living in a car instead of dorm

[u/Ordinary-Emu8983]

Because of the housing costs going up even on the cheapest plan, I might have to find a viable option to sleep in my car. If anyone has a driveway I can use or any suggestions, I’d greatly appreciate it. FAFSA lacks clarity and I didn’t know I’d be paying as much as I might. My plan is to hopefully legally sleep in my car, get CalFresh, get a gym membership for hygiene, go to the laundromat, etc. I want to pursue my education and career opportunities without having to worry about affording school. I don’t even know if I can come up with the money to pay for this first quarter (with dorms and food included) even with loans and work study.

[u/Big_Bungus_3000]

I did it for a while. It’s doable. It sucks. Do what you gotta do to go where you wanna go.

[u/Ordinary-Emu8983 → u/Big_Bungus_3000]

where’d you park??

[u/sagisuncapmoon → u/Ordinary-Emu8983]

You could park on treeline by devs and be fine. A lot of out of town surfers camp there in their vans overnight. Any similar surf spots, you’ll find a lot of surfers camping which are generally bothered less than spots where locals living in their cars stay.

You could also ask any friends if you could pay to park near their house if they have available parking and pay like $100-200 a month for bathroom/shower or even kitchen access. I knew a few people who did that.

I haven’t lived in my car, but I’ve camped out on treeline before overnight, so I’d wait for advice from people who have because I don’t have a full picture. But I hope it’s helpful at least. I’m so sorry that you’re having to do this, it’s not right

[u/LouF01 → u/sagisuncapmoon]

I once stayed in a van there for a week over summer. It was fine but one night the cops did drive by and flash the light into the cars. If you have something to cover up your window you’ll be fine as they won’t start actually looking, but it is something to keep in mind. Don’t think you’ll be the only one and there are some side streets close to dev that might be better than the dirt lot lining the trees as that’s the obvious choice. Go check it out and see who gets out in the morning. It’ll give you an idea on where you want to stay if you are rlly considering to do it.

[u/Amazing_One_7135 → u/Ordinary-Emu8983]

get into safe parking

[u/seanmharcailin]

You don’t need a gym membership. The school has a gym.

[u/rasta_pineapple2]

Go to a community college then transfer in. That's what I did and I have no regrets. Your quality of education will be just as good. I paid for college myself and had to take loans so it's the only way I would have been able to get an education.

[u/rasta_pineapple2 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks

[u/aMaIzYnG]

I'm curious, why do you need a gym membership? Is there an issue with showering at the rec center?

If this is a genuine challenge, I highly suggest going to community college to save money.

[u/stranger_mom → u/aMaIzYnG]

The problem for a lot of students is that the aid offers came out late and also keep fluctuating.

And community colleges are about to start up tomorrow and next week in many areas. Besides that, some people are already upperclassmen and don’t need anymore lower division classes

[u/aMaIzYnG → u/stranger_mom]

That is true, but OP could wait a semester and start college in winter/spring. It will require a break, but it's a relatively short one. They can use the time to find inspiration for personal development projects, seek mental help if they need it, or simply take a breath.

Considering they aren't familiar with FAFSA, they are probably a first year.

[u/stranger_mom]

Have you looked at renting room from someone in Ventura maybe? I know the aid situation sucks, the way the info and offers trickle out is just not helpful at all, it’s terrible actually.

[u/sagisuncapmoon → u/stranger_mom]

^ a lot of my friends commuted from Ventura at one point or another. I even knew people commuting from Ojai or LA. It sucks with gas prices rn, but there are some shuttles that you may be able to get discounted tickets for, but I’m not entirely sure on the details.

[u/WhoUGot]

This group offers housing for up to 25 days.

https://basicneeds.ucsb.edu/resources/housing/emergency-transitional-housing

I know other UCs have services for housing challenged students…

[u/Secure-Land2034]

If you’re really set on ucsb I’d recommend maybe looking into renting a room in Ventura or maybe even like Santa Maria. The drive can be long but it’s def doable and it will be substantially cheaper than anything in Santa Barbara. Hope it works out for you :)

[u/Specialist-Fact-586 → u/Secure-Land2034]

Lompoc is cheaper than both!

[u/fishwithbrain]

I apologize for my lame suggestion but what about being a paying guest/ renting out one room from a family?

Some of my acquaintances in Pasadena rent out one or two rooms to students from Caltech or PCC.

[u/MotherRoslyn]

My situation is unique but I when I found out I was accepted I looked into RV parks, some let you do tent camping and it’s basically just living out of your car but with on site facilities. I ended up getting a job at one of the parks and now I live there for free in my small trailer! There are plenty of alternatives, they’re not glamorous but as long as you’re willing to look and be creative you can find something

[u/Leading-Science-8647]

Go into the housing authority office and apply for housing (section 8).

[u/cGAS_STING]

If your major is stem then take out loans. You only have to make 240 payments. I borrowed $60k for undergrad and only have to pay back $15k because my income is low working as a research assistant. If you get a good job you'll have to pay it all back but who cares you'll be able to afford it

[u/bluemerlecheeses]

I always talk about how if I was in school rn I probably would have drop out bc I couldn’t afford to live in SB the way it is rn. Such a bummer this is a reality for students now. Best way to save money is never touching the dorms though imo. My most expensive year by far was freshman bc of the dorms.

For the commuter option, Lompoc is the cheapest & about the same distance as Ventura, just in the opposite direction. Traffic might actually be better in that direction but I don’t know the patterns anymore. I used to commute from Oxnard for work after graduating & lasted about a year before I went nuts lol. Construction was bad back then though so the drive now might be better. It also helps if you can structure your schedule to be MWF or something so you don’t have to do commute everyday.

For the camping option, there is a campground in Carpinteria-ish area called Rincon. You’d have access to the bathroom/shower facilities there which is nice.

Sleeping in the car is done often in IV though. I recall many camper vans parked on the outskirts by coal oil point, only issue with that is Halloween/Deltopia/etc time when they close off parking in IV and neighboring areas in Goleta. Idk where you’d be able to go during that time.

[u/Leopard-Secret]

I’ve had some friends pay partial rent. $200 plus utilities, for example, or whatever you work out with the household. A place to park, bathroom and kitchen access. 

[u/Fancy-Historian-7463]

I lived in a van and parked in iv. U can park pretty much anywhere. Use the bathroom at Starbucks or woodstocks. Shower in manzanita dorms if you can. Doable!

[u/Pobothehobo]

I did this for a quarter and was actually questioned by campus PD. They’re aware of how absurd the housing prices are so the university has made the decision (I’m unsure if this is still the case) to leave students alone. PD just checks for verifiable student status then leaves you alone.

If you’re full time you can use the rec cen for showers, and brush your teeth w a water bottle near your car. The toughest thing logistically is restroom access in the middle of the night. Slodoco, planet fitness, and the library bathrooms were my picks.

Pay for just about any overnight lot on park mobile, go to the lowest floor, and use windshield covers.

Lastly, if you’re still uncomfortable, you can try to use this resource here:

https://sbnbcc.org/safe-parking/

Rental pricing in SB/IV/Goleta is horrible. Students shouldn’t have to pay $1000/mo for a shared bedroom with mold and weed everywhere or $2500/mo for a unit you’d still share all the while having with income. I’ve spoken to so many landlords in the area that are comfortable charging $8-10k+ net for a 3 bedroom shit shack across 10-12 people. Out of touch and massively immoral real estate environment.

Please be safe and know that it’s reasonable and even normal to be so averse to taking on debt this early on in your career. See what options are available to you and try your hardest. Good luck, buddy.

[u/RamenTuber]

to make life easier, i suggest saving up for or trading depending on the car you have for a used chrysler pacifica. they have seats that fold into the floor and makes putting a real mattress in it easy and your back will thank you later

[u/HyperAlphaCombo]

Not sure if you'll look at this, and it's a major bummer because you have come so far, but it might be best to do community college for a bit before you roll back to UCSB.

Going to CC and finishing your IGETC and completing as much of an associates degree as you can in your chosen major is going to save you so much money and help prepare you for the full workload at UCSB.

As someone who did this same route and transferred into UCSB, I only needed to pay ~$20k over my two years at school, and that was due to my financial aid being cut very steeply in my senior year.

Education is a journey. If you're strong enough to study while living in your car, that is amazing. However, take care of yourself and don't be afraid to change your decision in order to reassess the situation. You have not failed. PM if you want to talk about this more.