The Honeycomb Hideaway

Wednesday’s will be my scheduled days to post. So mark it in those fancy planners you all went to buy for the new year.

20s aren’t to find out who you are. They’re to fully live and find out who you aren’t.
-HeyFranHey

After two looooooooooong years of living out of a suitcase. I finally have a place of my own! I have a closet!!! (I always had one at my mom house but now I have a closet at my own house) lol. No more driving up and down the highway to stay in Oakland through the week and Elk Grove on the weekends. No more feeling like a nomad sleeping on couches and arrow mattresses.

As you may or may not know San Francisco is ranked the most expensive place to live in the United States. Yes more expensive than New York! Working in San Francisco has been pretty rough especially because I can’t afford to live anywhere close to the city where I work. The reason I chose to work in the Bay Area is because it has more opportunity for growth in Public Relations and Marketing than in Sacramento where I previously lived. (Read my blog post ‘Keep Fiercing Breaking Barriers’ to learn more about my career journey and my decision to move back to the Bay Area.)

It is an outstanding number of people who commute hours to work in the Bay Area because although there are more job opportunities out here and the pay is higher, the housing isn’t affordable. I am fortunate to have family still living in the Bay Area I could stay with during the week. Needless to say, I love my family but living with other people gets old, fast. I have bounced from house to house and couch to couch for the last two years. I would drive back to my mom’s house in Elk Grove on the weekends to sleep in my bed and wash my clothes. I tried to commute to San Francisco from Elk Grove for about a week and that was tiring, expensive, and stressful.

I’ve desperately wanted my own place but I was afraid I would never be able to afford living on my own in the Bay Area. More and more people are downsizing and moving away from the Bay Area because of how expensive the housing market is. Rent is constantly going up and homelessness is at an all time high.

Because my fear of not being able to afford a place on my own was getting real, my boyfriend and I started talking about moving in together. We’ve been together for almost two years. Neither of us have ever lived with a significant other before so it would be a very big step for both of us. 3 months ago my boyfriend start working as a chef on Apple’s main campus in Cupertino. Finding a place in between Cupertino and San Francisco that we both could afford felt impossible. We both graduated college in 2015 and are currently working in entry level positions. I was so anxious to move but he was very hesitant because financially we weren’t ready to pay over $2,000 a month in rent.

I could feel the pressure I was putting on him and I didn’t want my living situation to force us into something we weren’t ready for. Rushing things can put strains on the relationship. He lived on his own when he went to college on the East Coast. He moved back to the Bay Area for more work opportunities as well. Ideally he wanted to put more time in at his job and save more before moving out again. I had to realize that getting a comfortable place to stay and a place to call my own was important to me. I had to make this happen for me.

So I start looking for roommates. Every place seem to have too many rules: “No overnight guests”, “fragrance free house”, “no drinking or smoking”. Not that I smoke but if I’m paying nearly $1,000 to rent a room every month, I want to at least be able to have a glass of wine and invite my friends over sometime. I also took into consideration that sharing a living space with different personalities and people I don’t know could possibly turn out worst than staying with family. The roommate situation wasn’t looking too hot.

Well the search is finally over, last week I found the perfect place for me! On Friday, January 12th, I moved into a studio apartment in Berkeley, CA. A nice downtown place near the college and literally every food, shopping, book, theater, and hipster attraction you can think of. The former tenant gave me most of her furniture and kitchen appliances so the move was quick and easy. I have great open window space so the natural lighting is absolutely breathtaking.

 

This is my first time living on my own and that is the part I am most excited about. Having a peaceful quiet place where I can stretch out. I can’t wait to decorate and add my personal touch. I went to my moms house to get my bedding, towels, diffuser, clothes and artwork. The first and only painting I’ve hung up so far is my Beyonce artwork. (oh but of course) 🐝🐝

Articles, books, and advice I’ve been given from married women is to experience living on your own before marriage and kids. Now is the time to take full advantage of girl trips, freedom, and adventures. I love my boyfriend and I’m sure he’ll be over every weekend but it feels good to have a serene place of my own. I don’t want to rush into a situation and have regrets or look back and wish I would’ve took my time.

This is our time to meet liked minded individuals, travel, sleep, love, focus on our passions, support each other, and live life. I am blessed and excited to embark on this new journey of life.

Shout Out to God for answering my prayers since ’91.

Thanks for reading guys!

#MoreLife #IWokeUpLikeThis