You do realize that not that long ago much of the now "good housing" was often "shit housing," right? Also, without those much maligned flippers there wouldn't be "good housing." There would still be "shit housing" that nobody wants to live in.

> Cheap houses would be significantly cheaper if there weren’t people buying them as money making opportunities. If you cut a large amount of demand out of the market prices go down.

This doesn't happen in Baltimore the same as cities like Seattle, Austin, etc. The housing inventory in Baltimore greatly exceeds the demand. Having talked to people who flip houses, the profit margins are muuuuuuch smaller than you are imagining. It's not necessarily restaurant industry levels but the small time home flippers aren't living lavish lives.

There's also a floor in the cost of housing if you want to pay people a living wage. If you want laborers to make more than minimum wage there is going to be a significant cost increase in homes. Everyone's all about increased wages, right up until they're on the hook for paying the cost of those wages.

Also, if you want REALLY cheap housing that does exist too. You can score some dirt cheap places in meth-ridden Appalachia. But I suspect you want more than just cheap housing. You want cheap housing in a nice area that is convenient to things you enjoy and job opportunities. Just like everyone else. That increases the cost of things, even before any notion of profit.

I made some creme brulee pancakes this morning and they were awesome.

> discrimination

I've seen discrimination on protected categories in the workplace several times. I saw someone get fired because he was black (long story but that's the tl;dr). But it was framed as his position was made redundant. I've seen women be dismissed in the hiring process because "someone else was more qualified." And nobody knew who that someone else was. Discrimination is very much alive and well, even when it's illegal.

Reddit definitely has a fair share of people who make poor financial decisions and then feel like everyone should bend over backwards to accommodate them. And if you're not personally benefiting them in the way they feel they deserve you are an evil landlord/capitalist/whatever. Entitled babies.

Have you seen recent mortgage interest rates? A cheap house's monthly payment is now easily an additional $300-500+ per month solely due to increased interest rates. And you're still on the hook for for repairs. The value proposition of new home ownership is currently fairly low.

I suspect many of the same people will cry when they do own a place and shortly after moving in the HVAC system needs to be replaced and the roof starts to leak. Suddenly that stable, risk-free rent payment looks mighty attractive compared to the impending $15,000+ bill to fix those issues. That's the other side of the coin that people either do not understand or want to selectively ignore. Renting absolves yourself of significant risk. I know several people who have ZERO desire to ever own a home because they enjoy not having to worry about anything home-related. Renting isn't always bad. Owning isn't always good.

My understanding of Section 8 vouchers is that they are a bit a headache in the beginning. There are inspections, paperwork, etc. that can take a few months to complete before the cash starts to flow. I'm sure the timeline is even worse for someone not familiar with the process.

> Plenty of us are forced to be renters because assholes keep buying everything up to rent out, causing scarcity and higher market prices.

Yeah, that's not the case in Baltimore city. That is true in some cities but the whole "evil Texans are coming in and buying up all the property and driving prices higher!" narrative that some people love isn't actually happening here. There's still PLENTY of affordable housing here, check your favorite realty website. There's even affordable housing outside of the city if you want a more suburban lifestyle.

From some website...

1. To enter, use the "open gate" button in your app
2. Park in any spot not marked "Reserved"
3. To exit, use the "open gate" button in your app
4. If at any point the "open gate" button is not working, view the QR code on your pass and scan at the gate

Never parked there before and I am always reluctant to pay for parking via apps after hearing many, many horror stories. Did you see any sort of QR code reader or have the button on your app? How did you get in the first time?

Did you try the door that is on Cross St to the left of the "driveway" that leads to the parking garage door?

Honestly, you’re probably the first person I’ve ever seen on here that is perfect for Aberdeen. Usually it is recommended only as a pragmatic choice (live close to work) because it is very boring. But since that’s not a concern for you, this is pretty much a perfect deal.

The town has the regular convenient things you might go to on the regular - Target, Aldi, etc. You’re not going to find bougie grocery stores and the like, but it sounds like that’s not your thing.

Where is the house located? The area closer to and south of 40 is not the best. There will be some small level of crime, but if you’re a hermit the probability of being a victim is likely extremely low. Just get an alarm system, don’t leave anything in the car, etc.

At $6,000 this is unfortunately just above the limit of small claims court. It might be worth going that route and trying to settle to do mediation. Worst case scenario, you’re out $1,000 after you reclaim the $5,000 limit. Which sucks, no doubt, but it’s better than being out $6,000. You might also want to look around for lawyers who provide you with some free consults.

I’ve been on the receiving end of a few contracts or subcontracts that were lowest bid rather than best value. You definitely get what you pay for. Hiring people from HUBZones for rock bottom prices to do technical work sounds like a great idea. Until they have to show up in NYC and there’s no travel budget. So you tell them they have to commute from WV… so they never show up. Fuck you Ron, you had the dumbest idea ever.

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/z1w93z/hourly_and_salary_wages_for_bucees_convenience/

The equivalent position at Buc-ee's starts at more than double. And I'm assuming you get a lot less ire being the manager of the deli than the manager of impound.

Most of the top recommendations are, unfortunately, probably going to be full on reservations. Especially at prime time slots.

Thames Street Oyster House does walk ins. The lobster roll is phenomenal. $150 seems very doable unless you go overboard with the raw bar and/or alcohol. Cinghiale has some availability. Bluebird has some availability and does walk ins at the bar. Jong Kak would be a good time.

If you're up for a bit of an adventure you could go to Zahav in Philly as they used to take walk ins promptly at 5pm. But you need to get there early as there will be a line. They're currently doing a $75 prix fixe menu and their food is absolutely awesome. The menu was bigger pre-COVID but it seems to still include many of the hits, particularly the pomegranate lamb shoulder.

I definitely suggest calling to verify NYE hours if you cannot score a reservation online.

I would say as a general rule the DC adjacent area of Maryland extends up to about the Patuxent River.

Not an ideal solution. There are certainly alerts you might want to get at 4:30am - weather related, as an example. If a very active storm is producing a ton of tornadoes and is heading my way I want to know about it. Or some sort of riot broke out. Because I will take action upon this information at 4:30 am.

But there’s other stuff that isn’t helpful at 4:30 am. I’m not hopping out of bed and looking for a car, just like EVERYONE on here. But if I got in the car at 5:00 am it would be helpful to receive a notification then, even if it’s delayed.

This is Reddit, which is representative of people in real life. Everything is black and white and nuance that doesn’t absolutely follow the circle jerk is blindly downvoted. How many people who upvoted these comments actually thought about it like that?

I know I totally hop out of bed at 4:30 am and join the search party with my neighbors. Or at least commit the plate number to memory, then go back to bed for a few hours, and perfectly recall the plate when I leave the house 5 hours later. Just like everyone here upvoting… right people?

100% this. You want to maximize the signal to noise ratio. Otherwise, like you said, people will just turn them off and then they’ll never get the notifications at all. People fast asleep at 4:30am are useless in a vehicle search. It’s strictly negative value to notify them.

Seems also like an opportunity for phone manufacturers to improve. The default option should not be a loud notification in the middle of the night. If a phone hasn’t moved in a certain amount of time and it’s between like 10pm and 6am, have it delivered silently and then have it take up a full screen when the phone is finally unlocked. There’s zero value in waking people up to look for a car but people already out and about could get notified in real time. And when people start to wake up they can be notified first thing.

https://wtop.com/baltimore/2022/12/maryland-state-police-issue-amber-alert-for-1-year-old-boy/

There are local alternatives to Fogo in some cities. La Barrita is not one.

If you’ve never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, yes absolutely. It’s a bit of an experience. The food itself is pretty good, but not great. You go because you can get like 16 cuts of meat, not because any of those 16 are amazing.

The salad bar is pretty solid too. I could see a vegetarian enjoying it. There’s also some solid bacon available on it.

The Brazilian Limeade is quite nice. The cheese bread has a million calories.

Service varies. The first one I ever went to was in Chicago for lunch. It wasn’t busy and the service was incredible. Constant stream of meat and when my glass approached half empty I had a refill incoming. That was honestly an awesome experience. I’ve been to others that were so-so… I swear sometimes I’d just not see some cuts unless I specifically requested them.

Educated guess at what may have happened...

Your water meter probably froze. There is a freeze plate on the bottom of it and when water in the meter freezes it expands to prevent damage to the water itself. This makes it a cheap and fairly easy repair. The bad thing is that when it thaws out you're still not going to have water as the plate is a single use part that breaks when it freezes. There will be a big leak at the meter and your street will be flooded with water coming from your meter. Which will turn to ice tonight.

I would try to find a water meter key and place it ready to turn off the water. Take a hair dryer to the meter to thaw it out. If it starts gushing water turn your water off and file a 311 request for a broken freeze plate / no water. You'll have to go a few days without water before it is fixed.

Also possible, but less likely - you have a frozen pipe inside the house. This can turn into a catastrophe if you don't catch it quick. Try to inspect the plumbing where it enters the house. Does any of it look cracked? If so, you need to turn off the water with the aforementioned key and it's your problem to resolve, not 311's.

If you cannot locate a key you can use a wrench. Just have it pre-positioned prior to dethawing the meter because the area around the meter will be flooded with freezing cold water and you'll have to stick your hand in it to shut it off.

EDIT: Just saw you're a renter. Not your responsibility but your problem for sure. I would not mess around with this, inform your landlord.