u/fried-twinkie

I’ve noticed a few books in the last year, and upcoming, where the premise is either the FMC works a horrible corporate job and discovers some supernatural aspect to it (or to herself), or where the FMC has a corporate job that is just in Hell, like literal Hell. Can’t help but feel like this is a trend/ Sign of the Times lol.

I was recently laid off from a corporate job, so these are really scratching an itch for me. Anyone else seeing these too? Know any good ones with a similar theme?

A bunch of these have just opened in CH, PH, Bed-Stuy and PLG. They’re all “wine bars” that feel less like a real hospitality business and more like the owners, many of whom seem to have no prior hospitality experience, are playing a game of pretend. Like how kids will play “house” but it’s adults playing “wine bar.”

The pours are overpriced, the wine list is mid, the food is all “gourmet” small plates that are poorly executed. Half these spots end up failing their health and safety inspection anyways, so I’d just avoid the food altogether. And the staff or owners at these spots can’t even provide basic wine education or guidance beyond “that’s a chilled red.”

For what you’re getting at some of these places, you may as well stay in with your own bottle of Chardonnay and some Trader Joe’s frozen hors d’ouvres. Save yourself $50-$75.

Let me highlight some specific experiences:

Cordelia’s: went here when it was still called Word of Mouth, before word of mouth in the neighborhood ironically destroyed its reputation and they needed to rebrand. One of the owners was there and had a very off putting vibe, had almost none of the wines from their menu in stock and kept trying to sell us on higher-priced alternatives vs what we wanted to order. Their health department issues, and the fact it’s co-owned in some part by that crazy guy behind Little Zelda, make this a no-go for me forever.

Two Tigers: one of the co-owners was visibly intoxicated while serving us. She spilled wine on me while pouring and didn’t apologize. She actually was so out of it she didn’t seem to notice! Then she broke an entire — I’m not exaggerating— an entire shelf of glassware. Like 12+ wine glasses just smashed on the floor right next to us. She started sweeping it up but left behind a few broken pieces. My date and I gulped down our (mid) wines and got the hell out of there. They also had a giant sign on the oven in their open kitchen saying “I’M BROKEN” which…why do you want all your customers to see that?

Whoopsie Daisy: I actually like this one. I’m including it here as a great example of how a professional wine bar should be run while still keeping the vibe approachable and fun.

And I haven’t paid any of the premiums.

Full story: I got laid off at the start of the year, and my severance included employer-paid premiums thru March. April I was supposed to elect for COBRA and start paying the full premium on my own, but I noticed my coverage hadn’t lapsed. In my prior experience with COBRA, I went through a period of no coverage until all the paperwork was in and sorted, then coverage was backdated. I had notices from the benefits admin (Medcom) saying I have until June to elect.

Well now it’s May, I haven’t elected COBRA yet, and the coverage still hasn’t lapsed. In April I had a lot of medical appointments, including a very expensive surgery, but all claims were processed no problem.

I recently found out I qualify for a much cheaper plan from my state marketplace, so I am going forward with that starting next month. But if I don’t elect COBRA by June, will my paid out claims in April and May be reversed?

I’m seriously thinking that my stupid old company might still be paying for my health insurance without realizing. This has happened to me in the past at other companies (I have a track record of working for start-ups that have poor internal checks on accounting and HR lol). I’ve also experienced paying premiums to a benefits admin company for COBRA coverage, meanwhile the old employer’s healthcare broker had never removed me from the employee policy. So I’m trying to avoid shelling out cash that just seems to *poof* into the ether for coverage I would get either way. Has anyone experienced this before?

TL;DR: Does anyone have experience with ROI projections or speculation for a single-family home in a 55+ development?

Hi all. I’m the only child of retired senior citizens who are looking to buy a new single-family home in New Jersey. This is not “downsizing” to them— in fact, they’ll probably end up spending more than their current place is worth to buy an equivalent sized house within their area.

They are intent on buying in cash and are considering in the range of 600-900k (the sale of their current home would cover most of this, and the rest would come from savings or selling investments). They don’t want a mortgage and have framed this to me as part of my “inheritance” since I would own this home if they still are in it when both have passed. I’m making us sound more bougie than we really are 🤦 It’s their money to spend, but they do see this partially as setting up a major asset for me when they’re gone.

They’v seen a few single family options in towns near them that they’ve liked. But since they need some specific features and layout to accommodate my dad’s loss of mobility (he has a degenerative condition, so we’re planning ahead), most of the homes they’re looking at are in 55+ communities or other senior living arrangements. There’s dozens of these places within like 10 miles of them, so there’s a lot of options.

What’s the return expected on places like this? I just don’t see how most of these luxury senior developments survive in their current form when they’re already so saturated, and there will be drastically fewer 55 year olds 20 years from now. Not to even mention that, if home buying trends continue as they are, most won’t be able to afford it. That’s why I think buying a home with the layout they need in a regular zoned neighborhood where the buyer is not restricted is the better investment.

It’s their money and their retirement so they should do what they want. I don’t live with them (I rent and probably will forever lol). But I worry about them draining their savings into something they view as a good spot to grow generational wealth, without realizing the market for these places will be completely different by the time I’m 55. And given our relative ages, it’s entirely possible I could inherit this future home before I’m 55. What do I do with it then?