Greetings all!
Sorry for interrupting your weekend posts, but as promised, I am going to answer some of your questions with regards to my move.
As you know, I hate my neighborhood. The first question that I get is “Why don’t you just move to another neighborhood in the San Francisco Bay Area?” That is a great question, and it would probably be my FIRST option of things to do to improve my living situation. However, if you don’t live in the Bay Area, you may not believe what I am about to tell you. The cost of rent for a 2 bedroom apartment ANYWHERE in the Bay Area has become WAY too expensive for me pay. I moved into my current apartment about 4 years ago. The rent for my tiny 2 bedroom/1 bath apartment was $1300.00 per month. And thanks to Rent Control, over those 4 years my rent has only gone up to $1469.00 per month. Today, the EXACT same apartment type in my building is going for $2195.00 per month.
This is NOT unique to my building and/or neighborhood. In fact, I live in one of the LOWEST rent areas in the Bay Area. If you go to Craigslist.org and search for a 2 bedroom apartment in San Francisco you will see that the AVERAGE rent price is OVER $4000 per month. If you look in the East Bay, where I live now, rents range from $1495 for an apartment in a BAD neighborhood/without public transportation options (remember I have no car) to well over $2200 per month for a slightly better neighborhood near public transit.
I know some of you will probably not believe the price of rent out here, but as I mentioned, you can research it for yourself. My sister has a BEAUTIFUL LARGE 3 Bedroom HOME with over 60 acres of land and her mortgage is almost HALF of what I am paying for RENT, granted she lives in the middle of Nowhere, USA. I am sure MOST of you are paying much less than I am and getting a LOT more for your money.
Which leads me to the second question: “Why do you want to move to Chicago?” There are several reasons for this… First for the same price I am paying now for rent here in California, I can get a MUCH nicer apartment in a MUCH, MUCH nicer neighborhood in Chicago. As some of you might already know, I used to live in Chicago so I have many friends there. It is also only a 4 hour car ride to visit my Sister instead of an expensive 4 hour flight. There are other reasons as well… My roommate has a Sister and a niece and nephew (both of whom he has never met) who live in Northern Indiana and he would like to be closer to them.
The third and probably biggest question I get is: “Why do you need so much money?” That is also a great question. Let me outline it for you:
- The cost of the 15 foot moving truck ONLY is approximately $1586.00
- The cost of gas for moving truck is approximately $727.00 based on 10 miles per gallon (mileage rate per U-Haul website), 2506 miles at an average gas price of $2.90 per gallon.
- Insurance for moving truck is approximately $300.00
- Hotel for at LEAST 2 nights would be approximately $200.00
- Security deposit for NEW apartment could be as high as $3000 (two months rent) This could actually be lower based on the apartment and if any rental promotions are available.
- First months rent for NEW apartment would be approximately $1500.00 (max. price range)
If you add all that up, it comes to approximately $7313.00. My roommate and I will be able to cover the first months rent as we would be paying rent whether we were in California or Chicago, so that leaves $5813.00.
Because we, like a lot of people, live check to check, saving nearly $6000 is next to impossible for us. It certainly isn’t possible for us to save this by the end of our current lease which is May 31st.
So THIS is why I ask for your help! We are DESPERATE! Heck, I would even consider it if someone was willing to LOAN me the $6000 with the stipulation that I could probably only pay them back at a rate of $100.00 per month or so, but I doubt anyone is willing to do that.
So, once again, I ask, beg, plead for your help. You can make donations at: http://www.gofundme.com/dte9bw. Or if you would rather send a check or money order, just send me an e-mail to: boyohboi@gmail.com and I will provide you with my mailing address. You can also e-mail me with ANY more questions, as I am really not trying to hide anything and want to be as transparent as possible.
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has already donated. It means a LOT to me that you care enough to help someone you have never met. You guys and gals are AWESOME!
Hugs,
Jason
PS: If your looking for the Self Portrait Saturday, just click the Older Post link below.