Throwaway for obvious reasons. Was directed here by another redditor on my main account.
Quick rundown on me. I'm 25, female, live in Eugene, Oregon, work two jobs, and am about to be homeless. I've been renting a room for the past two years, and my landlord needs me to vacate the property so his daughter can move in. He gave me proper notice, so I don't have a legal case here. I've been scouring Craigslist, hitting up every apartment complex in town, etc. with no luck. My credit is poor and I've been rejected from a few complexes, despite my income. I have no one who can cosign. I have a few friends in town, but they all live with roommates or their parents (and are just as broke as I am) and cannot help. I am estranged from my family due to my sexual orientation.
For the past few years, I have lived in a cycle of working, paying off debt, then having upcoming medical expenses or other issues come up and have to rely on my credit card. I have never missed a payment, but the debt is around ~$12K, even with me working two jobs.
I have a 2007 Mazda 6 with only about 60K miles on it that drives like a champ. The seats do not fold down, but I found a shop in Portland that can take out the backseat and build a bed in the back for me for a few hundred dollars. I'm thinking this might be my best option. Otherwise, I will have to go to a shelter (which I REALLY don't want to do, as the ones around here are very unsafe, dirty, and packed) or spend $1200 a month living in a motel until I find a roommate on Craigslist that doesn't flake out on me/isn't on drugs/both.
I have about $2K in savings, a gym membership, P.O. Box, and safe deposit box. For belongings, I have a TV, Xbox One, and some games I plan on selling, and some clothes, a laptop, a smartphone, and some sentimental things I plan on keeping. One of my jobs is at a restaurant, where I eat a free shift meal 3 times a week. The other one has several breakrooms with refrigerators and microwaves. I also have a work locker and gym locker for storage.
My primary concern is safety. How can I be stealthy in a sedan? What places are safe to park? Where can I go where I won't be harassed by the cops?
I would love to have a van, but it's just not feasible right now. I owe $4K on the car, and it's barely worth $5K. Vans in my area for $1000 or less either don't run or are rustbuckets. I don't want to blow all of my savings on a different vehicle when I'm relying on this one to take me to my jobs, and, in a week, to the gym for showers, the Post Office for mail, etc.
Be brutally honest with me. If I have to spend $1200 a month on a hotel, I'll do that as long as I can. If a homeless shelter is better, then I'll try to find the safest one I can. I'm at my wit's end here and I just don't know what to do.
Submitted October 29, 2016 at 10:37AM by couldbehomelessincar http://ift.tt/2eZ8QeC vandwellers
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