Need a Job/Place to Live?
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So, this isn't an open call to crazies, but... talking to someone else on here about their situation got me to thinking.
Years ago, I met people on a MUSH and they let me move in with them and... I screwed it up for myself and couldn't hold down a job and ruined it. But they made that offer for me, and I would really like to pay it forward.
I've donated money to a few people on here already and given out bus tickets/etcetera when people needed it. So this isn't a 'first' for me. I'm not some creeper who is trying to lure people in.
So... if you can pass a criminal background check/initial drug test? I can -possibly- get you a job in Austin for 11-13 an hour to start. Or if you can get your own interviews before moving... great!
I can also let you crash at my efficiency (There is a bedroom, but no door on the doorway) if you need a place to stay until you get settled. I can assist with food and will provide decent internet as well, until you get a job locked down and a paycheck. In some cases I can even assist with travel expenses to Austin, but those -will- need to be paid back eventually.
Why would you want to live in Austin? Lots of geeks. Lots of job opportunities. Very laid back atmosphere, low crime rate. Weirdos aren't that weird. I saw a guy in a lion mask and business suit just walking through downtown the other day.
There are a few caveats:
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Gender doesn't matter, but I have no interest in sleeping with you. No sex for room trade. Please respect my life choices.
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Hygiene is important. Showering every day. Washing clothes. Brushing teeth. Not only does it keep you clean but having daily rituals helps you build a system and hold down a job better.
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Personal space is important. Sheets can be hung. Whatever it takes. Also I don't like people touching my computer. The PS4 is fine, but the PC is sacred.
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No thieves. If you steal from me, well. You'll probably get away with it. But you'll only hurt someone else who could have really benefited from the opportunity I am offering.
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No severe mental issues. If you have severe mental issues (aside from the standard social anxiety/social issues many of us MU*ers have. I am not ashamed to say I have them myself!) you won't be able to hold down a job in an unfamiliar city and you'll only be hurting yourself by doing this.
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Money. I don't expect to be 'paid back in full' for any help I offer but kicking a little back to me would be really, really helpful. I'm not rich by any means, but with budgeting and careful spending I can make this work.
So, why am I making this offer? Well I want to help out the community, obviously, but it's selfish too. If I can find a geek roommate I would love to move into a two bedroom apartment soon. So if we click I get a friend and better apartment out of the deal!
If you're interested? Well, drop me a private message on here. I'll consider anyone who meets the aforementioned specifications but we'll need to talk quite a bit before I do this. I'm not going to jump into it and damage someone's life by taking in someone who wouldn't do well here (or who might screw up mine!), but there's no harm at all in talking about it! None at all, so don't be shy. If nobody is interested? No big deal! I'm doing fine here.
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The world could do with a few more like you. I hope you find someone genuine to take you up on your offer. Good luck
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If you're a tech-y type, Austin can be a great place to be.
I also know there's almost always opportunities to get into SXSW by volunteering to help out at a booth or similar.
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I get free downtown parking 24/7, so anyone with me has super easy access to SXSW. It's a private building with a private parking garage, so no tourists/out of towners will be there. Convenient as -fuck-.
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@Admiral It's a good sentiment dude, but make sure you don't get taken advantage of and/or murdered.
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You can't take advantage of someone if they don't consider it being taken advantage of.
As for being murdered... eh. It is what it is.
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This post is both yay and terrifies me at the same time. Like yay we like good and helpful people. Terror because I know others are not always as good and helpful.
That said, if you get offers of sex for rent trade.... please post here for humor value.
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Well I'd ask folks I sent money or help to post here as a reference but I totally forgot who I did and also don't want to embarrass people. But I am on the level. This is a serious offer, at least until I find a roommate and then it will probably be off the table. I'll post if that happens though.
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So I wasn't robbed. But I did pay a bunch for new keys. Still have space open for folks who wanna move. Etcetera. Get in touch!
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This is literally the best thing I've read on the internet in days. It makes me happy, but I want to say something here as a cautionary tale (learn from my mistakes):
Pick a deadline. If you go through with this - and I have done this and hated myself, and I have done this and gained amazing and wonderful friends from it so I totally think it's worth it - you will be highly invested in someone you hardly know. Pick a date by which they should either be kicking back some money to you, or moved out. Or say - we'll re-evaluate the situation monthly, and if we decide it isn't working out, you'll have one month to find a new situation or right the one we have.
Boundaries are important. I'm not going to lecture you on helping other people (bless you) so much as suggest ways to avoid feeling bad in the long run, or alternately feeling like you're being taken advantage of, or even just mad at yourself for not standing up for yourself as much as you needed or hating yourself for having to have tough conversations you hope you'll never have to have.
Did I say you're awesome? You totally are.
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@Darinelle said in Need a Job/Place to Live?
Pick a deadline. If you go through with this - and I have done this and hated myself, and I have done this and gained amazing and wonderful friends from it so I totally think it's worth it - you will be highly invested in someone you hardly know. Pick a date by which they should either be kicking back some money to you, or moved out. Or say - we'll re-evaluate the situation monthly, and if we decide it isn't working out, you'll have one month to find a new situation or right the one we have.
Yeah, this right here.
A friend of mine once let a person she met on MySpace (yes, that long ago) crash a her place after he flunked out of uni and subsequently lost a means to house himself. This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.
It lasted three years.
He never got a job or made meaningful financial contributions. She was not making a ton of money, and an extra person living with you adds up in large and small ways.
He did not ever 'leave,' really. She got a job in a new city and moved, which was the only thing that forced him to seek out another arrangement.
This is not a horror story. He was not a murderer and was a nice enough person, which is why she never had the heart to kick him out.
But set a deadline.
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Also... and PLEASE do this..
Whomever is invited to stay. Write it out and sign the agreement. It can be as simple as X stays X month(s) rent free. This will be re-evaluated on X date. Then have the parties sign it.
If not, you might find yourself in a legal squatter's rights issue and a pain. Now, most people are good people, but you need to defend against the other. A good person will have no issue signing an agreement.
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@Three-Eyed-Crow said in Need a Job/Place to Live?:
This is not a horror story. He was not a murderer and was a nice enough person, which is why she never had the heart to kick him out.
Was he trying to find a job and make some money? I can at least understand it if someone just can't get any money to contribute and they're essentially dependent on others with no concrete options. But if they can get a job - even if it's not the best one - and help out with the bills that person they're dependent on is paying... then they're not nice enough, you know?
Many of us have been down on their luck before due to circumstances. There was an entire year in which I could legally not work, and I hated it. But you still need to contribute in whatever ways you can.
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(Satire. Please take Admiral seriously)
I felt confident enough to post my application here, @Admiral
Mid-30s white male roommate application for Ghost!
Name: You will know me as Ghost
Sex: Male
Job History: I have been working in IT Operations for the last 5 years. I have some certificates, such as ITIL, but am branching out to SSCP and CEH to focus on Information Security
Hobbies: Tabletop Gaming, Hockey, Sci Fi/Fantasy TV shows, Board Games, Coffee house outings, interspecies cybernetic romance, slap boxing, and NTN trivia at popular sports bars
Needs as roommate: A room! Hahaha just kidding. I enjoy jokes. I'm pretty low maintenance outside of these few simple needs- Never look me in the eyes; it comes across as challenging my power
- I WILL need a door for my room, because often there are things you wouldn't understand taking place. For starters, I don't let people see my record collection. My list of bands that no one has ever heard will only remain so if no one ever has access to view the labels on the records. That and I sometimes have people over to roleplay as transformers who have sex in animal form.
- IGNORE MY MOTHER AND THE PHONE CALLS FROM KRISTI
- I will require my own gender specific bathroom. FYI, my gender is CyberWolfGiantWizardLeprechaunDemiFemaleRepublican
- If you hear me crying in the night, whatever you do, do not enter my room unless you're wearing a Ninja Turtles tee shirt and yell out "WHO WANTS PIZZA!?!"
- I don't do floors, dishes, bathrooms, carpets, walls, ceilings, or hardtop surfaces. I am very good at turning on the garbage disposal, but am triggered by it since watching the 80s remake of The Blob.
- Playing Tay Zonday's "Chocolate Rain" on an infinite loop is my right for any purchased living space.
- Please accept the fact that I am a sexual creature in nature, and that psychic vampirism is not intrusive. It's a burden. It's who I am.
- I will need the house once a month for "LARP", which is code word for an elaborate NERF-weapon fighting game with roleplay elements that 9/10 time results in everyone placing their car keys into a bowl and having sex on surfaces that I do not clean. Afterwards, we rate each other's performance and assign XP accordingly.
- I tend to pay my bills in Bitcoin.
Delete the Hog Pit. It'll be fun.
I really don't understand He-Man -
@Ghost said in Need a Job/Place to Live?:
- I will need the house once a month for "LARP", which is code word for an elaborate NERF-weapon fighting game with roleplay elements that 9/10 time results in everyone placing their car keys into a bowl and having sex on surfaces that I do not clean. Afterwards, we rate each other's performance and assign XP accordingly.
Is it wrong that my first thought goes to those commercials of Trident where 4 out of 5 dentists would recommend, but the last one-- Of course he had a squirrel in his pants or something!
You don't want to know what happened the 10th time.
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I'm appreciative of the upvotes, but there hasn't been much nterest in the offer.(aside from one maybe. So there is hope!) I'm a little disappointed! Maybe if I rephrase it so it sounds like moving in would be doing me a huge favor? I know this community likes helping folks out and all. Or it might mean we are all doing well. Which would be awesome.
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@Admiral said in Need a Job/Place to Live?:
I'm appreciative of the upvotes, but there hasn't been much nterest in the offer.(aside from one maybe. So there is hope!) I'm a little disappointed!
Why are you disappointed? Why would anyone want to move to Austin, TX?
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Why would anyone move to Austin? I don't know. It's a pretty cool place with jobs everywhere and low rent and it is at least 5 to 10 years away from having the bubble burst? It has a strong geek culture and the hipsters are mostly faded away after their 2010 to 2015 heyday? It is a hub of both tech and political types? I don't know. It's better than living in a small town or with the parents, I guess. The only downside is that they still haven't gotten rid of all the lawyers.
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@Admiral said in Need a Job/Place to Live?:
The only downside is that they still haven't gotten rid of all the lawyers.
So, now you know why I'm not going.
But, it's a serious question, and it has little to do with the city itself. Why would anyone want to move down there? It's a legitimate question.
My feeling is that many of us on this board are settled where we are in terms of friends and family, if not for employment. It is a difficult sell to move to a new place.
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People need to find their own reason. 'Anywhere but here' has always been a good qualifier for me, when I consider a move. Being in a bad situation and needing a change or just wanting to get out of the boonies is probably the main one, regarding moving to any major city.
