"It’s not for everyone, but it’s a good life."
May 18, 2024 1:04 AM Subscribe
He sees himself as many Angelenos do: in the gray area between homeless and homeowner. Enough money to get by, but not enough to ever have the picture-perfect California single-family home. One more person with a dream of putting down roots in one of the priciest real estate markets in the country. from An ambulance, an empty lot and a loophole: One man’s fight for a place to live [Los Angeles Times; ungated]
Anybody have any idea why he needed to buy three ambulances at the bankruptcy auction? Do they generally not allow inspections beforehand or something, so you buy extra in case some are (as in this case) lemons?
posted by coolname at 5:09 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
posted by coolname at 5:09 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
I knew a guy who wanted one trolley car to build a diner in, but they were sold in a lot of seven. So he brought seven and then only picked one up, which I think meant he ended up paying the seller storage fees for the rest for several years while he figured out how to get rid of them. (As far as I know,.the diner never happened).
posted by novalis_dt at 5:21 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
posted by novalis_dt at 5:21 AM on May 18 [2 favorites]
Improvising Life, by Cameron Gordon.
He's Hollywood handsome. (I'm wondering what his songs are like.) The man has a bright California future.
posted by kozad at 5:23 AM on May 18 [1 favorite]
He's Hollywood handsome. (I'm wondering what his songs are like.) The man has a bright California future.
posted by kozad at 5:23 AM on May 18 [1 favorite]
Fear is not the mind killer; debt is.
posted by JohnR at 5:35 AM on May 18 [3 favorites]
posted by JohnR at 5:35 AM on May 18 [3 favorites]
Anybody have any idea why he needed to buy three ambulances at the bankruptcy auction?
Many places in that sort of business aren't interested in retail trade, they just want to sell to businesses. Packaging multiple vehicles together discourages the retail customer.
posted by Mitheral at 6:53 AM on May 18 [4 favorites]
Many places in that sort of business aren't interested in retail trade, they just want to sell to businesses. Packaging multiple vehicles together discourages the retail customer.
posted by Mitheral at 6:53 AM on May 18 [4 favorites]
the picture-perfect California single-family home
Yeah, that fantasy is why prices in LA are sky high. There isn't enough ROOM for everyone to have one, and even if there was the suburban sprawl would be obscene.
Dense housing is the only way to go and people in LA are indulging in a harmful fantasy by pretending they can just keep zoning multi-family dwellings out of existence to preserve the pristine glory of the endless suburban LA sprawl.
posted by sotonohito at 7:44 AM on May 18 [17 favorites]
Yeah, that fantasy is why prices in LA are sky high. There isn't enough ROOM for everyone to have one, and even if there was the suburban sprawl would be obscene.
Dense housing is the only way to go and people in LA are indulging in a harmful fantasy by pretending they can just keep zoning multi-family dwellings out of existence to preserve the pristine glory of the endless suburban LA sprawl.
posted by sotonohito at 7:44 AM on May 18 [17 favorites]
Affable stoners make the world go round.
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 7:59 PM on May 18 [1 favorite]
posted by outgrown_hobnail at 7:59 PM on May 18 [1 favorite]
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posted by Alex404 at 2:18 AM on May 18 [7 favorites]