I’m lined up to get my own place.
I toured an apartment on Tuesday 11/29/22. It’s 550 s.f., rent nominally $1,000, and within a half mile of my church. First floor of a house. It’s modest, but I couldn’t say no — unless I really wanted something fancy, which I don’t.
None of the rooms is large enough for a double bed, so that may limit my, um, social life. I can and will have a cat. Allowed to smoke, but not inside.
With the rental assistance program, it’ll cost me ~$300/month. I’m not really comfortable with that, and will want to get a job so that I’ll be secure. The rent is 1/3 of my income — so, if I get a job that pays “too much,” I may wind up having to leave the rental assistance program. I can easily envision staying here 10 years or more.
The one drawback is the crowd of young men that stays on the corner about 50 yards south of my door. Northwest corner and southwest corner. Appears to include tenants of both properties.
Well, for years, I’ve been praying daily for McElderry Park. Now I’ll live there. And have opportunity to be light in dark places.
Easy bus routes downtown. I can attend church in person now.
I anticipate move-in in 4-6 weeks. There has to be an inspection, and the process for the rental assistance program, and they’ll negotiate the actual rent and utilities, etc. I need to get a bunch of furniture, and the NGO will help with that.
The biggest question mark pertains to coffee consumption and wi-fi. Now, if I get a job, it may not matter. But wi-fi at home is likely to cost me $40/month. I can avoid that by continuing my practice, that I have done for years, of hanging out at Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts all day and using their wi-fi — and spending up to $25/day on their coffee. But I must cut out that coffee cost in order to liberate the $300/month I need for rent. So, it’s a pickle, or conundrum, or dilemma.
Decision: Stop buying store-bought coffee completely; get a coffee maker and brew my own at home. Then I can afford both the rent and the wi-fi. I will need to make sure I have some kind of errand to run every day, to avoid staying cooped up in my room. But if I get a job, both that and the financial question will be solved.
Need suggestions whether to get a Mr. Coffee or instead a Ninja coffee maker.
Also whether to get a personal, mobile hot-spot — May mean getting an additional phone. — or instead rely on the wi-fi that may be available in the area. Either way, I’ll have to pay.
Which is better, Xfinity or ComCast?
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