About to Be Homeless (sublet, affordable apartment, lease)

[fkinteh]

Just looking for a little advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

I found myself in a situation this week where I was not going to be able to pay my rent, my unemployment was cut off, and I have no income. In order to keep from losing my place, I was lucky enough to be able to sublet it for the next 2-3 months. The issue now is where I am going to stay! I have a car, but it's a Yaris and VERY uncomfortable to sleep in. Also, sleeping in your car is illegal in LA. I'm grateful to at least have the car and an apartment to come back to eventually. But, I'm not sure what to do next. My family lives in Kentucky, btw, so that's not an option.

It seems like camping around LA is actually kind of expensive. I stayed at the hostel in Venice when I first moved to town, but even that gets pricey over time.

Anyone been in a similar spots? Thoughts about places to crash, to hang during the day, free places/food, etc... BTW, I'm a woman in my 30's, so sleeping in the park is not going to be an option.

Thanks so much for your help!

[Ceece]

How long have you been in LA? What do you do? Do you have any reason to believe you will ever find employment?

I would think you would have some friends who might let you couch surf or something?

[Cream1]

You should join a gym that you can afford that has nice restrooms. You could do your showering and cleaning up there as well as working out to pass the time. In the meantime you can apply to fast food jobs, etc.

[fkinteh]

If you can believe it, I'm a lawyer. But, I'm not licensed in CA and finding work has become really difficult. But, yes, there is reason to believe I will eventually find work. The gym idea is a good one.

[1200RT]

Originally Posted by fkinteh

If you can believe it, I'm a lawyer. But, I'm not licensed in CA and finding work has become really difficult. But, yes, there is reason to believe I will eventually find work. The gym idea is a good one.

I'm confused here. Why don't you jump in your Yaris and drive back to the state you're licensed in -or- take the CA bar and become licensed here? I'm not an attorney, but know dozens, even some who just passed the bar this year. All have been hired somewhere, albeit not always their first choice. Point is - I find it hard to believe someone with a JD can't find *any* work.

Did you move here unlicensed and your plans changed?

[fkinteh]

I moved here to write and not practice law at all. Then, savings ran out and I decided to try and sit for the bar. Between the summer and winter bars, there is an average 43% pass rate (52 in the summer, around 32 in the winter). It's worse for out of staters. I have taken the CA bar twice and haven't passed it yet. I plan on taking it again in July. Yes, if you are licensed here and went to law school here, it isn't hard to find something. But, that isn't my situation. As far as not being able to find a job with a JD, believe it. I am in the unfortunate position of not being qualified for attorney positions due to not being licensed in CA and not being able to get hired as a clerk/paralegal because I am so over qualified. The legal market in KY is not much better. Besides, if I wanted to live in KY, I wouldn't be here. I appreciate your response, but I'm assuming this is going to be a rather temporary situation for me...2 or 3 months tops, and am looking for people who have any knowledge or experience with temporarily having nowhere to live. If anyone knows anything about cheap hostels, free or cheap camping, anything about the shelters, has couch surfed around here, etc..., that would be really helpful.

[Harrier]

Lots of free campsites with firepits but no facilities in the San gabriel mountains - but that won't help you find work here in civilization. Couch surfing websites exist - check those out. I suggest joining some type of social group and letting them know about your problem. A church would be a good group where you may find someone willing to help you out. Some churches operate shelters also - so you would have access to info there. I hope you are looking for any and all types of work. Unloading a truck or pulling orders in a stockroom may be a big step down for an attorney, but it will pay the bills temporarily.

[fkinteh]

Thanks, Harrier. Those are good ideas. Yes, I'm definitely looking for any and all work. It seems like I've fallen into a weird crevice of sorts...either under or overqualified, not the right age, not the right gender, etc... I tried to go back to being a nanny, something I did before law school. But, now I'm competing with people who have more recent experience. It seems like I'm just a couple of steps behind on everything. I'm definitely not a quitter and will figure something out I'm sure.

[summerwriter]

Yes, my husband and I have been in this situation before and have left CA. You can always go back, but you need to go to where you have family who can help you through this difficult time. Or you need to go to a state that has cheaper rent/more work since LA doesn't really have either of those things right now. Sleeping in the car wasn't an option for us, so we hit the road since our vehicle was the only thing we had, too. You can always go back to LA - we will return by the end of the summer after we get our sh*t together in a more affordable place. We didn't want to leave at all - but you know the saying about doing what you gotta do to survive. We've been in New Orleans for two months and my husband has a job (he couldn't find anything in LA) and we found a super affordable apartment with a short lease. If you are totally against leaving LA, what about a roommate situation?

[yoyoma02]

If you're a lawyer, your plently smart. Why don't you just do some crappy job while to raise some money? You can pay rent, utlitlies and put food in your stomach if you became a waitress or bartender somewhere. Heck, I made $2k/month delivering pizzas when I wasn't working full time...

Just a thought.