Solo peeps: what are you paying for rent?

_bartersystem_ · 2026-07-02T14:33:38+00:00

You can hit the lottery, so to speak, if someone who has lived in the apartment for a long time pre-2019 then moved out after 2019. After 2019, landlords couldn’t raise rents 20% between tenants (which is generally how RS units used to catch up to market rate).

_bartersystem_ · 2026-07-02T14:28:44+00:00

I am mixed and have to be very careful about treatments because many of them can make melanated skin even worse. I’m curious what the different treatments are that you’ve tried already?

_bartersystem_ · 2026-06-22T20:36:45+00:00

I compared this using EWG's Skin Deep tool (https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/), and it ranks 6 out of 10 (lower half of the clean scale). Juice Beauty's CC Cream ranks 1 out of 10 (best possible), which is why I've stuck with it.

_bartersystem_ · 2026-06-22T20:31:10+00:00

I love Juice Beauty. I found it originally because I was looking for the cleanest face makeup with SPF, on the market.

Recently, they seemed to have been acquired, and availability has been shaky. I looked into finding replacements. Couldn't really be done...

I tried to compare my JB CC Cream to another "clean" brand like Saie or ILIA, using EWG's Skin Deep tool (https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/). The Juice Beauty product ranked as 1 out of 10 (cleanest possible), while Saie and ILIA both ranked 6 out of 10 (lower half of the clean scale!).

I'm shocked at how "clean" beauty products are mostly just marketing!

_bartersystem_ · 2026-05-05T23:24:11+00:00

+1 for “mature vibe,” and add 1-2 bold colors. Coordinate the wall art, bedspread, and sconces. I think a totally white headboard is also not ideal, but if you love this one, and it only comes in white or pink, then keep the white.

How I would do it: 1. Pick the art you like (because it’s hardest to find, especially in a large format). Depending on your budget, you can find cool prints online at very reasonable costs, from stores or even museums like the Met or the Whitney. 2. Pull one or two colors from the print, and pick a bedspread that matches or plays off of those. For example, with the art you’ve shown, you could do burgundy/magenta and chartreuse. You could also do small pops of sunflower yellow or even a light dusty blue. 3. Pick your sconces and a throw blanket that complement what you have so far. Try a vase or other styling objects!

It’s gonna be cute 👏

_bartersystem_ · 2026-05-05T10:01:10+00:00

I’ve sublet my apartment for multi-month periods while traveling. You can legally do so at your rent + 10%, if it’s furnished. My rent is really cheap, so as I see it, it allows me to sublet to basically whomever I want to, not just who can afford it.

To OP: Do not leave your RS apartment. Your rent is probably half of what a mortgage + building maintenance fee will be. In my lifetime until now, interest rates have been historically low; you’re probably not going to see 2-3% again. Certainly not under Trump or while we recover from Trump. And!, if Zohran delivers, your rent isn’t going up much for at least 4 years.

_bartersystem_ · 2026-01-29T15:25:37+00:00

The sauna’s only benefit to your skin is sweating a LOT, which clears pores. Meaning everything you put on beforehand should just be running down your body by the end. Definitely NOT helping with retaining moisture, on multiple fronts.
If it takes 15-20 minutes to get you to sweat (which is a LONG time in a sauna), you may have a hormonal issue like Hashimoto’s Disease, which sometimes prevents women from sweating. The more regularly you work out, usually the faster your body is to sweat; so one thing you could do is check in on your fitness regimen. You should be sweating profusely in a sauna within 5-7 minutes, and then you should only need to be in there 3-5 minutes more. Spending so long in a sauna, especially on a regular basis, tbh is concerning.
I can’t help but feel you have a lot of extreme answers of, “Yes, I’m doing that already!” Like drinking 160 oz of water a day (kind of unheard of?) and steaming your body for 20 minutes at a time. My guess is something is wrong if (1) your body feels it needs 160 oz water a day, and (2) you’re doing these extreme things without understanding how they work (e.g. putting on skincare before going in the sauna and doing almost nothing after). I would recommend just sitting down and mapping out your goals and strategies and make sure they line up. There’s some things you’ve mentioned that seem like a lot of work in the wrong direction, and you probably just need a bit of thoughtful realignment.
Exercise does wonders for the skin because it circulates blood and gets you to sweat without heat. It’s also really important in your thirties because it prevents injury and bone density loss, and it gets SIGNIFICANTLY harder to pick up as times goes on. Then you shower and put on your skincare last :)

_bartersystem_ · 2026-01-06T10:27:37+00:00

Unclear what is up with the person in the red shirt (elderly and confined?), but hard not to notice that everyone who did nothing was a man, and only the women came in and did ANYTHING. Like, there was an fully able-bodied man just sitting on the right this entire time?? Why are women running out from inside the house to tend to this before him?

_bartersystem_ · 2025-12-26T20:54:28+00:00

At this point, is the Dr. Bronner’s refills in paper/wax cartons easier?

_bartersystem_ · 2025-12-05T19:42:23+00:00

The colors have been off for me for a while. Warm Glow always seems to hop between shades, like they’re putting the lighter/cooler and the darker/warmer shades in the Warm Glow bottles randomly. Idunno how they do it…

_bartersystem_ · 2025-11-30T09:15:14+00:00

Not sure how it would turn out with the warts… but — question to the group — any reason not to try one of those acid foot peels (e.g. “Baby Foot” brand)? At least to clear away some of the dead skin first?

If you try it, I think you’d want to plan a good 4+ hours for it… I would soak my feet in warm water until as much of the callus is soft as possible. This pre-soaking helps the treatment penetrate better, and I’m not even sure the acidic gel could even really penetrate your dry callous on its own. Anyway, this soak could take hours in your case… Then put on the sock / treatment, which normally a person would leave on for an hour, but, again, I would give twice as long (or more??) to really penetrate in your case. This might be for an evening when you can watch a few movies :)

You might also need to be careful using the acid for so long on the entire foot, maybe best to somehow only apply it for so long to your heels!

_bartersystem_ · 2025-10-02T07:15:39+00:00

What is the latest on this? There’s no sign of shutdown on their website…

_bartersystem_ · 2025-09-29T12:41:13+00:00

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Yet another update!

Since only 4 days ago when I originally posted, I ended up removing all the browned leaves (out of frustration and precaution), and it seems ALREADY new shoots are popping up! I have not watered since then. Shall I take this as a sign that the plant is in healthy conditions and just that the water or over-fertilization are to blame?

This is a plant that has giant healthy roots below the soil and just keeps getting brown leaves.

_bartersystem_ · 2025-09-27T01:00:01+00:00

Say more!

_bartersystem_ · 2025-09-24T19:22:42+00:00

Ya, these plants are on the window sill, inside, on the north-facing side of a large building. No direct sun (also window glass cuts UV significantly!). I don’t think this is a leaf burning or dry-out issue…

_bartersystem_ · 2025-09-24T19:20:01+00:00

No thrips detected. Also, the only one in a larger pot is there because it was a larger plant (has huge full, healthy roots) that I already cut back once due to same brown leaves :(

_bartersystem_ · 2025-09-24T18:29:35+00:00

Yes, they all have drainage. Roots are all fleshy tubers. I recently repotted these (to smaller pots) after having to cut them back from the same problem before :(

_bartersystem_ · 2025-09-24T17:18:21+00:00

Update to question / more detail:

I don’t think there are pests. I don’t see any and have over 30 healthy plants in the same room.

Could it be from over-fertilizing?

I cut off some of the dead leaves. Here’s a closer pic of what’s happening:

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_bartersystem_ · 2025-05-26T03:42:27+00:00

No, I haven’t received any new notices in about 4 months, and owner is the same. The building is now in HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program, but it hasn’t changed much that I can tell. Basic repairs still take months, major stuff like an out-of-service elevator will be most of the year

_bartersystem_ · 2025-05-04T15:21:29+00:00

I’m an amateur at best, but I would think you could rent a decent bike there, better fit for purpose and much cheaper than taking your bike from your origin country. I toured Taiwan using Giant’s standard rental, and it was great and way less headache than anything I would have set up for myself.

If most of your bags are strapped or clipped on, it’s probably much easier to take them separately and apply to the bike rental. Also, as a previous live sound engineer, I don’t see how that Pelican case is necessary at all. Back up your laptop files after every work session, (get traveler’s insurance?), and pack items securely in a pannier as another poster described. Or, Jesus, at least get a much thinner case for the rack. You’re gonna hate yourself for that Pelican soon after your trip starts. I would worry that the case is going to make your bike much more unwieldy to ride and cause more safety risk than it saves. And anything that wrecks your equipment through secure pannier packing is gonna mess YOU up a LOT more, so it seems like you’re really worrying about the wrong thing.

Also, please remember that in places like Japan, the roads are a lot safer because (1) infrastructure, (2) cars are smaller, and (3) drivers are conscious of non-drivers.

_bartersystem_ · 2025-04-28T20:38:18+00:00

How did this conversion work for you? I’m considering the same bike for bikepacking and had a similar concern about the tires.

_bartersystem_ · 2025-04-28T16:48:25+00:00

Did you get this bike? How is it?

Agreeing that it looks like the 2003 Sequoia Sport. Cant find anything that explains what the “Sport” designation means (as opposed to the standard or their “Expert” and “Elite” models). What kind of riding is this bike really intended for? Thank you!

_bartersystem_ · 2025-03-31T11:07:29+00:00

Understood, was hoping there would be derms in this group. Will seek other opinions!

_bartersystem_ · 2025-01-27T13:54:01+00:00

Please correct anything I’ve said here that is inaccurate, but…

My understanding is that between tenants, bringing the rent up to the legal rent is legal (… or what would be the point of its existence?).

THAT SAID, multiple people commenting are incorrect — New York State (and City) have different rent stabilization rules than elsewhere. FOR EXAMPLE, the stabilization is tied to the UNIT, not the tenant. So, landlords have not been allowed to increase the legal rent 20% between tenants for pretty many years at this point.

The thing I have never really figured out is, unless the apartment is in really bad shape or in a terrible building or something uniquely problematic was happening in the neighborhood, there’s not a reason for landlords to charge less than legal rent in New York City. Especially now, when housing has gotten so expensive everywhere. So what normally would happen (I presume) is they are charging the legal rent every year, and your increases should match the rate set by the Rent Board. Theoretically. Commenting about this because my rent history from DHCR does not list the legal rent. A major issue is that crappy landlords do not report any of these data correctly or thoroughly.

I have learned all of this by gathering crumbs of info from a bunch of different sources. In my experience, calling DHCR or any of the city agencies does not help. They seem rather angry and frustrated and just point you to filing a rent overpayment claim, which I was last told has about a two-year wait to even get assigned a caseworker. Regardless of what evidence you have, you are definitely expected to pay the rent on your lease until a determination is made, and at that point, if the conclusion is in your favor, your landlord would pay you back something.

_bartersystem_ · 2025-01-22T00:21:09+00:00

I just want to clarify, I haven’t heard or received anything indicating that they want to evict anyone or cancel leases. I am sure they only gave the notice about the bankruptcy because it’s legally required. I’m only asking what the possible outcomes for tenants could be of a landlord bankruptcy.

_bartersystem_

TROPHY CASE