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Edo in San Miguel de Allende


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Sorry to hear that things are still moving slowly in NYC. However, I have feeling that you now have a guardian angel or two looking out for you in Mexico. They still exist there (seriously).

 

Avocados? I can never get enough of them. BTW, if you want to sound like a local, Mexicans call corn chips totopos.

 

guacamole-chips-and-glass-of-lemonade-or

 

 

 

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Ed, I understand about needing calmness of mind to take on something new. 

With my family situation, I cannot even work on my images without dozens of interruptions. Really hurts my concentration when I’m trying to tag. Then the hammering and sawing going on here...’nuf said.

And there’s been multiple new things I’ve had to handle since the move, and my stress level being what it is, most of the time my thoughts go in circles and I can’t address these problems. I used to be very decisive. It’s really amazing what stress does to one. Thought processes and health.

I don’t go a week without breaking down into a puddle of tears.

I'm in your corner. I can’t understand why the apartment on your floor is move in ready and yours isn’t? Or is, but not allowed?  We need to meet in the middle somewhere and go crazy together.

Wait.....I’m already there. :D Sorry, I left without you.

Betty

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In Vancouver, businesses can stay closed for months (even longer) after fire and/or water damage while all the parties -- contractors, insurance companies, building owners, etc. -- argue with each other. Don't mean to sound pessimistic but it could be a long haul. Hopefully, I'm wrong about this and Edo's situation will be resolved ASAP. Given people's homes are involved, one would certainly hope so.

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Yes, John, that is the situation on Mulberry Street.

 

My landlord wants to talk on the phone Monday to bring me (all the tenants) up to date. The last time he did this, a month ago, there was nothing to report. No news is good news? Don't think so. 

 

Betty, you're situation sounds very stressful. 

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I spoke with my landlord on Monday. There is bad news and (perhaps) good news.

 

The bad: The landlord said he did not think the building will be open to tenants before the end of the year, at the soonest. 

 

The good: He made a specific offer to buy my rent-stabilized lease for a serious amount. Sorry, I never put numbers in this open forum. 

 

Working out the details will not be easy. I should be back in NYC for a week or two to sort a number things out, but I can't do that unless I find a place to stay. On the other hand, my tourist visa for Mexico is only valid for 180 days, so there pressure on both ends.

 

I will not be settling in Mexico. Since I'm an Irish citizen (born in Brooklyn), I'm in the EU, and so I'm considering moving to Lisbon. All this nomad activity was not a plan of mine, but here I am scrambling. Right now I'm looking for a new rental in San Miguel, cause I have to be out of here by July first. 

 

Stay well, Edo

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Crumbs. Quite a serious prospect.

Do you know Lisbon? Speaking only as a tourist, Porto is worth a look. But I'm talking out of my hat- I've never lived in a different country, and I'm about to lose my right to do so in the EU anyway.

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Yes, Ian and Mark -- you have picked up on the anxiety, danger and complexity of this situation; I could not even try to explain all the problems that have come from other problems. 

 

Lisbon? I don't really know it, but I've been there. I was an expat in Europe for 16 years. But this is indeed a desperate move for me. The fire and the Brexit/Trump Era is a desperate time. Churchill warned of this flaw in democracy, when fools could take over. It happened in Germany in 1933. Me? I'm desperate and scrambling and looking for the next move. It took just a bit over 20 minutes, the fire, to set me on this "adventure," and I don't know where it's taking me. 

 

 

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Then I'd definitely put in a word for Porto. Beguiling.

Unfortunately Portuguese is almost, but not quite, entirely unlike Spanish, but it's not hard to learn IMO, although I was only there for a week. The main thing is not to speak Spanish by accident! Obregado.

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Oh my goodness, Ed. This will be a serious change and my nerves would be a mess if I were in your situation. I'm familiar with the type of building you live in here and on the 4th floor. Lots of stairs. I'm only up one flight here and any time I've had a problem with a hip or a knee I realize I might not be able to stay here "forever." So maybe you will find yourself in a place that is an improvement over the old one. Lisbon certainly won't put you through the kind of winter we had here last year. Hope you wind up in a place that makes you very happy!

 

Paulette

 

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Porto and Lisbon are quite hilly, though. Lots of rather tall apartment blocks. But mild even at the beginning of November. And a national health service, of course.

Probably more excitement than you were expecting, but it sounds like a plan.

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10 minutes ago, funkyworm said:

basically the core of the subject was about making lists... pro's/cons, strengths/weaknesses, if you wanted to get fancy then add weights to each counter argument.

 

That all I do all day everyday. The only temporary respite is lunch and doing my stock. 

 

Mark, I don't speak Portuguese, but I do speak Italian, another Romance language. I don't speak Spanish either, by the way, but I used to travel all the time and became very good at sign language. Language is on my list of problems . . . but way way down.

 

Ask John Mitchell about walking here in San Miguel, and add the thin air to the hills and uneven surfaces. 

 

Paulette, I am lucky in the fact that my knee and hip are still working. 

 

And no, folks, I'm not expecting Lisbon or anywhere to be a walk in the park.

 

 

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Good luck Edo, you seem to be treating those two imposters, triumph and disaster, with the same positive attitude.

 

My understanding is that Portuguese is a lot closer to Italian than Spanish so you should cope well. My daughter loved Lisbon (she lived in Spain) and is thinking of moving there when she comes back to Europe.

 

Portugal is quietly making progress despite the other challenges in EU. An inexpensive country by European standards. I loved Porto.

 

All the best,

Martin

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Thanks, Martin, for the encouraging thoughts. I will be checking out Porto. I've already check The Algarve, but that would mean having car. Right now I have to find another place here in San Miguel. 

 

This is some kettle of fish I find myself in. 

 

Edo

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Can't say I noticed congruence with Italian but I was only learning a few phrases for holiday. It sounds very different to Spanish.

English is widely understood among the young, as it usually is in Europe, but with a bit of the lingo your goodwill rating goes through the roof. You'd love the food as well as the prices and weather. And port.

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3 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

That all I do all day everyday. The only temporary respite is lunch and doing my stock. 

 

Mark, I don't speak Portuguese, but I do speak Italian, another Romance language. I don't speak Spanish either, by the way, but I used to travel all the time and became very good at sign language. Language is on my list of problems . . . but way way down.

 

Ask John Mitchell about walking here in San Miguel, and add the thin air to the hills and uneven surfaces. 

 

Paulette, I am lucky in the fact that my knee and hip are still working. 

 

And no, folks, I'm not expecting Lisbon or anywhere to be a walk in the park.

 

 

 

You're right about San Miguel's lumpy and hilly streets, Edo. They aren't always easy on the feet and joints. You're also correct about the perils of democracy. Who would have thought that pirates could successfully hijack the White House (after Canadians burned it down according to Mr. T) in plain daylight, but we won't go there. No doubt you already know this, but Mexico has all kinds of visa options for Americans and Canadians. Extending or upgrading your current tourist visa might not be all that difficult. Have you thought about checking out any other places in Mexico (e.g. Lake Chapala)? San Miguel -- enticing as it might be -- is expensive by Mexican standards.

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The landlord will be able to renovate the apartment and charge a whole lot more than Ed is paying. He may feel that the best time to renovate will be now, when work is already being done on the building. It's hard to know what all the factors are but it is possible that the offer might stand after Ed is back in the apartment. The sure thing is that he can't be forced out. He would have to be lured.... with a good settlement.

 

Paulette

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Paulette is not just another pretty face; she knows her NYC stuff. 

 

My landlord has been hinting at wanting to buy my lease ever since he bought the building over two years ago. This is the first time a number was mentioned. The going rent for a small flat in Manhattan now is $4,000 a month or more. So of course, he wants to buy me and the few other low-rent tenants out and renovate. 

 

Ian, he said end of year at least. I know of stories where it was over two years before the vacate order was lifted. I pay very little rent, but have no money and a small retirement income. I want to take the money and run. Rent is not the only costly item in NYC. It is no place to retire. 

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2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

I'm guessing the landlord wants to buy out the rent-controlled lease and put up the rent to a new tenant. So the offer will go away when the flat is habitable.

 

No, the offer will still be there. An offer, anyway. At this moment, it looks as if I will never set foot in that apartment again. But the complexities of that are endless.

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18 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

Paulette is not just another pretty face; she knows her NYC stuff. 

 

My landlord has been hinting at wanting to buy my lease ever since he bought the building over two years ago. This is the first time a number was mentioned. The going rent for a small flat in Manhattan now is $4,000 a month or more. So of course, he wants to buy me and the few other low-rent tenants out and renovate. 

 

Ian, he said end of year at least. I know of stories where it was over two years before the vacate order was lifted. I pay very little rent, but have no money and a small retirement income. I want to take the money and run. Rent is not the only costly item in NYC. It is no place to retire. 

 

Four grand a month! Holy c**p! And I thought that rents in Vancouver were outrageous.  La Revolución is long overdue. B)

 

Landlords here use similar tactics. They try to leverage people out so they can double the rents. The vacancy rate in Van is essentially 0%. Consequently the shysters get away with it. In your case, taking the money and running sounds like the right thing to do.

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John, the apartment across the hall from me was renting for $4,500 a mouth. This is a 100-year-old walkup tenement building. It's nuts! My local grocery store was selling bananas for $1 each. 

 

It dawned on my today, as I was going to look at another two-month rental, that with the two pieces of news I had from my landlord on Monday, I have no reason to sit in San Miguel waiting on an announcement of reentry to Mulberry Street, when I was told that nothing would be happening before the end of the year . . . at the soonest. I need to get to NYC, get the agreement with my landlord done, and go wherever I'm going to go. Not back to Mexico. 

 

Edo

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3 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

John, the apartment across the hall from me was renting for $4,500 a mouth. This is a 100-year-old walkup tenement building. It's nuts! My local grocery store was selling bananas for $1 each. 

 

It dawned on my today, as I was going to look at another two-month rental, that with the two pieces of news I had from my landlord on Monday, I have no reason to sit in San Miguel waiting on an announcement of reentry to Mulberry Street, when I was told that nothing would be happening before the end of the year . . . at the soonest. I need to get to NYC, get the agreement with my landlord done, and go wherever I'm going to go. Not back to Mexico. 

 

Edo

 

Nuts indeed. How do people afford those rents? Salaries must be very high in NYC.

 

Bananas average about $0.79 (CAN) per lb here, but I usually go for the organic variety, about $1.25/lb.

 

It's a big world out there...

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9 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

John, the apartment across the hall from me was renting for $4,500 a mouth. This is a 100-year-old walkup tenement building. It's nuts! My local grocery store was selling bananas for $1 each. 

 

It dawned on my today, as I was going to look at another two-month rental, that with the two pieces of news I had from my landlord on Monday, I have no reason to sit in San Miguel waiting on an announcement of reentry to Mulberry Street, when I was told that nothing would be happening before the end of the year . . . at the soonest. I need to get to NYC, get the agreement with my landlord done, and go wherever I'm going to go. Not back to Mexico. 

 

Edo

 

I wouldn't have thought your neighborhood was more expensive than Greenwich Village. I was rather shocked yesterday to be charged 75 cents for a banana. In recent memory they were only 25. The wee studios in my building are going for about $2,300 a month. A one bedroom like mine facing the noisy street (I face the garden) went recently for $2,800. So you could move here to a less expensive part of town! ;)

 

Paulette

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