So I just moved to a new city and have been really enjoying some aspects of it, others not so much. I am fortunate enough to have some great connections here that lead to me getting hooked up with an apartment on discount in a fantastic area where downtown and all imaginable amenities are within walking distance. Yet I should have saved up more money before coming here. Parking in this district is difficult (this is my first car I've owned, ever) and I've racked up some parking tickets along the way ($225!), enough to consider selling my car.
I've had two would-be job interviews here. One went well, but the job was offered to someone else. Another, for bilingual editing, required a proficiency test of some sort which none of the applicants were able to pass, yet the job has been open since June. I was just told this today, and it felt like a bridge collapsed in my mind. The whole process has been extremely stressful, and the future is always uncertain.
Yes, I am working right now, but it is a temporary position working on some political campaign (read: canvassing) I feel no connection to. I am also contracted to edit this older gentleman's book, which could bring in a few hundred dollars. I know my immediate needs will be met, such as paying rent next month and food, but any financial resource outside of that amounts to maybe a hundred dollars.
As for the question, dear hubskiite, have you ever been on wit's end? I'm sure there are plenty of other recent college grads stuck in the same position.
Oh beezneez, just you wait. It can get worse. In my experience, whenever I've thought that I was at my wit's end or on my last nerve, it has turned out that my nervous system is a lot more extensive than I thought. It sounds like you're interacting with the kinds of people who might know other people who can help you make your skills work for you though. Network like a motherfucker and be patient.
My only suggestion is this: Give yourself a time limit on the car. For example, either the car pays its own way by December 31 or sell it. If the city has great public transit, you might not need it. Having the car will make it possible to apply to more jobs and work further from your apartment. You probably have a dozen other reasons for the car (to move instruments, your wind-surfing equipment, and so on), but the parking might not get any better. Soon the car owns you instead of the other way around. Good luck!
I wouldn't be too quick to give up on the car. I once gave up on something I loved to pay the rent. Perhaps beezneez doesn't love the car, but still it could be a regret. I think humanodon's advice to "network like a motherfucker" is pretty spot on. -When doing so, convey passion. People love to hire and work with passionate people. Apathy is for the birds.
Yes beezneez. Yes. This actually happened to me while I was in college. There was a six-month period where I overdrew my bank account every month, probably between every paycheck. In fact that bank eventually closed my account and ate my ATM card while they were at it (I was able to cash paychecks at the ATM, yes a stupid system for the bank, but good for me too so I wouldn't lose my measly telemarketing paycheck of $200-250 to pay my overdrafts). I had a very small credit line that was always charged up to the max...but the one thing I am proud of to this day is that I never missed a payment. Somehow I always managed to scrape together $15 a month to pay it, thank god. There was a lot of personal stuff going on in my life and I was very afraid and alone. I was in love with someone who said he was in love with me but also someone else at the time so I was assuaging the hurt by sleeping with someone who did love me but who was very unhealthy for me. I was doing all sorts of drugs and drinking and skipping class more often than I was attending. I was very depressed and had anxiety. I will agree with humanodon that when you think things can't get worse they very well might. I'm in a much better place now but even earlier this year, I had saved up a bit of a cushion and was moving. Felt very proud of the fact that I could afford moving, which is always more expensive than you expect, and still have a nice cushion. Then I got sick. Then I screwed up my car. And then I got a kitten...maybe not a smart move financially on my part...but I did save a kitten from the wild. So now I'm back at the bottom again, slowly starting to save my way up again. Life tends to pile on the blows all at once. My advice is buck up if you can and get help if you can't. Money is never going to be easy, I don't think. You always have to manage it.
I can feel it creeping on. I'm in college right now and due to some misfortune as well as mistakes on my part, I will be here for an extra semester with less money than I thought I would have. I'm trying to be frugal, but it's tough sometimes and I can be a bit impulsive (see: mistakes on my part). I don't know what I am going to do other than hopefully find a paid internship this summer. On the other hand, I am having a great time here and I get to keep having a great time for an extra semester! I hope things work out for you soon, beezneez. New cities are always fun but uncertainty can be one of the most stressful situations to be in, especially job-wise.