Life in California has evolved since it first began the process of becoming a state back in the 1840s. Since the times of the California Gold Rush it has been seen as the go to place to start a new life with endless opportunity around each corner. Unfortunately, with greatness comes a downside, which in this case comes with the growing cost of living. In current times, living in California is seen as more of a luxury than anything else. This is not only because of the preferred climate and the sun kissed coast, but also for the economy that it has to offer which creates a high demand for jobs and living. In an economist’s point of view, high demand means higher prices which has been a problem in California for some time now. High living costs creates challenges for anyone living in California, especially for low income individuals and families. One major concern that has gained attention is the increase in homeless college students due to high cost of schooling and living arrangements. This raises the question in how morally correct our funding and pricing for education is with concerns of a student’s well-being. A lot of these students are putting their life work into gaining entrance to college, only to be struck with difficulties achieving their dreams. Saying that history repeats itself can be debatable in some cases, but this scenario is very similar to the California Gold Rush, where people were sacrificing all that they had in order to make a better life by moving to California in hopes of striking gold. Well, these students are looking to create their own fortune, but are facing obstacles such as homelessness that are potentially keeping them from succeeding.
Living as a college student is tough, especially when you aren’t living from home. The expression “counting pennies” becomes a reality when you are paying for living to go to an institution that charges tuition. Government and state funding have lessened this burden for low income students who qualify for help, but sometimes there are situations where unqualified students aren’t able to allocate money for education and housing. This can be due to the fact that average cost of rent is between $1200-$1400 while that average income per household is around $68,000 per year (California, MD Rental Market Trends, 2018). The price of living to income ratio sounds manageable, but this is a best-case scenario, where a family Is living in an apartment and the student is living from home. These numbers begin to change when the student is taken out of the household and has to live somewhere else. Rent is then doubled, and potential income is eliminated from the equation. If you are lucky enough then you get covered by FAFSA or grants or even scholarships if you are a dedicated scholar, but this isn’t the case for everyone. Financial aid is given to families who make less than $50,000 per year while other opportunities such as the Pell Grant are given to families who make less than $20,000 per year (Team, 2018). This starts to make it difficult because if you make more than that and only qualify for loans, then education and housing must both be paid out of pocket. This can be difficult because sometimes you are barely making over the cutoff and funds are difficult to move around. This begins to put strains on families and relationships and can lead to other problems such as dropping out or poor academic achievements due to students having to work in order to pay their way through college. In most cases, it isn’t enough to live in this state since part-time work can’t pay for a month’s rent, food, gas, and other expenses. Other factors are also brought in such as legal status and citizenship. If you aren’t a citizen or a permanent resident, then you are automatically disqualified form financial help.
So, what is one to do in situations like these? Many tend to lean toward staying at home and attending community college for as long as they can, but that isn’t long term since transferring is necessary in order to receive your undergraduate degree. Maybe you can sacrifice education in order to avoid the burden? This will only affect you long term and can possibly leave a constant regret in your mind about not finishing school. Another option would to forget housing altogether in order to allocate money more efficiently to make sure that your education is being paid for. According to slate.com, 15,000 people were known to be living in their cars in the Los Angeles area alone (Pollard, 2018). According to the Los Angeles times, FAFSA data showed that more than 56,000 college students labeled themselves as being homeless in the United States, so chances show that a lot of them are here in our local Universities.
One student in particular reached out to the Los Angeles Times in order to introduce this problem and how homelessness and living in cars is a real thing in California. Louis Tse, a 26-year-old student pursuing his PhD in mechanical engineering at UCLA, showed a reporting team his daily routine while living in his car. One topic that came up was about his parents and what they thought about it. He went on to say, “They know about it on a superficial level. . . They would worry.” ( (Biagiotti, 2016). This shows that students can be living this life on the streets, without their family even knowing. This is probably because the burden of tuition can leave strains on family and students want to avoid this in order to preserve their future. Tse also goes on to say, “When you’re faced with paying tuition for, you know, your dream job or living in a car for what you think is temporary then it’s pretty obvious that I think homelessness can be a result of rational decision making under extreme duress.” (Biagiotti, 2016).
According to another article posted by The Los Angeles Times, between 8%-12% of California State students are labeled as homeless and 21%-24% are food insecure (Xia, 2016). The results of the study aren’t entirely accurate, since a lot of students who lived in their cars or jumped from place to place in order to sleep, didn’t consider themselves homeless. This brings up the point of shame and how students are reluctant to reach out for help, leaving people who are willing to help unable to reach those in need. Imagine trying to better yourself by getting an education, only to be ashamed of how you are doing it because living here is too expensive. This is the dilemma that thousands of students are facing due to the overwhelming cost of living and schooling.
With the continuing growth of the California economy and increase in population, what does this mean for the future? Due to the growing problem of homelessness and living in cars, there has been different methods created in order to make life easier for those who have chosen or forced to take this route of living. One interesting article showed a list of instructions on how to live in your car in Santa Monica. This list contains tips and tricks on how to survive in your car in Santa Monica, which is known for not being tolerant of loitering. The list is shown below.
1. “Get a good car. It's best to have a large vehicle like a van or an RV. But if you are forced to live in a small car, you can make it work. Make sure to buy a car cover so no one can see you sleeping in your car at night.
2. Make a comfortable "bed." Get a sleeping bag and recline the passenger seat. If your passenger seat goes all the way back, this is actually a pretty comfortable way to sleep.
3. Keep eating healthy. The McDonald's Dollar Menu is great, but you can't eat burgers forever. There are several other options. The homeless shelter (O.P.C.C) on Olympic serves meals regularly. Another option is to just buy a loaf of bread and a can of beans from Ralph's on Broadway and Lincoln. Packages of uncooked hot dogs will provide a lot of food. Make sure you are eating both carbs and protein and take vitamins if you can.
4. Make sure to shower! The O.P.C.C shelter has showers. If you sign up for classes at the Santa Monica College, you can take their shuttle bus across town and use the showers in their locker rooms. This is much easier and more private.
5. Find parking. It's very difficult to find a place to park in Santa Monica, and if you park in the wrong place you will get a $60 ticket within 5 minutes. The parking regulations are very strictly enforced. However, there are certain spots you should be able to park overnight and not have a problem. 10th and Arizona, as well as 11th and Arizona, are good spots. Venice can work since there are a lot of other car-dwellers there, but it is a very dangerous place. The best thing to do is just drive around until you find a place that works, and if you see a tow truck parked nearby the next morning, leave!
6. Try to make money. Many people perform on 3rd Street Promenade, which can be a lot of fun and a great way to support yourself. If you have any talent at all or can even do something out of the ordinary (or you just have a funny outfit) you're sure to at least make a few dollars every time you go out. The license to perform is $35 and can be purchased from City Hall.
7. Know where the bathrooms are. The Promenade has several public bathrooms, but you will have to go searching for them or ask one of the locals – they are pretty hard to find.
8. Take steps to better your life. If you can afford classes, this is a great way to invest in your future and add a sense of purpose to your life. With no structure, every day begins to look the same, and you start to wonder why you're even here on this earth. Another idea is to spend time in the Library, reading books, watching movies, and getting out of the sun for a few hours.
9. Dress Well. How you look plays a big role in how others treat you. If you can bathe and pay for laundry, most people probably won't be able to tell you are homeless. If you keep your hair short and clean, people will assume you are well-off. On the other hand, if you grow it out, people will assume that you can't afford a haircut and other homeless people will start messing with you. It is possible to be homeless without anyone knowing, and to keep applying to jobs or pursuing your dreams.
10. Get a Mailbox. There are several places to rent mailboxes in Santa Monica. It is best to get one that doesn't say P.O. box in front of it. For instance, if your address is 7th Street., Santa Monica, #28, people will assume that #28 means Apartment #28 instead of a mailbox number. Many companies require your home address (insurance, bank, etc.) and this will pass.
11. Don't Tell people you are Homeless. This is just a good policy to keep. If people know you are homeless, is easier for them to look down on you, take advantage of your weakness, or pity you – none of which you want. When people ask where you live, say the street name where you park or where you have your mailbox. If you are walking with someone, say goodbye to them before you get to the street where your car is parked. If anyone wants to come see your place, tell them it's messy right now (It probably is!). Don't lie, but you don't have to tell everything to everyone.
12. Make Friends. Having a support network is important, especially in such a demoralizing situation. Some of the other homeless people are downright crazy and should be avoided, but other ones are completely normal, articulate, and intelligent. You just have to talk to them to find out which is which.” (members, 2018)
After reading this list and realizing how people have actually planned situations like this out proves that the problem is going to be overlooked and seen as being a new norm. It seems as if our state is moving towards accepting struggles such as living in your car in order to keep your identity as a Californian. But what is the big reward that is coming out of it? For starters, California is the 5th largest economy in the world (Egel, 2018). Just like the gold rush, people are coming here for the opportunity at fortune. This is why these college students are sacrificing so much in order to achieve this goal. Secondly, this generation is already adapted to surviving on the bare minimum. We know that the odds are against us when it comes to owning homes here in the states, finding decent jobs is difficult even after graduation, and unless your family is already well off then being a college student means that you are broke. This doesn’t mean that it will always be like this though. Over 300,000 migrants came to California for the chance to strike gold but were faced with hardships that brought positive change for the future (our present) and we may be seeing positive change in our near future (HistoryNet, 2018). With the Gold Rush came the rise in development of California. New roads were built, schools were established, churches were founded, and towns were built in order to accommodate the people that the rush brought in (HistoryNet, 2018). This serves as a hope that, just like history repeated itself once, it can mirror the outcome and bring positive change to the future of California’s scholars.