Looking for a nice place to live in the Lower Mainland, Vancouver specifically, is a real challenge, and certainly not for the faint at heart! This is particularly true if you are a ‘mature’ female, own a cat, and/or are currently a smoker.
I have been searching for an ‘affordable’ and decent place to live for a month or so now, although admittedly, it feels more like 3 months at least! Gee, you think I might be just a little frustrated with this process?
I can tell you from first hand experience, it is amazing out there! There are some excellent deals to be had, however, they are in large part reserved for ‘Students’, ESL, ‘short-term’, those aged 22-30, and preferably of the male persuasion.
By the way, when I say ‘excellent deals’, I don’t mean all the SCAMS out there from the low life that get their thrills giving people the run around – like really, just HOW LOW can you Scammers go?
Heaven forbid if you are female, own a cat, happen to smoke cigarettes (only), and are over 30. I am dead serious – some ads suggest you aren’t even allowed to have a fish or turtle, LOL! Many have no problem asking for specific sexual orientation, age and cultures, etc., which is outright discrimination, and against the rules of most advertising site policies, such as Craigslist, Kijiji, etc.
No my friends, ads may as well say ‘musn’t have a life to live here’, ANY bad habits, no smoking, no friends, not 1 cold one on a hot day, after a hard day at work, no pets whatsoever, and to top it all off, you don’t get to do your laundry either. Oh no, you have to walk or drive for that luxury! Say what?? How much is the rent again, no utilities included, AND no laundry on-site?
Mind you, a good percentage of the places I have been looking at myself happen to be basement suites, that’s the ‘affordable part’, so I can understand the smoking issue there for sure. On the other hand, that can be dealt with easily by either going outside, or opening up all the windows – which I do automatically anyway.
Ah, but wait a minute, many places will not allow ANY smoking on the grounds, or even anywhere remotely close to the property – makes a smoker feel ‘real special’.
Actually in defence of those of us that are totally addicted to the disgusting cigarettes, (thank you government for selling them to us), I don’t believe that we should have to freeze in miserable weather, or stand on street corners like the happy hooker, just to have a few puffs. After all, we DO have rights as human beings as well, don’t we? Last time I checked….
Seriously, I can appreciate that non-smokers don’t want to be around those that smoke, especially in ‘close’ quarters, and that’s cool, and understandable.
But, when I am helping you pay your mortgage and taxes in the privacy of ‘my home’, as in an apartment particularly, as long as I am paying my rent on time, keeping the place clean, and take care of it with pride, don’t bash in any windows, or act like a complete idiot, then my cat sitting on my lap sleeping, or me having a cigarette is really not hurting anyone except myself. So, let’s get real! Smokers are people too, and deserve the same respect and dignity as everyone else.
Being subtle has never really been my forte, so I have to speak out against the obvious ‘ageism’ that is going on with property owners and landlords everywhere.
Why would you not want to have ‘mature adults’ renting from you? One would think that those of us that have journeyed to 40, may just have a more practical, logical, and mature approach to budgets, handling finances, being responsible, and treating your properties with the respect they deserve. Not only that, it is also likely that we would be ‘longer-term’ tenants, saving you both time and money. Try putting yourselves in the applicant’s shoes for once, and see how you guys feel.
Perhaps ‘students’ are in demand because their expectations are considerably lower than those of mature adults that are use to having a nice place to live, and we ‘know the rules’ …hmmm – perhaps indeed. Exploitation……
The striking parallel between job searching and apartment hunting ‘over 40′ is most disconcerting!
In both scenarios, ’pride’ has to go out the window in order to survive, as we continue the fight against ageism, and all the prejudices that are prevalent in our societies today. Not whining, just facing the facts folks….well okay, that’s my ‘rant’ for today.
Cheers!
