/mold-document-2.jpg https://techpost.io/uploads/mold-document-2.jpg Jesus. Did it ever come up to your mind that this doesn't look healthy? If you didn't see it, do you ever change your bed sheets? You are paying $3500/month. The repairs could have been done by you in the weekend or the end of the day. Probably costing you less than $1000 for a one year value worth until new repairs. Here is a tip: If your landlord is non-cooperative, tell him you are fixing it yourself but will invoice him later. He might/might not accept that but at least you get it fixed. tl;dr: Time to grow up?
- huffmsa 7y ago
- cowsandmilk 7y ago> after we finally called the city, their inspectors discovered a number of safety, structural, and health violations They probably should have called the city on day one of moving in. Did they really go years believing this place was inhabitable? Did they never have a friend stop by and see the shitty conditions and insist they should call the city? There is an inspection department who can haul your landlord into court. You can also withhold rent when your unit is in these conditions and if you show up to court with the photos from these posts, your landlord will be in for a bad time. They claim the building suffered from lack of oversight from the city; and sure the city didn’t know it was being rented out. But it also suffered from lack of someone actually notifying the city.
- chkaloon 7y ago9 months of stolen packages because of a broken doorbell? Here, I'll help https://www.amazon.com/Zeapa-Receivers-Transmitter-Indicator-Waterproof/dp/B07G9XYF8N https://www.amazon.com/Zeapa-Receivers-Transmitter-Indicator...
- op00to 7y agoI feel stupider for having read this, but I get solace from the idea that fools are giving other fools money. Keeps the fools from bothering me.
- scottmcleod 7y agoThis is the most san francisco thing ever..
- habosa 7y agoThe only thing more toxic than the mold in the apartment are the comments here. Yeah it sounds like Trent could have handled the situation better. It also sounds like he didn't and is now pretty screwed. There's no need to pile on. In the end I just don't think this post belongs on HN but I guess upvotes don't lie.
- JDiculous 7y agoThe toxicity in the comments section here is revolting. Seriously disappointed in HN here. Anyways back to the post, it would seem like the landlord should be liable for all these damages. San Francisco has a ton of problems that literally just don't exist in other first world countries. From overpriced low quality apartments with toxic mold to so much poverty and financial desperation that one's grocery delivery gets stolen in 10 minutes, SF has never appealed to me in the slightest bit even as a software engineer. I hope they're able to find the help they need, and I appreciate their bravery in speaking out. Don't let the oddly defensive anonymous keyboard warriors silence you.
- X-Istence 7y agoFor $3700 you can have a brand new apartment in the Dogpatch of SF... if I find mold I am not staying, especially if the landlord won't fix it. There's a lot about this story that just doesn't seem to add up... its weird.
- berniepebbles 7y agoThis is promoting victim culture. Many red flags and many GoFundMe links. If you can’t afford a lifestyle, move. If you can’t afford the lifestyle, but continue to live there, don’t create a gofundme and craft a sob story highlighting your negligence. On a positive note, you can get a job, graduate high school, and not have kids out of wedlock (dogs are not cheap either). You have all 3 of those going for you. You are tougher than you think. You should reject all of those GoFundMe dollars or have a plan to repay people who donated.
- RickJWagner 7y agoAuthor should have posted a 'Roast me' article on Reddit. It would've been faster.
- sizzle 7y ago"We are both suffering from lingering neurological damage, chronic fungal infections on our skin, GIs, sinuses, and even my ear canals. I’ve even lost some hearing (possibly permanently) in my left ear. Our health and immune systems are still compromised and we need regular access to a low EMF infrared sauna, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, and may even need stem cells to make a full recovery so we can regain our stamina, mental faculties, get married, and hopefully if we still can, have children. The clock is ticking on our recovery so we can try to have children and we simply can’t wait or rely on the possibility of the courts to rule in our favor a year or two from now." Gonna need to see some peer reviewed medical journal citations regarding effects of mold in humans to take any of these claims seriously. "low EMF infrared sauna, hyperbaric oxygen chambers, stem cells..." Stem cells?!... to treat what exactly? You can't exactly stroll into a pharmacy with an Rx for a petri dish of freshly harvested stem cells for self administered intracerebral injection.