Jeffery looked like he didn’t have a care in the world taking a smoke break outside Cafe Flore, where he is a bartender and waiter.
Speaking about the changes he has seen in the 27 years he has been living in the city:
“God… well, I’ll tell you this, when I moved down here from Portland, Oregon, I moved down here with a footlocker full of clothes and $500. I don’t think that anybody could do that nowadays. I wouldn’t even fathom moving down here now with $500 to my name. People went and lost their minds about it; rents started going up, people started getting evicted. I’ve been evicted once, when we had this first wave of whatever techy whatever going on.”
We talked about his current living situation. He tells me his is paying $600 per month for the biggest room in a 3-bedroom flat, only because he moved in with a tenant who has been there for about 17 years.
"That’ the only reason I’m still here. That is THE only reason."
