Greetings!
My current town of residence is rapidly transforming into a land of wealth, where an average person may soon find it difficult to survive the rising costs. Currently, renting a shop to establish any business would make someone wish they had the money to buy land and build a shop instead of spending all their earnings on rent. Every time I hear about shop rents, I wonder if this place has become like that land of billionaires in Lagos called Banana Island.
The place where I work, my little own establishment, has a considerate shop rent fee, which is why I am still there. The day the landlord decides to skyrocket it beyond my capacity, there's no other option for me but to quit and probably leave this town for a better one. Although there was a recent increment, it was considerable because I know how hard the economy is currently. However, if it had stepped above my capacity, I would have quit without thinking twice.
Apart from the considerate shop rent I'm enjoying, there are some other benefits that have made life easier for me, and they're as follows:
My workplace is a few steps from my living room, and clients often come looking for me at night and very early in the morning when I have not come out yet. I count this as a big advantage because the area is very competitive, and the fact that my clients can reach me anytime they want is a big advantage. Although it used to be inconvenient for me sometimes because I would be bathing at midnight and hear a bang on my door, I just love that I'm gaining clients because of my accessibility.
Moreover, since I live in the block, I don't pay different bills like utility bills or contributions for water. When it's time to pay the utility bill, I pay per head and not per space, and that's a huge advantage compared to living in different places and paying for everything separately. For water, I often pump the water used in the compound because I'm the only one who owns a generator, and because I make use of the water often, I don't have issues with that. When I power my generator for work, the light also extends to my living space, and it's like using one stone to kill multiple birds.
So, with all these and the reasonable house rent, I'm sure I will stay longer. But when the landlord decides to increase everything, making it very unbearable, I'm sure I will put a stop to it and probably relocate to a bigger city where I can have reliable electricity. Oh yeah, that's one of the biggest setbacks in this current city: electricity is never a common thing, so we spend money on fuel like water, and it's not been easy at all. Once the fair house rent and shop rent are increased above my capacity, I will move to a bigger city to pay the same high fees and enjoy good amenities, especially electricity.
Thanks for reading.
| All photos are mine |