Becoming homeless for my dream job

[ForTidyFinch]

I've been offered and ideal job in the town where I currently live but my short term tenancy is due to end in a couple of weeks. I have tried everything to find a new place to live. There is nothing available in this small town and I have no friends or family living close enough to help. I have decided to start the job and then live in my car. I've reached a desperate point now where I think there is little chance of me being able to rent privately even if something does become available. A run of bad luck has drained my finances and a CCJ was taken out against me without my knowledge (for overstaying in a service station when my car was broken down!) This was taken out while I was living abroad and I have only just found out. So there goes the chance of renting privately. So the choice I see it is being homeless and destitute staying with relatives or living in my car and starting this interesting job opportunity. I think I will live in my car. WWYD

Because money will become a problem if I spend money on a campsite at peak season. Local proper campsites are either booked out or asking 500 a week!

Money I could be use for a deposit when I eventually find a place. As I've said I think I have a chance of getting a 'winter let' if I can make it through peak season .

I want to be in a position financially that I ready to go immediately should any secure housing become available. I will have loos at work and showers and loos at the leisure centre.

I too am concerned for your safety and I really wouldn't live in your car, not least because the engine is kaput and you will have no heating lights means of charging your phone etc
The fact you can lock it means nothing if you can't move it. If someone does report you, your car will be towed
I realise it's a tough situation but in the kindest way, I don't think you have really considered the practicalities.
Even simple things like where would you store your clothes so you appear smart for work. What if your laptop gets damp because with no battery you can't even open the windows?
As it's a tourist area, is there a youth hostel( or similar) which you could book until you get your first salary
Frankly although the job is perfect, your living circumstances are not atm and however much you think outside the box, I don't see a solution( and I'm resourceful due to my circumstances)
Have you had a quote for a new engine?
Even a reconditioned one can be 2k plus a blown engine could seize your gearbox etc etc etc

Have you ever looked for work outside your small town? What is it that's kept you there up until this new job came about?

OP the problem is that you apparently have nothing going for you in this town other than a job. You say it's your dream job - is there nowhere else you could do it? Does it pay well? It all sounds a bit vague. But even if it's as great as you think, you have nothing else. No friends, no family, no community, no car, no connections and obviously nowhere to live.

Imagine if you had just one friend. It would be a completely different situation for you.

Okay 500 a week for a campsite is insane. A B&B or hostel would cost less than that. Staying at a family member's house and getting an uber 3 days a week (wfh the other 2) would cost less than that. How far is your nearest friend or family you could stay with? I know you say it's too far to commute but even travelling 2 hours each way would be preferable to what you're proposing, and more doable.

If the OPs dream job is surf instructor (random example), there are limited other places she could live, needs to be within a few miles of the beach at the very furthest, etc. The car isn't the best option, but right now, it seems like the only option.

Once you actually start this job, OP, are you likely to have coworkers who live locally and might know of rooms to rent?

£500 a week for a campsite is indeed insane. It makes you wonder where this location could possibly be. I just looked at campsites in Cornwall - surely one the the most population holiday regions in the country, in August, and saw numerous options for around £150 for a week.

Imagine if you had just one friend. It would be a completely different situation for you.

I'm sure she has friends! But there is a big difference between being a friend and giving someone a place to live. Many people (including me) wouldn't be in a position to do that for a friend. It tends to be family you do that for, and often grudgingly at that.

Will your landlady give you a reference? Are there any issues there? I think you need to ask if you haven’t already done so. Is there a YMCA within commutable distance. The YMCA is wonderful in this sort of situation where I live.

Could you post on a local facebook site asking if anyone has a room to let out - seen lots of that here too.

Sounds very tough but I don’t think that living in your car to save for a deposit quicker is sensible, you need a bit of quality of life too.

There is no Uber in this area. 700 to 800 a week is the cheapest room I can find in bnb/pubs etc. Taxi to the next town is 40 pounds each way.

@ForTidyFinch

Apologies if I have missed this in another post, but what is the job, OP?

It could be that someone in the same industry might be able to help or at least point you towards someone who can assist.

There are sources of help for people in certain areas of employment.

Its about supply and demand unfortunately. As most places are already booked up in the area they hike the prices for the holidays.

She says she has zero friends in the area. A friend would speak to their friends. They would know people who know people. They would have a connection to someone who could help. Small towns usually have great community networks.

That’s why a pp's suggestion of asking at churches is such a good idea. Is there a community centre in this town? I would pitch up there and talk to people, too.

But if a pp saw those prices for August surely you would be able to get those prices for August too? Apologies if I've misunderstood. You haven't said where you are, but a small town with a thriving tourist industry surely can't be charging three times what you'd get charged in Cornwall?

How long do you think the alarm and locks are going to last on a car that does not drive? The battery will go flat.

Yes I have often moved wherever I have found work. I now have a job in this small town and the only alternative at the moment is to move to somewhere I don't have any work.

@ForTidyFinch

Would you move to somewhere else if there were a suitable job for you in that location? Are you free to re-locate to anywhere in the UK?

Looking at the replies you come across like you have everything all sown up and know all the solutions and have thought of an answer for everything, but you really have not. Just because someone at the council told you years ago not to expect any help doesn't mean you shouldn't go back there now that you are in crisis. They will have a duty to help you. As mentioned, a car that doesn't drive will have a flat battery in no time. The alarm won't work and central locking will jam either locking you in or out.

No different places have different prices. I never said I was in Cornwall and even if I was Cornwall is geographically huge. Unless she looked at the same location why would it be the same price? If you live in ruralish areas you will get used to the fact that it is the smaller towns which are more expensive. Where there is less supply there is less choice they can hike the prices higher. Ditto for taxi fares etc - there being less bus services and no uber. There are no youth hostels here for example so there are less low cost options to compete with campsites. The same campsite does usually have a cheaper pitch option but it is sold out for the entirety of August. I have been repeatedly called naive on this thread but I am beginning to see that there are some people are assuming there everywhere in the UK has the same facilities, prices, services. That's why there are a few posters repeating that there must be better options. I have obviously thought about this situation a lot knowing my location and budget. There is no affordable short term option available to me right now. I will keep looking maybe I'll get lucky but I need to prepare for the worst.

Maybe your best option is to give up on the dream job for now and leave the area?

No I know you're not in Cornwall. I just looked in my area - a very expensive small town with a big tourist industry and pitches are max 20 per night for the really fancy places. So it's hard to imagine how anywhere is charging 500 a week. But if they're sold out, they're sold out - that's a different problem.

No hostel, okay. There will be churches - have you been to any?

Can you say what industry this job is in? What makes it your dream job? I'm just wondering jf posters in that same industry will be able to help.

Maybe ... 65% of people agree with you

Do you have a budget? Do you know what you will be getting in your new job net? Do you have any savings?

you need to be tackling this at that level - until you are clear in your income and outgoings you won’t be able to make serious plans.

whats the rough salary for this job?

I've just searched on pitchup.com for a 1-2 person pitch with electricity, showers and close to public transport, for the month of August. I got three results under a grand in Cornwall, two for £900 and one at £400.

The good value one is only useful to OP if she happens to be in Bude.

One £400 result in the middle of Devon, a mile and a half to the train station and no commutable buses.
Then I tried Swansea - nothing.
Sussex (W&E) - nothing.
It genuinely is as hard as OP's saying.

Thank you @garlickest. It's becoming a bit tiring replying to people who just simply won't believe the situation and I feel I have to constantly justify as they are trying to sow doubt. Pitchup was also showing for my location '20 a night' until I inputted the dates

For a week? That's absolutely nuts.

I mean if it's impossible to find safe short term accommodation then OP has no choice but to give up the job. She can't live in a broken down car. Pp have made lots of other suggestions, not sure how many of them are relevant or OP has followed up on. Could probably help more if we knew the rough area, industry, and idea of budget/salary. OP says she has some money but not sure if she means enough to tide her over to payday if she could find a place to stay or just enough to cover expenses if she stays in her car. (Presumably the car also costs money to keep, even though it doesn't go.)

An ebike or moped might work in order to facilitate a commute from family's place or from a town where there's places to stay.