Homeless to DC. Please advise me. (income, to live, stores)
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So what is drawing you to DC? Especially since you appear to have no other connection here (family? Job?)
I just have always wanted to be there. And it's been determined that I should try at least and see how it goes. I'm miserable where I am so what do I have to lose?
Poorsap, I'm very sorry to hear of your ordeals, and I wish you nothing but the best! Unfortunately you'll be in for intense sticker-shock moving to DC from Pittsburgh. I'm earning a $42,000 salary, living in the way-out suburbs, and can still just barely (barely) afford a 1-BR apartment. In Pittsburgh I'm certain a $42,000 salary would afford you a much more comfortable lifestyle.
District residents won't say this, but as an external observer from the suburbs the city proper is indeed very segregated by race/class. NW DC, which covers a huge geographic swath, is comprised mostly of upper-middle-class whites who possess at least a Bachelor's Degree. SE and NE DC, save for a few select pockets of gentrification in recent years, are mostly home to working-class and lower-middle-class minorities who don't have a college education. Also, SE and NE DC are where nearly all of the city's violent crimes occur. I believe a promising 17-year-old African-American girl just had her precious life cut short in NE DC as an innocent bystander caught up in crossfire between some thugs and a security guard. Her story is just one of many---even though DC's violent crime rate in 2009 is much lower than in years past. Friends and I went to explore the Atlas District (or it might have been somewhere nearby at least) one night during the summer, and we were literally the only Caucasians we saw for a few blocks. Now, I don't have anything at all against African-Americans, but some were giving us the "you don't belong here" stare from front stoops as we walked on by that made me feel very uncomfortable. Race relations in DC are indeed much better than many other cities, but they are not "great." A lot of blacks resent the affluence in Georgetown, and a lot of people in Kalorama would never set foot in Trinidad.
Is it imperative that you live within the District limits? I'm the forum's notorious suburb-hater myself, but it sounds like you only WOULD be able to afford "transitional" or "challenged" areas of NE or SE DC until you got back onto your feet and I worry the risk of you getting mugged or suffering a home invasion would just stir up all of those painful memories you have been trying to overcome. You could live and work in a smaller, close-knit, safer, and more affordable place like Fredericksburg, VA, Winchester, VA, Harper's Ferry, WV, Ellicott City, MD, etc. and still be within a 90-minute drive of DC for when you get the city "itch." Just from an affordability and mental health standpoint I'm not seeing it as being beneficial for you to put yourself in a potentially "high-risk" neighborhood where hearing a car backfiring (or a real gunshot) a block away could have you on edge. Take it from someone who has been suffering from mental illness and suicidal tendencies himself for several years (but who has been too ashamed of himself to seek help) that you won't be of much value to an employer, a community, or society in general until you get well. Focus on healing FIRST, and then chase your big city dreams. Do as I suggested. Find work (even if it's in retail or at a restaurant) in a place like Winchester, VA or Fredericksburg, VA and get a clean 1-BR apartment near the historic downtown areas. Live on the cheap, save up a gradual nest egg, make lots of friends in your small town, and then after a few years when you feel you've put your post-traumatic stress issues behind you, feel free to move into DC, at which point you should be stable enough to get a roommate and live in NW.
Your story really resonates within me, and I truly do wish you nothing but the best! As I said though DC isn't exactly the first place I would gravitate towards if I was broke and wanted to get my mind off of what ailed me. In DC even the "sketchy" areas are relatively expensive, and the "nice" areas are cost-prohibitive for most singles (unless you're an attorney, executive, physician, professor, a higher-up in the Federal government, etc.) You do NOT want to put your mental health onto the back burner. Trust me. I've done that for several years now, and now I just hate myself more and more with each passing day. I, too, moved to Greater DC as a means to try something different trying to shed what ailed me, but the depression just followed me here (and it's even worse not having any money to afford anything to take my mind off of it).
I just have always wanted to be there. And it's been determined that I should try at least and see how it goes. I'm miserable where I am so what do I have to lose?
I felt the same way when I decided to move here. I lived in Richmond, VA, and no matter what I did, I couldn't make my life work. That's not to say that my life in DC has been peaches-and-cream, but I would rather take my lumps to live in a place I loved than to struggle to live someplace I hated.
As everyone else has said, the main issue you will find here is the sticker shock. Hopefully some the resources I sent you will be able to assist you in your search for affordable housing. The locations of the low-income housing in Montgomery County, MD are not always in the most desirable places, but not nearly as scary as where you could find yourself in DC.
If you really want to live in The District, you may also want to consider moving into a shared housing situation. It's definitely cheaper, a great way to meet people, and you'll probably be able to live in a nicer place than if you tried to live alone. Also, DC is a neighborhood-by-neighborhood kind of city and it's hard to generalize quadrants. A street with a NW designation is not necessarily in a safe area and even though it is in SE, I would happily buy a home in the Hillcrest neighborhood. DC is definitely segregated, but there are historical reasons behind that and it's not something that is likely to improve anytime soon, so you really can't let it deter you from moving if that's what you want to do.
DC can be a tough city to live in and you have to be really resourceful, so it is crucial that you protect your mental health. George Washington University has low-cost counseling services and you probably qualify for free medication through patient assistance programs run by pharmaceutical companies. Since you have PTSD, do you qualify for disability? You may also qualify for some kind of vocational training or college financial aid that will help you become employable.
You know, I guess I don't really need to be in DC. But anywhere I can go I do need solitude (I just don't do well with roommates because I can't be under the constant pressure of pretending to be fine, and I don't want to be a constant killjoy).
I don't drive, so I'd have to be able to walk to the market and such easily (1 to 3 miles on safe terrain is no problem).
And I'd have to easily be able to get into DC via Metro (or Metro and other combo I guess).
Any ideas where to start looking from there? (Trying to avoid the dangerous 'hoods if possible).
There are 'urbanized' suburbs in DC, such as Rosslyn, Courthouse, Clarendon and Ballston in Virginia and Bethesda and Silver Spring in MD. All of these are on the subway, but they might be a bit more expensive than you can afford.
Do you have a monthly budget? I know cheap as possible, but have you worked out a number for each month (a.k.a. do you have a point when you might give up on DC if the money runs out?)
Many folks live in Baltimore for the urban environment at less cost, and come down to DC on the MARC trains daily. Quite a bit cheaper up there but crime is an issue as well.
I don't understand why you haven't qualified for disability-I don't know what PA is like but the rules here in VA are much 'easier' than in other states.
Contact the Mental health Services agency here [url=http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/databases/]health facilities, mental health information center[/url], get a Doctor to get you qualified. That will help with housing/food assistance, Therapy with an LSCW/Shrink and Scripts for things like Anxiety/Panic Attacks etc..
Your illness is ADA covered so take advantage of it.
If you need to live by yourself and you need to live near Metro you will find DC and even close-in suburbs to be very expensive. Between security deposit and 1st month rent, you will burn through your seed money in about one or two months. Then, you are homeless. Why come to DC to be homeless?
This is a very expensive place to live, right behind NYC and San Francisco. Most people who live here come here with either a job already in hand or have very compelling career- or education-based reasons for locating here.
Further, this is not a community that is particularly tolerant of newcomers with mental health issues. I sit on the board of a homeless services organization and I see this first hand.
There are many many other cities located between Baltimore and Miami with as much going on as DC where it is way less expensive to live.
If you need to live by yourself and you need to live near Metro you will find DC and even close-in suburbs to be very expensive. Between security deposit and 1st month rent, you will burn through your seed money in about one or two months. Then, you are homeless. Why come to DC to be homeless?
Most people who live here come here with either a job already in hand or have very compelling career- or education-based reasons for locating here.
Further, this is not a community that is particularly tolerant of newcomers with mental health issues. I sit on the board of a homeless services organization and I see this first hand.
There are many many other cities located between Baltimore and Miami with as much going on as DC where it is way less expensive to live.
Sounds like you are telling me to keep my crazy ass out of DC. No offense, but I am not coming to DC just to be homeless. That's why I am seeking assitance before relocating, so that I have a plan that can sustain me until I get a job. To be blunt, I don't care why or how other's go to DC. I want to be there because I feel emotionally secure there, thus I believe I will be happier, thus stronger. And while I am open about my illness in this forum, I don't plan on announcing my illness to every stranger I pass. If you met me you'd have no idea for months (maybe years) that I suffer PTSD. At most, you might think me prone to depression at times. You would have no idea that I am insomniac due to my nightmares; or that I am afraid to cross bridges, that I literally cringe when I have to cross the street; that I have trust issues, sometimes anger issues and fears of dying violently. You would see a smiling young man, an intelligent young man and you would be surprised I didn't have it all together. I work hard to stand out as little as possible. I fit in just about everywhere I go. So either we're all crazy or I am not as crazy as you assumed.
If you didn't intend to be offensive, just know I did not intend to be defensive. But it sounds very much like you are urging me to be someone else's problem, and I can assure you, I am no one's problem but my own. I am one of the most constructive people you could have the pleasure to meet: I give more than I take. I'm only temporarily down; I refuse to fall completely. This is my attempt to stand on my own two feet once more. And when I am finally standing, I want to be standing in DC.
I don't understand why you haven't qualified for disability-I don't know what PA is like but the rules here in VA are much 'easier' than in other states.
God Bless!
Thanks for the link and blessing! To be fair to PA, I have been very bad at following thru with appointments to see if I can qualify. I did follow through once and was denied, but was told that often happens 1st time. But every time I've had another appointment, I miss them. I believe mostly because I am discouraged and I don't trust the doctors, so I am not honest with them about the severity of my symptoms. Only my (on again/off again) therapist really gets my honest assessment, and my original doctor. It's self-defeating, I know, but I guess I also want (need?) to prove that I can overcome this without pills, without SSI. I've already beaten the odds in many ways and I guess I just feel I can beat this illness.
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Unfortunately you'll be in for intense sticker-shock moving to DC from Pittsburgh. I'm earning a $42,000 salary, living in the way-out suburbs, and can still just barely (barely) afford a 1-BR apartment. In Pittsburgh I'm certain a $42,000 salary would afford you a much more comfortable lifestyle. 
. No offense, but I am not coming to DC just to be homeless. That's why I am seeking assitance before relocating, so that I have a plan that can sustain me until I get a job. To be blunt, I don't care why or how other's go to DC. I want to be there because I feel emotionally secure there, thus I believe I will be happier, thus stronger. And while I am open about my illness in this forum, I don't plan on announcing my illness to every stranger I pass. If you met me you'd have no idea for months (maybe years) that I suffer PTSD. At most, you might think me prone to depression at times. You would have no idea that I am insomniac due to my nightmares; or that I am afraid to cross bridges, that I literally cringe when I have to cross the street; that I have trust issues, sometimes anger issues and fears of dying violently. You would see a smiling young man, an intelligent young man and you would be surprised I didn't have it all together. I work hard to stand out as little as possible. I fit in just about everywhere I go. So either we're all crazy or I am not as crazy as you assumed.
