My two years were up at KMH housing and I earned my Section 8 Housing Voucher, so it was time to move! I hate moving. But who likes it, really. Once I filled out the endless paperwork to determine if I even qualified for a voucher (which I did), I had to wait several months before one became available. I qualified and in March a voucher became available for me. I had to go in for a two hour orientation where they further explained the Section 8 program and what I could and couldn't qualify for. My voucher was for somewhere around $950, I can't remember exactly and I'm too lazy to get up and see for sure. Meaning that with rent and a utility chart I had to fill out, my total couldn't go over the $950 a month in order for it to be affordable for me on my income. Once I got my voucher I had 120 days to find a suitable place before the voucher would expire. Which would be devastating. So I started my search. It didn't look hopeful. Apparently one bedroom apartments are hard to come by and when they do come they get snatched up so quickly. I looked all over Bremerton, I had my mind set I wanted to move back to Bremerton, but there just wasn't a lot available. I got on some waitlists. One place the wait was 6 months to a year. Yikes. Then one day after calling probably 20 places, I called the Hidden Terrace Apartments in Port Orchard and talked to Robbie. I just asked if they had any one bedroom apartments available and she said "actually..." She had one available! Then I asked the scary questions, how much is rent and do you accept Section 8. Rent was $850 and they accepted Section 8! The only utility I pay is electric, and it was determined that and rent combined would fall way under the $950 I was allotted, so I filled out an application and the next day got approved for the apartment! Now the Section 8 people had to inspect the apartment, and make sure the rent was comparable to other complexes around. Also Robbie had a packet she had to fill out and send into Bremerton Housing Authority. Anyway the apartment passed everything on Friday and I signed the lease the next Monday. I had everything packed and ready to go, so around 3:00pm some wonderful people showed up to help me move. We moved all my boxes out and into the new place in just 40 minutes. It was awesome. I unfortunately had a mishap though, I was carrying stuff up the stairs and missed the top step and fell and rolled my ankle in the fall. It was not my most graceful moment. So I was out of commission for the rest of the day. I felt so bad. Luckily we were almost done, but still. I've been on it too much this week, but now that the weekend is here I'm giving it a rest, but it hurts still. Sigh. I have wonderful friends who have furnished my apartment for me. I have a beautiful new to me queen bed! It's so nice to be in a big kid bed now. I have a couch, a dresser, and a kitchen table with chairs. Plus all sorts of things that make a place a home. I am so incredibly grateful for good people who've looked out for me and made this transition easy and fun. I'm grateful to my parents for helping me with the deposit and the pet deposit when I wouldn't have been able to afford either of those on my own.
So far it's so good. I feel good here. I have everything set up the way I like it, Mr. Purrington is settling in. He seems to like his new space, and we have a lot more open floor here for he and I to play with his feather toy, so that's been fun too. It's a little cold still, I haven't ran the heaters yet because I'm trying to save money where I can right now. I just wear hoodies and blankets. It'll warm up soon enough. Then I'll also have a better idea of what the electric bill will be.
Anyway, it started out as an overwhelming project, but once I dived in and started conquering tasks, alone or with friends, it became easier and I was able to be successful. It feels nice to live and be able to take care of a place where I can be successful.
I had a good experience with KMH housing and am so grateful for their program that graduated me into being able to get a Section 8 and affordable housing. My rent is the same I've been paying for the last 2 1/2 years, so I know I can do it. I've met some amazing people who've bent over backwards to help out and I have been humbled by the experience. I just can't express how grateful I am right now.
It's good to be home.
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