"High Time for a Cool Change"

Hey, HGTV! (And other broadcasters with similar

outdated programming!)

Times are tough, and people don't care about the 'woes'

of folks who 'only' have $ 6000,000 to spend on 

their home.

(Here's a hint: Millionaires don't really need help

finding a place to spend money.)

As housing becomes more unaffordable and just 

plain unavailable, and as people struggle with

finances and making ends meet....how about a

change of pace?

As our nation's homeless population continues 

to grow precipitously, how about making a 

positive impact on the country?

Maybe add a couple of shows where people living

in poverty or on the street are given a shot

at a new life? You could buy up cheap

auction houses (tax auctions, foreclosures, etc)

and have a volunteer crew come in to fix them up.

Get some appliance companies to donate items.

Building supply stores donate paint, drywall, etc.

Or maybe a different philanthropist donates a

small house for each episode's revamp.

Everybody loves a heart-warming story of the 

downtrodden making it, everybody likes to be

part of making a positive change, and there is soooo

much need right now.

You could even start a Crowdsourcing account 

to allow the public to contribute to fund-raising efforts 

for each of the renovations.

Instead of reveling in excesses, we'd love

to see just how cheaply and easily you can

turn some hurting people's lives around!

***

Housing 2.0

Another great trending alternative to traditional homes

and apartments has been the school bus conversion practice.

In addition to outrageous pricing in rental property (either 

apartment or house living) there is another awful obstacle

involved for those of us who are pet owners.

The restrictions against the number of animals and the size 

of the animals that tenants are allowed to have have become

standard due to insurance costs. Or at least, that's what leasers

are saying is the reason. 

As far back as 2003, when I was looking for rental 

housing around the Tampa area, I could not find ANY place that 

would take me because of my large-breed dogs. The place I 

finally located was inconveniently far away. in a neighborhood 

that wasn't safe, and with a ridiculously high security deposit.

So, one great solution (for pet owners in particular) is to have

complete control over the rules of your environs. Having a 

mobile living space that you own is the perfect way to do so.

In my search for a bus to convert, I have found that there

are many different conditions of bus available, and of

course just as much variation in price for the differences

in product.

You can find a bus in varying levels of completion/ working

order based on (of course) what finances you have available, 

as well as what your mechanical skills/building abilities are.

But if you're not trying to have the hippest, most

mod bus in existence, you can find a whole spectrum of 

usable buses. For those of us just needing adequate shelter 

this is a great option. (Besides--animals destroy everything 

anyway, so..)

Freedom of how you live and where to live is increasingly

important, so until we arrive at a shortage of available school 

buses due to increased demand, this option still rocks.

What would be awesome is if an entrepreneur of a philanthropic

nature were to set up a business where they buy up used school

buses, spruce them up modestly with a crew of homeless or

poor folks with the appropriate skills, and, Habitat-for-Humanity

style, set up the very people who do the work with a bus-home

of their own.

If you have the money or the space to donate, I can help make

it happen. Any takers?

*** 

A New Frontier

Americans find themselves on the precipice of an entirely new

way of life nowadays, as our society and culture continue to

undergo significant transformation .

This blog won't be about politics. It won't get into the blistering

debates and division that we have seen escalating in this land for

the past several years--A division which ardently threatens to

worsen considerably before being resolved.

Many of us from my generation (I was born in 1969) never thought

life would undergo such a drastic transformation in our lifetime.

But here we are, with severe economic shifts, job market changes,

housing shortages, income inequality, and many other related problems

converging to make survival a different kind of beast than we've 

experienced.

Here is where I will promote Ideas, Inspiration, Innovations, and 

(hopefully) Insights into what we will need in order to get through

this vastly unrecognizable world. My hope is that those of you drawn 

here will have ideas to share as well, because together we can concoct

the best solutions to the issues we all are facing.

Jump on in!

-Robert Sayre,  3/13/18

***