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If tomorrow you were evicted, no friends, no family and perhaps $3,000 in your bank account.
What would you do to survive?
If faced with this option, what town would you stick around and why?
Does no one rent out furnished rooms anymore? When I was discharged from the Navy I lived in a furnished room in Hopatcong for over a year. There were also small vacation cottages available for reasonable rents at the time, some were lakeside, which was my next move.
My point is simple: I would avoid being homeless (living on the street) at all costs. That includes living in a hotel even if I had to put it on credit cards.
You’ve clearly stated what you WON’T do in this scenario. What would you actually do?
While I have been lucky, I have plenty access to first hand experience among my circle of friends. Many have survived on the streets w/ surfing between friends homes, camping out, and living in their vehicles. If you have a network of friends and places, it is not the end all. Most if not all will tell you that what cash (even credit reserves) you have will be consumed very quickly in hotels; worse if you end up defaulting on credit cards. It leaves you with little left over to put towards the end goal of finding a job. A night in a hotel with no job interview in the next morning is not an investment in finding a job. Got a job interview the next morning? By all means, get a hotel room the night before to rest up, wash up, and prepare; that IS an investment towards getting out of homelessness.
Finding affordable rent in NJ with bad credit is very difficult. The best way to mitigate is with a co-signer. A lot of people will not co-sign on a lease with someone who just recently was homeless and jobless. Another way to mitigate is offering a large deposit. Kinda hard with just $3000 in the account minus what you have already spent. Job history is another...
While I have been lucky, I have plenty access to first hand experience among my circle of friends. Many have survived on the streets w/ surfing between friends homes, camping out, and living in their vehicles. If you have a network of friends and places, it is not the end all. Most if not all will tell you that what cash (even credit reserves) you have will be consumed very quickly in hotels; worse if you end up defaulting on credit cards. It leaves you with little left over to put towards the end goal of finding a job. A night in a hotel with no job interview in the next morning is not an investment in finding a job. Got a job interview the next morning? By all means, get a hotel room the night before to rest up, wash up, and prepare; that IS an investment towards getting out of homelessness.
Finding affordable rent in NJ with bad credit is very difficult. The best way to mitigate is with a co-signer. A lot of people will not co-sign on a lease with someone who just recently was homeless and jobless. Another way to mitigate is offering a large deposit. Kinda hard with just $3000 in the account minus what you have already spent. Job history is another...
Surfing between friends homes is not really homelessness. The scenario presented was no friends, no family. You’re adding a bunch of things like being able to crash at friend’s house or live in your car. If you have a car you can do Door Dash to pay for a cheap motel. I can’t believe I’ve been talking about this for so long lol
Surfing between friends homes is not really homelessness. The scenario presented was no friends, no family. You’re adding a bunch of things like being able to crash at friend’s house or live in your car. If you have a car you can do Door Dash to pay for a cheap motel. I can’t believe I’ve been talking about this for so long lol
By your argument living in a shelter then is also not really homelessness.
By your argument living in a shelter then is also not really homelessness.
Living in a shelter, from what I hear, is no walk in the park. It’s dangerous and people steal your belongings. I don’t think living in a shelter and crashing at a friend’s house is comparable
Living in a shelter, from what I hear, is no walk in the park. It’s dangerous and people steal your belongings. I don’t think living in a shelter and crashing at a friend’s house is comparable
It's not. Not even close. I won't discuss sheltering my son's recovering friend because I've been accused of gloating. He was either going to sleep in my son's bedroom, freeze to death, or go back to the shooting gallery. I'd known him since he'd been a dorky 12 year old and couldn't let that happen. He was fresh out of rehab and his mom didn't want him - with good reason.
A hot shower, warm bed, clean clothes, and enough to eat can make a world of difference.
It's not. Not even close. I won't discuss sheltering my son's recovering friend because I've been accused of gloating. He was either going to sleep in my son's bedroom, freeze to death, or go back to the shooting gallery. I'd known him since he'd been a dorky 12 year old and couldn't let that happen. He was fresh out of rehab and his mom didn't want him - with good reason.
A hot shower, warm bed, clean clothes, and enough to eat can make a world of difference.
Good on you. And pox on whoever would say that about you!
I think actually the safer urban areas of NNJ, not the hoity-toity ones where homeowners would call cops, but somewhere near the meadowlands, or in JC, might be really good for 'van-life'. You'll have a high density of services, churches for food, and lots of job options. I bet in JC or Hoboken you can get free passes for city rec centers, making showering easy. If you park next to Cemeteries or on dead-end streets, back up against freight tracks, you'll get quiet. Ideally having large trees to park under, to avoid the elements from rapidly breaking down your van, or maybe an underpass beneath a train. I definitely see who is living in trailers or RV's in NYC, and know where they are. if you can locate these ppl in NJ, as long as they're sane, you can support each other- warn about break-ins or enforcement, maybe share some food or company, have someone to help you if you need to change a flat, etc., and create a little bit of a sense of place.
I think actually the safer urban areas of NNJ, not the hoity-toity ones where homeowners would call cops, but somewhere near the meadowlands, or in JC, might be really good for 'van-life'. You'll have a high density of services, churches for food, and lots of job options. I bet in JC or Hoboken you can get free passes for city rec centers, making showering easy. If you park next to Cemeteries or on dead-end streets, back up against freight tracks, you'll get quiet. Ideally having large trees to park under, to avoid the elements from rapidly breaking down your van, or maybe an underpass beneath a train. I definitely see who is living in trailers or RV's in NYC, and know where they are. if you can locate these ppl in NJ, as long as they're sane, you can support each other- warn about break-ins or enforcement, maybe share some food or company, have someone to help you if you need to change a flat, etc., and create a little bit of a sense of place.
I don’t think the cops will do anything about it, especially if they’re not causing any “trouble”.
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