Game-changer – thumb down ..

/ MR

I’d done all the PT preparations for going up to Ballarat today – done ’em at high speed, as I only discovered when I got back from viewing the truly lovely but much too small studio in North Melbourne (the sleeping|living area is, I believe, about the size of my current kitchen) that there was a viewing on this-arvo that they’d whipped in while I was gone – but from wake-up this-morning I’ve been doing the maths.

The bottom  line is that I can’t afford to move out of town – to anywhere. About 18 months ago it cost me $1,000 to move from North Geelong to Maribyrnong. That’s a distance of roughly 65km. Imagine what moving from St Kilda East to Wendouree would cost today ! – it’s about 125km. Those big sums – big for just the one person’s possessions – are due in large part to the truck’s having to be paid also to return to base.

So, of course, the further away I go the more the cost goes up by a factor of 2 – well, a big chunk of it, anyway.   :(

Thus am I right back to where I was: nothing lined up for checking. Are my criteria as picky as all that ?:
–not situated in the middle of acres of concrete
–not on entrance where others go in and out
–not in hilly area
–not on heavy traffic (in both senses) road
–not facing west
–not in the wilds of suburbia
-ground floor or lift
-water pressure good
-large enough tank if electric hot water
-on sufficient number of elec. circuits
-dishwasher or double sink
-on public transport or close to
-shopping close by or transport thereto ditto
-taps for washing-machine
-intercom or direct access

You gotta laugh, team: those are indeed (in no particular order) my criteria – in a perfect world. But as this one isn’t quite perfect, I’m only too aware that  I ain’t NEVAH gonna find a place like that. Some are immutable: not facing west has risen to the top after my nearly twelve months in the top floor of the Maribyrnong high-rise; taps for the washing-machine ditto after my nearly five months here with a communal laundry. You could amuse yourselves rearranging that list in order of what you think a grumpy old person would do, and it might help ME !   :)

Anyway. That’s the latest problem re moving. If it ain’t one thing it’s another, or some such fairly mindless aphorism ..

19 thoughts on “Game-changer – thumb down ..”

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  3. At least you are working out what you might be prepared to compromise on, and what things are non-negotiable M-R. I have lived in a west facing unit where I was basically being cooked alive, so I’m with you on that one! It might be difficult to find the double sink/dishwasher in an older place though.

    The isolation is a pain, but seriously regional towns can be very tricky. Where I live the women in my age group are incredibly wary of anyone they haven’t known pretty much since birth – I find younger people much easier, and anyone who is a migrant. It’s even worse if you don’t have grandchildren to talk with them about!

    I think I’m with you on the rest of the list, but for myself I’d add a good library within easy reach – if only because there are usually some interesting people to talk to there about books and matters literary! Ditto a decent cafe if at all possible; you need to be able to go somewhere where occasional casual conversations with strangers can happen. It helps!

    Hang in there!

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    • A good response, Sue ! :D
      I’m settling into a rut of despondency with every flat I see advertised at $300 pw. The fucking agencies have all decided that it’s now the base rate; and you can be sure that where a place is showing at less, it has deficiencies – like, notable ones. Melbourne is actually out of my price range, if I am to live in a place I’d be happy to spend the rest of my days in.
      I may have to return to Geelong.

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      • The pandemic and house prices have made the situation worse M-R. I wonder have you tried a housing organization in Melbourne? Is there a women’s homelessness service you could try, or a community housing provider that provides discounted rentals? In NSW there are things like Housing Plus, or Women’s Homelessness Services, that provide affordable long term rental accommodation to women on their own. It might be worth enquiring? If you’re on a pension and in a private rental, you should be eligible, and if they can’t help, they might know where to direct you.

        There are some rather nice units here in attractive landscaped grounds that I think are run by one of these organisations, and I’m sure there must be some in Melbourne. I don’t know how the wait lists are, but older women alone should be placed towards the front of the list. I’d be Googling these and give them a go. I’ve heard of women getting a nice place through one of these organisations, so I’d be spending some time checking them out. Let us know how you go, It’s horrible out there in rental land..

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        • Recently I applied for two places: one was advertised by a group called Women’s Property Initiative for an NRAS apartment in Moonee Ponds. I was leery of my chances because I have never had a good time with any group of women only, and I was right: they accepted my application and I never heard from them again. Just – nothing. This is the kind of crap I get dealt by ordinary RE agents all the time; but the WPI ? – and me a 78-y-o trying to get out of a totally unsuitable hovel ?
          The other was even worse: a place advertised by Home Ground, another do-good organization. They read my application and sank back into the ground. The Property Manager never responded to a question about a laundry, and the front-of-house person told me not to add pressure to him, that it had only been a couple of days. It’s a couple of weeks now and I know I shall never hear from them, ever.
          I truly don’t know what it is about my applications; but they seem to shout “This woman is to be avoided at all costs !” .. I am on the lists for Housing Victoria; and I can say with absolute certainty that I will be there on the day I die.

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          • I suspect all these services are overwhelmed M-R. I would give them another week or two and then try again. There are so many homeless people here (living in cars/vans) it’s really concerning, and I know of employed women in the Byron Bay area who are living in vans because they can’t afford rents. Our governments continue to ignore the problem. It must be tiring for you going through all this and it’s stressful.

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            • And they’re overwhelmed because they’re run inefficiently. Their recorded phone messages are all over the shop and the choices offered often meaningless, contributing to pile-up. So the employees will probably be promoted relentlessly.
              What, me, bitter ?
              Shit, mate – not bitter: just possesssed of a tired frustration. Thanks for your input; it’s good to receive.

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  4. Everything on your lists seems sensible to me. It looks like a long list, but it’s mostly really basic stuff. (I mean, if you were younger, you mightn’t bother about the ground floor lift, and if you had a car, you mightn’t worry about the access to shopping/public transport issue). I concur, but clearly you need no encouragement, re West facing. NO WAY for someone who lives much of their life at home.

    Are the wilds of suburbia negotiable if you get everything else?

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  5. I have already left one comment and it disappeared. So if it shows up…lol! I don’t think your list is an unreasonable one at all. Having laundry facilities is an amenity that saves you time and effort, and I hope you can find as many comforts as you need. I’m very out of touch with moving costs so you took me by surprise. But of course, moving costs is a BIG obstacle. My fingers are really crossed for you. Soon!!

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Go on - you can say it. :)

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