rant · moment 3 of 23

Living Without Credit and the Underground Economy

from Underground Economy · #34

Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.

2 min

Tim explains his lifestyle of handshake-deal apartments, bad credit, and no documentation, arguing this environment of shady, trustworthy-of-no-one people produces the funniest material, including his landlord's story of stabbing her husband with a pen.

In this bit6 moments
  • 5:15Tim explains he doesn't have kids because his lifestyle choices would make parenthood a nightmare.
  • 5:35He's lived his whole life in the underground economy, dealing in handshakes rather than formal credit.
  • 5:52Brooklyn apartment hunting requires credit checks and documentation, forcing people to share with five roommates or sleep on couches.
  • 6:13Tim has always gotten apartments on handshake deals with a couple months of security deposit.
  • 6:35Why would any landlord take a risk on someone without documentation when so many applicants do have it?
  • 6:51Operating outside the system means ending up wherever you end up, which Tim sees as tied to what makes him funny.

All 23 moments in this episode →