Surviving III
After speaking to so many families I have begun to see common treads between families that have faired well and families that have been sunk by the Bay Area economy.
*Men who were “white collar” or in software developing/IT employees have had a very difficult time finding work. I know of one father who found work at Costco and the other found work at Home Depo. Both these men sold their homes and left the area with their families.
*Men who were blue collar and service oriented faired better. One Dad began using his current, but unused truck drivers’ licensee. Another Dad was self-employed as a handyman. My husband found regular work through temp agencies. Some money is better than no money.
*I know of another family – they were out of work for over a year. They were very frugal and wise. They lived on savings, cut back all non-essential expenses and paid every bill on time. Because of their excellent credit history they were able to move to a less expensive rental. They had a small family. There was another layoff from the new job. They did not have time to build up savings. They moved out of the Bay Area but work was not easy to find. They used their credit cards carefully and borrowed money from family to survive.
They are now both employed; Dad works nights and takes care of the children during the day while Mom is at work. They used their income tax return to pay off the family members who they borrowed money from.
*One of the places we lived we rented from a dear single man. He lost his job at Sun Microsystems. He was out of work 2 years. He paid the mortgage by renting out rooms. We rented 2 rooms. Three children were in one room, husband, me and two children in the other. There was a nice young married couple down the hall we shared the bathroom with.
Moving
From 2000-2003 we moved 7 times. On September 11, 2001 our world was changed forever because of an act of terror on United States soil.
In October 2001, after my husband being ill for many months, but because we were consumed with finding a place to live, he downed played his symptoms, ended up in the hospital and was diagnosed with diabetes.
In February 2002 husband’s company closed after the investors pulled out. At first he concentrated on finding another job while collecting unemployment, but no one was hiring. My husband found steady work (although low paying) at a temp agency. Most companies were now using temp agencies for workers. The temp agency screened people, performed drug testing before hiring the employee and the companies did not have to pay out benefits to temp workers.
My husband’s cardiologist was very kind to us when we had no health insurance. He gave us “samples” of the needed diabetes medication. My husband did everything the doctor prescribed the five months he saw the doctor. He arrived to every appointment on time. His doctor told us he was pleased with the effort. His doctor allowed us to call anytime with questions or to request more samples when needed.
April 2002 I totaled our Astro Van in San Jose. I did not get a ticket, and I was the only one hurt. The insurance paid off the loan and paid for the damages to the other vehicles. In January 2002 we had been given a used insurance-salvaged car by friends. It only seated 5, but was now my husband’s transportation to jobs.
From November 2002 - May 2003 my marriage was in serious trouble. Through lots of talking and apologizing we got things resolved. Our church in May had a very good marriage seminar that was helpful too.
September 2003 we moved to N. Ca for cheaper rent and availabe work. At the time we decided to move notices and people started coming to the door of the home we were renting. The owner had not paid the mortgage in many months and the home was in foreclosure we found out. We shared the home with some college students and another family. The rent was low, utilities were included and a deposit was not required. The living situation was ok while we were there. The other family was friends who were in similar circumstances. They all moved out by April/May and we had the home to ourselves. The owner stopped coming around so we sent postal money orders for rent to his address.
The week we moved the PG&E and water were to be shut off for non-payment. We had notice ahead of time and we tried to reach the owner, but the phone mail was always full and not accepting messages.
My husband let the temp agency know we would be moving. He had a very good relationship with the agency. They knew they could always depend on him to do well on the jobs they sent him to. The agency had offices in the N. Ca. They had a job waiting for my husband when we moved, if he wanted it. It was low paying, but the company would hire my husband after 3 months if they liked him (and he was hired and we have health insurance!)
Later that month our 4th child was hit on our street by a van while riding her bike. Thank God it was not serious and she had a quick recovery.
*Men who were “white collar” or in software developing/IT employees have had a very difficult time finding work. I know of one father who found work at Costco and the other found work at Home Depo. Both these men sold their homes and left the area with their families.
*Men who were blue collar and service oriented faired better. One Dad began using his current, but unused truck drivers’ licensee. Another Dad was self-employed as a handyman. My husband found regular work through temp agencies. Some money is better than no money.
*I know of another family – they were out of work for over a year. They were very frugal and wise. They lived on savings, cut back all non-essential expenses and paid every bill on time. Because of their excellent credit history they were able to move to a less expensive rental. They had a small family. There was another layoff from the new job. They did not have time to build up savings. They moved out of the Bay Area but work was not easy to find. They used their credit cards carefully and borrowed money from family to survive.
They are now both employed; Dad works nights and takes care of the children during the day while Mom is at work. They used their income tax return to pay off the family members who they borrowed money from.
*One of the places we lived we rented from a dear single man. He lost his job at Sun Microsystems. He was out of work 2 years. He paid the mortgage by renting out rooms. We rented 2 rooms. Three children were in one room, husband, me and two children in the other. There was a nice young married couple down the hall we shared the bathroom with.
Moving
From 2000-2003 we moved 7 times. On September 11, 2001 our world was changed forever because of an act of terror on United States soil.
In October 2001, after my husband being ill for many months, but because we were consumed with finding a place to live, he downed played his symptoms, ended up in the hospital and was diagnosed with diabetes.
In February 2002 husband’s company closed after the investors pulled out. At first he concentrated on finding another job while collecting unemployment, but no one was hiring. My husband found steady work (although low paying) at a temp agency. Most companies were now using temp agencies for workers. The temp agency screened people, performed drug testing before hiring the employee and the companies did not have to pay out benefits to temp workers.
My husband’s cardiologist was very kind to us when we had no health insurance. He gave us “samples” of the needed diabetes medication. My husband did everything the doctor prescribed the five months he saw the doctor. He arrived to every appointment on time. His doctor told us he was pleased with the effort. His doctor allowed us to call anytime with questions or to request more samples when needed.
April 2002 I totaled our Astro Van in San Jose. I did not get a ticket, and I was the only one hurt. The insurance paid off the loan and paid for the damages to the other vehicles. In January 2002 we had been given a used insurance-salvaged car by friends. It only seated 5, but was now my husband’s transportation to jobs.
From November 2002 - May 2003 my marriage was in serious trouble. Through lots of talking and apologizing we got things resolved. Our church in May had a very good marriage seminar that was helpful too.
September 2003 we moved to N. Ca for cheaper rent and availabe work. At the time we decided to move notices and people started coming to the door of the home we were renting. The owner had not paid the mortgage in many months and the home was in foreclosure we found out. We shared the home with some college students and another family. The rent was low, utilities were included and a deposit was not required. The living situation was ok while we were there. The other family was friends who were in similar circumstances. They all moved out by April/May and we had the home to ourselves. The owner stopped coming around so we sent postal money orders for rent to his address.
The week we moved the PG&E and water were to be shut off for non-payment. We had notice ahead of time and we tried to reach the owner, but the phone mail was always full and not accepting messages.
My husband let the temp agency know we would be moving. He had a very good relationship with the agency. They knew they could always depend on him to do well on the jobs they sent him to. The agency had offices in the N. Ca. They had a job waiting for my husband when we moved, if he wanted it. It was low paying, but the company would hire my husband after 3 months if they liked him (and he was hired and we have health insurance!)
Later that month our 4th child was hit on our street by a van while riding her bike. Thank God it was not serious and she had a quick recovery.
posted by Change Our Family Tree @ 4:45 PM
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